There are some differences between British English and American English. In grammar, for example, speakers of British English say "in hospital" and "Have you a pen?". Americans say "in the hospital" and "Do you have a pen?". Pronunciation is sometimes different. For example, when a learner speaks British pronunciationda:ns (dance), he may not understand the American pronunciationdæns. There are differences between British English and American English in spelling. For example, "travelled" and "honour" are British spelling, "traveled" and "honor" are American spelling. However, in most situations(情况), British English and American English are not different languages.

    Joe Read studied in this school for four years. When he finished school, he was already eighteen years old. And then his father said to him, “You finished school, and you are a good student. Now you may go to town and get a good job. They need some clever people to work in the office. The people there can get a lot of money now. If you stay at home, you can't get money from our family.” A few weeks later, Joe went to the office and asked for a job there. A man took him into a small room and gave him some questions on a piece of paper. Joe answered the questions quickly, and he gave the paper to the man. The man looked at the paper for a few minutes and then asked, “You were born on Sep. 23. But which year were you born in?” Joe answered, “Oh, every year.”