Reading passages

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1 
READING PASSAGES 
 
The official language of the Czech Republic is Czech, a highly complex western Slavic tongue. 
Any attempt from foreigners to speak Czech will be heartily appreciated, so do not be 
discouraged if people fail to understand you, as most will  be accustomed to hearing foreigners 
stumble through their language. If you don't know any Czech, brush up on your German, since, 
among the older generation at least, it is still the most widely spoken second language. Russian, 
once the compulsory second language has been practically wiped off the school curriculum, and 
the number of English speakers has been steadily increasing, especially among the younger 
generation.