There are around 6,000 living languages in the world—and at least half of these are in danger. In every part of the world, languages are disappearing. In fact, one scientist has said that languages are in more danger of extinction than birds or animals. Professor Steve Sutherland of the University of East Anglia says that in the past 500 years 4.5 percent of languages have died out—compared with 1.3 percent of birds, and 1.9 percent of mammals.
Languages come and go, and thousands have done exactly that without leaving any trace(痕迹). Only a very few—Basque, Greek and Latin among them—have lasted more than 2000 years. But it seems that the pace of their disappearance is becoming quicker.
The Ethnologue, a database of all the languages spoken in the world, states that 417 languages are spoken by so few people that they are in the final stages of becoming extinct. If very few people speak a language, it will probably die out.
Languages may be lost through migration, as people move from small towns to city centers, or when environments are destroyed by the search for oil or wood. Natural disasters can also devastate populations, and along with them, their language. Governments also play a role in the extinction of languages. The need to establish “official languages”, for a country to educate its children and carry out its business, had a disastrous effect on many small languages.
What is lost if a language is lost? Some people argue that languages die as the human race develops. Obviously there could be great benefits if everyone in the world spoke the same language—some industries already reflect this, with English essential for pilots and air traffic controllers. But there are more important things than convenience. As languages are lost, whole ways of life and knowledge may be lost along with them.
To put it simply, language expresses something about who we are, about where we live in the world. Ani Rauhihi, a Maori teacher in New Zealand’s North Island, sums it up: “If you grow up speaking our language, you won’t know who you are.”
1.What do the figures mentioned in the first paragraph suggest?
A. Most languages have died out completely.
B. Languages are in great danger of extinction.
C. Languages are disappearing slower than before.
D. Animals are disappearing faster than languages.
2.What can best replace the underlined word “devastate” ?
A. raise
B. control
C. improve
D. destroy
3.What if a language is lost according to the passage?
A. There will be great trouble.
B. There is no need to worry about it.
C. Its culture and knowledge will also be lost.
D. People will be able to communicate with others conveniently.
4.What can we infer from the last paragraph?
A. Languages reflect our identity.
B. People will speak the same language one day.
C. Ani Rauhihi cares less about languages dying out.
D. Fewer people will remember their own languages.
高三英语阅读理解简单题
There are around 6,000 living languages in the world—and at least half of these are in danger. In every part of the world, languages are disappearing. In fact, one scientist has said that languages are in more danger of extinction than birds or animals. Professor Steve Sutherland of the University of East Anglia says that in the past 500 years 4.5 percent of languages have died out—compared with 1.3 percent of birds, and 1.9 percent of mammals.
Languages come and go, and thousands have done exactly that without leaving any trace(痕迹). Only a very few—Basque, Greek and Latin among them—have lasted more than 2000 years. But it seems that the pace of their disappearance is becoming quicker.
The Ethnologue, a database of all the languages spoken in the world, states that 417 languages are spoken by so few people that they are in the final stages of becoming extinct. If very few people speak a language, it will probably die out.
Languages may be lost through migration, as people move from small towns to city centers, or when environments are destroyed by the search for oil or wood. Natural disasters can also devastate populations, and along with them, their language. Governments also play a role in the extinction of languages. The need to establish “official languages”, for a country to educate its children and carry out its business, had a disastrous effect on many small languages.
What is lost if a language is lost? Some people argue that languages die as the human race develops. Obviously there could be great benefits if everyone in the world spoke the same language—some industries already reflect this, with English essential for pilots and air traffic controllers. But there are more important things than convenience. As languages are lost, whole ways of life and knowledge may be lost along with them.
To put it simply, language expresses something about who we are, about where we live in the world. Ani Rauhihi, a Maori teacher in New Zealand’s North Island, sums it up: “If you grow up speaking our language, you won’t know who you are.”
1.What do the figures mentioned in the first paragraph suggest?
A. Most languages have died out completely.
B. Languages are in great danger of extinction.
C. Languages are disappearing slower than before.
D. Animals are disappearing faster than languages.
2.What can best replace the underlined word “devastate” ?
A. raise
B. control
C. improve
D. destroy
3.What if a language is lost according to the passage?
A. There will be great trouble.
B. There is no need to worry about it.
C. Its culture and knowledge will also be lost.
D. People will be able to communicate with others conveniently.
4.What can we infer from the last paragraph?
A. Languages reflect our identity.
B. People will speak the same language one day.
C. Ani Rauhihi cares less about languages dying out.
D. Fewer people will remember their own languages.
高三英语阅读理解简单题查看答案及解析
Of the 7,000 languages spoken in the world today, linguists (语言学家) say, nearly half are likely to disappear this century. In fact, one falls out of use about every two weeks.
Some languages die out in an instant, at the death of the only surviving speaker. Others are lost gradually in bilingual (双语的) cultures, as local tongues are edged out by the dominant (占主导地位的) language at school, in the marketplace and on television.
New research, supported by the National Geographic Society and the Living Tongues Institute for Endangered Languages, has found the five regions where languages are disappearing most rapidly. They are northern Australia, central South America, North America's upper Pacific coastal zone, eastern Siberia, and Oklahoma and the southwestern United States.
K. David Harrison, an associate professor of linguistics at Swarthmore College, US, said that more than half the languages had no written form and were vulnerable to loss and being forgotten." Their loss leaves no dictionary, no text, or no record of the accumulated knowledge and history of a disappeared culture.
Harrison and other researchers started their rescue project last year. They have been trying to identify and record endangered languages. They interviewed and made recordings of the few remaining speakers of a language and collected basic word lists. The individual projects, some lasting three to four years, involve hundreds of hours of recording speech, developing grammar and preparing children's readers in the obscure (逐渐没落的) language. The research has concentrated on preserving entire language families.
"These are probably languages that cannot be brought back, but at least we made records of them," said Gregory Anderson, director of the Living Tongues Institute, in Oregon, US.
1.What does the passage mainly tell us?
A. Many languages are quickly disappearing.
B. Some languages are disappearing because they are hard to remember.
C. Chinese is one of the languages that are disappearing.
D. Thanks to some researchers, many endangered languages have been rescued.
2.What does the word vulnerable in the fourth paragraph mean?
A. easy to remember. B. easy to forget.
C. likely to be damaged. D. likely to be protected.
3.Which of the following is true according to the fifth paragraph?
A. Harrison and other researchers are trying to find out why some languages died out.
B. Harrison and other researchers tried to start a rescue project.
C. Harrison and other researchers have concentrated on preserving all the languages.
D. Harrison and other researchers have done some rescue work on the obscure languages.
4.One of the things that Harrison and other researchers did was ________.
A. to have more people speak the disappearing language
B. to make records of the disappearing language
C. to limit dominant languages
D. to publish a dictionary of the disappearing language
5.What do you think is the suggested reason for some languages disappearing?
A. Local tongues are gradually edged out by the dominant language at school, in the marketplace and on television.
B. The number of people who speak the languages are small.
C. There are no dictionaries for the languages.
D. No one make records of the languages, so they gradually disappear.
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
How Do Languages Die?
How many languages do you think there are in the entire world? Altogether, people around the world speak about 6,000 languages. Does that surprise you? 1. Today, about half the world’s spoken languages are endangered. Experts say that another language becomes extinct (灭绝) every two weeks.
How do languages die? They die when people stop using them. But most people don’t just stop speaking their native language. It’s more complex than that. More often, they’re either pressured or forced to do so.2.They’re often pressured to speak the area’s main language instead of their own. This leads many immigrants to stop using their native language. They might not even teach it to their children.
Slowly, the native language dies out.
Sometimes, languages shift or develop instead of becoming extinct. Have you ever heard that Latin is a dead language? In a way, it is. No one today speaks Latin as their native language.3. People still use Latin in many ways. Scientists use it to name plants and animals.
4. That means the death of a language hurts people’s ability to take part in cultural traditions. They might lose access to stories and knowledge that were passed down for many years. This is one reason why many people today are working to save dying languages.
How can languages be saved? Some young people learn the language of their ancestors as adults.
Linguists travel the world to record the last native speakers of dying languages5.They do so in hopes that future generations will bring the languages back to life. Many educational programs today also work to help preserve native languages and cultures.
A.There used to be many more!
B.You may have used it in school.
C.Language is extremely closely tied to culture.
D.But that doesn’t mean it disappeared completely.
E.One example is when people move to a different country.
F.Some native speakers write dictionaries in their language.
G.There are plenty of things to do to help protect languages.
高三英语七选五中等难度题查看答案及解析
Though there are about 400 languages from all over the world that are in danger of disappearing completely, Zoque-Ayapaneco, a native Mexican language is considered the most likely to become extinct, because the only two people in the world that speak it fluently do not talk to each other!
And, it's not because they live in different countries, states or even villages. In fact, Manuel Segovia and Isidro Velazquez, both in their 70s, live within 500 yards of each other, in the village of Ayapa in the Southern Mexican State of Tabasco. They, however, refuse to communicate because they simply don't have much in common. Segovia is apparently a little flank in nature while Velazquez is described as shy.
Segovia was at least able to talk in Zoque-Ayapanece with his brother until he passed away about 12 years ago, and still manages to practice it with his family, especially his son Manuel, who for the last five years has been trying to learn it and hopes to become fluent enough to teach it to the next generation. Velazquez on the other hand, has not been heard speaking in the language with anybody.
The two men say the language used to be widely spoken in the village, but the younger generation shunned it for fear of being laughed at, and it therefore began to die a slow death, as the elders passed away.
Unless the two men get their acts together, the only way to hear the language will be to either listen to Manuel's not-so-fluent statement or see them talk in a documentary entitled “Lengua Muerta” (Dead Language) that is being filmed to capture Zoque Ayapaneco and 364 other native Mexican languages that are in a similar state.
We sure hope Segovia and Velazquez soon find something common to talk about. Maybe the fact is that the language is dying and that they should start encouraging and teaching the next generation together.
1.The reason why Segovia and Velazquez don't talk to each other is that ________.
A. they both are too shy
B. they live in different villages
C. they are too familiar to talk
D. they have no similarity in their character
2.What do we know about Zoque-Ayapaneco?
A. It was widely used twelve years ago.
B. It will be dying out if no effective measures are taken.
C. It will be popular in Mexico in the near future.
D. It is a Southern American language.
3.The underlined word “shunned” in Paragraph 4 probably means “________”.
A. favored B. identified
C. were unwilling to learn D. protected
4.From the passage, we can conclude that ________.
A. altogether 365 languages are becoming extinct in the world
B. Segovia and Velazquez will communicate with each other soon
C. the government cares a lot about the protection of Zoque-Ayapaneco
D. we can hear the language from Manuel or documentary “Lengua Muerta”
5.What's the main idea of the passage?
A. World's endangered languages are being filmed.
B. Villagers are trying to protect their old language.
C. An endangered language is spoken by only two people.
D. There are a lot of languages in Mexico.
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
Though there are about 400 languages from all over the world that are in danger of disappearing completely，Zoque-Ayapaneco，a native Mexican language is considered the most likely to become extinct，because the only two people in the world that speak it fluently do not talk to each other!
And，it's not because they live in different countries，states or even villages. In fact，Manuel Segovia and Isidro Velazquez，both in their 70s，live within 500 yards of each other，in the village of Ayapa in the Southern Mexican State of Tabasco. They，however，refuse to communicate because they simply don't have much in common. Segovia is apparently a little frank in nature while Velazquez is described as shy.
Segovia was at least able to talk in Zoque-Ayapanece with his brother until he passed away about 12 years ago，and still manages to practice it with his family，especially his son Manuel，who for the last five years has been trying to learn it and hopes to become fluent enough to teach it to the next generation. Velazquez on the other hand，has not been heard speaking in the language with anybody.
The two men say the language used to be widely spoken in the village，but the younger generation refused to learn it for fear of being laughed at，and it therefore began to die a slow death，as the elders passed away.
Unless the two men get their acts together，the only way to hear the language will be to either listen to Manuel's not-so-fluent statement or see them talk in a documentary entitled “Lengua Muerta” (Dead Language) that is being filmed to capture Zoque Ayapaneco and 364 other native Mexican languages that are in a similar state.
We sure hope Segovia and Velazquez soon find something common to talk about. Maybe the fact is that the language is dying and that they should start encouraging and teaching the next generation together.
1.What do we know about Zoque-Ayapaneco?
A．It was widely used twelve years ago.
B．It is a Southern American language.
C．It will be popular in Mexico in the near future.
D．It will be dying out if no effective measures are taken.
2.The reason why Segovia and Velazquez don't talk to each other is that ________.
A．they both are too shy
B．they have no similarity in their character
C．they are too familiar to talk
D．they live in different villages
3.From the passage，we can conclude that ________.
A．altogether 365 languages are becoming extinct in the world
B．Segovia and Velazquez will communicate with each other soon
C．the government cares a lot about the protection of Zoque-Ayapaneco
D．we can hear the language from Manuel or documentary “Lengua Muerta”
4.What's the main idea of the passage?
A．World's endangered languages are being filmed.
B．Villagers are trying to protect their old language.
C．An endangered language is spoken by only two people.
D．There are a lot of languages in Mexico.
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
There are about 6，500 languages spoken throughout the world，but about half of them are in danger of disappearing.
One of the primary causes driving language loss is that support for language communities drastically varies.While some languages are recognized by governments and taught in schools，the majority go unrecognized，unsupported，and untaught，leaving communities ill-equipped to pass their languages on to future generations.Tsakonian，a“dialect(方言)”in Greece，has declined to the point that only 100 speakers remain.
When a language disappears，many other things can go away as well.For example，parts of a community’s culture，knowledge and identity can also be lost.
One organization seeking to save world languages is Wikitongues，which was founded as a school project by Daniel Bogre Udell in 2012，when he began recording short oral histories in New York to explore the city’s rich cultural diversity with the simple idea:tell me about yourself or your home in your native language.When he posted the videos online，the channel quickly got wide attention.
There are currently over 400 languages and dialects represented on Wikitongues’channel and more than 1，500 people from 70 different countries have added videos to it.But that’s far from enough.The organization seeks to serve as an Internet resource to keep as many languages as possible alive.Udell believes they can make it happen.“There are many examples of languages that disappeared but later returned to use.Hebrew went extinct in the 4th century BC，and was revived(恢复)in the 1800s.Now once again，it's the mother tongue of half of the world’s Jewish population，”said Udell.
1.What can be inferred about Tsakonian in Greece?
A. It’s hard to speak and understand.
B. It will definitely die out in the future.
C. It’s not allowed to speak in Greece.
D. It lacks recognition and support.
2.What effect may be brought by the extinction of languages?
A. Harming future generations. B. Reducing cultural diversity.
C. Preventing daily communication. D. Changing school projects.
3.What’s the purpose of Wikitongues?
A. To support people in saving their languages.
B. To revive languages that have disappeared.
C. To record enough short oral histories.
D. To explore the world’s rich cultures.
4.What does Udell want to tell us by giving Hebrew as an example in the last paragraph?
A. All extinct languages will be brought back to life.
B. It’s possible to prevent languages from dying out.
C. More languages will be presented on Wikitongues’channel.
D. Hebrew has become one of the most popular languages in the world.
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
There are about fifteen hundred languages in the world. But 36 a few of them are very 37 .English is one of these. Many, many people use it, not only in England and the U.S.A., but in other parts of the world. About 200,000,000 speak it as their own language. It is difficult to say how many people are learning it as a 38 language. Many millions are 39 to do so. Is it easy or difficult to learn English? Different people may have different 40 Have you ever 41 ads of this kind in the newspapers or magazines? "Learn English in six weeks, or your 42 back..." "Easy and funny! Our records and tapes 43 you master your English in a month. 44 the first day your 45 will be excellent. Just send …"Of course, it never 46 quite like this.
The only language that seems easy to learn is the mother tongue. We should 47 that we all learned our own language well when we were 48 . If we could learn English in the same way, it would not seem so difficult. 49 what a small child does. He listens to what people say. He tries what he hears. When he is using the language, talking in it, 50 in it all the time. Just imagine how much 51 that gets!
So it is 52 to say that learning English is easy, because a good command of English 53 upon a lot of practice. And practice needs great effort and 54 much time. Good teachers, records, tapes, books, and dictionaries will 55 . But they cannot do the student's work for him.（词数278）
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高三英语完型填空中等难度题查看答案及解析
All the people around the world have the same simple dream ______ they will always live in peace and comfort.
A. that B. when C. how D. whether
高三英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析
There are around 600,000 vegans (素食者) in the UK. That' s just over 1% of the population — an amount expected to increase to 25% by 2025. And if there's one type of food that Brits love, it is fast food. People in the UK love it so much that there was a 34% increase in the number of fast food outlets from 2010 to 2018. It's no surprise, then, that vegan fast food is also on the rise.
Vegan fast food has become big business. At Just Eat, an online food delivery company, vegan orders more than doubled in 2018. Greggs, a chain of high-street bakeries, named its vegan sausage roll the ''fastest - selling product in six years". And big franchises such as McDonald's and KFC have announced meat-free chicken nuggets (鸡块) to come in the future.
What's. driving this popularity? Katrina Fox, founder of Vegan Business Media, believes it's the result of the breaking down of stereotypes (成见). ''Vegan food is no longer seen as a bit of lettuce and lentils — you can eat pretty much anything".
It's also claimed that there are health benefits. John Marulanda, owner of Mooshies is a vegan burger bar in London — wants to implement “a change to a healthy version of fast food. Something, he claims, that comes as a result of the inherent nutritional value of the ingredients they use.
But, is vegan fast food actually healthy? Azmina Govindji of the British Dietetic Association says ''not to assume" that is the case, ''It' s fine if those products have got vitamin B12, iodine or calcium added to them. but they can still be fried, it can still have lots of creamy, fatty sauces and lots of salt.
Given the current growth in orders, the trend for vegan fast food isn't likely to disappear any time soon, Health — wise, it may not be any more nourishing than regular fast food, but for many， the lack of animal suffering involved in the process is a big plus.
1.What's the main idea of Paragraph 1?
A.Vegans in the UK are increasing.
B.British people love junk food.
C.Eating too much fast food is bad for health.
D.Vegan fast food is becoming popular in Britain.
2.Which might be the reason for the popularity of vegan fast food?
A.Its unique flavors. B.The change of life pace.
C.Its health benefits. D.Its colorful decorations.
3.What is Azmina Govindji's opinion about vegan fast food?
A.It is not so healthy. B.It is more varied.
C.It is more nutritious. D.It will soon disappear.
4.Why do many people tend to vegan fast food according to the last sentence?
A.To keep a balanced diet. B.For religious reasons.
C.Out of the love for animals. D.It's cheaper than regular food.
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
More and more people around the world are taking a look at urban farming. It can make our food as ______ as possible. By growing what we ______ near where we live, we decrease the “food miles” linked with long-distance ______. We also get the freshest ______.
Growing fruits and vegetables in cities will ______ the community (社区) greatly. ______ can earn extra income by ______ excessive (多余的) produce at community events and farmers’ markets. As such markets grow, they may ______ full-time staff from the community. Thus more job opportunities will be ______.
Another benefit of urban farming is that it can make our cities ______. It will add plants, bring fresh air, and ______ shading. It can help raise people’s awareness about the ______. With more rooftops and yard gardens, local people would have more peaceful places for ______. What’s more, a greener city will ______ tourists.
However, there exist some ______. For example, land in cities is often expensive. If more urban gardens are ______, the rents and house prices will be raised. Urban soils are often loaded with poisons. This requires soil improvement ______ planting can be done ______. Narrow space in cities can ______ the size of a farm. And getting enough water and sunlight can be a(n) ______ task. Considering all these problems, it seems that we still have a long way to go.
1.A. local B. delicious C. simple D. healthy
2.A. bring B. need C. like D. have
3.A. lines B. calls C. arrangement D. transportation
4.A. material B. evidence C. air D. produce
5.A. enlarge B. protect C. benefit D. unite
6.A. Customers B. Porters C. Growers D. Cleaners
7.A. collecting B. showing C. returning D. selling
8.A. hire B. help C. guide D. pay
9.A. missed B. provided C. ruined D. taken
10.A. larger B. greener C. busier D. quieter
11.A. use B. allow C. increase D. cover
12.A. diet B. technology C. environment D. disease
13.A. communication B. retirement C. competition D. relaxation
14.A. attract B. avoid C. affect D. accept
15.A. difficulties B. losses C. sufferings D. doubts
16.A. tidied B. created C. improved D. designed
17.A. since B. unless C. when D. before
18.A. safely B. gradually C. slowly D. lately
19.A. reach B. limit C. vary D. match
20.A. pleasant B. dangerous C. huge D. immediate
高三英语完形填空中等难度题查看答案及解析