TEXT 2. ENGLISH AS A WORLD LANGUAGE.

It is only in the course of the last hundred years that English has become a world language. In Shakespeare's time it was a "provincial" language of secondary importance with only 6 million native speakers. Nowadays English has become the world's most important language in politics, science, trade and cultural relations. In a number of speakers (400 million) it is second only to Chinese. It is the official language of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, of the United States of America, of Australia and New Zealand. English is used as one of the official languages in Canada, the Republic of South Africa and the Irish Republic. It is also spoken as a second language by many people in India, Pakistan, numerous countries in Africa. The number of second-language speakers may soon exceed the number of native speakers, if it has not done so already.

Even more widely English is studied and used as a foreign language. In this respect it acquired an international status. It is used for communication across frontiers, listening to broadcasts, reading books and newspapers, in commerce and travel. Half of the world's scientific literature is in English. English is associated with technological and economic develop­ment of the great manufacturing countries and it is the principal language of international aid. It is the language of automation and computer technology. It is not only the universal language of international aviation, shipping and sport, it is to a consid­erable degree the universal language of literacy and public communication. It is the major language of diplomacy, and is the most frequently used language both in the debates in the United Nations and in the general conduct of the UN business.

English has become a world language because of its estab­lishment as a mothertongue outside England, in all the countries of the world. This exporting of English began in the seventeenth century, with the first settlements in North America. Above all, it is the great growth of population in the United States, assisted by massive immigration in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, that has given the English language its modern standing in the world.

Module II

Unit 5. Let's talk about films.

TEXT 1. Theatres and Cinemas of Krasnoyarsk.

There are some theatres in Krasnoyarsk and they are all very popular with the public. Theatre lovers don't miss any new performance at the theatres. Both children and grown-ups like to go to the Puppet Theatre and to the Circus. Those who are fond of music go to the Opera and Ballet Theatre and to the Philharmonic.

As far as I am concerned I like Drama Theatre named after Pushkin and Theatre of Music Comedy. If I want to go to an evening show I usually book tickets in advance. But for matinee performances I always buy tickets just before the show.

There are many talented actors and actresses in our country. My favourite actor is O. Yankovsky. He played the leading parts in many films and I always enjoy his superb acting.

Also there are a lot of cinemas in Krasnoyarsk. A lot of people got there every day. You may not only see film at the cinema but spend wonderful evening with your friends after or before the film. You sit at the café or even go to the restaurant and you needn’t go out of the cinema.

When I want to go to the cinema I usually see in the programme what films are on. Then I phone my friends and we discuss what films to see. We prefer feature films but also enjoy cartoons and popular science films. To see a good love story, musical or detective film is a very pleasant way of spending free time.

The film I saw last was the screen version of the novel Gone with the Wind by M. Mitchel. This film is in colour. It's an old film but still it enjoys great popularity. There are many famous American actors in it with Vivien Leigh and Clark Gable in the leads. I was deeply impressed by their acting and the film itself.