Page 40 - index

2018 ‫מועד קיץ‬ - 39 - ‫ פרק ראשון‬- ‫ אנגלית‬

Reading Comprehension

This part consists of two passages, each followed by several related questions. For each
question, choose the most appropriate answer based on the text.

Text I (Questions 13-17)

(1) Many people would say that English is the leading language in the world today.
Although there are more native speakers of Mandarin Chinese and of Spanish, English
is much more widely used. A fourth of the world's population can communicate in
English to some degree. It is essential in many professional and scholarly fields and is

(5) the primary language of the internet, where eighty percent of the information is in
English. In international business, too, English has taken on a central role. In fact,
there are some companies in non-English-speaking countries, such as Sweden and
Japan, where English is the language of the workplace.

Will English continue to be the dominant global language? Some scholars believe
(10) that, like Latin before it, English will eventually decline in importance. Others argue

that English is used over such a wide geographic area and in so many realms of life that
its continued centrality is guaranteed.

As English spreads throughout the world and interacts with other languages, new
linguistic forms are evolving. Some linguists see these as a family of "Englishes".
(15) Vernaculars combining English with local languages have emerged, for example, in
Singapore, Nigeria, and the Caribbean. The name "Spanglish" – a hybrid of Spanish
and English – is given to a number of different dialects that developed independently in
such diverse places as Gibraltar and Puerto Rico, and on each side of the US-Mexican
border. The most widely spoken language in Papua New Guinea is Tok Pisin, a blend of
(20) local dialects, English, and other European languages. First used in the eighteenth
century as an informal means of communication, it developed over time into a language
in its own right. Today, it is one of Papua New Guinea's three official languages.

Questions

13. According to the first paragraph, a fourth of the people in the world -

(1) speak either Mandarin Chinese or Spanish
(2) know at least some English
(3) use English in their work
(4) learned English by using the internet

)‫© כל הזכויות שמורות למרכז ארצי לבחינות ולהערכה (ע"ר‬

.‫ בלא אישור בכתב מהמרכז הארצי לבחינות ולהערכה‬- ‫ כולה או חלקים ממנה‬- ‫ או ללמדה‬,‫אין להעתיק או להפיץ בחינה זו או קטעים ממנה בכל צורה ובכל אמצעי‬