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1. A language in Transition

As the world is in transition, so the English language is itself taking new forms. This, of course, has always been true: English has changed substantially in the 1500 years or so of its use, reflecting patterns of contact with other languages and the changing communication needs of people. But in many parts of the world, as English is taken into the fabric of social life, it acquires a momentum and vitality of its own, developing in ways which reflect local culture and languages, while diverging increasingly from the kind of English spoken in Britain or North America.

English is also used for more purposes than ever before. Everywhere it is at the leading edge of technological and scientific development, new thinking in economics and management, new literatures and entertainment genres. These give rise to new vocabularies, grammatical forms and ways of speaking and writing. Nowhere is the effect of this expansion of English into new domains seen more clearly than in communication on the Internet and the development of ‘net English’.

But the language is, in another way, at a critical moment in its global career: within a decade or so, the number of people who speak English as a second language will exceed the number of native speakers. The implications of this are likely to be far reaching: the center of authority regarding the language will shift from native speakers as they become minority stakeholders in the global resource. Their literature and television may no longer provide the focal point of a global English language culture; their teachers no longer form the unchallenged authoritative models for learners.

英语在转变

世界在变化，英语也在不断出现新形式。当然，历来如此。在一千五百年左右的历史中，英语变化很大。这反应了英语与其他语言相互作用的方式，也反应了人们不断变化的交流需要。但在世界许多地区，英语用于社会生活，获取特有的动力与活力，并受当地文化和语言影响，不断发展，从而与英式、美式英语差别越来越大。

英语也正在用于更多领域。世界各地，无论科技新发展，经管新理念，文学新流派，抑或娱乐新形式，都在使用英语。这就产生了新词汇、新语法结构、新口笔头表达方式。英语进入新领域，影响颇深，网上交流及“网络英语”的诞生最能体现这点。

然而，换个角度来看，英语在全球扮演的角色正处于紧要关头：约十年后，把英语作为第二外语的人数，将会超过以之为母语的人数。这可能会产生深远的影响：全球范围内，以英语为母语的人将成为少数，他们也就不再是英语权威；或许，他们的文学作品和电视节目，将不再是全球英语文化的焦点；对学生而言，教师的绝对权威也将不复存在。

2. Shadow Lake

The color-beauty about Shadow Lake during the Indian summer is much richer than one could hope to find in so young and so glacial a wilderness. Almost every leaf is tinted then, and the goldenrods are in bloom; but most of the color is given by the ripe grasses, willows, and aspens. At the foot of the lake you stand in a trembling aspen grove, every leaf painted like a butterfly, and away to right and left round the shores sweeps a curving ribbon of meadow, red and brown dotted with pale yellow, shading off here and there into hazy purple. The walls, too, are dashed with bits of bright color that gleam out on the neutral granite grey. But neither the walls, nor the margin itself, flashing with spangles, can long hold your attention; for at the head of the lake there is a gorgeous mass of orange-yellow, belonging to the main aspen belt of the basin, which seems the very fountain whence all the color below it had flowed, and here your eye is filled and fixed. This glorious mass is about thirty feet high, and extends across the basin nearly from wall to wall. Rich bosses of willow flame in front of it, and from the base of these the brown meadow comes forward to the water’s edge, the whole being relieved against the unyielding green of the coniferae, while thick sun-gold is poured over all.

During these blessed color-days no cloud darkens the sky, the winds are gentle, and the landscape rests, hushed everywhere, and indescribably impressive. A few ducks are usually seen sailing on the lake, apparently more for pleasure than anything else, and the ouzels at the head of the rapids sing always; while robins, grosbeaks, and the Douglas squirrels are busy in the groves, making delightful company, and intensifying the feeling of grateful sequestration without ruffling the deep, hushed calm and peace.

影湖

晚秋时节，阳光明媚，影湖四周的色彩煞是美丽。此处虽为初成的冰冷荒野，色彩却如此丰富，实在超乎想象。片片树叶，如染洗过一般；朵朵秋麒麟草，争相开放。色彩最丰，非秋草、杨柳莫属。影湖南端是一片杨树林，树叶微微颤动，似化作蝴蝶，翩翩起舞。远处，围着湖水两岸卧了一片草地，蜿蜒如丝带，红棕间点了几处浅黄，斑驳间铺了一层淡紫。阳光撞在墙上，撞出了一块亮灰色。可这些墙面，闪动的湖边草地，都留不住你的目光。影湖北面有一大片绚丽的橙黄，这是洼地上杨树林带的颜色，如一口泉眼，喷出色彩一片。在这里，你将大饱眼福，而且只能呆呆地看着。这一片美丽的杨树林高约三十尺，跨过了整个洼地，几乎把两边的墙连在了一起。前面满是垂柳，枝叶如火焰摇曳。接着便是卧在湖边的褐色草地，周围是笔直墨绿的松柏。金色阳光撒满大地 。

这几日，天空无云，秋风轻抚，大地安睡，四下寂静，这景象十分迷人，无以言表。一群鸭子浮在水面，很明显只为嬉戏。几只黑鸫鸟一直在溪头鸣唱；知更鸟、松雀和松鼠愉快相伴、穿梭林间，更加感受到与世隔绝的快乐，却未扰乱这深沉的宁静与安详。