首页
外语
计算机
考研
公务员
职业资格
财经
工程
司法
医学
专升本
自考
实用职业技能
登录
外语
How did English Become a Global Language? 1 The rise of English is a remarkable tale as Professor David Crystal reminds us in hi
How did English Become a Global Language? 1 The rise of English is a remarkable tale as Professor David Crystal reminds us in hi
admin
2012-07-29
45
问题
How did English Become a Global Language?
1 The rise of English is a remarkable tale as Professor David Crystal reminds us in his attractive, short book "English as a Global Language. "
2 It is certainly quite a theme. When Julius Caesar landed in Britain more than 2, 000 years ago, English did not exist. Five hundred years later, English, virtually incomprehensible to modern ears, was probably spoken by about as few people as currently speak Cherokee, the language of a small North American Indian tribe—and with as little influence. About 1, 000 years later, at the end of the 16th century, and after the Norman Conquest, the Reformation and the arrival of commercial printing technology, English was the native speech of between 5 million and 7 million people. And yet now look at it. As the second millennium approaches, English is more widely scattered, more widely spoken and written than any other language has ever been. In the title of the book it has become a truly global language. According to David Crystal, about 2. 09 billion people, well over one-third of the world’s population are routinely exposed to it.
3 As he rightly points out, what is impressive about this staggering figure is "not so much the grand total but the speed with which expansion has taken place since the 1950’s. In 1950, the case for English as a world language would have been no more than plausible. Fifty years on and the case is virtually won. "
4 So what happened?
5 Someone once said that a language is a dialect with an army and a navy. In other words, when the British navy set out to conquer the world, it set out an "army" of English speakers. As the British empire spread throughout the world, English became the basis of law commerce and education. The British empire was succeeded by another (the American) , which shared virtually the same linguistic heritage. American English, which has become the rocket-fuel of the English language, has magically found its way into areas undreamed of 40, let alone 400 years ago.
6 The most valuable part of Crystal’s study is the section devoted to a speedy analysis of the cultural basis of this global reach, notably the influence of broadcasting, press, advertising, popular music and film. He is also up-to-date and informative in his identification of the World-Wide-Web as a powerful reinforcer of American cultural and linguistic dominance.
7 One of his most interesting passages concerns the role played by the League of Nations, and later the United Nations, in spreading English as an international language in the aftermath of the two world wars.
8 What does the future hold? To this question, Crystal proposes the recognition of a new form of English—WSSE(World Standard Spoken English)—which almost by definition rules out the possibility that English would fragment into mutually unintelligible languages as Latin once did . "English, in some shape or form, will find itself in the service of the world community forever, "Crystal writes.
A The future of English
B The speed of the spread of English
C The role played by culture and the net
D The role played by military expansion
E The role played by education
F The 2, 000 years of English
Paragraph ______
选项
答案
B
解析
本段不长,但讲到Crystal书中提到的很重要的一点,即英语普及的速度之快要比讲英语人数的增加更使人吃惊。
转载请注明原文地址:https://jikaoti.com/ti/NMgsFFFM
本试题收录于:
职称英语卫生类A级题库职称英语分类
0
职称英语卫生类A级
职称英语
相关试题推荐
•Youwillhearateachertalkingaboutacampingtrip.•Foreachquestion,fillinthemissinginformationinthenumberedspa
CAMPINGAlthoughsomegroupsofpeoplehavealwayslivedoutdoorsintents,campingasweknowittodayonlybegantobe
YouwillhearamanaskingforinformationabouttheWestwoodEnglishSchool.Listenandcompletequestions16-20.Youwillhear
BEARSThebearcanbeadangerousanimal,Theadultbearisverystronganditcankillaperson.Bearsaregoodat【C1】_____
DearDavid,I’mgoingtovisityourcountrynestmonth.I’mgoingtotravel【B1】______twofriends.Wedon’tknow【B2】____
ICE-FISHINGIfyoudrivenorthfromTorontoforthreehours,youcometoLakeNipissing.Inwinter,thelakebecomesice,and
HighwaysintheUSTheUnitedStatesiswell-knownforitsnetworkofmajorhighwaysdesignedtohelpadrivergetfromonep
Thesegasespollutetheatmosphereoftownsandcities.
Accordingtothepassage,oneofthereasonswhynewbornsinmountaincommunitiesareunderweightisthattheirmothersareunde
Accordingtothearticle,happinessdependsmainlyuponWhichofthefollowingfactorsdoesNOTcontributetohappiness?
随机试题
某公司2014年的财务数据如下:假设企业的流动资产和流动负债均随销售收入的变化同比例变化。要求:如果留存收益比率为100%,销售净利率提高到6%,目标销售收入为4800万元,计算需要补充多少外部资金?
关于肺牵张反射的叙述,哪一项是正确的
Whendreaming,however,onetendstobelievefullyintherealityofthedreamworld,(howeverinconsistent,illogicalandoddi
A.不凝固血液B.粪臭味液体C.稀脓性、略带臭味液体D.血性液体E.血性液,胰淀粉酶含量高
聚合物薄膜控释系统中,包衣膜hm,药物分子的扩散系数Dm,单位面积体外累积释放量Q,药物在聚合物膜中的溶解度Cp,时间t,若hm较大,Dm极低则
有关瘢痕灸,叙述不正确的是()
超额剩余价值是()。
这些年来,相关部门___________遏制教育乱收费,但远未从根本上杜绝。在信息不对称、地位不平等的情况下,当事学生及家长往往___________,敢怒不敢言。填入划横线部分最恰当的一项是:
阅读材料,回答121~125题。 8月份,规模以上工业原煤生产增速回升,煤炭进口保持较高水平:原油生产增速由负转正,进口继续增加;天然气生产保持较快增长,进口持续高速增长;电力生产加快。 一、原煤生产增速回升,煤炭进口保持较高水平,市场价格小幅波动
数据操作语言是数据库管理系统的功能之一,它一般包括的操作有()。
最新回复
(
0
)