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American English vs British English & Colloquialisms

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Page 1: American English vs British English & Colloquialisms
Page 2: American English vs British English & Colloquialisms
Page 3: American English vs British English & Colloquialisms

American English vs British

English & Colloquialisms

Page 4: American English vs British English & Colloquialisms

1. Do you think there are some differences

between American English and British

English?

2. If there are some, in which aspect do

they exist?

Page 5: American English vs British English & Colloquialisms

3. Have you found any difference between

American English and British English

in the play?

4. Could you list the differences you

know?Read the following story and answer.

Page 6: American English vs British English & Colloquialisms

Joe (an American) Nancy (an

Englishman)

Once Joe came to Britain for the first time

by air. When he arrived at Nancy’s home.

He asked, “ Could I use your bathroom?”

Nancy said ok and gave him a clean towel

and told him that the bathroom was

upstairs. After a while, however, Joe

didn’t find the bathroom.

Page 7: American English vs British English & Colloquialisms

1. What is it that Joe can’t find in the

bathroom?

2. Why can’t he find it?

It is a toilet that Joe couldn’t find.

Joe is an American, he says bathroom

and means a place where there is a toilet.

But in Nancy’s eye, it’s a place where

people can only have a bath. Because of

this, they misunderstood each other.

Page 8: American English vs British English & Colloquialisms

It’s useful for us to know some differences

between British English and American

English. Look at the following tables:

Page 9: American English vs British English & Colloquialisms

Differences British English

American English

Pronunciation

dance /dα:ns/

not /nɔt /

either

/aiðə /

dance /dæns/

not /nat/

either /iðɚ/

Page 10: American English vs British English & Colloquialisms

Differences British English

American English

Spelling

colour

travell

programme

favour

centre

color

travel

program

favor

center

Page 11: American English vs British English & Colloquialisms

Differences British English

American English

Grammar have got

Vocabulary

holiday

post

staircase

petrol

luggage

have

vacation

stairway

mail

gas

baggage

Page 12: American English vs British English & Colloquialisms

American or British English? (AE/BE)American or British English? (AE/BE)

1. —Have you got any pets?

—Yes, I’ve got three rabbits and a

tortoise.

2. I have an apartment in the city centre.

3. Do you have a walkman ? Have you (got) a walkman ?

AE

BE

BE

AE

Page 13: American English vs British English & Colloquialisms

4. I don’t have any ink.

I haven’t (got) any ink.

5. She works nights as a janitor.

She works at night as a janitor.   6. Let’s stay home.

Let’s stay at home.

7. He has gotten a new job.

He has got a new job.  

AE

AE

AE

AE

BE

BE

BE

BE

Page 14: American English vs British English & Colloquialisms

Can you name any other differences?How much do you know?(1)Thanksgiving is observed only in ________.(2) People usually walk on the ______

side in the USA while in the UK people usually walk on the _____ side.

(3) ___________ behave in a more casual way while in _______ people are a bit more formal or traditional.

Americaright

leftAmericans

Britain

Page 15: American English vs British English & Colloquialisms

(4) Americans select _________ as the

top leader of the country, while in the

UK, the ______ or ______ is always

the representative of the country.

(5) Football has its origin in ______, but

in America, where it is called ______,

it is not so popular as American

football, or _______.

president

King Queen

Britain

soccer

rugby

Page 16: American English vs British English & Colloquialisms

Read the dialogue and find out

whether it is in American English

or British English.

Sam went back to London to go on with

his study in CMHS. He met David on

the school campus.

Page 17: American English vs British English & Colloquialisms

Sam: Hi, David. How are you?

David: Fine, have you just gone back

from New York?

Sam: Yeah, I went back here last

Monday.

David: How is your summer holiday,

Sam?

BE

AE

BE

Page 18: American English vs British English & Colloquialisms

Sam: Excellent, during my summer

vacation I joined a soccer ball

club and I can play it better now.

David: Good! I also practiced playing

football this summer too.

AE

BE

Page 19: American English vs British English & Colloquialisms

Sam: OK. Please call me at 33543165 if

the students’ union organize a

soccer ball match.

David: Good idea! You may call me on

25682275.

Sam: See you!

David: Goodbye!

AE

BE

BE

AE

Page 20: American English vs British English & Colloquialisms

Change the underlined words and

phrases from American English to

British English.Answers:

1.__________ 2.___________

3.__________ 4.___________

5.__________ 6.___________

7.___________________ 8._____

is that

fitted

programme colour

toilet

onShe’s just gone home

centre

Page 21: American English vs British English & Colloquialisms

Colloquialisms

You are telling me I’m lazy. Ha, look

what a mess your room is! That is like

the pot calling the kettle black !

This is a colloquialism. Do you know what does

it mean?

Page 22: American English vs British English & Colloquialisms

A colloquialism is an informal expression

used in spoken English.

Colloquialisms are never used in formal

English or in writing, but are often used

in conversations.

What is a colloquialism?

Page 23: American English vs British English & Colloquialisms

Don’t worry. It’s a piece of cake!something easy to do

Page 24: American English vs British English & Colloquialisms

Don’t be a wet blanket. Have some fun!

boring / afraid to have fun

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Go on, tell me. I’m all ears.listening carefully

Page 26: American English vs British English & Colloquialisms

Are you serious? Don’t pull my leg.joke with someone

Page 27: American English vs British English & Colloquialisms

1. a piece of cake 小菜一碟 容易的事e.g. No sweat. This project will be a piece

of cake.

没问题,这项计划不费吹灰之力。 We need not have worried about the

math exam. It was a piece of cake.

我们本不必担心数学考试,实际上很 容易。

Page 28: American English vs British English & Colloquialisms

2. a wet blanket 令人扫兴的人这一表达的来源是:当发生火灾的时候,为了扑火,把湿毛毯盖到火上。后用来指在社交场合泼冷水,令人扫兴的人。如:I’m sorry to be such a wet blanket, but

I’m afraid I have to go home now.

我让大家扫兴 , 实在太对不起了。不过 ,

我现在必须回家啦。

Page 29: American English vs British English & Colloquialisms

I can’t decide whether I should invite

my girlfriend’s brother Tom to the

party. After all he is her brother. But

he’s such a wet blanket. I’m afraid

he’ll spoil the party for all my other

guests.

Page 30: American English vs British English & Colloquialisms

throw a wet blanket on 这个说法相当于中文里的一句俗语: 给人当头泼凉水。人们逐渐引伸了这个说法用 a wet

blanket 来比喻把周围兴高采烈的人们都弄得热情冷却的一个人。然而 wet

blanket 并不只是用来说人,也可以指事情。如:

Page 31: American English vs British English & Colloquialisms

My friends and I were going to the

beach this weekend for some sun and

swimming. But the weather forecast

threw a wet blanket on our plans — it

says it’ll be rainy and cold.

我和朋友们原来打算这个周末去海滨晒太阳、游泳,但是天气预报却给我们当头泼了一瓢凉水。据说天要下雨而且很凉。

Page 32: American English vs British English & Colloquialisms

3. all ears 形容很专心地倾听,全神贯注When someone is all ears, he or she is

listening with complete attention . e.g. Whenever you tell Johnny some

gossip, he’s all ears.

每当你说闲话给约翰尼听时,他总 是全神贯注。

Page 33: American English vs British English & Colloquialisms

①We kids probably make a lot of noise

when we are playing, but we are all ears

when Irma sits down and begins to read

to us.

我们这些孩子去玩耍时也许是吵吵嚷嚷的,可一当爱玛坐下来开始给我们讲故事时,我们就聚精会神地专心倾听。

Page 34: American English vs British English & Colloquialisms

“② I couldn’t sleep a wink last night,”

Andy said. “I was all ears listening to the

sounds outside my tent in Country Par

k.”

“ 昨晚我一点儿也没睡着,”安迪说,“我专心听着帐篷外郊野公园的动静。

Page 35: American English vs British English & Colloquialisms

4. to pull one’s leg 逗别人,开别人玩笑e.g. My roommate said this girl had told

him she wouldn’t mind going out with me.

But when I invited her to a movie, I

learned he was just pulling my leg.

我的室友说,那个女孩愿意和我一起出去玩。可是,当我请她去看电影的时候,我才发现我那同学是逗我,开我的玩笑。

Page 36: American English vs British English & Colloquialisms

Hey, stop pulling my leg, will you? I

don’t believe that girl really said she

likes me and would like me to take her

out.

喂,你别逗我行不行!我才不信那个女孩真的说了她喜欢我,还要我邀她出去玩。

Page 37: American English vs British English & Colloquialisms

Read the sentences and express

what the colloquialisms under-lined

mean.

1. Though you are busy, could you just

lend me an ear for a moment?

lend me an ear : to listen and pay

attention to 倾听;注意;仔细地听

Page 38: American English vs British English & Colloquialisms

2. If Huston rockets can win this basketball

game by twenty points, I will eat my hat.

eat my hat: You are 100 percent

certain that something will happen.

拓展: eat (one’s) words: to retract

something that one has said.

食言:对自己说的话又反悔

Page 39: American English vs British English & Colloquialisms

3. I have never expected Lily to act as

cool as a cucumber in the traffic

accident.

as cool as a cucumber: very calm and

controlled in difficult situations.

像黄瓜一样凉爽 就是当一个人碰到困难和麻烦时很冷 静、很放松。

Page 40: American English vs British English & Colloquialisms

4. All the family members come to

persuade Jim to change his idea, but

he is as stubborn as a mule.

as stubborn as a mule: refusing to

change one’s opinion

倔得像头骡子

Page 41: American English vs British English & Colloquialisms

5. As a green hand, Robert nearly

drove into the grocery on roadside.

green hand : one who is new in a

certain field

生手,没有经验的人

Page 42: American English vs British English & Colloquialisms

6. Because Tod failed in his maths

exam, he was as quiet as a mouse

when his father scolded him.

as quiet as a mouse: making very

little noise

非常安静,不声不响

Page 43: American English vs British English & Colloquialisms

Guess what the expressions mean.

1. Mrs Black’s garden is the best in our

town. She has real green fingers.

_____________________________

2. He makes every decision in our

company. He is the top dog.

_________________________________

be good at gardening ( 园艺能手)

an important person in an organization

Page 44: American English vs British English & Colloquialisms

3. Why did you give her the cold

shoulder? You are good friends, aren’t

you?

_____________________

4. I wish I had brought my umbrella. It’s

raining cats and dogs.

__________________________

5. Football is just not my cup of tea —I

like playing volleyball.

____________________

be not friendly to her

raining heavily ( 下倾盆大雨 )

not really to my taste

Page 45: American English vs British English & Colloquialisms

Fill in the blanks with the

colloquialisms we have learned.

1. Kate, don’t be_____________ at the

party. Let’s dance together.

2. Jim, when I explain the language

points, you should _____________.

a wet blanket

lead me an ear

Page 46: American English vs British English & Colloquialisms

3. Rob is always late for school. If he can

arrive at school on time today, I

will____________.

4. —Oh, you got wet all over. How

is it, Daniel?

—Mum, don’t you know it _________

__________ on my way home?

eat my hat

and and dogs

rains cats cats

Page 47: American English vs British English & Colloquialisms

5. —Hey! Ellen, you got an A for

your history exam.

— Don’t __________.

Are you serious?

6. Look at Mr. Smith’ garden. He

has______________.

pull my leg my leg

green green fingers

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7. —Who is that dull boy? He even

doesn’t know where his office is.

—This is his first day here. He is a

__________.

8. Boys and girls, when you are reading

in the reading room, you should

remain ______________________.

Are you clear?

green green hand

as quiet as a mouse

Page 49: American English vs British English & Colloquialisms

1. Try your best to keep the examples of

American English and British English

in your mind.

2. Find more colloquialisms if you like.

3. Revise the play and find the sentences

with attributive clause.

Page 50: American English vs British English & Colloquialisms