Question

    When 4-year-old British Prince George started his first day of school in September, 2017, Chinese language was on his course.

And he wasn't alone According to a report in September, about 51 percent of UK parents want their children to learn Chinese, as it's believed to be one of the most useful languages to know.

In fact, the popularity of Chinese drove the UK government to launch the Chinese Excellence Program in September last year. Its goal is to make at least 5, 000 British state middle school students speak Chinese well by 2020.

The language has become the second most spoken foreign language in the US, after only Spanish (西班牙语), with over2. 1 million speakers, according to a survey.

Many US famous people such as Facebook founder(脸书创始人) Mark Zuckerberg and Obama's daughter, Malia Obama, study Chinese as a second language.

So far, 67 countries and regions (地区)have included Chinese in their national course, so why are so many countries crazy about learning Chinese?

One reason could be that as China continues to develop quickly, Chinese is increasingly becoming a useful tool for people's personal and professional growth. “I think everyone believes that China will be the next great superpower(超级大国)... even if it' s not a superpower like America. It still has an important influence in the future,” said Aisling McCaffrey from Canada, who studied at the Renmin University of China, “Learning Chinese is the best way to make sure that you can be part of that growth.”

This opinion was shared by former(前任的) British Prime Minister David Cameron, who urged(呼吁) British students to learn Chinese to “seal(抓住)tomorrows business deals” in 2013.

1.Why do UK parents want their children to learn Chinese?

A.Chinese is on the course.

B.Princess George starts to learn Chinese.

C.The UK government sets up the program.

D.Chinese is one of the most useful languages.

2.What does the underlined word “launch” mean in Chinese?

A.成立 B.制造 C.设置 D.兴建

3._______ asked British students to learn Chinese.

A.Malia Obama B.David Cameron C.Prince George D.Mark Zuckerberg

4.Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?

A.Aisling McCaffery is from Canada.

B.Learning Chinese is the best way to be famous.

C.There are more than 2.1 million Chinese speakers in the US.

D.67 countries and regions have included Chinese in their national course.

5.What's the best title of the passage?

A.The ways to learn Chinese well

B.The increasing number in learning Chinese

C.Why learning Chinese has risen around the world

D.The relationship between language and development

Answer

1.D

2.A

3.B

4.B

5.C

【解析】

这是一篇新闻报道类阅读，主要介绍英国并不是唯一对汉语感兴趣与日俱增的国家。今年，汉语已成为美国第二大外语，到目前为止，已有67个国家和地区将汉语纳入国家课程，这么多国家热衷学习汉语的一个原因可能是，随着中国的持续快速发展，汉语正日益成为人们个人和职业发展的有用工具。

1.细节理解题。根据第三段“In fact, the popularity of Chinese drove the UK government to launch the Chinese Excellence Program in September last year.”随着汉语的流行，英国政府于去年9月启动了汉语卓越计划。可知，英国启动汉语卓越计划是因为汉语在英国很流行。故选D。

2.词句猜测题，Launch后“the Chinese Excellence Program”是英国的一个学习项目，launch在这里应该开始，或者成立的意思。故选A。

3.细节理解题，根据文中“This opinion was shared by former(前任的) British Prime Minister David Cameron, who urged(呼吁) British students to learn Chinese”可知是David Cameron呼吁学生学汉语。故选B。

4.推理判断题，根据“It still has an important influence in the future,” said Aisling McCaffrey from Canada,”可知A正确。根据“, with over2. 1 million speakers, according to a survey.”可判断C正确。根据“So far, 67 countries and regions (地区)have included Chinese in their national course”判断D正确。文中介绍学习汉语很流行，并不是说学习汉语是出名的最好方式。B描述错误。故选B。

5.主旨大意题，通读全文，文中介绍了随着中国的发展，越来越多的国家和地区将汉语列到了他们学生的课程里，学习汉语也越来越流行。对比四个选项，选项C Why learning Chinese has risen around the world为什么学汉语在世界各地兴起。更符合主题。故选C。