Chinese has a long history. It has shaped other languages in Asia the way Latin has shaped languages in the West. With this history, will Chinese have a surprising future?

Over one billion people speak Chinese in the world—far more than any other language. It is the language of the country which is soon to have the world’s largest economy (经济). Chinese people are found studying and doing business all over the world.

In fact, Chinese is definitely going to be a world language. Why is this certain? We must look at the economic and political power (政治影响力) of China, which is increasing every day. In the past, world languages have always been the languages of countries with powerful economics. Latin, French and English were important because of the power of the countries that spoke those languages.

Foreign interest in Chinese has developed very quickly together with the development of the Chinese economy. Chinese has become one of the most important and popular languages to learn.

As China develops, more and more people will want to learn about Chinese language and culture, to work and study in China, and to do business with Chinese companies. Chinese will one day become an international language.

【小题1】In which way is Chinese similar to Latin?

A．They both have influenced other languages.	B．Both languages have over one billion speakers.
C．They both have a long history and bright future.	D．Both languages are spoken only by Chinese.

【小题2】What’s probably the meaning of the underlined word “definitely” in the third paragraph?

A．Always.

B．Certainly.

C．Never.

D．Possibly.

【小题3】What is the relationship between language and economy?

A．The more important language is, the stronger economy is.

B．The stronger economy is, the less important language is.

C．The weaker economy is, the more important language is.

D．The stronger economy is, the more important language is.