English is the most widely used language in the history of our planet.One in____1____seven human beings can speak it.More than half of the world’s books and three quarters of international mail are in English.Of all languages,English has the largest ___2____— perhaps as many as two million words.
However,let’s face it:English is a crazy language.There is no egg in an eggplant,neither pine ___3_____ apple in a pineapple and no ham in a hamburger.Sweet-meats are candy,________4_______sweetbreads,which aren’t sweet,are meat.
We take English for granted.But when we explore ____5_____ paradoxes (探讨它的矛盾),we find that quicksand can work slowly,boxing rings are square,public bathrooms have no baths in them.
And why is ________6______a writer writes,but fingers don’t fing,grocers don’t groce,and hammers don’t ham?If the plural of tooth is teeth,shouldn’t the plural of booth be beeth?One goose,two geese — so one moose,two meese?
How can a slim chance and a fat chance be the same,while a wise man and a wise guy are opposites?How can overlook and oversee be opposites,while quite a lot and quite a few are alike?How can the weather be hot as hell one day and cold as hell the ____7______?
English was invented_____8_____people,not computers,and it reflects (反映) the creativity of human beings.That’s ______9_______,when stars are out,they are visible (能看见的); but when the lights are out,they are____10_____.And why,when I wind up my watch,I start it; but when I wind up this essay,I end it.