Unit 2 English around the world导读：英语使用国家之多，范围之广，令人咋舌。年轻人英语化的汉语，让你酷(cool)，使你摩登(modern)。21 世纪的人才不懂英语何为人才？ 在全球化的信息时代，世界也将变成“地球村”，人们赖以交际的工具便是英语，你知道这是什么原因吗？我们不学英语行吗？ English is a language spoken all around the world. There are more than 42 countries where the majority of the people speak English. Most native speakers of English are found in the United Kingdom, the United States of America, Canada, Australia, South Africa, Ireland and New Zealand. In total, for more than 375 million people English is their mother tongue. An equal number of people learn English as a second language. These people will perhaps speak the language of their own country at home with their family, but the languageof the government, school, newspapers and TV is English. This situation is found in countries such as India, Pakistan, Nigeria and the Philippines. However, the number of people who learn English as a foreign language is more than 750 million. Everywhere in the world children go to school to learn English. Most people learn English for five or six years at high school. In China students learn English at school as a foreign language, except for those in Hong Kong, where manypeople speak English as a first or a second language. In only fifty years English has developed into the language most widely spoken and used in the world. English is the working language of most international organizations, international trade and tourism. Businessmen and tourists often come to China without being able to speak Chinese. Chinese businessmen, taxi drivers and students talk with them using English. English is also the language of global culture, ...
