选词填空

bilingual      mother tongue    foreign language     non-native    lingua franca

official language    minority language     standard form

1. The majority of people living in the US, the UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand speak English as their .......................

2. English is a(n) ..................... in a further fifty-three countries, including India and the Philippines.

3. English is the most widely taught ..................... in the world.

4. Because English is used by so many people around the world for so many purposes, it is widely regarded as a .....................

5. The ratio of ..................... speakers to native speakers of English is roughly three to one.

6. People who can speak two languages fluently are commonly referred to as  .....................

7. There are many different varieties of English spoken throughout the world; in fact, there is no single  .....................

8. Many people fear that the spread of English as a global language will contribute to the death of  .....................

知识点reportingverbs

To express beliefs: believe, maintain, suspect, think

In discussion: argue, assert, claim, insist, say

To show agreement: accept, acknowledge, admit, advocate, agree, concede, support

To show disagreement: challenge, deny, disagree, dismiss, doubt, object, question,refute

To give suggestion: imply, suggest, urge

Tentative: e.g. suspect, suggest

Neutral: e.g. say, agree

Emphatic: e.g. assert, dismiss

Underline the stronger of the two reporting verbs

1. Many people insist/ argue that there is one ‘best’ variety of English.

2. However, I question/ refute the idea that one variety of the language is better than another.

3. Somepeople doubt/ deny the value of a bilingual education.

4. Others accept/advocate the idea of a bilingual education, even for very young children.

5. I would urge/suggest that education authorities do all they can to promote minority languages.

6. Some people suspect/ maintain that within a century, there will only be two or three languages spoken in the world.

7. Other people dismiss/doubt the idea that all but two or three languages will die out.

l   That+clause: Some people argue that governments should subsidise...

l   Whether+clause: Others question whether governments should sudsidise....

l  Reporting verb+

l   Preposition+noun/ noun phrase: I object to the policy of government subsidies...

l   Noun/nounphrase: Most people support the idea of subsidising...

l   Gerund: Educators recommend subsidising...

l   Object+infinitiveverb: I would urge the government to subsidise....

Sentence rewriting

a.Some people insist...    b. Teachers recommend...

c. I concede...           d. I refute the idea...

1. Maybe making English a mandatory subject in primary schools isn’t such a good idea.

2. The world definitely needs one common language for trade.

3. It is highly unlikely that everyone in the world will speak the same language at any point in the future.

4. You should practise a foreign language outside the classroom if you want to become really fluent in it.

功能匹配

A. state the topic of the essay: this essay is about...

B. write something about the general context: in recent years...

C. explain why the topic is interesting, relevant or important: x is interesting /relevant / important because...

D. presenta view point that they go on to challenge: some people believe that...

E. present their own viewpoint: in my view...

F. state the purpose of the essay: the aim of this essay is to...

G. outline the structure of the essay: this essay will firstly ..., secondly ..., thirdly...

As the English language becomes most widespread, some speakers of other languages fear that English loanwords are gradually replacing perfectly adequate native words.

To what extent do you believe that people should seek to protect the ‘purity’ of their language from the influence of English?

There is no doubt that English isbecoming increasingly important as a language of international communication inthe fields of science, trade, entertainment, and international relations.Not surprisingly, English words have appeared in many other languages throughout the world from Japanese to French. This has prompted some people to seek to defend their languages from this type of change. I would argue, however, that theseefforts are likely to prove futile.

With regard to foreign language learning, the effectiveness of out-of-class learning is well-established. What are the best ways of learning a foreign language outside of a classroom situation?

1. I believe the success of out-of-class learning suggests that not all language learning needs to be classroom-based.

2. However, in many cases, additional languages are learned not in the classroom, but through exposure to a language in day-to-day activities.

3. Around the world, people who speak only their mother tongue are probably outnumbered by those who speak one or more additional languages.

4. Int his essay, I will outline what I believe to be the three