There is an old saying that America and Britain are "two nations divided by a common language." My British friend still tells me, "You don't speak English. You speak American."

But are American and British English really so different?

Vocabulary

The most noticeable difference between American and British English is vocabulary. There are hundreds of everyday words that are different. For example,Americans go on vacation, while Brits go on holidays. New Yorkers live in apartments; Londoners live in flats.

There are far more examples than we can talk about here. Fortunately, most Americans and Brits can usually guess the meaning through the context of a sentence.

Auxiliary verbs

There are a few grammatical differences between the two varieties of English. A grammar difference between American and British English relates to auxiliary verbs. For example, "I shall go home now." Americans know what shall means, but rarely use it in conversation. It seems very formal. Americans would probably use "I will go home now."

In question form, a Brit might say, "Shall we go now?" while an American would probably say, "Should we go now?"

Spelling

There are hundreds of minor spelling differences between British and American English. 

You can see in the American spelling of words like color (from colour), honor (from honour), and labor (from labour). 

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1.How many differences does the passage talk about?

A 1

B 2.

C 3

D 4

解析：选C。细节理解题。根据文章三个黑体小点可知。

2.Most Americans can guess the meaning by_______.

A the vocabulary

B the context

C the pronunciation

D writing

解析：选B。细节理解题。根据文章第四段第二句Fortunately, most Americans and Brits can usually guess the meaning through the context of a sentence.可知。

3.The underlined words "auxiliary verbs" mean ______in Chinese.

A 系动词

B 情态动词

C 行为动词

D 助动词

解析：选B。词义猜测题。根据文章第六段In question form, a Brit might say, "Shall we go now?" while an American would probably say, "Should we go now?”可知。

4.Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?

A New Yorkers say they live in apartments but Londoners say in flats.

B There are hundreds of different spellings between British and American English.

C There are a few grammatical differences between British and American English.

D Americans say they go on holidays every year.

解析：选D。推理判断题。根据文章第三段第三句For example,Americans go on vacation, while Brits go on holidays.可知。

5.What’s the best title of the passage?

A How to learn English

B The differences between British and American English

C Pay attention to your spelling

D Try to remember new words as much as you can.

解析：选B。主旨大意题。根据第一段第一句 There is an old saying that America and Britain are "two nations divided by a common language.可知，这是文章的主题句。