In other words, language is not necessarily the private property of those who use it. It is unreasonable to regard any language as the possession of a particular nation, and with no language is it more unreasonable than with English. This is not to say that English is used by a greater number of speakers than any other language, for it is easily outnumbered in this respect by Chinese. But it is the most international of languages. A Dane and a Dutch person meeting in Rome will almost automatically find themselves speaking to each other in English. The pilots of a Russian plane approaching Cairo will use English to ask for landing instructions. Malaysian lecturers use English when addressing their Malaysian students in Kuala Lumpur. To people in Africa, Asia, and South America, English is an important foreign language to master, not merely because it is the language of Britain or the United States, but because it provides ready access to world scholarship and world trade, it is understood more widely than any other language.

　　  1. People prefer to speak their own mother tongue or dialect in order to——.

　　　　   A. make it difficult for others to understand their talk

　　　　   B. show off their ability to use different linguistic systems

　　　　   C. show that they are of the same nation or race

　　　　   D. practice as much as possible

　　  2. It was suggested that Americans speak Hebrew or Greek when the nation had just won independence. This was——cause.

　　　　　　 A. these two languages were thought to be more useful

　　　　　　 B. Britain didn't permit Americans to continue to use English

　　　　　　 C. English was not widely used then

　　　　　　 D. some Americans hoped to show their political independence by speaking a language other than English.

      3. Which of the following is true?

　　　　　　 A. Chinese has the largest number of native speakers.

　　　　　　 B. Chinese is the most widely-used language.

　　　　　　 C. English is spoken in a few countries.

　　　　　　 D. English belongs to a particular country.

　　  4. The word "address" in the second paragraph means——here.

　　　　　　 A. to write to　　　　　　  B. to blame

　　　　　　 C. to deal with　　　　　　 D. to speak to

The desire to use language as a sign of national identity (“If B, then A”) is a very natural one, and as a result language has played a large part in national movements. People have often felt the need to use their own language to show that they are different from others. This was true when the United States split off from Britain. At that time some patriots even suggested that the Americans should adopt Hebrew or Greek! In the end, as everyone knows, the two countries adopted the practical solution of carrying on with the same language they had used before. For 200 years Britain and the United States have shown the world that political independence and national identity can be complete without losing all the mutual advantages of a common language.

In other words, language is not necessarily the private property of those who use it. It is unreasonable to regard any language as the possession of a particular nation, and with no language is it more unreasonable than with English. This is not to say that English is used by a greater number of speakers than any other language, for it is easily outnumbered in this respect by Chinese. But it is the most international of languages. A Dane and a Dutch person meeting in Rome will almost automatically find themselves speaking to each other in English. The pilots of a Russian plane approaching Cairo will use English to ask for landing instructions. Malaysian lecturers use English when addressing their Malaysian students in Kuala Lumpur. To people in Africa, Asia, and South America, English is an important foreign language to master, not merely because it is the language of Britain or the United States, but because it provides ready access to world scholarship and world trade, it is understood more widely than any other language.

　　  1. People prefer to speak their own mother tongue or dialect in order to——.

　　　　   A. make it difficult for others to understand their talk

　　　　   B. show off their ability to use different linguistic systems

　　　　   C. show that they are of the same nation or race

　　　　   D. practice as much as possible

　　  2. It was suggested that Americans speak Hebrew or Greek when the nation had just won independence. This was——cause.

　　　　　　 A. these two languages were thought to be more useful

　　　　　　 B. Britain didn't permit Americans to continue to use English

　　　　　　 C. English was not widely used then

　　　　　　 D. some Americans hoped to show their political independence by speaking a language other than English.

      3. Which of the following is true?

　　　　　　 A. Chinese has the largest number of native speakers.

　　　　　　 B. Chinese is the most widely-used language.

　　　　　　 C. English is spoken in a few countries.

　　　　　　 D. English belongs to a particular country.

　　  4. The word "address" in the second paragraph means——here.

　　　　　　 A. to write to　　　　　　  B. to blame

　　　　　　 C. to deal with　　　　　　 D. to speak to