Read the text below to answer question 21.
The Joys of Spelling
By Lorenza Cerbini
If you think English spelling is complicated, then you are \right: it is also a problem for native speakers! In phonetic languages like Italian and Spanish, spelling is relatively easy, but English spelling is not phonetic and there are some words that even university professors can‘t spell.
There have been attempts to reform English spelling. The great American lexicographer Noah Webster (1758-1843) tried to create a more rational system. This explains the differences between American and British spelling: the American spelling of ―color‖ is logical; the British version, ―colour‖, is not. But even American English spelling is difficult and this explains the existence of spelling ―bees‖, or competitions. The first spelling bee was held ∈ the USA∈1825: the organizers used Webster‘s ―spelling books‖ as their model.
Ironically, the word bee is itself a mystery. You spell it the same way you spell the insect, but here a ―bee‖ is a gathering of people. According to one theory, it comes from an Old English word, ―bea‖, meaning ―prayer‖.
Speak up. São Paulo: Editora Peixes, n. 276, ano XXIII, 2010, p. 22 (Adapted).
Read the following affirmatives:
I. “Webster‟s „spelling books‟” are books that you can access on the Internet to help you with the spelling of words.
II. The spelling of the word “colour” ∈British English is correct while the spelling of the word “color” ∈American English is wrong.
III. The word “bea” means, at the same time, a four winged insect that produces honey, and a special kind of spelling competition.
IV. Italian and Spanish words are relatively easy to spell because these languages are phonetic while English is not.
Considering the text, it is CORRECT to state that:
