The English language is the lingua franca (通用語言) of business to an extent not imaginable even a decade ago.Three-quarters of the world's mail,faxes and emails are in English.And each of those figures is growing.
English is now the official language of a number of international companies.The EFTA organization has English as its official language despite the fact that none of its six member countries uses it as a native language.The European Community (EC),by contrast,so complicates its affairs by using all nine official languages that 60% of its administration budget goes on translation and interpretation,despite the fact that most of its staff speak English or French.
The first foreign language the Japanese learn is English.Every Japanese child who finishes secondary school will have had an average of eight years of English language instruction,for a total of 1 000 hours.There are over 700 English language training schools in Tokyo alone,as many as there are in all of England.A further 13 000 Japanese students undertake courses,many of which emphasize language as well as technical skills,in America.The shortage of Japanese managers who are able to speak other European languages is far greater,that is a major factor in attracting Japanese firms to Britain rather than anywhere else in the EC.
6.According to the author,the English language _________.
A.has been the lingua franca of business for a decade
B.began to be used in business one decade ago
C.has been more widely used in business in recent years
D.was not imaginable to be used in business ten years ago
( )7.What is true about the EFTA organization according to the passage?
A.The EFTA organization has nine member countries.
B.The EFTA is part of the European Community.
C.The EFTA is an international company with English as its official language.
D.All the member countries of the EFTA use English as their native language.
( )8.The author's attitude towards the using of all the nine official languages in the EC would be _________.
A.appropriate B.critical C.positive D.neutral
( )9.All of the following statements are true EXCEPT that _________.
A.there are as many language training schools in Japan as in England
B.there are a lot of Japanese students studying in America
C.Japanese take English as their first foreign language
D.Finishing secondary school,Japanese children will have had about 1 000 hours of English
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)10.It can be inferred from the passage that _________.
A.the European Community will use English and French as its official languages
B.the Japanese government will increase the total number of hours in English study for secondary school students
C.Japanese businessmen would prefer to do business with Britain rather than other European countries
D.Japanese language will probably become the lingua franca of business all over the world