9th form Reading / Grammar "Why Learn English?"

1. English is probably ____ wide-spread language on Earth.

2. People all over the world speak English. They do not all use ____ as their first language.

3. In some countries, _____, Nigeria and India, there are often many different languages.

4. So, these countries use English as an "official" or "second" language ___ government, business and education.

5. Certain "international" professions, such as airline pilots and air traffic controllers ____ a working knowledge of English.

6. English is also the working language ____ computers.

7. If you know English, you can now communicate with people from all over the world ____ computer.

8. The English language ____ about 1500 years ago in England.

9. The bulk of English words _____ come from Latin.

10. There are now over a million words ____ English.

11. The average user knows _____ 30,000 and 60,000 words.

12. In the very near future 1 ___ 3 of the world's population will be able to speak English. You are one of them.