题目内容：
English as an international language The English language evolved from a set of West Germanic dialects spoken by the Angles，Saxons，and，who atrived from the Continent in the 5th Century．The emergence of English as a language of Wales results from the ineorpo． ration of Wales into England．Following a change in vowel pronunciation that marks the transition of English from the medieval to the Renaissance period，the language of the Chancery and Caxton became Early Modern English(the language of Shakespeare’s day)and with relatively moderate changes eventuaily developed into the English language of today．
The number of speakers of English in Shakespeare’s time is estimated to have been about five million．Today it is estimated that sorne 260 million people speak it as a native language，mainly in the United States，Canada，Great Brit．ain，Ireland，South Africa，Australia and New Zealand．In addition to the standard varieties of English found in these areas，there are a great many regional and social varieties of the language，as well as various levels of usage that are employed both in its spoken and written forms．
his virtually impossible to estimate the number of people in the world who have acquired an adequate working
knowledge of English in addition to theil‘own language．The purposes for which English is leamed and the situations in， which such learning takes place are so varied that it is difficult to define and still more difficuIt to assess what constitutes an adequate working knowledge for each situation．
The main reason for the widespread demand for English is its present—day importance as a world language． Besides serving the infinite needs of its native speakers，English is a language in which some of the most important works
in science，technology，and other field are being produced，and not always by native speakers． It is widelv used for such purposes as meteorological and airport communications，international conferences，and the dissemination(传播)of information over the radio and television networks of many nations．It is a language of wider communication for a number of developing countries，especially former British colonies． Many of these eountries have muhillngual populations，and need a language for internal communication in such matters as government，commellce industry．law and education as well as for international communication and for access to the scientific and teehnological development in the west．根据以上材料回答下面问题：There are about 260 million people who can speak_____． A．English in its regional variety
B．English in its standard varietv
C．English as a second language
D．English as a working language
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