English is an important language in the world. More than 400 million people speak English as their mother tongue. Another 400 million speak it as a second language. No one knows how many people speak it as a foreign language. Chinese is the language with more speakers than English, but it is only the language for more than one billion Chinese people. English is the official language on 20% of the land area in the world. It is spoken in North America, Great Britain, Australia, and New Zealand. In South Africa and India, it is one of the official languages. In many countries, the textbooks in universities are written in English. More than 75% of the world’s mail is composed in English. More than 60% of the radio stations broadcast programs in English. English is the language of international communication.
1. We know exactly how many people speak English as a foreign language.
2. English is not spoken in North America, Great Britain, Australia, and New Zealand.
3. People in South Africa and India never speak English as the official language.
4. More than half of the radio stations broadcast programs in English.
Read the passage again and choose the best answer.
5. The passage is about..................
A. English Language is only a second language in the world
B. English is the official language in the world
C. Hundreds of books are written in English everyday .
D. The importance of the English Language in the world today
6. The word “mother tongue” in line 1 means:
A. body language B. first language
C. native language D. foreign language
True or False
Today,when English is one of the major languages in the world, it requires an effort of the imagination to realize that this is relatively recent thing-that in Shakespeare's time,for example,only a few million people spoke,and the language was not thought to be very important by the other nations of Europe,and was unknown to the rest of the world.
English has become a world language because of its establishment as a mother tongue outside England,in all the continents of the world. This exporting of English began in the seventeenth century,with the first settlements in the United States,assisted by massive immigration in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries,that has given the English language its present standing in the world.
1. English was spoken by a few million people in Shakespeare's time.......
2. It is considered as a mother language outside England.......
3. English was spoken in North America in the seventeenth century.........
4. Most of the immigration in the USA do not speak English.............
Cloze tests
A. Complete the passage with the words in the box
Great words of vocabulary Write between spelling say |
The differences (1) ............ American English and British English are not as (2)........... as the differences in Chinese dialects. Two (3).......... the differences between American English and British English are (4).......... and spelling. In American English we (5)........ elevator, truck, and apartment. The British say lift, lorry and flat. Another difference is (6).......... . In American English we (7)......... honor, meter, and realize. In British English, these (8)......... are honour, metre, and realise
B. Read the passage and choose the best answers
In other words, language is not necessarily the private property of those (1)........ use it, just as French is not the private property of (2)........ , nor English of Englishmen. English is spoken as a first (3).......... in the United States, in Australia, in New Zealand, in most of Canada, in certain nations of Africa, and in other areas of the (4)...... . It is unreasonable to regard any language as the (5)......... of a particular nation, and with no language is more unreasonable (6)......... with English. This is not to say that English is used by a greater number of (7)....... than any other language, for it is easily outnumnered in this respect by Chinese. But it is the most (8)......... of lamguages
1. A. Which B. Who C. Whom D. Whosr
2. A. Americans B. Dutchmen C. Englishmen D. Frenchmen
3. A. Language B. Luggage C. Baggage D. Country
4. A.Worth B. Work C. Word D. World
5. A. Possession B. Possessive C. Importance D. Necessity
6. A. That B. Than C. As D. So
7. A. Speakers B. Speaker C. Writers D. Writer
8. A. National B. International C. Conpulsory D. Official
Fill in each blank with one suitable word
For hundreds of years English was spoken (1)...... by the inhabitants of English. After the discovery of the New World, (2)....... , English gradually (3)...... to North America, to Australia (4)........ Mew Zealand, to Africa and (5)..... of Asia. Today around 230 million people (6)........ English as a first language, and nearly too (7)........ more speak it as a (8)......... or auxiliary language
Language is how to people(14)................ with one another. It is a terrific tool.Language is spoken, but it is also (15).........
down. Sing language used by many people who are(16)................ is the communication with gestures. We do most of our communication (17).......... speaking
English is(18)......... international language in the world, but it is not the world's most(19)....... spoken language.There are more than 1,2 billion people (20).......... Chinese.Arabic is second, and then Hindi, with English in the fourth place.(21)..... languages in the top ten are Spanish, Bengali, Portuguese, Russian, Japanese, and German
14. a.communicate b.instruct c.introduce d.mention
15.complied b.composed c.written d.made
16.Blind b.deaf c.dead d.alive
17.a.on b.of c.about d.by
18.a. most b.the most c.the mostly d.the more
19.a.widened b.width c.wide d.widely
20.a.speak b.speaks c.speaking d.are spoken
21. a. Another b.One another c.Other d.Others
HELP ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!PLSSSSSS
It is not easy for adult students of learning English to improve their pronunciation. Unlike children, adults often find it hard to change the(66) _____________they speak. This is why adults have (67)___________ difficulties in pronunciation than the children. There (68) ______ several things that international students of English can do to (69)____________
Their pronunciation and to learn(70)________________ well. They can join an English pronunciation class or practice speaking __________listening to English(72)__________ speakers as much as possible. Watching TV programs in English is also a good way (73) ________ improving your pronunciation. The best way to improve your(74)__________ is to learn English in an English speaking country (75) _________where you can learn the language as well as its culture.
IV. Read the passage, then decide if the statements that follow it are True or False.
Dear Minh,
I am writing to introduce to you a language school where you can improve your English. Instead of learning English on your own, as you are doing now you should learn to speak English with others. The Academy of Language offers you a good and friendly' environment to practice your English. They also have well-qualified teachers. There are classes at different levels in the afternoon and evening, and courses begin in the first week this November. If you are interested, you can phone 38765432 for further information.
Best of luck!
19. Minh is now learning English with a tutor.
20. The teachers at the Academy of Language are young and inexperienced
21. Learners can take courses in the morning
22. People who want to attend classes there can phone the school to get information
Ex.Complete the second sentences so that it has a similar meaning to the first one.
1. I think my IT skills are not good now because I have forgotten it.
My IT skills are a bit .............................
2. Paul's father is English, and his mother comes from Italy.
I think Paul ............. in English and Italian.
3. Many people now speak English as a second or foreign language.
For many people, English is not ....................
4. When you live in London, you can soon learn how to speak the language.
In London, you can .............. the language.
5. You shouldn't go straight for your dictionary to know the meaning of words.
You should try ................ rather than going straight to your dictionary.
6. If you are VietNamese learning English, you can copy a native English speaker.
If you are VietNamese learning English, you can ...................
7. Whenever you find a new word, try to predict the meaning and then look into the dictionary to know the meaning.
Whenever you find a new word, try to predict the meaning and ....................
8. Many students in my class come from different countries.
I attend a .................
9. I spent only two months learning Korea, but I had little problem with my Korea when I was in Seoul last summer.
Although I spent only two months learning Korea, I could ..............
10. In India with innumerable regional languages in different states, English serve as the common language in the country.
In India, English is regarded as ................