English is Widely Used
英語(yǔ)被廣泛應(yīng)用
More than 6,000 languages are spoken in the world today.Many of these languages are spoken by small groups of people.More than 200 languages are spoken by one million or more people.Which language is spoken by the largest number of people in the world?Of course,the answer is Chinese.But which language is the most widely spoken in the world?The answer is English.
在今天,世界上已經(jīng)有超過(guò)6000種語(yǔ)言了.其中有不少語(yǔ)言?xún)H僅只被一小部分人使用.使用人數(shù)在100萬(wàn)以上的有200多種語(yǔ)言.哪一種語(yǔ)言的使用人數(shù)最多?答案當(dāng)然是中文.但是人們使用最廣泛的語(yǔ)言是什么呢,答案是英語(yǔ).
English is spoken by more than 400 million people as their first language.It is spoken by most people in the USA,Great Britain,Canada,Australia and New Zealand.But it is also used very widely as a foreign language in many other countries of the world.
超過(guò)400萬(wàn)的人把英語(yǔ)作為他們的母語(yǔ).在美國(guó)、英國(guó)、加拿大、澳大利亞和新西蘭,大部分人都說(shuō)英語(yǔ).但英語(yǔ)也作為一種外語(yǔ)在世界上許多其他國(guó)家被廣泛使用.
Look at the back of your watch.You many see the English words “Made in China”.Look at something else,for example,a TV set.Again you may find the English words “Made in China”,“Made in Japan”,or even “Made in Germany”.
注意看你的手表的背面.你許多看到英文的“中國(guó)制造”.看別的東西,如電視機(jī).你又可以發(fā)現(xiàn)英語(yǔ)單詞“中國(guó)制造”、“日本制造”,甚至“德國(guó)制造”.
English is the first language in none of these countries.Why are English words written on these things?It is because in the modern world,English is widely used for business between different countries.When a German buy something from a Japanese,or an Indian sells something to a Frenchman,they often use English.Most business letters around the world are written in English.Half the world’s telephone calls are made in English.Three quarters of the world books and newspapers are written in English.More than three quarters of the information on the Internet is in English too!
英語(yǔ)在這些國(guó)家并不是母語(yǔ).為什么這些國(guó)家制造的東西上面是英語(yǔ)單詞?這是因?yàn)樵诂F(xiàn)代世界中,英語(yǔ)被廣泛地運(yùn)用于國(guó)家之間的商業(yè)事務(wù).當(dāng)一個(gè)德國(guó)人從一個(gè)日本人買(mǎi)東西,或一個(gè)印度人把東西賣(mài)給一個(gè)法國(guó)人時(shí),他們經(jīng)常使用英語(yǔ).大部分國(guó)際間的商業(yè)信件都是用英文寫(xiě)的.世界上一半的電話(huà)是用英語(yǔ)打的.世界上有四分之三書(shū)籍和報(bào)紙是用英語(yǔ)寫(xiě)的.超過(guò)四分之三的因特網(wǎng)上的信息也是英文呈現(xiàn)的.
If you travel in India,France,Germany,or almost any other country in the world,you will still be able to use English.It is used by travelers and business people all over the world.It is one of the world’s most important languages as it is so widely used.That is why more and more people in China are interested in learning English.
如果你到印度旅游、法國(guó)、德國(guó)、或世界上其他任何國(guó)家,你將仍然需要能使用英語(yǔ).使用它的旅游者和商人世界各地.它是世界上最重要的語(yǔ)言之一,所以它是如此廣泛地使用.這就是為什么中國(guó)有越來(lái)越多的人對(duì)學(xué)英語(yǔ)有興趣.