Suppose you work in a big firm and find English very important for your job because you often deal with foreign businessmen. Now you are looking for a place where you can improve your English, especially your spoken English.
Here are some advertisements about English language training from newspaper. You may find the information you need.
Global English Center
﹡General English in all four skills: listening, speaking, reading, and writing.
﹡3-month (700 yuan), 6-month (1,200 yuan) and one-year (2,000 yuan) courses.
﹡Choices of morning or evening classes, 3 hours per day, Mon－Fri.
﹡Experienced college English teachers.
﹡Close to city center and bus stops.
Tel: 67705272            Add: 105 Ahongshan Road, 100082
Modern Language School
﹡Special courses in English for business, travel, banking, hotel management and office skills.
﹡Small classes(12-16 students) on Sat. &Sun. from 2:00－5:00 p.m.
﹡Native English teachers from Canada and the USA.
﹡Language lab and computers supplied.
﹡3-month course: 1,050 yuan; 6-month course: 1,850 yuan.
Write or phone: Modern Language School, 675 Park Road. 100056
Tel: 67353019
The 21st Century English Training Centre
﹡We specialize in effective teaching at all levels.
﹡We offer morning or afternoon class, both three months and a half at a cost of 800 yuan.
﹡We also have a six-week TOEFL preparation class during winter and summer holidays.
﹡Entrance exams: June. 1 and Dec. 1
﹡Only 15-minute walk from city centre.
Call 67801642 for more information
The International House of English
﹡Three/Six- month English courses for students of all levels at a very low cost: 60 yuan for 12 hours per week: convenient class hours: 9:00－12:00 a.m. and 2:00－5:00 p.m.
﹡A 4-month evening programme specially for developing speaking skills (same cost as day classes).
﹡Free sightseeing and social activities
﹡Very close to the Central Park. For further information call 67432308
67. You work from 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. every day. Which school will you choose?
A. Global English Center and Modern Language School.
B. Global English Center and the International House.
C. Modern Language School and the 21st Century.
D. The 21st Century and the International House.
68. The 21st Century is different from the other three schools in that______.
A. its teaching quality is better         B. it is nearest to the city centre
C. its courses are more advanced       D. it requires an entrance examination
69. You will probably prefer to go to the International House because it _________.
A. offers free sightseeing and social activities  B. has a special course in spoken English
C. costs less than the other schools          D. has native English teachers
70. If you take the evening programme at the International House, you will pay about _______.
A. 60 yuan     B. 240 yuan     C. 720 yuan     D. 960 yuan

With the growth of the European Union and increased globalisation, English is increasingly the lingua franc a（通用语） in European businesses, and those who speak it have become the elite （精英）of the workforce．

In the past, only a few specialists in a company were needed to communicate with foreign businesses．However, in these days of multinational companies, where workers are required to communicate with other employees from several countries, a common language is essential and English has become the logical choice．

Nowadays, even blue-collar workers in many companies are required to speak English．For example, just over three years ago, a Dutch company．United Pan-European Communications （UPC）, was contracted to build a TV studio in Amsterdam．The job involved many electricians—more than the company could find in the Netherlands．There were plenty of qualified electricians in nearby France and Belgium, but the American and Dutch executives of UPC wanted everyone on the job to speak and understand the same language．So, the UPC hired British electricians and flew them to Amsterdam every Monday, accommodating them in hotels all over the city, and flying them home on Friday evenings．

Increasingly, workers who can speak English earn salaries 25-35% higher than those who can' t．They are also eligible （有条件被选中的） for a wider range of high-level jobs．

The problem is that, while the ability to speak English is fast becoming essential for getting a good job, there is a shortage of people who can speak it．According to a recent European Commission report, only about 41% of continental Europeans can speak English, and only 29% speak it well enough to carry on a conversation．Many companies are solving this problem by setting up English language schools within the workplace．English language schools all over Europe are expanding at a huge rate, and governments are looking at ways to improve English tuition in schools．

One result of this modem urge to learn English is that a generation gap is appearing． According to a European Union study, 67% of Europeans between 15 and 24 say they can speak English while only 18% of those over 55 say they can．Increasingly, all over Europe, it is the children who are leading the parents．

1.In European companies, workers who speak English ________．

2.Why did the UPC hire the British electricians?

3.What can you learn from the passage about European people?

Not many years ago, a wealthy and rather strange old man named Johnson lived alone in a village in the south of England. He had made a lot of money in trading with foreign countries. When he was seventy-five, he gave 12,000 to the village school to buy land and equipment for a children’s playground.

    As a result of his kindness many people came to visit him. Among them was a newspaperman. During their talk，Johnson said that he was seventy-five and expected to live to be a hundred. The newspaperman asked him how he managed to be healthy at seventy—five. Johnson had a sense of humor. He liked whisky and drank some each day. “I have an injection(注射)in my neck each evening.” he told the newspaperman, thinking of his evening glass of whisky. The newspaperman did not understand what Johnson meant. In his newspaper he reported that Johnson was seventy-five and had a daily injection in his neck. Within a week Johnson received thousands of letters from all over Britain asking him for the secret of his daily injection.    

1.Johnson became a rich man through _________.    

A.  doing business.     B.  making whisky.    

C.  cheating.           D.  buying and selling land.    

2.The gift of money to the school suggests that Johnson __________.    

A. had no children.             B. was a strange man.    

C. was very fond of children.   D. wanted people to know how rich he was.    

3.Many people wrote to Johnson to find out  __________.    

A. what kind of whisky he had.     B. how to live longer.    

C. how to become wealthy.        D. in which part of the neck to have an injection.    

4.The newspaperman ____________.    

A. should have reported what Johnson had told him.    

B. shouldn‘t have asked Johnson what injection he had.    

C. was eager to live a long life.    

D. should have found out what Johnson really meant.    

5.When Johnson said he had an injection in his neck each evening he really meant that ______.    

A. he liked drinking a glass of whisky in the evening    

B. he needed an injection in the neck.    

C. a daily injection in the evening would make him sleep well.    

D. there was something wrong with his neck

New technology links the world as never before. Our planet has shrunk（收缩）. It’s now a “global village” where countries are only seconds away by fax or phone or satellite link. And, of course, our ability to benefit from this high-tech communication’s equipment is greatly enhanced by foreign language skills.

    Deeply involved with this new technology is a breed of modern businesspeople who have a growing respect for the economic value of doing business abroad. In modern markets, success overseas often helps support domestic(国内的) business efforts.

    Overseas assignments are becoming increasingly important to advancement within executive(行政的) ranks. The executive stationed in another country no longer need fear being “out of sight and out of mind.” He or she can be sure that the overseas effort is central to the company’s plan for success, and that promotions often follow or accompany an assignment abroad. If an employee can succeed in a difficult assignment overseas, superior will have greater confidence in his or her ability to cope back in the United States where cross-cultural considerations and foreign language issues are becoming more and more common.

    Thanks to a variety of relatively inexpensive communications devices with business applications, even small businesses in the United States are able to get into international markets.

    English is still the international language of business. But there is an ever-growing need for people who can speak another language. A second language isn’t generally required to get a job in business, but having language skills gives a candidate(候选人) the edge when other qualifications appear to be equal.

The employee posted abroad who speaks the country’s principal language has an opportunity to fast-forward certain negotiations, and can have the cultural insight to know when it is better to move more slowly. The employee at the home office who can communicate well with foreign clients(客户) over the telephone or by fax machine is an obvious asset to the firm.

What is the author’s attitude toward high-tech communications equipment?

A. Critical.                   B. Indifferent.               C. Negative.                 D. Positive.

With the increased use of high-tech communications equipment, business people_________.

A. have to get familiar with modern technology

B. are gaining more economic benefits from domestic operations

C. are placing more importance on their overseas business

D. are eager to work overseas

In this passage, “out of sight and out of mind” (Para. 3) probably means _________.

A. being unable to think properly for lack of insight

B. being totally out of touch with business at home

C. missing opportunities for promotion when abroad

D. leaving all care and worry behind

According to the passage, what is an important consideration of international corporations in employing people today?

A. Connections with businesses overseas.     B. Ability to speak the client’s language.

C. Technical know-how.                             D. Business experience.

New technology links the world as never before. Our planet has shrunk（收缩）. It’s now a “global village” where countries are only seconds away by fax or phone or satellite link. And, of course, our ability to benefit from this high-tech communication’s equipment is greatly enhanced by foreign language skills.
Deeply involved with this new technology is a breed of modern businesspeople who have a growing respect for the economic value of doing business abroad. In modern markets, success overseas often helps support domestic(国内的) business efforts.
Overseas assignments are becoming increasingly important to advancement within executive(行政的) ranks. The executive stationed in another country no longer need fear being “out of sight and out of mind.” He or she can be sure that the overseas effort is central to the company’s plan for success, and that promotions often follow or accompany an assignment abroad. If an employee can succeed in a difficult assignment overseas, superior will have greater confidence in his or her ability to cope back in the United States where cross-cultural considerations and foreign language issues are becoming more and more common.
Thanks to a variety of relatively inexpensive communications devices with business applications, even small businesses in the United States are able to get into international markets.
English is still the international language of business. But there is an ever-growing need for people who can speak another language. A second language isn’t generally required to get a job in business, but having language skills gives a candidate(候选人) the edge when other qualifications appear to be equal.
The employee posted abroad who speaks the country’s principal language has an opportunity to fast-forward certain negotiations, and can have the cultural insight to know when it is better to move more slowly. The employee at the home office who can communicate well with foreign clients(客户) over the telephone or by fax machine is an obvious asset to the firm.
65. What is the author’s attitude toward high-tech communications equipment?
A. Critical.                   B. Indifferent.               C. Negative.                 D. Positive.
66. With the increased use of high-tech communications equipment, business people_________.
A. have to get familiar with modern technology
B. are gaining more economic benefits from domestic operations
C. are placing more importance on their overseas business
D. are eager to work overseas
67. In this passage, “out of sight and out of mind” (Para. 3) probably means _________.
A. being unable to think properly for lack of insight
B. being totally out of touch with business at home
C. missing opportunities for promotion when abroad
D. leaving all care and worry behind
68. According to the passage, what is an important consideration of international corporations in employing people today?
A. Connections with businesses overseas.     B. Ability to speak the client’s language.
C. Technical know-how.                                   D. Business experience.