Over the past 600 years, English has grown from a language of few speakers to become the dominant language of international communication. English as we know it today emerged around 1350, after having incorporated many elements of French that were introduced following the Norman invasion off 1066. Until the 1600s, English was, for the most part, spoken only in England and had not expanded even as far as Wales, Scotland, or Ireland. However, during the course of the next two century, English began to spread around the globe as a result of exploration, trade (including slave trade), colonization, and missionary work. Thus, small enclaves of English, speakers became established and grew in various parts of the world. As these communities proliferated, English gradually became the primary language of international business, banking, and diplomacy.

Currently, about 80 percent of the information stored on computer systems worldwide is in English. Two thirds of the world's science writing is in English, and English is the main language of technology, advertising, media, international airport, and air traffic controllers.

Today there are more than 700 million English users in the world, and over half of these are non- native speakers, constituting the largest number of non-native users than any other language in the world.

According to the passage, approximately how many non-native users of English are there in the world today?

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ZUNIA12

• According to the passage, all of the following contributed to the spread of English around the world except ..............

• According to the passage, one function of the memory unit is ...............

• The word “glitches” in the third paragraph can be replaced by ...........

• According to the passage, what must the nations of the world do to find a solution?

• What does the author probably mean by using the expression “children interrupt their education to go to school” (lines 2-3) ?

• Sign language is said to be very picturesque and exact and can be used internationally EXCEPT for ..........

• If you are in a foreign country, the best way the writer suggests to you is to wear .........

• When she decided to give up Facebook ..............

• In the last paragraph, the author mentions all of the following as possible roles of nineteenth- century "great women" EXCEPT .......

• The phrase “of no consequence” means ___________.

• Which of the following is NOT TRUE according to the passage?

• The word “intricate” in paragraph 2 could best be replaced by ___________.

• The word “descendants” is closest in meaning to _____.

• A nod of the head from the teacher will likely ask his student to __________ what he is saying.

• The word “splendors” in the passage could be best replaced by which of the following?

• Which of the following is the best title for the passage?

• The word "discrete" in line 16 is closest in meaning to .....