Read the below conversation.

W: Hello, glad to see you here!

M: Me, too. How are you going these days?

W: I'm OK. What are you doing in the library?

M: Oh, recently I'm curious about British English and American English. So I just come here to get some information. They are really about the same, aren't they?

W: I don't think so. It seems to me that some of the spellings are different.

M: Such as?

W: Words like theater and center end in "re" in England instead of "er" like we spell them.

M: Can you think of any more examples?

W: The word "color" is another case in point. In fact, many words which end in "or" in American English are spelled "our" in British English.

M: I'm still not convinced. I mean, if someone comes here from England, we can all understand what he's saying. The spelling doesn't really matter that much.

W: We're not just talking about spelling. There are differences in pronunciation and meaning too. I remember seeing an English movie where the actors kept calling their apartment a flat. Half of the movie was over before I realized what they were talking about.

M: So there are slight differences in spelling and some vocabulary.

W: And in pronunciation, too. You aren't going to tell me that you sound like James Simpson.

M: James Simpson isn't English. He's Scottish.

W: Okay. Anyway, the pronunciation is different.

M: So British English and American English are different in many ways, right?

W: Yes, sure.

M: But it's not so different that it prevents us from understanding each other.

W: That's exactly what I mean.

What would the listener say?


M: Questions 9 to 12 are based on the conversation you have just heard.