English is a language_________ all around the world and is the ________ language of most international organizations.

A. to speak, working　　　　

B. spoken, working

C. speaking, worked　　　　　

D. spoken, worked

England has been the birthplace of most of the great English-language theater written throughout history. Most of the plays in England that are truly famous have something in common. They usually come from a playwright(剧作家) with several famous plays.
Shakespeare
William Shakespeare is considered the most famous British playwright. Shakespeare has a large catalog(目录) of tragedies, comedies and history plays, and each category is home to some of the most famous plays ever written. Hamlet, Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, Othello and Julius Caesar are all tragedies and performed in theaters around the world every year. Famous comedies include A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Much Ado About Nothing. In the history category, Richard Ⅲ and Henry Ⅴ are very famous.
Oscar Wilde and George Bernard Shaw
Several hundred years after Shakespeare, English people began to enjoy the works of Oscar Wilde and George Bernard Shaw. Wilde’s plays are still popular now, and The Importance of Being Earnest is both performed and studied extremely frequently. A Woman of No Importance and An Ideal Husband are among his other famous works. Shaw and Wilde were born within a few years of each other, but Shaw was a much more productive writer. His most famous plays include Pygmalion and Candida. Shaw’s plays are loved so much that an entire theater company is devoted to performing his work in Niagara-on-the-Lake in southern Ontario.
Harold Pinter
The plays of Harold Pinter certainly have an international presence. His writing was so widely recognized for its importance that he was awarded the Nobel Prize in literature in 2005. Pinter is especially known for his style of writing. Many of his plays such as Betrayal, The Dumb Waiter and his first play, The Room, are extremely well known.
【小题1】The writer wrote this passage to       .

England has been the birthplace of most of the great English-language theater written throughout history. Most of the plays in England that are truly famous have something in common. They usually come from a playwright(剧作家) with several famous plays.

Shakespeare

William Shakespeare is considered the most famous British playwright. Shakespeare has a large catalog(目录) of tragedies, comedies and history plays, and each category is home to some of the most famous plays ever written. Hamlet, Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, Othello and Julius Caesar are all tragedies and performed in theaters around the world every year. Famous comedies include A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Much Ado About Nothing. In the history category, Richard Ⅲ and Henry Ⅴ are very famous.

Oscar Wilde and George Bernard Shaw

Several hundred years after Shakespeare, English people began to enjoy the works of Oscar Wilde and George Bernard Shaw. Wilde’s plays are still popular now, and The Importance of Being Earnest is both performed and studied extremely frequently. A Woman of No Importance and An Ideal Husband are among his other famous works. Shaw and Wilde were born within a few years of each other, but Shaw was a much more productive writer. His most famous plays include Pygmalion and Candida. Shaw’s plays are loved so much that an entire theater company is devoted to performing his work in Niagara-on-the-Lake in southern Ontario.

Harold Pinter

The plays of Harold Pinter certainly have an international presence. His writing was so widely recognized for its importance that he was awarded the Nobel Prize in literature in 2005. Pinter is especially known for his style of writing. Many of his plays such as Betrayal, The Dumb Waiter and his first play, The Room, are extremely well known.

1.The writer wrote this passage to       .

A．advise us to spend more time enjoying plays

B．explain why England has so many wonderful plays

C．tell us about some famous British playwrights and their works

D．tell us the differences among some British playwrights

2.What do the works in the underlined part in Paragraph 2 have in common?

A．They are all Shakespeare’s early works.

B．They are all tragedies written by Shakespeare.

C．They are all Shakespeare’s famous comedies.

D．They all belong to the history category of Shakespeare’s plays.

3.Which of the following plays were most probably written in the same period of time?

A．The Dumb Waiter and A Woman of No Importance.

B．Richard Ⅲ and A Woman of No Importance.

C．An Ideal Husband and Candida.

D．Candida and Betrayal.

4.Who was mentioned in this passage that he had received the Nobel Prize because of his writing?

A．William Shakespeare.                    B．Oscar Wilde.

C．George Bernard Shaw.                    D．Harold Pinter.

England has been the birthplace of most of the great English-language theater written throughout history. Most of the plays in England that are truly famous have something in common. They usually come from a playwright(剧作家) with several famous plays.

Shakespeare

William Shakespeare is considered the most famous British playwright. Shakespeare has a large catalog(目录) of tragedies, comedies and history plays, and each category is home to some of the most famous plays ever written. Hamlet, Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, Othello and Julius Caesar are all tragedies and performed in theaters around the world every year. Famous comedies include A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Much Ado About Nothing. In the history category, Richard Ⅲ and Henry Ⅴ are very famous.

Oscar Wilde and George Bernard Shaw

Several hundred years after Shakespeare, English people began to enjoy the works of Oscar Wilde and George Bernard Shaw. Wilde’s plays are still popular now, and The Importance of Being Earnest is both performed and studied extremely frequently. A Woman of No Importance and An Ideal Husband are among his other famous works. Shaw and Wilde were born within a few years of each other, but Shaw was a much more productive writer. His most famous plays include Pygmalion and Candida. Shaw’s plays are loved so much that an entire theater company is devoted to performing his work in Niagara-on-the-Lake in southern Ontario.

Harold Pinter

The plays of Harold Pinter certainly have an international presence. His writing was so widely recognized for its importance that he was awarded the Nobel Prize in literature in 2005. Pinter is especially known for his style of writing. Many of his plays such as Betrayal, The Dumb Waiter and his first play, The Room, are extremely well known.

60.The writer wrote this passage to        .

  A. advise us to spend more time enjoying plays

  B. explain why England has so many wonderful plays

  C. tell us about some famous British playwrights and their works

  D. tell us the differences among some British playwrights

61.What do the works in the underlined part in Paragraph 2 have in common?

  A. They are all Shakespeare’s early works.

  B. They are all tragedies written by Shakespeare.

  C. They are all Shakespeare’s famous comedies.

  D. They all belong to the history category of Shakespeare’s plays.

62.Which of the following plays were most probably written in the same period of time?

  A. The Dumb Waiter and A Woman of No Importance.

  B. Richard Ⅲ and A Woman of No Importance.

  C. An Ideal Husband and Candida.

  D. Candida and Betrayal.

63.Who was mentioned in this passage that he had received the Nobel Prize because of his writing?

  A. William Shakespeare.               B. Oscar Wilde.

  C.George Bernard Shaw.            D. Harold Pinter.

English is spoken as a first language by most people in the USA, Britain, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland and Canada. However, English is spoken all over the world. It is the main language in over 60 countries, such as India, Singapore and in many of the Caribbean and Pacific islands. In those places English is often a second language.
English is also as an important international language in many other countries, like China and Japan. People in these countries use it for business, and travelers to these countries use English when they get there. Other people may learn English because they enjoy reading books in English, listening to British or American music or watching American films.
English has changed a lot these years and still goes on changing. It is no longer right to talk about British English or American English if the speaker doesn’t come from those countries. People in Japan or Korea, for example, may use the American spelling but may not sound like Americans.
English will be the most widely used language in the world in the 21^st century. This language no longer belongs to British, American or Australian speakers. It belongs to anyone who can use this language. After you leave school, you will almost certainly need it.
【小题1】In how many countries is English spoken as a first language in the world?