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Task 1. You are going to read the text aloud. You have 1.5 minutes to read the text silently, and then be ready to read it aloud. Remember that you will not have more than 2 minutes for reading aloud.

The English language is now the first language of about 400 million people, the native language of 12 nations and the official or semiofficial language of 33 more nations. That means one in every seven people in the world speaks English. Geographically, it is the most widespread language on the Earth. At present no other language is better suited to play the role of a world language. There are many reasons for its popularity. English is so widespread nowadays because it has become the standard language for all kinds of international communication. It is the language of businesspeople and scientists, politicians and diplomats, sportsmen and singers.