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

请以Easy to Begin and Hard to Stop 为题，根据表中所提供的信息，写成英语书面文章。字数120-150左右。

注意：语句连贯、通顺，力求用课文中地道的表达，避免逐词逐句死译。

请以“I have a dream”为题，根据以下提示用英语写一篇120词左右的短文。

1. 你的梦想是什么；2. 为什么这个梦想很重要；3. 你将如何实现它。

注意：标题已给出，不计入总词数。

I have a dream

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

对于中学生上网人们有不同的看法。请你以Going Online 为题，根据下表所提供的信息，谈谈自已的看法（120词左右）。

                  Going online

Recently going online has become more and more  popular with middle school students.