OBAL ENGLISH around in ENGUHow to be Polite LP! h: a m at Excuse me, Sir. I'm terribly sorry to bother you, but I wonder if you would mind helping me a moment, as long as it's no trouble, of course. anca Jage and right ex. 5 native speakers of English in the UK, Ireland, the USA, Aus- tralia, New Zealand and parts of Canada. They say, English has become so important today due largely to modern Amer- ican culture and business because most English speakers live in the USA. During the 18th and 19th centuries, Britain established an empire. It covered large parts of India, Africa and the Far East (Malaysia and Hong Kong, for example). The locals of these places make up the 2 school and use in many everyday situations. English is the of- circle. They learn English at ficial (or second) language for them. in the 3 55 due to + noun because of Many flights have been can- celled due to the cold weather. The largest number of English speakers, however, are circle. These people learn and use English as a foreign language for different purposes. Mostly because it is the global communication tool of business, science, enter- tainment, the internet, etc. Around a billion people speak English. It is estimated that by 2050, nearly half of the total population of the world will speak (or at least under- stand) English. c) Match the words in bold in the text with the definitions. 1 people who speak a language as their first language. 2 shown as a symbol of sth. 3 mainly, mostly 4 calculated approximately 5 started or created an organisation or sys- tem 6 to be the parts or the people who form sth number after everything is added together. 8 films, music, etc. that people enjoy 7 the 3 LISTENING The English and their language exs. 3, 4