W: Hi, Leo. Why do you say English will become the world language?
M: Well, for one thing, it's so commonly used. The only language that is used by more people is Chinese.
W: Why is English spoken by so many people?
M: It's spoken in many countries of the world because of the British Empire. And now, of course, there's influence of America as well.
W: Many students find English a difficult language to learn.
M: Oh, all languages are difficult to learn. But English does have two great advantages.
W: What are they?
M: Well, first of all, it has a very international vocabulary. It has many German, Dutch, French, Spanish and Italian words in it. So speakers of those languages will find many familiar words in English. In fact, English has words from many other languages as well.
W: Why is that?
M: Well, partly because English speakers have travelled a lot. They bring back words with them, so English really does have an international vocabulary.
W: And what's the other advantage of English?
M: It's that English grammar is really quite easy. For example, it doesn't have dozens of different endings for its nouns, adjectives and verbs, not like Latin, Russian, and German for example.
W: Why is that?
M: Well, it's quite interesting actually. It's because of the French. When the French ruled England, French was the official language and only the common people spoke English. They try to make the language as simple as possible, so they made the grammar easier.
Q9: What does the man say about Chinese?
Q10: What made English a widely used language?
Q11: What is said to be special about English vocabulary?
Conversation Two
M: Hello. Yes?
W: Hello. Is that the sales department?
M: Yes, it is.
W: Oh, well, my name's Jane Kingsbury of GPF Limited. Hmm, we need some supplies for our design office.
M: Uh, what's sort?
W: Well, first of all, we need one complete new drawing board.
M: A DO44 or DO45?
W: Uh, I don't know. What's the difference?
M: Well, the 45 costs 15 pounds more.
W: Hmm, so what's the total price then?
M: It's 387 pounds.
W: Does that include value added tax?
M: Oh, I'm not sure, most of the prices do. Yes, I think it does.
W: Hmm, what are the boards actually made of?
M: Oh, I don't know. I think it's a sort of plastic stuff these days. It's white anyway.
W: Hmm, and how long does it take to deliver?
M: Oh, I couldn't really say. It depends on how much work we've got and how many other orders there are to send out, you know.
W: Ok. Now we also want some drawing pens, ink and rulers and some drawing paper.
M: Oh, dear, the girl that takes orders for supplies isn't here this morning, so I can't take those orders for you. I only do the equipment, you see.
W: OK. Well, perhaps I'll ring back tomorrow.
M: So do you want the drawing board then?
W: I'll have to think about it. Thanks very much. I'll let you know. Goodbye.
M: Thank you. Goodbye.
Q12: What is the woman's purpose in making the phone call?
Q13: What do we learn about the man from the conversation?
Q14: What does the man say about delivery?
Q15: What does the woman say she will possibly do tomorrow?
