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UK schoolchildren score lower than their equals (同龄人) in nine other countries in world knowledge,
according to the British Council. In a survey measuring the international viewpoint of young people around
the world, British pupils scored slightly lower than those in the US and much lower than those in other
European countries.
The survey asked 11 to 16-year-olds with household Intemet access in ten countries some questions to
learn their attitudes towards language learning and international affairs. Results were scored on an index of
0 to 7. Nigeria came top of the table with 5.15, followed by India and Brazil. Within the UK, English
schootchildren (2.17) scored lowest compared with their counterparts in Scotland (2.35) ,Wales (2.43) and
Northern Ireland (2.26).
British Council chief manager, Martin Davidson, said, "Our schoolchildren cannot afford to fall behind
the rest of the world. For the UK to compete in a global economy, it is vital that we encourage our young
people to have an interest in and engagement with the world around them." According to the research, UK
schoolchildren (32%) are the least likely to go out of their way to understand current events in the world.
More than twice as many Brazilian (69%) and German children (61%) said they would do so, compared
with a third of Scottish children.
When asked whether they saw themselves as citizens of the world or of their own country, most of the
school children saw themselves first as world citizens. But children in the UK, US and Czech Republic saw
themselves more as citizens of their own country.
Under three-quarters (70%) of UK, school children felt that it was important to speak a foreign language
for their future work (65% in Scotland). This compared with 100% of school children in Saudi Arabia, 97%
in Brazil and India, 85% in China and 73% in America. The foreign language that the UK school children felt
was most important to learn was French (40% of those naming a foreign language), followed by Spanish
(31%), German ( 8% ) and then Chinese (60%, rising to 9% in Scotland).
1. What does the underlined word "counterparts" in Paragraph 2 most probably mean? [ ]
A. Equals.
B. Students.
C. Parents.
D. Enemies.
2. What is the most important foreign language in the opinion of UK schoolchildren? [ ]
A. German.
B. Chinese.
C. French.
D. Spanish.
3. What is the British Council chief manager's attitude towards the survey results? [ ]
A. Enthusiastic.
B. Worried.
C. Excited.
D. Positive.
4. Which of the following would be the best title for the passage? [ ]
A. French: the most popular language.
B. Global awareness: an important matter.
C. British children lack global awareness.
D. A survey about British schoolchildren.
