【英语时差8，16】台湾地区雅思成绩亚洲第17

 Taiwanese people's English ability ranked 17th among the 20 countries with the most test-takers, according to statistics taken from 2006 test scores on the IELTS (International English Language Testing System).

The average IELTS score in Taiwan lags behind that of Japan and Korea－whose English-language environments and backgrounds are similar to Taiwan's－and also placed lower than Vietnam, Pakistan and Thailand.

The IELTS is designed by the University of Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate. The test consists of questions on listening, reading, writing and oral comprehension, with scores ranging on a scale from 1 to 9.

Iain Mackie, the student services manager at the British Council, said the language learning in Taiwan has placed a particular emphasis on tests, often ignoring communication skills and opinion exchanges.

"People are afraid to speak English because they worried about making mistakes," he said.

With the trend of globalization, English has become the first language of international enterprises, said Chiu Wen-jen, the marketing¹ director of 104 Job Bank.

Chiu indicated that Taiwan's English proficiency² has been declining in recent years, while the demand for English ability in the job market has increased year by year.

According to 104's statistics about job opportunities, nearly 50 percent of jobs require workers' English ability to meet a certain standard. The high-tech³ industries, in particular, make English ability an essential condition of employment.

1 marketing   

n.行销，在市场的买卖，买东西

参考例句：

• They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。
• He often goes marketing.他经常去市场做生意。

2 proficiency   

n.精通，熟练，精练

参考例句：

• He plied his trade and gained proficiency in it.他勤习手艺，技术渐渐达到了十分娴熟的地步。
• How do you think of your proficiency in written and spoken English?你认为你的书面英语和口语熟练程度如何？

3 high-tech   

adj.高科技的

参考例句：

• The economy is in the upswing which makes high-tech services in more demand too.经济在蓬勃发展，这就使对高科技服务的需求量也在加大。
• The quest of a cure for disease with high-tech has never ceased. 人们希望运用高科技治疗疾病的追求从未停止过。