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

听下面5段对话或独白。每段对话或独白后有几个小题，从题中所给的A、B、C三个选项中选出最佳选项，并标在试卷的相应位置。听每段对话或独白前，你将有时间阅读各个小题，每小题5秒钟;听完后，各小题将给出5秒钟的作答时间。每段对话或独白读两遍。

听第1段材料，回答第1和第2题。

1. What do the two speakers both want to do in the coming new year?

   A. To save some money.   苑B. To work harder.        C. To lose weight.

2. What did Henry do last year?

   A. He joined a health club.  B. He stopped smoking.   C. He got a good job.

听第2段材料，回答第3至第5题。

3. Why did the man talk to the woman?

A. He wanted to buy a house. B. He wanted to get a job. C. He wanted to rent a flat.

4. What is the flat the man is interested in?

A. It has a bathroom and one bedroom.  

B. It has two bedrooms and a sitting room.

C. It has a kitchen but it hasn't a bathroom.

5. How much will the man pay for the biggest one each year?

A. 3,600 dollars.           B. 2,400 dollars.       C. 3,000 dollars.

听第3段材料，回答第6至第8题。

6. Where are they planning to go in the morning?

A. To a park.            B. To an art museum.         C. To a shopping center.

7. Why does the man want to visit the zoo in the afternoon?

A. The zoo will be closed the rest of the week.

B. The zoo is free to visitors that day only.

C. There are unusual animals on display.

8. Why does the woman want to go shopping instead?

A. She wants to buy souvenirs of their visit.

B. She saw some nice clothes at a shopping center.

C. She wants to buy a gift for her friend.

听第4段材料，回答第9至第11题。

9. Where does the dialogue take place?

A. At the airport.         B. In a railway英才苑station.     C. In a restaurant.

10. What's the woman's baggage number?

A. 703-9962.           B. 703-9926.               C. 703-1926.

11. What time might it probably be when the dialogue took place?

A. In the morning.         B. At noon.                    C. In the afternoon.

听第5段材料，回答第12至第15题。

12. How did the speaker's friends feel about his change of interest?

A. They were very glad about it.

B. They were afraid he wasn't fully prepared.

C. They were puzzled by his decision.

13. Why did the speaker change his interest to underwater exploration?

A. It is much cheaper than space travel.

B. It is much safer than space travel.

C. It is more exciting than space travel.

14. In what way does the speaker think diving is similar to space travel?

A. They both attract scientists' attention.

B. They are both expensive.

C. They can both be quite challenging.

15. Why does the speaker give this talk?

A. To explain the danger of exploring space.

B. To explain why he took up underwater exploration.

C. To show how simple diving can be