1. it serves as a language that is needed for international communication
2. English is used as the official language of many British colonies
3. it has become the official language of such countries as Canada and South Africa
4. it has been used ever since Shakespeare’s time

32.What type of developing countries would be most likely to use English?

1. Those geographically close to the United States.
2. Those having close relationship with the United States and Great Britain.
3. Former colonies of Great Britain.
4. Countries where international conferences are often held.

33.It is difficult to assess what constitutes an adequate working knowledge of English because ____.

1. there are too many people speaking English in the world
2. people in the world learn English in a variety of ways
3. there are so many multilingual peoples
4. the number of the people with an adequate working knowledge of English is difficult to estimate

34.Which of the following statements is NOT true?

1. Although English is widely used in the world, the number of native speakers is only about 260 million.
2. People of the world like to learn English chiefly because of its present-day importance as a world language.
3. In addition to the standard English there are a great many varieties of English in the world.
4. All the important works in science, technology, and other fields are written in English.

35.The best title for this passage is _____________.

1. The History of the English Language
2. The Difficulties of Learning English
3. English as a World Language
4. The Standard Varieties of English

Passage Two

       Large companies need a way to reach the savings of the public at large. The same problem, on a smaller scale, faces practically every company trying to develop new products and creating new jobs. There can be little prospect of raising the sort of sums needed from friends and people we know, and while banks may agree to provide short-term finance, they are generally unwilling to provide money on a permanent basis for long-term projects. So companies turn to the public, inviting people to lend them money or take a share in the business in exchange for a share in future profits. This they do by issuing stocks and shares in the business through the Stock Exchange (证券交易所). By doing so they can put into circulation the savings of individuals and institutions, both at home and overseas.
When the saver needs his money back, he does not have to go to the company with whom he originally placed it. Instead, he sells his shares through a stockbroker to some other saver who is seeking to invest his money.
Many of the services needed both by industry and by each of us are provided by the government or by local authorities. Without hospitals, roads, electricity, telephones, railways, this country could not function. All these require continuous spending in new equipment and new development if they are to serve us properly, requiring more money than is raised through taxes alone. The government, local authorities, and nationalized industries, therefore, frequently need to borrow money to finance major capital spending, and they, too, come to the Stock Exchange.