The main reason for the widespread ❶demand for English is its present­day importance as a world language.Besides ❷serving the indefinite needs of its native speakers, English is a language in which some of important works in science, technology, and other ❸fields are being produced, and not always by native speakers.It is widely ❹used_for such purposes as meteorological and airport communications, international conferences, and the ❺spread of information over the radio and television networks of many nations.It is a language of wider ❻communication for a number of ❼developing countries, especially former British colonies.Many of these countries have multilingual ❽populations and need a language for internal communication in such matters as government, ❾commerce,_industry, law and education ❿as_well_as for international communication and for entrance to the scientific and technological developments in the West.

课下作业（二） 高考语篇提能练

　　A

　　(2019·陕西铜川模拟)English Language Day is celebrated each year on April 23 - the date when William Shakespeare was born. Shakespeare has been called the greatest writer in the English language. His plays continue to be published, performed in theaters and seen in films almost 400 years after his death.

　　English is considered as the "world language". Used by only 3 tribes about 1,500 years ago, English now has official or special status in at least 75 countries with a total population of over two billion. English is the main language of business and aviation (航空). It is the most widely used language on the Internet and social media.

　　The first English Language Day was the result of work by the United Nations. A few years ago, the UN's Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization created Language Days for each of the UN's six official languages. The aim was to celebrate the use of different languages around the world and different cultures. Another goal was to campaign for equal use of all six official languages throughout the United Nations. The other five languages are Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian and Spanish.

　　The United Nations celebrated its first English Language Day on April 23, 2010. On that day, a number of events were held at the UN's headquarters in New York City. This year, the TOEFL program has announced plans for a "live" question and answer chat on the social media website Facebook. TOEFL is also known as the Test of English as a Foreign Language. The group says the program is for students interested in learning more about its test and the English language.

　　语篇解读：文章介绍了英语语言日的起源以及目的等内容。

　　1．English Language Day has something to do with ________.

　　A．a great writer of 400 years ago

B．the development of aviation