专题 20 英美文化阅读理解专项：英语+美国语言+美国英语和英国英语- 2024年高考英语常考英美文化阅读专练+素材积累

51. International Language---English English is the native or official language of one-fifth of the world. It is spoken in North America, Great Britain, Australia, and New Zealand. In South Africa and India it is one of the official languages. More people study English than any other language. In many countries, the textbooks in universities are in English. Many university classes are taught in English even though the native language is not English. English is the language of international communication. It is the language of international business, research, and science. More than three-fourths of the world's mail is written in English. More than half of the scientific research articles are in English. Most other languages have borrowed many English words. Why did English become the international language? In the middle of the 19th century, French was the international language. Then Britain became very powerful in the world. England started colonies in North America and India in the 17th century. By 1900 England also had colonies in other parts of Asia, Africa and the South Pacific. The people in the colonies had to use English. Slowly it became more important than French internationally. After the Second World War, the United States became very powerful, and even more people began to learn English. Is English a good international language? It has more words than any other language. The grammar is simpler than in the other major languages. However, English spelling is difficult. Foreigners all have trouble spelling English. So do native speakers. Since 1880, people have invented over fifty artificial (not natural) languages. No one speaks them as a native language. However, none of them has ever become popular. Some people don't want to study English, but it is the international language. (292 words) Exercise: ◆Helper: South Pacific南太平洋 artificial [ɑ:ti'fiʃəl]人造的, 人为的 colony殖民地 ◆Brief Introduction: 英语是世界上五分之一人口的母语或者官方语言，学英语的人比学任何其它语言的人都多，在许多国家大学