Universities Show “ Red Card” to English Majors

An increasing number of Chinese universities are showing English the “red card” and sending it off the academic playing field. Just last month, five more universities announced that they would no longer offer English as a major,     1     CET-4 (大学英语四级考试) will still be required for graduation.

At first sight, it may appear that these universities are downgrading the importance of learning English. In actual fact, they are responding to the economic reality     2    English majors do not have good job prospects after graduation. And the same holds true for graduates in other Arts majors.

According to MyCOS, the Beijing-based education research group, English graduates, along with those in history, literature and law, have     3    (low) starting salaries and lowest employment rate. Engineering, economics and science graduates have better job prospects and make twice as much money, with IT graduates     4     (make) the most.

In     5     1980s, the Chinese government made the study of English a priority as part of its reform and opening-up policy. English majors were in high demand in business and in government because people with good English-language skills were so rare. Today, about 350 million Chinese have studied, or are studying, English. Ten million of them     6     (consider) functionally bilingual. So, when an employer looks at a graduate’s résumé , it is assumed that he or she has good English skills.

However, for those of you who truly love English, you should not be discouraged. The demand for English teachers is still high at all levels of education,     7    in public schools and in private institutions.

Zhang Lu   is probably familiar to most of you as the elegant young woman     8       (see)   standing or sitting slightly behind top government officials when they meet leaders from English-speaking countries. Zhang is a translator. In 2015, she made 54 overseas trips accompanying various leaders such as Li Keqiang. Over the years, she has been the official Chinese/English translator     9    major international conferences.

Zhang studied English and law at university. She     10    (plan) to be a teacher, but her skills attracted the attention of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs . They offered her a job in the diplomatic service . It is not the career she had planned, but her abilities enabled her to grasp the opportunity.

So, if English is really your passion, let Zhang be your model and just choose a university that has not shown it the “red card.”

The History of English

English is now the most common language in the world. It is the     1     (one) language in the UK, the USA and Canada. It is also the most popular second language,     2     means English is probably spoken by over one billion people around the world. But how did we arrive at the English we speak today?

The history of     3     English language begins in the fifth century with the invasion (入侵) of Britain by three tribes from Germany--the Angles, Jutes and Saxons. The original language of Britain was an older European language     4     (call) Celtic. Over time, most of the Celtic speakers were forced into the north and west of the British Isles. The invaders     5     (speak) a language called Anglo-Saxon and many of the most common words in English come from this.

In the eighth and ninth     6     (century), there were other invasions by the Vikings from Scandinavia. These brought words like “knifr”, or knife into the English language.

Outside of the United Kingdom, the use     7     English is growing. It is the official language of the European Union, and     8     (use) all over the world for air traffic control. Also, English is used     9     (much) than any other language on the Internet,     10     (make) it an important language in the world.

Cambridge Dictionary has declared “upcycling” as     1     (it) Word of the Year 2019.     2     word refers to the activity of making new furniture, objects, etc. out of old or     3     (use) things or waste materials.

The number of times that “upcycling” has been looked     4     on the Cambridge Dictionary website     5     (rise) by 181% since December of 2011,     6     it was first added to the online dictionary. In the past year alone searches for the word have doubled.

Wendalyn Nichols, Publishing Manager at Cambridge Dictionary Press, believes that the word’s recent popularity is being caused by people’s growing     7     (conscious) of climate change and other environmental issues. “    8     (stop) the gradual process of climate change, let alone changing it     9     (absolute), can seem impossible at times. Upcycling is an action a single human being can take     10     (make) a difference,” he said.

Many other words on the shortlist for Word of the Year 2019 all express the same concern with the effects of climate change, including “carbon sink” and “compostable”.