1. There is no doubt that English is a useful language. The people who
speak English today make up the largest speech community in the world with the
exception of speakers of Chinese. 2. A speech community is
similar to other kinds of communities. The people who make up the community
share a common language. Often they live side by side, as they do in a
neighborhood (街坊), a village, or a city. More often they form a whole country.
National boundaries, however, are not always the same as the boundaries of a
speech community. A speech community is any group of people who speak the same
language no matter where they happen to live. 3. We may say
that anyone who speaks English belongs to the English speech community. For
convenience (方便), we may divide the speakers into two groups: one in which the
speakers use English as their native language, the other in which the speakers
learn English as a second language for the purpose of education, commerce, and
so on. 4. Learning a second language extends one's vision and
expands the mind. The history and literature of a second language record the
real and fictional (虚构的) lives of people and their culture; a knowledge of them
adds to our ability to understand and to feel as they feel. Learning English as
a second language provides another means of communication through which the
window of the entire English speech community becomes a part of our
heritage. A. Threat Posed by English B.
Definition of a Speech Community C. Benefits of Learning a
Second Language D. Advantages of Learning Chinese
E. Two Groups of the English Speech Community F. A
Widely Used Language
填空题
Paragraph 1 ______
填空题
Paragraph 2 ______
填空题
Paragraph 3 ______
填空题
Paragraph 4 ______
填空题
Overall there are more speakers of Chinese than of ______.
A. a second language
B. the same language
C. the same speech community
D. any other language
E. national boundaries
F. a part of one's heritage
填空题
The boundaries of a speech community may be different from ______.
填空题
People who live in different places may belong to ______.