There are now about 376 million people who speak English as their first language and about the same number who have learnt it in addition to their mother tongue. There are said to be one million people learning English now and about 80% of the information on the Internet is in English.

   Is this a good thing or a bad thing? Should we celebrate the fact that more and more of us can communicate, using a common language, across countries and cultures? Or should we worry about dangers of “non-culturalism”, a world in which we all speak the same language, eat the same food and listen to the same music?

   Does it matter if an increasing number of people speak the same language? Not necessarily, I have never agreed that if only we all understood each other better, there would be fewer wars. Ask the people of India, where many of them speak at least some English, and Pakistan, the same situation with India…

   If we all speak English, will we then all start eating McDonald’s burgers? Surely not. If English becomes more dominant(控制), will it kill other languages? I doubt it. When I travel in Africa or Asia, I am always surprised by how many people can speak not only their own language but often one or more other related languages, as well as English and perhaps more French or German as well.

   When we discussed this on Talking Point a couple of years ago, we received a wonderfully poetic e-mail from a listener in Ireland. “The English language is a beautiful language. Maybe it’s like a rose,” he said. “But who would ever want their garden just full of roses?”

   Well, I love roses and I think they make a beautiful addition to any garden. But the way I see it, just by planting a few roses, you don’t necessarily need to pull out everything else. If more and more people want to plant English roses, that’ll be fine by me.

41. By saying “Ask the people of India… and Pakistan…”(in Paragraph 3), the author is trying to show that______.

A. speaking the same language doesn’t necessarily bring peace

B. wars can destroy the relationship between two countries

C. English doesn’t kill other languages

D. English is widely used in the world

42. What does “rose” in the last paragraph stand for?

A. The world   B. A kind of flower   C. A language   D. The earth

43. This passage is mainly about _____.

A. why English has become a global language

B. how many people in the world speak English

C. how people in the world learn English as a foreign language

D. whether we need to worry about English being a world language

The United States is mainly an English－speaking country. The great number of population(人口) speaks English as their native language. Business, education and most publish aspects(方面) of  life are conducted in English. Across the country, people pronounce English sounds in several  different ways and some regional(地区) differences in word spelling exist, but for the most part,  Americans speak one common language. This language is sometimes called American English.

However, not everyone in the US is a native speaker of English. Most of the persons coming into the country are speakers of other languages. There are hundreds of communities around the US where English is not the most commonly used language. Chinese, Italian, German, American, Greek, Vietnamese and French are all spoken in a great number of communities in the United States. Spanish is the second most commonly spoken language after English in the US. It is widely spoken in New York and across the southern part of the country.

For speakers of other languages, learning English is important, but traditionally(传统上),  teaching people to speak English as a second language was given little attention. Non－English  speakers were expected to “pick up” the language through getting in touch with people in public. Recently, this has changed. Today, most large public schools and community colleges have ESL,  English as a Second Language, programs. American English teachers feel that English students should learn the language the way they will be using it. Therefore, ESL programs teach different English lessons to different students.  Some programs teach students to communicate in English in public.

1. What language or languages do people in the United States speak?

A. English.

B. American English.

C. English and Spanish.

D. English and lots of other languages

2. ESL stands for ________.

A. English as a Special Language        

B. English as a Spoken Language

C. English and Spanish Languages        

D. English as a Second Language

3. Where is Spanish spoken in the United States?

A. In most part of New York and the southern states.

B. In New York and all the southern states.

C. In New York and across the southern part of the country.

D. In New York and many southern states.

4. “Non－English speakers were expected to ‘pick up’  the language through listening to and talking with people in public.” Here “pick up” means “________”．

A. master(without difficulty)    

B. do one's best to study

C. learn(without taking lessons)  

D. know only a little about

5. “American English teachers feel that English students should learn the language the way they will be using it.” Here “English students” means “________”．

A. the students who are English        

B. the students who know nothing about English

C. the students who wish to learn English

D. the students who come to the US from some other countries