I.           Fill in the blank with a suitable word

Students of English all (1) ………….. the world are aware that (2)  ……….. are differences between British and American English. But how large are the differences really ? The varieties of English have historical roots. (3) ………….. pilgrims left England in the seventeenth century, the language has evolved, giving rise to changes (4) ……………..   vocabulary, grammar and spelling. Many of the (5) ……………………..  obvious differences are in the vocabulary used in the two countries. Many of the words that we use today (6)  …………………….. not exist in the seventeenth century. "Pavements" in Britain, and "sidewalks" in the USA, only (7) …………………….. common later, for example.

The two countries (8) …………………….. also borrowed words form different sources: courgettes were imported to Britain from France and zucchini were brought to America BY Italian immigrants.

Printing was a relatively new invention back then and the spelling (9) …………………….. most words had not yet been formalised, which accounts for many of the differences (10)……………………..  spelling.

Approximately 350 million people speak English as their first ___(1)___ . About the same number use it ___(2)___ a second language. It is the language ___(3)___ aviation, international sport and world trade. 75% of the world's mail is in English, 60% of the world's radio stations broadcast in English, and more than half of the world's newspapers are ___(4)___ in English. It is an official language in 44 countries. In ___(5)___ others, it is the language of business, commerce and technology. There are many varieties of English, but Scottish, Australian, Indian and Jamaican speakers of English, in spite of the differences in pronunciation, structure and vocabulary, would recognize that they are all speaking the same basic language.

Ex5. Choose the word or phrase that best fits the gap to complete the passage.

English is (1) ______ language all over the world. Many countries, such as: the USA, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, South Africa use English as the first language, many others use it as the second language. If you speak (2) _____ well, you can talk with many people of different nationalities. Besides, a lot of the magazines and newspapers are published in English.Therefore, if you can read English, you can get useful knowledge of tradition, culture, custom of other countries.

In order to (3) _____ your English, you should make good preparation for the next lesson, and do all the exercises given by the teachers. In class, be ready to answer your (4) ______ and take important notes. You can also enrich your English vocabulary by reading English books, looking up any new words that you come across. Some beginners even write the words many times and try to learn them by heart. Whenever possible, you can speak English to the teachers, to friends or foreigners. Listening to the tapes is a good way to improve your English. And remember that revision is important. You should revise what you have learnt so as to practice the words or sentence structures well. Mastering the four language skills is not easy. An English proverb says: “Everything is difficult before it is easy”. Try your best so that English can become easy for you.

Ex6. Read the passage again and choose the right answer for each question below.

1.  Is listening to the tapes is a good way to learn English?

A.  Yes, he is.  B. No, there isn’t.                    C. Yes, it is.                 D. No, it isn’t.

2.  Name some countries use English as the first language.

A.  England, Russia, China                                         B. Viet Nam, India, Japanese

                C. The USA, Australia, Canada                                 D. England, Laos, France

3.  Why can you get useful knowledge of tradition, culture of other countries if you can read English? A. Because a lot of the magazines and newspapers are published in English.

B.  Because many countries speak English.

C.  Because English is very popular.

D.  Because English is very important.

4.Who can a student speak English to?

A.  He can speak English to his grandparents.

B.  He can speak English to famers.

C.  He can speak English to his English teachers or his friends.

D.  He can speak English to his neighbours.

V. Choose the correct option A, B, C, or D to complete the sentences 

1. The language that you learn to speak from birth _______ language

A. Official    B. first    C. second  D. foreign

2. There are many _____ of English all over the world such as British English, American English, and Indian English

A. Speakers   B. terms    C. dialogues  D. varieties

3. It is not easy to _______ a foreign language without communicating with the native speakers regularly

A. Translate   B. simplify   C. master   D. challenge

In the United States of America, English is(1)...the national language, the language of the (2)... national. Four hundred years ago, some English people (3)... to North America to live(4)... and they (5)... the English language to this new country. After them (6)... people from all the countries of Europe. And they all learned English (7)... they made it a little (8)... from British English. In the USA now people speak American English. Very many words are the(9)... in America and in Btitish English, but the American people do not speak the English language in the same way(10)... people do in England.

Cloze tests

A. Complete the passage with the words in the box

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

An important development of English outside Great Britain occurred ..(1).. the colonization of North American. American English may be considered to ..(2).. the English spoken in Canada, ..(3).. the Canadian variety retains some features of British pronunciation, spelling, and vocabulary. The most distinguishing differences ...(4)... American English and British English are in pronunciation and vocabulary. The slighter ..(5).. in spelling, pitch and stress as well.

...(6).. American English is also has a tendency to be more rigid in matters of grammar and syntax, but at the same ..(7) appears to be more tolerant of the use of neologisms. Despite these differences, it is often difficult to determine - apart from context - ..(8).. serious literary works ..(9).. been written in Great Britain or the U.S/ Canada or , for that matter, in Australia, New Zealand, ..(10).. Afria.

- Please help me :(

The English language is the most widely spoken language in the world. It is used as either first or second language .................... (1) many countries.

During the 16^th century, only about two million people spoke English. All .................... (2) them lived in what is now the United Kingdom. Over the centuries, as a result of various historical events, English has spread throughout .................... (3) world. Today, about 400 million people speak English as their native .................... (4). Most of them live in Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, New Zealand, South Africa, .................... (5) the Unites States.

About 100 million people, chiefly living in Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and in many African .................... (6), speak English in addition to their own language. An additional 200 million people in the world probably know .................... (7) least some English. English is really an international language.

Read the following passage on transport, and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions from 43 to 50.

(1) Over the past 600 years, English has grown from a language of few speakers to become the dominant language of international communication. English as we know it today emerged around 1350, after having incorporated many elements of French that were introduced following the Norman invasion of 1066. Until the 1600s, English was, for the most part, spoken only in England and had not extended even as far as two centuries, English began to spread around the globe as a result of exploration, trade (including slave trade), colonization, and missionary work. Thus, small enclaves of English speakers became established and grew in various parts of the world. As these communities proliferated, English gradually became the primary language of international business, banking and diplomacy.

(2) Currently, about 80 percent of the information stored on computer systems worldwide is English. Two - thirds of the world’s science writing is in English, and English is the main language of technology, advertising, media, international airports, and air traffic controllers - Today there are more than 700 million English users in the world, and over half of these are nonnative speakers, constituting the largest number of nonnative users than any other language in the world.

According to the passage, approximately how many nonnative users of English are there in the world today?

A. a quarter million      

B. half a million         

C. 350 million           

D.700 million