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?

2.Which of the following statements is NOT true?

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

4.What forms an adequate working knowledge of English?

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

6.C。细节题。根据文章最后一段倒数第2句可推知此题

Many people who work in London prefer to live outside it, and to go in to their offices or schools every day by train, car or bus, even though this means they have to get up early in the morning and reach home late in the evening. 

One advantage of living outside London is that houses are cheaper. Even a small flat in London without a garden costs quite a lot to rent. With the same money, one can get a little house in the country with a garden of one’s own. 

Then, in the country one can rest from the noise and hurry of the town. Even though one has to get up earlier and spend more time in trains or buses, one can sleep better at night and during weekends and on summer evenings, one can enjoy the fresh, clean air of the country. If one likes gardens, one can spend one’s free time digging, planting, watering and doing the hundred and one other jobs which are needed in a garden. Then, when the flowers and vegetables come up, one has the reward of one who has shared the secret of Nature. 

Some people, however, take no interest in country things: for them, happiness lies in the town, with its cinemas and theatres, beautiful shops and busy streets, dance-halls and restaurants. Such people would feel that their life was not worth living if they had to live it outside London. An occasional walk in one of the parks and a fortnight’s (two weeks) visit to the sea every summer is all the country they want: the rest they are quite prepared to leave to those who are glad to get away from London every night. 

1.Which of the following statements is NOT true? 

2.One can use the same money for ________ to buy a little house with a garden in the country.

3.When the flowers and vegetables in the garden come up, those _______ have the reward of one who has shared the secret of Nature. 

4.People who think happiness lies in the town would feel that _______ if they had to live it outside London. 

5.The underlined word rest in the last paragraph refers to ________.

6.C。推断题。根据其上文：这些人偶尔去公园散散步后去海边度两周假；本句接着说：其余的就留给那些每天晚上喜欢离开伦敦的人，那么，“其余的”显然指“其余的乡村”。从而可推知题

根据对话情景和内容，从对话后所给的选项中选出能填入每一空白处的最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该选项涂黑。选项中有两个为多余选项。
W:  Hello, Jack. You're getting ready for tomorrow's school, aren't you?
M:  Yes, I'm a bit nervous.   【小题1】_
W:  I understand how you're feeling. You'll make a lot of friends very soon.
M:  Thank you. I'll try my best to get used to my new school life as soon as possible.  【小题2】
W:  At 8 o'clock.   【小题3】_
M:  Say it, please.
W:  Before class we have 10 minutes to hand in homework and then 20 minutes for morning reading.
M:  That's to say, we must get to school at 7:25. Five minutes later we'd hand in homework. Right?
W:  Right.  【小题4】_
M:  Well, I hear that lunch time is nearly 12 o'clock and I'll be starving by then.
W:  Don't worry.  【小题5】
M:  That's great.

阅读下面短文，根据短文意义，按照语法结构和行文逻辑，在空白处填入适当的单词；或根据首字母提示写出该单词。
More and more middle school students in China are getting shorter sleeping time. Most students sleep f【小题1】than nine hours every night, 【小题2】 they have much homework to do. Some homework is 【小题3】by school teachers, and some by parents. Also, some students don’t know 【小题4】to save the time. They are not careful e【小题5】 while doing their homework, so it takes them a lot of time. Some students have to get up early every morning on w 【小题6】to get to school on time by bus or by bike. It can【小题7】a long way from home to school. Teachers and parents should c 【小题8】down some of the homework so that the children can
e 【小题9】nine hours of sleep every night for their 【小题10】.

根据短文内容从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项为多余选项。
W: Hi, John.
M: Hi, Lucy, 【小题1】
W: Yes. I’m required to tell a story in English before the lesson begins.
M: Oh, I see. 【小题2】
W: You’ re right. I need to practice on the stage before they all come.
M:  【小题3】
W: Yes, here, in my pocket… Oops, where is it?
M: Don’t worry.  【小题4】
W: …No, not in the bag, either. I’m afraid I left it at home.
M:  【小题5】
W: Aha! It’s just the key to the classroom! Thank you so much.