A quarter of the world’s population now speaks English. If you want to 16 your products

A quarter of the world’s population now speaks English. If you want to 16 your products, or yourself, you have no choice 17 to do it in English. Politicians and business people must speak English if they want to make their mark 18 the world’s stage. Writers of minority languages can 19 hope to sell their books unless they write in English.

As English is spoken all over the world, it means that no individual country can really exercise a 20 influence over it. In the past, it was the mother tongue 21 who controlled the future of the language. Now, indeed for the last few decades, the mother tongue users are in a significant 22 .

This means that the character of the language could well 23 with new words, new rhythms, and new pronunciations. It isn’t going to be British and American English anymore- that’s 24 . All over the world education authorities are struggling to find the resources to meet the 25 for English.

However, it is open to question whether they are putting all their eggs in one 26 . The future of English language is intimately 27 the electronic revolution. Satellite television and the Internet have helped accelerate the 28 of English, but will that always be the case？

The Internet, 29 , is now seen as the saviour of minority languages. Indeed, with the continuing improvements in electronic translation, will we even need a(n) 30 language？ It is open to question.

16. A. sell B. make C. produce D. trade

17. A. and B. but C. rather D. or

18. A. on B. with C. for D. at

19. A. ever B. still C. no longer D. no more

20. A. negative B. typical C. subtle D. dominant

21. A. speakers B. followers C. believers D. interpreters

22. A. group B. number C. amount D. minority

23. A. alter B. differ C. shift D. vary

24. A. old B. new C. history D. future

25. A. want B. pursuit C. demand D. desire

26. A. box B. basket C. bag D. container

27. A. restricted to B. drawn to C. tied up with D. caught up with

28. A. range B. scope C. spread D. coverage

29. A. as a result B. as a rule C. in addition D. in fact

30. A. global B. unique C. worldly D. international