1. The writer tells us a story at the beginning to _______. A. explain why men have been making the effort to create a language shared by all B. explain why men now speak different languages C. show the relationship between man and God D. prove language is very important

3.　　　 The person who told the story is probably a ________

A.　　 teacher

B.　　　 student

C.　　　 businessman

D.　　 doctor

Passage 32　　 One language for everyone

A story from the Bible (圣经) tells of old Babylon, where the men decided to build a tower that would touch the sky. But God was unhappy, and he made them speak different languages. They couldn't understand each other, so their dream never came true. 　 Yet the dream remains alive: if all men speak the same language, they can do anything. L.L. Zamenhof from Poland was among the men who pursue this dream. He developed Esperanto (世界语) between 1877 and 1885. 　 As the most successful man-made world language, it is spoken by over two million people around the world. 　 Last month, the World Esperanto Congress (大会), dealing with language rights, ended in Sweden. The 2004 conference will be held in Beijing. 　 Most Esperanto speakers are in Central and Eastern Europe and in East Asia, particularly Chinese mainland. 　 Esperanto has two advantages (优点). First, it's easy. Each letter has exactly one sound and there are just 16 basic grammar rules. The second advantage is that it belongs to no one country. 　 But Esperanto has only reached a small number of people compared with natural languages widely used around the world - such as English or Chinese. While these languages are deeply connected with their nations and cultures, Esperanto doesn't have this background. 　 Will Esperanto really become a global language? It remains a question.

2.　　　 Why is the age upon us? _______

A.　　 We have a lot of money.

B.　　　 We have a lot of　 factories.

C.　　　 Knowledge is really expanding at an alarming speed.

D.　　 We have already realized how stiff the competition will be.

1.　　　 Which age is upon us? ________

A.　　 The knowledge economy age.

B.　　　 The stone age.

C.　　　 The industry age.

D.　　 The industry age.