Question

Every day, 340 million people speak it. One billion people are learning it and it is said that by 2050, half of the world’s population will be using it. What are we talking about? That is the global language—English.

The English language started in Britain in the 5th century. It is a mixed language. It was built up when German. Scandinavian and French invaders settled in England and created a common language for communication.

Today it is the official language of the UK, the USA, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, South Africa and Ireland as well as many islands in the Caribbean. Many other countries and regions use it for politics and business, for example, India. Pakistan, Nigeria and the Philippines. English is also one of the official languages of Hong Kong.

But global advertising and pop music mean that in most countries, you will see or hear some English. Thanks to McDonalds, we all know about “burgers”. “fries” and “milkshakes”. Songs by Madonna, Britney Spears and Celine Dion are in English. We can sing along, even if we do not understand what we are singing!

English is a messy (杂乱的) language. Every year, dictionaries include new words that talk about popular culture, for example, computer-related words such as "blogging", "download" and "chartroom". Also included are words that teenagers use. Who does not know “cool”, “OK” and “hello”? Other languages also influence English. Many English words come from French. Words like “café” and expressions like “c'est la vie” (that is life) are all part of the English language. On the other hand, the French language includes English words like "le weekend" and "le camping". German words are also part of English. Words like "kindergarten" come from the German language.

Recently, British people have become interested in “yoga”. But the word comes from an ancient Hindu language in India.

1.The English language has a history of ______.

A. over 2000 years            B. over 1500 years

C. over 500 years            D. over 1000 years

2.The underlined expression “thanks to” can be replaced by ______.

A. as usual       B. in order to

C. because of     D. as if.

3. Which of the following statements is true about the language of English?

A. It has borrowed words from all the other languages.

B. It has been changing all the time.

C. French words are used by the English because dictionaries have French words.

D. Singers and film stars have the greatest influence on language.

4.How many people in the world are using English now?

A. One billion people.

B. not mentioned above, but the number is growing rapidly.

C. almost all the people in the world.

D. 340 million.

5.Many countries and regions use it for politics and business except______.

A. Norway             B. Nigeria

C. the Philippines     D. the USA

Answer

1.B

2.C

3.B

4.D

5.A

【解析】

试题分析：本文讲述英语是一门国际语言，是许多国家的官方语言，但是也受许多其他语言的影响。

1.The English language started in Britain in the 5th century.”因为目前是21世纪初，那么（20－5）×100 = 1500，所以英语应有1500多年历史了。故该题正确答案为B.

2.A. as usual照常；B. in order to为了；C. because of因为；由于；D. as if仿佛；好像，根据该句句子主干：我们都知道汉堡包、炸薯条和奶昔。显然，这是由于/多亏了McDonalds，故该题正确答案为C.

3.all the other languages；选项C.错在其原因表述错误；选项D.错在使用了最高级the greatest.根据文章倒数第二段中“Every year, dictionaries include new words that talk about popular culture, for example, … ”可知，英语一直在变化。故该题正确答案为B.

4.Every day, 340 million people speak it.”可知，目前大约有340 million（3亿4千万）人使用英语。故该题正确答案为D.

5. B. Nigeria尼日利亚C. the Philippines菲律宾D. the USA美国均会在政治和经济方面使用英语，故该题正确答案为A. Norway

考点：社会文化类文章的阅读