文档介绍：Progressive Reading
Revised Edition
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Lesson One
World English:
A Blessing Or A Curse?
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Catalogue
Background Information
Warm-up Questions
Main Idea
Language Points
Difficult Sentences
Keys to the Exercises
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Background Information
Dr Tom McArthur is founder editor of the panion to the English Language (1992)and the quarterly English Today: The International Review of the English Language (Cambridge,1985-). His more than 20 published works include the Longman Lexicon of Contemporary English (1981), Worlds of Reference: Language, Lexicography (辞典编纂学) and Learning
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Background Information
from the Clay Tablet to puter (1986), and The English Languages (1998). He is currently Deputy Director of the Dictionary Research Centre at the University of Exeter(埃克赛特大学).
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Background Information
International Languages and History
and Develpment
International languages include both existing languages
that have e international means munica-
cation and languages artificially constructed to serve
this purpose.
The most famous and widespread artificial international
language is Esperanto(世界语); however, the most
widespread international languages are not artificial.
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Background Information
In medieval Europe, Latin was the principal international language. Today, English is used in more countries as an official language or as the main means of munication than any other language.
French is the second most widely used language, largely due to the substantial number of African countries with French as their official language.
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Background Information
English as International Langauage
International English often refers to English as it is
actually being used and developed in the world; as
a language owned not just by native speakers, but
by all those e to use it. It is certainly also
commonly used in connection with the acquisition,
use, and study of English as the world's lingua
franca, and especially when the language