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

Many people who work in London prefer to live outside it, and to go in to their offices or schools every day by train, car or bus, even though this means they have to get up early in the morning and reach home late in the evening. 

One advantage of living outside London is that houses are cheaper. Even a small flat in London without a garden costs quite a lot to rent. With the same money, one can get a little house in the country with a garden of one’s own. 

Then, in the country one can rest from the noise and hurry of the town. Even though one has to get up earlier and spend more time in trains or buses, one can sleep better at night and during weekends and on summer evenings, one can enjoy the fresh, clean air of the country. If one likes gardens, one can spend one’s free time digging, planting, watering and doing the hundred and one other jobs which are needed in a garden. Then, when the flowers and vegetables come up, one has the reward of one who has shared the secret of Nature. 

Some people, however, take no interest in country things: for them, happiness lies in the town, with its cinemas and theatres, beautiful shops and busy streets, dance-halls and restaurants. Such people would feel that their life was not worth living if they had to live it outside London. An occasional walk in one of the parks and a fortnight’s (two weeks) visit to the sea every summer is all the country they want: the rest they are quite prepared to leave to those who are glad to get away from London every night. 

1.Which of the following statements is NOT true? 

2.One can use the same money for ________ to buy a little house with a garden in the country.

3.When the flowers and vegetables in the garden come up, those _______ have the reward of one who has shared the secret of Nature. 

4.People who think happiness lies in the town would feel that _______ if they had to live it outside London. 

5.The underlined word rest in the last paragraph refers to ________.

6.C。推断题。根据其上文：这些人偶尔去公园散散步后去海边度两周假；本句接着说：其余的就留给那些每天晚上喜欢离开伦敦的人，那么，“其余的”显然指“其余的乡村”。从而可推知题

阅读下面短文，根据第1至第3小题的具体要求，简要回答问题。

A is for always getting to work on time.

B is for being extremely busy.

C is for the conscientious（勤勤恳恳的）way you do your job.

You may be all these things at the office, and more. But when it comes to getting ahead,

experts say, the ABCs of business should include a P, for politics, as in office politics.

Dale Carnegie suggested as much as more than 50 years ago hard work alone doesn’t ensure career advancement. You have to be able to sell yourself and your ideas, both publicly and behind the scenes. Yet , despite the obvious rewards of being dedicated to office politics –a better job, a raise, praise—many people are still unable —or unwilling—to “play the game.”

“People assume that office politics involves some manipulative（工于心计的）behavior,” says Deborah Comeran, assistant professor of management at Hofstra University. “But politics comes from the word ‘polite’. It can mean persuading and forming associations. It can mean being kind and helpful, or even trying to please your superior, and then expecting something in return.”

In fact, today, experts define office politics as proper behavior used to seek one’s own self-interest in the workplace. In many cases, this involves some form of getting along with others within the office environment—not just in large companies, but in small workplaces as well.

Yet, psychologists say, many employees and employers have trouble with the concept of politics in the office. Some people , they say, have an idealistic idea of work and what it takes to succeed. Still others associate politics with flattery（奉承），fearful that, if they speak up for themselves, they may appear, to be flattering their boss for favors.

Experts suggest changing this negative picture by recognizing the need for some self promotion.

1．What does it mean by saying “many people are still unable—or unwilling—to ‘play the game’”?（回答词数不超过15个）

2．According to today’s experts, what is office politics?（回答词数不超过12个）

3．What’s the main idea of the passage?（回答词数不超过8个）