III. Read the following passage and then answer the questions below it.

In the world today there are 5,000 to 6,000 living languages, of which English is the most widely used. As a mother tongue, it ranks second only to Chinese, which is little used outside China.

English is the most international of languages. It is used as the language of aviation, international sport and pop music. Sixty percent of the world’s radio stations broadcast in English, and more than half of the world’s scientific papers are printed in English.

It is true that a great number of people are involved in the use of English. To people in Africa, Asia, and South America, English is an important foreign language to master. In most countries in the world, the English language is used as the language of business, commerce, and technology. English is now an effective medium of international communication. However, it is the written English which is not systematically phonetic, that causes difficulties to non-native speakers.

1. Which language is used as the language of aviation, international sport and pop music?

__________________________________________________

2. Why is English an important foreign language used in many countries?

__________________________________________________

3. What difficulties may learners of English be confronted with? Why?

__________________________________________________

4. Name three countries in which English is spoken as a first language.

__________________________________________________

5. As a mother tongue, why does English rank second only to Chinese?

__________________________________________________

There are least 2,000 different languages in the world. Of all these languages, English is the most (1)........................... used. It is used by business people, airline pilots and sea captains all over the world. It is also the first language (2)............................. sports and science. So it is very (3).................................. to learn English. Chinese is also an important language because it has the (4).............................. numbers of speakers. There are not only one billion people living in China today, but also many Chinese people (5)......................... outside China. Chinese is widely (6)............................. in many parts of Asia and Africa. Russian is spoken in both Europe and Asia. French is widely (7).......................... in Europe and in parts of Canada, Africa and Asia. From more than 2,000 languages, the United Nations has (8)............................ six of them for business. They are Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish.

Read the following passage and then answer the questions below it.

In the world today there are 5,000 to 6,000 living languages, of which English is the most widely used. As a mother tongue, it ranks second only to Chinese, which is little used outside China.

English is the most international of languages. It is used as the language of aviation, international sport and pop music. Sixty percent of the world‟s radio stations broadcast in English, and more than half of the world‟s scientific papers are printed in English.

It is true that a great number of people are involved in the use of English. To people in Africa, Asia, and South America, English is an important foreign language to master. In most countries in the world, the English language is used as the language of business, commerce,

and technology. English is now an effective medium of international communication. However, it is the written English which is not systematically phonetic, that causes difficulties to non-native speakers.

1. Which language is used as the language of aviation, international sport and pop music?

_______________________________________________________________

2. Why is English an important foreign language used in many countries?

_______________________________________________________________

3. What difficulties may learners of English be confronted with? Why?

_______________________________________________________________

4. Name three countries in which English is spoken as a first language.

_______________________________________________________________

5. As a mother tongue, why does English rank second only to Chinese?

_______________________________________________________________

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.............

English is an international language. One thousand million people speak English in the world. It is the first language of 400 million people. It is the second language of about 600 million people. Four fifths of the world's computers use program in English. Three quarters of all international correspondendce is in English. Does English have the most speakers? No, it doesn't surprisingly. Twice as many people speak Chinese as their first language

1)How many people speak English in the world?

2) Is it the first language of 400 million people?

3) Does English have the most speakers?

4) Which language has the most speakers?

Read the text and choose the answer A, B, C or D according to the text.

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 1030. Until the 1600s, English was, for the most part, spoken only in England and had not attended even as far as Wales, Scotland, or Ireland. However, during the course of the next 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. Currently, about 80 percent of the information stored on computer systems Worldwide is in 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 non-native speakers, constituting the largest number of non-native users than any other language in the world.

The word “proliferated” in the passage is closest in meaning to which of the following?

A. prospered

B. organized

C. disbanded

D. expanded

Read the text and choose the answer A, B, C or D according to the text.

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 1030. Until the 1600s, English was, for the most part, spoken only in England and had not attended even as far as Wales, Scotland, or Ireland. However, during the course of the next 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. Currently, about 80 percent of the information stored on computer systems Worldwide is in 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 non-native speakers, constituting the largest number of non-native users than any other language in the world.

The word “proliferated” in the passage is closest in meaning to which of the following?

A. prospered

B. organized

C. disbanded

D. expanded

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.

The word “proliferated” in paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to which of the following?

A. prospered        

B. organized         

C. disbanded        

D. expanded

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.

The word “stored” in paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to which of the following?

A. bought   

B. saved      

C. spent      

D. valued