B. Look at the frequently asked questions on the English club's web page and see if you can guess any of the answers
1. How many words are there in English? 2. What's the most common letter in English? 3. What's the longest word in English? 4. Where does English come from? 5. Why do people learn English? 6. How many people speak English?
С Match the English club's frequently asked questions in point В with the following answers.
Welcome to the English Club's Frequently Asked Questions
a) We can't answer that question exactly, but here's a recipe we came across the other day: 50 grammes — Greek, 75 grammes — Latin, 400 grammes — Anglo Saxon, 150 grammes — Norse, 300 grammes — French (flavoured with Latin and Greek), 25 grammes — other mixed languages. Mix all the ingredients together. Cook slowly for 1,000 years.
b) English is the main language in 30 countries, and there are about 375 million people who speak it as their first language.
It is also used as an official language in over 70 other countries such as Cameroon, Tanzania, India, Pakistan, Malaysia and Fiji, and is a second language for about 350 million people.
One in two Europeans can speak English quite well and can have a proper conversation, and in the future even more Europeans will be
able to speak it. All in all, there are about 1,000 million (a billion) people who can't speak English, but they're learning it!
c) It's the top language for travel and tourism, and is used in business and science. At the moment, 80 per cent of the world's Internet sites are in English, but this will fall when more countries start using their own language.
d) There are about 300,000 entries in the Oxford English Dictionary. However, there are many scientific and technical words that are not in the dictionary (for example, there are over a million types of insect). An educated English speaker only uses about 30,000 words.
e) According to the Oxford English Dictionary, it is the name for a lung disease caused by breathing in dangerous dust and is Pneumo-noultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis.
f) The letter "e" is used more than any other. Ernest Wright was very interested in this fact, and wanted to see if it was possible to communicate without using this letter at all.
He wasn't able to write very much! In the end, he wrote a 200-page novel, Gadsby, without using any words containing the letter "e". Sadly, it was not a great success, but here is a bit of it:
A glorious full moon sails across a shy without a cloud. A crisp night air has folks turning up coat collars and kids hopping up and down for warmth.
D. Talking about your country. In pairs or small groups, discuss the answers to the following questions.
1. Do you know where your language comes from?
2. Are there any foreign languages that are very similar to yours?
3. What foreign languages do most people learn at colleges?
4. What language do most tourists use when they come to your
country?
5. Is it important to speak the language of a country you are
visiting? Why (not)?
7. Varieties of English
A. Read what an English writer once said about the English and the Americans. Why is what he said unusual? Do you agree?
"The English have really everything in common with the Americans except, of course, the language."
В. The words in I—12 are all used in American English. Match them with their British English equivalents a)—I).
| a) thousand million b) petrol c) checking account d) Inland Revenue e) Ltd. f) ground floor g) town centre h) cheque i) credit account j) cashier k) post code 1) company |
1) chargeaccount — кредитный счет
2) bank teller— кассир (в банке)
3) corporation— (крупная) компания
4) billion— миллиард
5) gasoline— бензин
6) InternalRevenue Service — Налоговое управление
7) first floor — первый этаж
8) current account — текущий счет в банке
9) zip code — почтовый индекс
10) check (from a bank) — банковый чек
11) downtown — центр города
12) Inc. — общество с ограниченной ответственностью (ООО)
| British English equiva- |
C. Replace the words in italics with their lents. Make changes where necessary.
| holiday autumn shop |
| advertisement shop assistant |
| fortnight flat |
cash dispenser underground estate agent
I. Complaints should be addressed to the store manager. 2. The easiest way to take money out of your bank account is to use an ATM. 3. If you decide to sell the house, I'll give you a business card of an excellent realtor. 4. Large supermarkets hire hundreds of salesmen. 5. The company aims to build 1,000 new apartments at low rents. 6. Mr. Smith is on vacation this week and next. 7. They've been conducting negotiations since last fall. 8. The fastest way to get lo the city's downtown is by subway. 9. This TV commercial boosted thecompany's profits. 10. The meetings are held every two weeks.
I). There are some differences between American and British English spelling. Decide which of these words are spelled in the American or British way:
1) travelled, quarreled;
2) theatre, center;
3) honor, colour.
E. Now complete the missing information in 1—3:
1) or is ... but our is ... ;
2) eled is ... but elled is ... ;
3) re is ... but er is ... .
8. Discussion
In pairs or small groups, discuss the answers to the following
Questions.
1. We learn to swim by swimming, to play ball by playing ball,
and to speak English by speaking English. Say what opportunities
for learning languages you have and what you do to enrich your
speech.
2. Suppose you are trying to persuade another person that learning foreign languages is necessary in modern life. What would you say?
3. Express your opinion on the importance of the English language in your future work. Do you think that English will help you make your career in business?
9. Writing
Write a short essay on the topic "English in My Life and in My Future Career". Use the following plan:
1. English as a "world language".
2. The importance of foreign languages proficiency.
3. The importance of English in my future career.
4. My English classes at college.
The following words may be useful for:
• introducing arguments:to begin with, first of all, on the one hand, particularly;
• continuing your argumentation: also, in addition, on the other hand, however, another point is, you can also say;
• writing the concluding paragraph: in my opinion, to sum up, finally.