单选题 {{B}}Directions:{{/B}} This part is to test your reading ability. There are 5
tasks for you to fulfil. You should read the reading materials carefully and do
the tasks as you are instructed. {{B}}Task 1{{/B}} {{B}}Directions:{{/B}} After
reading the following passage, you will find 5 questions or unfinished
statements, numbered 36 through 40. For each question or statement there are 4
choices marked A), B), C) and D). You should make the correct choice and mark
the corresponding letter on the Answer Sheet with a single line through the
centre.
The English language is the lingua
franca (通用语言) of business to an extent not imaginable even a decade ago.
Three-quarters of the world's mail, faxes and e-mails are in English. And each
of those figures is growing. English is now the official
language of a number of international companies. The EFTA organization has
English as its official language despite the facts that none of its six member
countries use it as a native language. The European Community (EC), by contrast,
so complicates its affairs by using all nine official languages that 60% of its
administration budget goes on translation and interpretation, despite the fact
that most of its staff speak English or French. The first
foreign language the Japanese learn is English. Every Japanese child who
finishes secondary school will have had an average of eight years of English
language instruction, for a total of 1,000 hours. There are over 700 English
language training schools in Tokyo alone, as many as there are in all of
England. A further 13,000 Japanese students undertake courses, many of which
emphasize language as well as technical skills, in America. The shortage of
Japanese managers who are able to speak other European languages is far greater,
that is a major factor in attracting Japanese firms to Britain rather than
anywhere else in the EC.
单选题
According to the author, the English language ______.