A Language For All
The European Union has over 20 official languages which results in an enormous amount of money being
spent every day on translations and interpreting. The Swiss economist François Grin was asked to look into this issue
and make suggestions. In 2005, he published a report which suggested the use of a “constructed language” – that is
an artificial language which has been specially invented for the purpose of making communication easier. By far the
best-known constructed language is Esperanto.
Esperanto was invented in 1877 by L. L. Zamenhof, a Polish eye doctor. He was fascinated by the idea of a
world without war, and believed that this could happen with the help of an international language. Hoping to promote
harmony and peace between countries, Zamenhof’s aim was to make learning Esperanto as easy as possible, so its
vocabulary and grammar are straightforward.
Linguists estimate that Esperanto can be learned in 5%-25% of the time required to learn other languages.
For example, one study suggested that French school students would need to study English for 1,500 hours, but
Esperanto for only 150 hours, to attain the same level of proficiency. It has also been shown that learning Esperanto
makes it easier to learn a third language. In one study, a group of students learned Esperanto for one year and then
French for three years. At the end of the four years, they were significantly better at French than a control group which
had studied French for four years.
Despite all these good reasons for learning Esperanto, there are probably only between one to two thousand
native speakers of Esperanto – that is, people who have learned the language as small children from their
Esperantospeaking parents. In contrast, there are about 400 million native English-speakers and perhaps 1.1 billion
people speak it as a secondary language. The problem for Esperanto is one of co-ordination – it is an idea which can
only really work if a lot of people take it on simultaneously. It is pointless to learn Esperanto unless many other people
do as well. Zamenhof himself said that it might take “many centuries” for Esperanto to become a universal language.
I COMPREHENSION (5.5 points)
CHOOSE AND WRITE THE CORRECT OPTION (A,B,C OR D). (2 points: 1 points each)
1. Zamenhof...
(a) thought Esperanto could make the world a better place.
(b) studied Esperanto as a student in Poland.
(c) wanted to learn an easy language.
(d) cooperated with other linguists to promote peace between countries.
2. The writer of the text...
(a) encourages readers to learn Esperanto.
(b) informs readers about Esperanto.
(c) gives a negative opinion about Esperanto.
(d) wants to learn Esperanto.
ARE THESE STATEMENTS TRUE OR FALSE? JUSTIFY YOUR ANSWERS WITH THE PRECISE WORDS OR
PHRASES FROM THE TEXT OR USE YOUR OWN WORDS. (1.5 points: 0.5 points each)
3. François Grin was asked to construct an artificial language.
It is false because in lines 2-3 the text says: “The Swiss economist François Grin was asked to look into this issue and
make suggestions”
4. Esperanto is the only known constructed language.
It is false because in lines 4-5 the text says: “By far the best-known constructed language is Esperanto”
5. Learning Esperanto makes learning other languages less difficult.
It is true because in lines 12-13 the text says: “It has also been shown that learning Esperanto makes it easier to learn
a third language”
6. FIND IN THE TEXT: (1 point: 0.5 points each)
6.1 ONE OPPOSITE FOR “complicated” (adjective) straightforward
6.2 ONE SYNONYM FOR “needed” (verb) required
7. FIND IN THE TEXT: (1 point: 0.5 points each)
7.1 ONE WORD MEANING “to examine or investigate” (phrasal verb) look into
7.2 ONE WORD MEANING “having no purpose” (adjective) pointless
II USE OF ENGLISH (4.5 points; 1 points each/ 1.5 points, number 11)
8. FILL IN THE GAPS WITH THE CORRECT FORM OF THE VERB IN BRACKETS:
We can decide where to go when peter is coming (come)
9. REWRITE THE SENTENCE WITHOUT CHANGING ITS MEANING.
You know smoking is forbidden at hospitals (must)
You must know smoking is forbidden at hospital
10. COMPLETE THE FOLLOWING (CONDITIONAL) SENTENCE:
If there hadn’t been a translator there,
11. REWRITE THE FOLLOWING SENTENCES WITHOUT CHANGING THE MEANING, START WITH THE GIVEN
WORD:
As soon as I left the shop, I realised the item was faulty.
No sooner had I left the shop than I realised the item was faulty
