Some people say that the English language no longer belongs to the English, and it belongs to the world. It is estimated that the number of people who use English exceeds 750 million. Among these, about 350 million are native speakers, while the rest use it as an official language. If weadd to this number the people who have acquired the language to some extent, the total is close to one billion.
有人说英语已不再属于英国人了，它属于全世界。据估计，使用英语的人超过七亿五千万，其中大约有三亿五千万是以英语为母语的人，而其余的人将英语作为官方语言使用。如果我们再加上已经掌握英语到一定程度的人，这个总数将接近十亿。
English plays an increasingly important role in the world as a medium for conducting international business and diplomacy, as well as in science and medicine, the Internet, air and sea communications, international sports events, radio and TV programs, pop songs and movies.
英语，作为进行国际业务和外交的工具，在世界上起着越来越重要的作用。它还在科学、医药、互联网、空中及海洋通信、国际体育赛事、电台电视节目、流行歌曲及电影中发挥着越来越重要的作用。
词义解释：
estimate：估计
exceed：超过
native：本族的，本国的
official：官方的
acquire：掌握
to some extent：达到某种程度
billion：千万
increasingly：越来越多地
medium：工具，手段
conduct：实行，执行
international：国际的
diplomacy：外交
medicine：医药
communication：通信
event：事件
