单选题 The number of speakers of English in Shakespeare's time is estimated to have been about five million. Today it is estimated that some 2600 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.
It is virtually impossible to estimate the number of people in the world who have acquired an adequate working knowledge of English in addition to their own languages. The purposes for which English is learned and the situations in which such learning takes place are so varied that it is difficult to define and still more difficult to assess what constitutes 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 infinite needs of its native speakers, English is a language in which some of the most 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 dissemination 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 multi - lingual 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 access to the scientific and technological developments in the West.

单选题 What would be an appropriate title for this selection?
A. The Difficulties of Learning English.
B. Internal Communications.
C. The Standard Varieties of English.
D. English as a World Language.
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】[解析] 文章主要从使用人数、使用原因等方面谈论英语在世界各个领域的广泛使用。选项[D]说英语是一种世界语言，具有概括性，而其它选项都太片面。因此答案是[D]。
单选题 Which of the following statements is NOT true?
A. Some 260 million people in the world have an adequate working knowledge of English.
B. There are some 260 million native - speakers of English in the world.
C. It is almost impossible to estimate the number of people with an adequate working knowledge of English.
D. People learn English for a variety of reasons.
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】[解析] [A]项中说的“世界上有大约两亿六千万人掌握了足够实用的英语”不符合文章第二段第一句话指出的“几乎是不可能统计出世界上有多少人除了自己的母语以外还掌握了足够实用的英语。”因此[A]是正确选项。
单选题 According to this article, what is one main reason for the widespread use of English?
A. It was popular during Shakespeare's time.
B. It is used in former British colonies.
C. It serves the needs of its native speakers.
D. It is a world language that is used for international communication.
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】[解析] 英语之所以得到广泛的使用，原因很多，但是比较四个选择里分别提到的原因：[A]“(因为)英语在莎士比亚时代就已流行”；[B]“(因为)英语在前英国殖民地国家得到使用”；[C]“(因为)英语满足了以英语为母语的人的需要”；[D]“(因为)英语是一种用于国际交流的世界语言”，显然[D]“(因为)英语是一种用于国际交流的世界语言”是导致英语在全世界得到广泛使用的主要原因。因此，[D]是正确答案。
单选题 What constitutes an adequate working knowledge of English?
A. The ability to read a newspaper.
B. It is difficult to assess because it differs for each situation.
C. Being multi - lingual.
D. Being a native speaker.
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】[解析] 第二段第二句话指出“因为学习英语和使用英语的场合太多，因此很难定义和分析什么是足够实用的英语”。因此，[B]是正确选择。
单选题 What type of developing countries would be most likely to use English?
A. Those geographically close to the United States.
B. Those interested in the culture of the United States.
C. Former colonies of Great Britain.
D. Countries where international conferences are held.
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】[解析] 文章第三段倒数第二句话说“英语在一些发展中国家，尤其是英国以前的殖民地国家中得到更广泛的使用”，可见，[C]是正确答案。