课文
Like people from most countries, the people of the British Islands speak their own dialects. A dialect is a different version of a main language. It has different words and is related to the culture of the place in which it is spoken. It is usually spoken with a certain accent. Although it may be different, a dialect is usually not so different that an outsider can’t understand what is being said.
Speakers of dialects in Britain are often proud of them. For this reason, when you visit an area with a dialect, especially when it is a place visited by tourists, gift stores will sell books about the local words.
The dialects of Northern Ireland have many words that the other British have never heard of. An unusual example I recently learned from this part of the world is “boke”, which means “vomit ”. The nearly poetic words of the Cockneys of the East End of London are famous throughout the world because they can be so clever and humorous. Here is a piece of rhyming slang : A “whistle and flute” is Cockney for “suit”.
It is true that there are fewer dialects in Britain today than there were a hundred years ago，and far fewer than there were 200 years ago. The reason is quite clear: The modern world and its chances for communication have made the differences between people much smaller. When people speak and listen tomore people from a much larger area than their mothers and fathers did, the differences between the ways they speak get smaller.
This means that there are now far fewer problems understanding each other for the people of the British Islands. Also, English speakers from all over the world can generally understand each other. Of course, without dialects, it will be much more difficult for English as a second language to have such a big success all over the world!
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译文
与大多数国家的人一样，英伦三岛的人们也说自己的方言。一门方言就是主语言的不同版本，它有不同的词语，往往跟当地的文化有关。它通常带有某种口音，虽然有所不同，但是对外乡人来说，仔细倾听，也基本能够听明白。
说方言的英国人经常为他们自己感到骄傲。因此，当您访问一个有方言的地区时，特别是旅游景点，礼品店会出售有关当地词语的书籍。
北爱尔兰的方言有许多其他英国人从未听说过。我最近从这个地区学到的一个不寻常的词是“boke”，意思是“呕吐”。伦敦东区的人们说话近乎诗意，这在全世界都负有盛名，因为他们的话语通常非常聪明而又幽默。这里有一个押韵的俚语：“哨子和长笛”，在东区的意思是“西服”。
确实，今天英国的方言比一百年前少，比二百年前少得更多。原因很清楚：现代世界及其交流机会使人与人之间的差异小得多。当人们和比他们父母更大的区域人群交流越多时，那么这种差异性就越小。
这意味着英伦三岛的人们互相之间基本都能听懂对方，此外，来自世界各地的说英语者基本也能相互沟通。当然，没有方言，英语作为第二语言在全世界取得如此巨大的成功将会困难得多！
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解释
* the British Islands：英伦三岛。英国的国土主要由爱尔兰东北部和整个大不列颠岛及周围的小岛组成，分为苏格兰（Scotland），威尔士（Wales），北爱尔兰（Northern Ireland），英格兰（England）4个地区。其中北爱尔兰位于爱尔兰岛，其他三个地区则位于英国大不列颠岛本土。有时候我们把英国叫做England，其实是一个错误的概念。英国最为保险的叫法可以是Britain或UK，UK就是United Kingdom(联合王国）。
* dialect：方言。咱们中国也有上百种方言，中国主要方言是：Cantonese（粤语），Shanghai Dialect或Shanghaiese（上海话），Northeastern Dialect（东北话），Sichuan Dialect（四川话），Minnan Dialect（闽南话），Chaoshan Dialect（潮汕话），Hakka（客家话）等。波波和丽丽，你家乡的dialect是什么呢？
* version：版本。这个词可以用在软件的版本，也可以用于文学艺术的各种版本。比如：My classmate just covered an Ed Sheeran"s song, I really like his version.(我同学刚翻唱了一首Ed Sheeran的歌曲，我真的好喜欢他的版本.)
* main : 主语言。我们中国的main language就是Mandarin(普通话）。再学几个：main idea（主要思想），main street（主街），猜猜看main course是什么意思？
* be related to: 与...相关。
* accent：口音。比如，He speaks Mandarin with local accent. 他说普通话有口音。
* outsider：外来者；圈外人；旁观者，局外人。它的反义词是insider（业内人士，圈内人）。
* be proud of: 以...为豪。例句：If your father had still been alive, he would have felt very proud of you. （你父亲如果还健在的话,他会为你骄傲的。）
* tourist：旅客，旅游者。
* gift store：礼品店。有时候在写成souvenir shop。
* local：当地的。当地人。比如：Are you Shanghai local?(你是上海本地人吗？）
* Northern Ireland：北爱尔兰，首府是Belfast（贝尔法斯特）。
* unusual example：不寻常的例子。
* vomit：呕吐。例句：He vomited up all he had eaten. （他把吃下的东西全吐了出来。）
* poetic words：诗意词语。
* Cockney：伦敦东区的人。
* the East End of London：伦敦东区。以前相对比较贫困的地区，现在也慢慢时尚了。
* throughout the world：全世界。等于all over the world.
* humorous: 幽默的。名词是humor或humour。
* rhyming slang：押韵的俚语。这种俚语来自伦敦，扩散的其它英语国家。
* communication：交流。它的动词是communicate。
* difference：不同，差异。
* generally：总体上。
