Today a quarter of the world’s population use English，and as many as one billion people   1   (learn) it．

    New types of English   2   (be)common wherever English is spoken．Singaporeans speak“Singlish”．For example，to ask，where are you going？They mix English words with Chinese grammar：You go where?

    When you   3   (go)to Egypt，people always say,‘'Welcome in Egypt．”Why do they say this？It’s an example of how English changes over time and from place to place．Using“in”after“welcome”   4   (be)normal in Egypt．

    Languages   5   always_____(change)．A hundred years ago，German   6   (be)the most popular language for science．Scientists   7   (have)to learn German to read the latest information in science books．But by 1950，American inventions and ideas   8   (help)to make English more popular．Some language teachers believe that if China   9   (begin)to develop important technologies，such as new types of computers，then Chinese might become the language that every scientist wants to learn．Already，many business people   10   (learn)Chinese to help them do business in China．

Today a quarter of the world's population use English，and as many as one bill ion people  ___l_  （learn）it．

New types of English   2   （be）common wherever English is spoken．Singaporeans speak “Singlish”．For example，to ask, "Where are you going?”，they mix English words with Chinese grammar：You go where?

When you   3   （go）to Egypt，people always say, “Welcome in Egypt．” Why do they say this? It's an example of how English changes over time and from place to place．Using “in” after “welcome”   4  （be）normal in Egypt．

Languages always   5  （change）．A hundred years ago，German   6  （be）the most popular language for science．Scientists   7  （have）to learn German to read the latest information in science books．But by 1950，American inventions and ideas   8  （help）to make English more popular．Some language teachers believe that if China   9  （begin）to develop important technologies，such as new types of computers，then Chinese might become the language that every scientist wants to learn．Already，many business people  10  （learn）Chinese to help them do business in China．

Although English is not as old as Chinese, it is spoken by many people around the world every day. English speakers are always making up new words, and we are often able to know where most come from.
Sometimes, however, no one may really know where a word comes from. Did you ever think about why hamburgers are called “hamburgers”, especially when they are not made with ham(火腿)? About a hundred years ago, some men went to America from Europe. They came from a big city in Germany called Hamburg. They didn’t speak good English, but they ate good food. When some Americans saw them eating round pieces of beef, they asked the Germans what they were. The Germans didn’t understand the question and answered, “We come from Hamburg.” One of these Americans owned a restaurant, and had an idea. He cooked some round pieces of bread with beef in them and started selling them. Such bread came to be called “hamburgers”. Today, “Hamburgers” are sold in many countries around the world.
Whether this story is true or not, it certainly is interesting. Knowing why any word has a certain meaning is interesting, too. This reason, for most English words, can be found in any large English dictionary.
【小题1】English is spoken by many people around the world every day, but English is ______.