摘要: A.细节题.根据 -many things change quickly in the twenty-first century 可推知此题答案为A. (10) Lucky is the man who has no “skeleton in his closet . When a man has done something in his life that he is ashamed of, that he wants to hide, he is said to have a “skeleton in his closet . Some people may have more than one skeleton. As we have noted many times, it is hard to find out how these expressions begin. Sometimes, we get some hard facts. But more often we have to depend on guesswork. And that is true of this phrase, which came from England. Before 1932, English law did not permit a doctor to cut open a dead human body for scientific examination, unless it was the corpse of an executed criminal. But when it became legal, more and more doctors demanded skeletons for a more scientific study of medicine. It was helping in the advance of modern medicine. The demand had become so strong that men began to rob tombs and sell skeletons to doctors at high prices. We are told that a doctor would usually buy just one skeleton for scientific study. It became very important in his work. But he had to keep it hidden because most people objected to keeping such a thing. As a rule, the doctor would keep his skeleton in some dark corner where it could not be seen, or hide it in a closet. After a time, people began to suspect every doctor of hiding a skeleton in the closet. From this suspicion, the phrase “a skeleton in the closet took on a broader, more general meaning to describe anything that a man wanted to keep others from discovering. It could be proof of a criminal act, or something much less serious. Well, that is one theory. One writer, however, believes that the phrase might have come from something that really happened. It is his guess that a hidden closet in some old English country home may have turned up a real skeleton, clear proof of some old family shame or crime. Well, one man’s guess is as good as another. But this sounds like a story by the great French novelist, Balzac. Baizac tells us of a man who suspected his wife of having a lover. The husband comes home by surprise. But she hears him and quickly hides her lover in the closet of her bedroom. He enters her room and asks her if she is hiding her lover. He says he will not open the door to the closet if she promises him there is no one there; He will believe her. She answers firmly that she is not hiding anyone in the closet. The husband then begins to build a solid brick wall against the closet. His wife watches, knowing that her lover will never come out alive. But she will not change her story and admit her guilt.

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The number of speakers of English in Shakespeare’s time is estimated(估计) to have been about five million. Today it is estimated that some 260 million people speak it as a native language, mainly in the United States, Canada, Great Britain, Ireland, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. In addition to the standard varieties of English found in these areas, there are a great many regional and social varieties of the language as well as various levels of usage that are employed both in its spoken and written forms.

In fact, it is impossible to estimate the number of people in the world who have acquired an adequate(足够的) working knowledge of English in addition to their own languages. The purpose for English learning and the situations in which such learning takes place are so varied that it is difficult to explain and still more difficult to judge what forms an adequate working knowledge for each situation.

The main reason for the widespread demand for English is its present-day importance as a world language. Besides serving the indefinite needs of its native speakers, English is a language in which some of important works in science, technology, and other fields are being produced, and not always by native speakers. It is widely used for such purposes as meteorological and airport communications, international conferences, and the spread of information over the radio and television networks of many nations. It is a language of wider communication for a number of developing countries, especially former British colonies. Many of these countries have multilingual populations and need a language for internal communication in such matters as government, commerce, industry, law and education as well as for international communication and for entrance to the scientific and technological developments in the West.

1.What would be the best title for this passage?

A.The Difficulties of Learning English

B.International Communications

C.The Standard Varieties of English

D.English as a World Language

2.Which of the following statements is NOT true?

A.Some 260 million people in the world have an adequate working knowledge of English.

B.There are some 260 million native speakers of English in the world.

C.It is almost impossible to estimate the number of people with an adequate working knowledge of English.

D.People learn English for a variety of reasons.

3.According to the passage, what is the main reason for the widespread use of English?

A.It was popular during Shakespeare’s time.

B.It is used in former British colonies.

C.It serves the needs of its native speakers.

D.It is a world language that is used for international communication.

4.What forms an adequate working knowledge of English?

A.The ability to read a newspaper.

 

B.It is difficult to judge because it differs for each situation.

 

C.Being able to speak several languages.

D.Being a native speaker.

5.What type of developing countries would be most likely to use English?

A.Those geographically close to the United States.

B.Those interested in the culture of the United States.

C.Former colonies of Great Britain.

D.Countries where international conferences are held.

6.C。细节题。根据文章最后一段倒数第2句可推知此题

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