单选题
Nearly two-thirds of businesses in the UK want to 32 staff with foreign language skills. French is still the most highly prized language, but Spanish and Mandarin speakers are more in 33 than in the past. Katja Hall, deputy director-general of Confederation of British Industry (CBI), said that, given the EU was the UK's largest export market, it was no surprise to see European languages so 34 valued. 'But with China and Latin America seeing solid growth, ambitious firms want the language skills that can 35 the path into new markets,' she said. The 2014 annual education and skills survey by the CBI and Pearson, the educational publisher that owns the Financial Times, found that 41 percent of the 291 companies surveyed across the UK believed knowledge of a foreign language was 36 to their business. European languages—French, German and Spanish—still topped the list in 37 of desirability, but these were closely followed by Mandarin and Arabic. However, the number of students studying foreign languages has 38 in the past decade. Ms Hall said it was unclear whether recent government 39 to encourage language learning in schools would have any impact. 'It has been a worry to see foreign language study in our schools under pressure with one in five schools having a 40 low take-up of languages,' she said. 'Young people considering their future subject choices should be made more 41 of the benefits to their careers that can come from studying a foreign language.' A. slumped B. risen C. initiatives D. highly E. agencies F. demand G. pressure H. accidentally I. aware J. persistently K. harmful L. beneficial M. recruit N. smooth O. terms