阅读理解。
A story from the Bible (圣经) tells of old Babylon, where the men decided to build a tower that would
touch the sky. But God was unhappy, and he made them speak different languages. They couldn't understand
each other, so their dream never came true.
Yet the dream remains alive: if all men speak the same language, they can do anything. L. L. Zamenhof
from Poland was among the men who pursue this dream. He developed Esperanto (世界语) between 1877
and 1885.
As the most successful man-made world language, it is spoken by over two million people around the
world.
Last month, the World Esperanto Congress (大会), dealing with language rights, ended in Sweden.
Most Esperanto speakers are in Central and Eastern Europe and in East Asia, particularly Chinese mainland.
Esperanto has two advantages (优点). First, it's easy. Each letter has exactly one sound and there are just
16 basic grammar rules. The second advantage is that it belongs to no one country.
But Esperanto has only reached a small number of people compared with natural languages widely used
around the world-such as English or Chinese. While these languages are deeply connected with their nations
and cultures, Esperanto doesn't have this background.
Will Esperanto really become a global language? It remains a question.
1. The writer tells us a story at the beginning to ____.
A. explain why men have been making the effort to create a language shared by all
B. explain why men now speak different languages
C. show the relationship between man and God
D. prove language is very important
2. What does the underlined word "pursue" in the second paragraph mean?
A. Realize.
B. Work for.
C. Be against.
D. Follow.
3. What is the basic difference between Esperanto and English?
A. More people speak English than Esperanto.
B. Esperanto words are easier to spell.
C. Esperanto has fewer grammar rules.
D. Esperanto is not supported by any country or culture.
4. What does the story mainly talk about?
A. Advantages and disadvantages of Esperanto.
B. Men's dream of sharing the same language.
C. Comparison of Esperanto and other languages like English and Chinese.
D. The most successful planned language-Esperanto.
