Question

The British government has started a ￡10 million Mandarin Excellence(普通話優(yōu)秀) Program. The program will see over 5,000 British students towards fluency(流利) in Mandarin Chinese by 2020.

The program is led by local schools and supported by University College London. So far, 14 schools have taken part in the program. Hundreds of secondary school students in England have taken lessons in Mandarin Chinese. Over the next three years, they will spend eight hours studying Mandarin Chinese every week.

Nick Gibb is an officer of the British government. He said a high level of fluency in Mandarin Chinese would become more and more important. “Language skills are important for jobs and life. Mandarin Chinese is spoken by the largest number of people in the world. It is also one of the languages that is the most important to our country’s future. If the United Kingdom wants to remain competitive(競爭的) in the world，we do need far more of our young people leaving school with a good command(精通) of Mandarin Chinese,” Gibb added. “We hope that our young people could be given the chance to study the language. We want them to be fluent in both spoken and written Mandarin. The Mandarin Excellence Program will help us do this. It will not only open the students’ eyes, but also give them a great advantage when they enter the world of work.”

British kids, in fact, are not alone. In America, about 200,000 students are studying Mandarin Chinese. It is believed that 800,000 more will join them over the next couple of years.

1.According to the article, about ________ students in America will study Mandarin Chinese over the next couple of years.

A.5,000 B.200,000 C.800,000 D.1,000,000

2.Nick Gibb thinks that the Mandarin Excellence Program may ________.

① help British students find better jobs in the future

② help the United Kingdom remain competitive in the world

③ give more British students a chance to learn Mandarin Chinese

④ help the United Kingdom improve its relationship with China

A.①②③ B.①②④ C.①③④ D.②③④

3.Which of the following sentences is TRUE?

A.Over 5,000 American students are studying Mandarin Chinese.

B.Fourteen schools from Britain have taken part in the program.

C.British students will soon stop learning Mandarin Chinese after 2020.

D.Mandarin Chinese has been the most widely-written language in the world.

4.What is the main idea of the article?

A.People in the world are learning Mandarin Chinese.

B.Mandarin Chinese is one of the most difficult languages to learn.

C.The UK has started a program to help its young people learn Mandarin Chinese.

D.Mandarin Chinese will soon be the most widely-used language instead of English.

Answer 1