English is spoken by people in many places.
很多地方的人们都说英语。
It began in England but spread as the British people left their coutry and made new homes.
英语起源于英格兰，但是英国人在其他地方定居时，传播了英语。
Now, English is the language spoken by most people in countries like Canada, America and Australia.
现在，在加拿大、美国和澳大利亚这样的国家，大多数人都说英语。
After many years, the English language began to change.
很多年后，英语开始发生改变。
The changes were maily expressions and spellings.
发生变化的主要是表达和拼写。
Sometimes different people use different words to mean the same thing.
有时候，不同的人用不同的单词来表达同一个意思。
People in England say "underground" while people in America say "subway".
英国人用“underground”来表示地铁，而美国人却用“subway”。
In America an elevater starts on the first floor, but in Britain it starts on the ground floor.
美国电梯的第一层叫“first floor”，而英国人则用“ground floor”。
"Colour" and "centre" are British spellings while"color" and "center" are American spellings for the same words.
同一个单词，“colour（颜色）”和“centre（中心）”是英国人的拼写方法，而“color”和“center”是美国人的拼写方法。
Pronunciation of words and ways of speaking have changed as well.
单词的发音和说话方式也发生了改变。
It is possible to tell whether a person is American or British by listening to his or her speech.
听一个人说话就可以判断他/她是美国人还是英国人。
The English language has also changed by borrowing words from other languages.
英语的改变还体现在它会从其他语言中借词。
The Americans borrowed "cent" from old French and "cookbook" from German.
美国人从古法语中借用了“cent（分）”，从德语中借用了“cookbook（食谱）”。
They also borrowed "tofu" and "kowtow" from Chinese.
他们还从汉语中借用了“tofu（豆腐）”和“kowtow（叩头）”。
The English language is changing all the time, but people from English-speaking countries are still able to understand each other.
英语一直都在改变着，但是以英语为母语的国家的人们依然能听懂彼此。
