Zadanie 7. (5 pkt)
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Ever since a Polish Jew invented Esperanto in 1887 in the hopes of fostering a cross-
cultural community, cynics have mocked it as an idealistic cult for linguistic weirdos. Yet for
such an ambitious and unlikely idea it has earned its share of notoriety. Iraq’s only Esperanto
teacher was expelled during the regime. And billionaire benefactor George Soros owes his
prosperity to the idea: he defected from Communist Hungary at the 1946 World Esperanto
Congress in Switzerland.
To hear a growing number of enthusiasts tell it, the language’s most glorious days may
actually lie ahead. Though numbers are hard to come by - and those available are hard
to believe (the Universal Esperanto Society - UES - estimates 8 million speakers) -
the language may be spreading in developing nations in Africa, Asia and South America.
‘Because of the Internet, we have seen a vast improvement in the levels of competent
speakers in places like China and Brazil,’ says Humphrey Tonkin, the former president of
the Universal Esperanto Association.
Meanwhile, a small community of diehards has been lobbying to make it the official
language of the European Union. Indeed, Esperanto seems perfect for a modern age, when
global barriers are being torn down by free trade, immigration and the Internet.
The renewed enthusiasm for the language was on display in Gothenburg, Sweden, at
the 88th annual World Esperanto Congress. Some 1,800 members of the Universal Esperanto
Association - from places as varied as Japan, Israel, Nepal and Brazil - conversed in what
sounds like a mixture of overenunciated Italian and softly spoken Polish. Organizers say
attendance outstripped last year’s meeting by almost 20 percent. Meanwhile, the number
of Esperanto home pages has jumped from 330 in 1998 to 788 in 2003.
So what’s the big appeal? Unlike that other global language, Esperanto puts everyone
on a level playing field; native English speakers make up only 10 percent of the world
population, but they expect everybody else to be as articulate as they are. ‘Throughout Asia,
for example, people are conscious of the language problem because they all speak different
languages,’ says John Wells, professor of phonetics at University College London. ‘Some are
questioning whether they have to use English as their language for wider communication
or whether there is some other possible solution.’
The majority of Esperanto speakers still live in Europe, where the language was invented
by Ludovic Zamenhof, under the pseudonym Doktoro Esperanto (meaning ‘one who hopes’).
Back in his time, people were drawn to Esperanto because it is five times easier to learn than
English and ten times simpler than Russian.
Nowadays, European Esperanto speakers tend to be older throwbacks of the cold-war era
language. Many believe the popularity of the language in the developing world is being fueled
by growing resentment of English as the language of global commerce and political rhetoric.
‘Bush and Blair have become Esperanto’s best friends,’ jokes Probal Dasgupta, professor
of linguistics at India’s University of Hyderabad. ‘Globalization has put a wind in our sails,
making it possible for people to have interest in Esperanto as not only a language, but a social
idea.’ Similar hopes have been voiced from the moment Zamenhof first came up with his
egalitarian lingo. But in today’s rapidly shrinking world, the timing couldn’t be better.
abridged from Newsweek, August 2003
Próbny egzamin maturalny z języka angielskiego
Poziom rozszerzony - część II
5
7.1. In the first paragraph, the writer mentions
A. two people who survived thanks to Esperanto.
B. the name of the man who invented Esperanto.
C. the year when Esperanto gained popularity.
D. the idea that lay behind Esperanto.
7.2. The word numbers, in paragraph two, refers to
A. Esperanto users all over the world.
B. members of the Esperanto Society.
C. Internet users who learn Esperanto.
D. speakers of Esperanto in Asia.
7.3. What do you learn about the 88th World Esperanto Congress?
A. The people present in Gothenburg practised a variety of languages.
B. The participants were encouraged to set up new Esperanto websites.
C. The number of its participants exceeded the number present the year before.
D. The participants had an opportunity to see different displays organized there.
7.4. Which of these facts is not mentioned as an advantage that Esperanto has over
English?
A. Nobody is privileged to be a native speaker of Esperanto.
B. Esperanto is not as hard to learn as the English language.
C. English is much more difficult to pronounce than Esperanto.
D. More and more people reject English as a global language.
7.5. In the last paragraph, the author of the article
A. explains why Esperanto is spoken mainly by the older generation of Europeans.
B. expresses his belief that it is very good time for Esperanto to become widely used.
C. analyses the efforts made by some politicians, aimed at popularising Esperanto.
D. gives reasons why Esperanto should be treated only as a means of communication.
PRZENIEŚ ROZWIĄZANIE NA KARTĘ ODPOWIEDZI!
Próbny egzamin maturalny z języka angielskiego
Poziom rozszerzony - część II
6
Official key: reading comprehension, 'Esperanto' text. 7.1 D, 7.2 A, 7.3 C, 7.4 C, 7.5 B.
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