Exercise 5. True or false
1. German is the official language of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, of the United States of America, of Australia and New Zealand.
2. English is spoken by more than 350 million people.
3. English is not studied at schools, colleges and universities.
4. Learning a foreign language is an easy thing.
5. Chinese is the most widespread language on earth.
Text C
WHAT DO WE NEED FOREIGN LANGUAGES FOR?
It is known that people have been learning foreign languages for thousands of years. The ancient Egyptians learned the Greek language 2.5 thousand years ago. In the 12th century the French language was learnt in many countries of Europe. In the 16th century Europe began to study the German language. In the 19th century the nobility of different countries communicated in French again. Throughout the history of the mankind people needed some second language to understand each other.
Nowadays, the English language is the most widespread in the world. Approximately 400 million people speak English as a mother tongue. The English language has become a world language in politics, science, trade and cultural relations. It is the language of computers technology. Half of the world's scientific journals are in English. It is absolutely necessary for a good specialist in any country to be able at least to read in English. If you know English, you can talk to people of any nationality, and can get necessary information anywhere in the world.
Besides, the English language is the language of the great literature. William Shakespeare, Charles Dickens, Oscar Wilde and George Bernard Show, they all wrote their books in English. A lot of modern literature and many new films in English come out every year. If you know English, you can understand them without translation. No wonder that most educated people speak English fluently.
Today, one person in seven of the world's population either knows English or learns it.
Vocabulary:
To speak English fluently- бегло разговаривать на английском языке
To communicate- 1)сообщать; передавать (to) 2) сообщаться (with)
Nobility - класс дворян; титулованная аристократия
A mother tongue- родной язык
A mankind- человечество; человеческий род
German language- немецкий язык
French language- французский язык
Greek language- греческий язык
Ancient- древний
Approximately- приблизительно, приближённо, почти
Exercise 1. Make up sentences with the words above.
Exercise 2. Translate from English into Russian:
- Knowledge of foreign language
- widely spoken language
- the mother tongue
- to communicate with each other
- necessary for success in business
- the main foreign language
- tourist attraction
- to establish English as a global language
- to overestimate the importance of language
- to be up-to-date
- to be better qualified
Exercise 3. Match the two parts to form complete statement.
1. There are lots of people…
2. A person can hardly hope to be up to date…
3. At present science and technical knowledge…
4. Learning a third foreign language is…
5. Success in foreign language learning
a)…is not connected with just a person’s natural talent.
b)… who speak more than one language.
c)… much easier than learning the second one.
d)… are progressing very fast.
e)… if he can’t use a computer and speak a foreign language.
Exercise 4. Answer the questions.
1. When did Europe begin to study the German language?
2. What language is the most widespread in the world nowadays?
3. How many people speak English as a mother tongue?
4. Why do people study the language? Give some reasons from the text.
5. How is English connected with the language of the great literature?
6. Does the studying of any foreign language give you more opportunities in life?