杭州市2014高考英语冲刺阅读理解选练(6)及答案
高考英语冲刺阅读理解专项
English has become the world's number one language in the 20th century. In every country where English is not the native language, especially in the Third World, people must strive to learn it to the best of their abilities, if they want to participate fully in the development of their countries. But many people are concerned that English's dominance (优势地位) will destroy native languages.
A close examination reveals (显示) a great number of languages have fallen casualty to English. For example, it has wiped out Hawaiian, Welsh, Scotch Gaelic, Irish, native American languages, and many others. Luckily, some of these languages are now being revived (复苏), such as Hawaiian and Welsh, and these languages will live again, hopefully, if dedicated people continue their work of reviving them. In the case of Welsh, its revival is so successful that the language is now being used as a medium of insturction in schools and universities in Wales.
Many leaders of these Third World countries are obsessed with (被迷住) English and for them English is everything. They seem to believe that if the students speak English, they are already knowledgeable. These leaders speak and write English much better than their national languages. If these leaders deliver speeches anywhere in the world they use English and they feel more at home with it and proud of their ability as well. The