English has more than a century and a half been called a world language. The number of people (23) ____speak it as their mother tongue has been estimated at between three hundred million and four hundred million. It is recogniszed as an official language in countries where 1.5 billion people live. In China, the importance attached to learn English is such that a television teaching course drew audiances of up to 100 million.(24)____ this spread of English throughout the world is relatively recent. In the late sixteenth century, English was spoken by just under five million people. The arrival of English in North America was the key step in its world- wide expansion. The United State is a huge commercial market and this has tended to promote the English language in (25) ____other nations. About eihgty per cent of the data stored on the worlds computer is believed to be in English and nowadays in sufficent(26)______ of English can be a problem in business. 23. A. which B. who C. whom D. whose 24. A. But B. And C. Or D. So 25. A. some B. few C. any D. many 26. A. knowledge B. information C. understanding D. education