[文化教育型阅读理解(一)](限时：25分钟)(一)ThenumberofspeakersofEnglishinShakespeare'stimeisestimatedtohavebeenaboutfivemillion.Todayitisestimatedthatsome260millionpeoplespeakitasanativelanguage,mainlyintheUnitedStates,Canada,GreatBritain,Ireland,SouthAfrica,AustraliaandNewZealand.InadditiontothestandardvarietiesofEnglishfoundintheseareas,thereareagreatmanyregionalandsocialvarietiesofthelanguageaswellasvariouslevelsofusagethatareemployedbothinitsspokenandwrittenforms.Infact,itisimpossibletoestimatethenumberofpeopleintheworldwhohaveacquiredanadequateworkingknowledgeofEnglishinadditiontotheirownlanguages.ThepurposeforEnglishlearningandthesituationsinwhichsuchlearningtakesplacearesovariedthatitisdifficulttoexplainandstillmoredifficulttojudgewhatformsanadequateworkingknowledgeforeachsituation.ThemainreasonforthewidespreaddemandforEnglishisitspresentdayimportanceasaworldlanguage.Besidesservingtheindefiniteneedsofitsnativespeakers,Englishisalanguageinwhichsomeoftheimportantworksinscience,technology,andotherfieldsarebeingproduced,andnotalwaysbynativespeakers.Itiswidelyusedforsuchpurposesasmeteorologicalandairportcommunications,internationalconferences,andthespreadofinformationovertheradioandtelevisionnetworksofmanynations.Itisalanguageofwidercommunicationforanumberofdevelopingcountries,especiallyformerBritishcolonies.Manyofthesecountrieshavemultilingualpopulationsandneedalanguageforinternalcommunicationinsuchmattersasgovernment,commerce,industry,lawandeducationaswellasforinternationalcommunicationandforentrancetothescientificandtechnologicaldevelopmentsintheWest.1．WhichofthefollowingstatementsisNOTtrue?A．Some260millionpeopleintheworldhaveanadequateworkingknowledgeofEnglish.B．Therearesome260millionnativespeakersofEnglishintheworld.C．ItisalmostimpossibletoestimatethenumberofpeoplewithanadequateworkingknowledgeofEnglish.D．PeoplelearnEnglishforavarietyofreasons.2．Accordingtothepassage,whatisthemainreasonforthewidespreaduseofEnglish?A．ItwaspopularduringShakespeare'stime.B．ItisusedinformerBritishcolonies.C．Itservestheneedsofitsnativespeakers.D．Itisaworldlanguagethatisusedforinternationalcommunication.3．WhatformsanadequateworkingknowledgeofEnglish?A．Theabilitytoreadanewspaper.B．Itisdifficulttojudgebecauseitdiffersforeachsituation.C．Beingamultilingual.D．Beinganativespeaker.4．WhattypeofdevelopingcountrieswouldbemostlikelytouseEnglish?A．ThosegeographicallyclosetotheUnitedStates.B．ThoseinterestedinthecultureoftheUnitedStates.C．FormercoloniesofGreatBritain.D．Countrieswhereinternationalconferencesareheld.(二)HavingspenttwoandahalfyearsinChinaoverseveralvisits,Idon'trememberevergoingthroughaphaseweintheUnitedStatescall“culturalshock”.ThisperiodofdifficultyinadjustingtoanewculturewouldprobablyhavesetinduringmysemesteratPekingUniversity.Ofcourse,thisisnottosaythatIdidn'tnoticeanydifferencesbetweentheAmericanandChineseculturesuponmyarrivalatPekingUniversity,Ididnoticethedifferences.Lookingback,IrememberoneofthefirstdifferencesInoticed:chineseuniversitiesaresurroundedbywalls.ToanAmerican,thisisoneofthemoststrikingaspectsofaChineseuniversitywhichimmediatelysetsitapartfromanAmericancampus.HavinggrownupintheUnitedStates,Ihadneverseenauniversitysurroundedbyhigh,cement(水泥)walls.Myideaofauniversity,basedonhavingseenscoresofthemindifferentstatesoftheUS,wasaplaceoflifeandlearning...
