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
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
Today, several of the world's nearly 7,000 languages face a serious risk of extinction. "For example, Ainu, a language in Japan, is now seriously threatened, with only 10 native speakers left," said lead study author Tatsuya Amano at the University of Cambridge in England.
The scientists found that 25 percent of the world's languages are threatened. After identifying where the endangered languages were, they looked for any environmental and social or economic factors those languages might have in common, such as rugged terrain or rapid population growth. "We found that at the global scale, language speaker declines are strongly linked to economic growth-that is, declines are particularly occurring in economically developed regions," Amano said.
One important implication of this new study "is that languages in the tropics and Himalayan region are likely to be increasingly threatened in the near future, because these regions still have many local indigenous languages (土语) with a small number of speakers, and at the same time are experiencing rapid economic growth," Amano said.
Economic growth may endanger languages for a variety of reasons. For instance, speakers of endangered languages may view another more dominant language as offering economic opportunities, and thus forego their own languages. There are other important factors that might endanger languages, the researchers said. For instance, policies regarding how languages are used and taught in schools can be very different among countries and even within each country, and these factors may explain more detailed patterns in language endangerment.
Amano suggested it could be possible to forecast future threats to linguistic diversity. "There exists detailed information on projected future changes in the environment, economies and climates," Amano said. "Using such information, together with the findings of this study and further analysis, we would like to understand what will happen to the world's languages, where it will happen and which languages will be threatened in particular."
1.The language of Ainu is mentioned in Paragraph l in order to tell us that _______________.
A. Japanese is new seriously threatened
B. few people speak Japanese in the world
C. Japanese is made up of many languages
D. it is most likely to disappear in the future
2.What may endanger the languages most according to Amano?
A. The diversity of society.
B. The decline of the population.
C. The development of economy
D. The improvement of the environment.
3.The writer shows us the reasons that languages are endangered by ___________________.
A. offering some examples
B. performing some experiments .
C. telling some interesting stories
D. making a list of important facts .
4.It can be inferred from the last paragraph that _______________.
A. the study is very important to languages
B. world's languages are developing rapidly
C. it is rather hard for us to protect languages
D. future threats to languages can be predicted
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 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
As the most frequently spoken language in the world, Chinese ________ in many schools in Europe.
A. is teaching B is taught C. has taught D. teaches
高三英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析
As the most ________ spoken language in the world,Chinese is taught in many schools in Europe.
A.frequently B.properly
C.slightly D.differently
高三英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析
第二卷(共35分)
第五部分:任务型阅读 (共10小题;每小题1分,满分10分)
There are a number of languages spoken throughout the world. Every person knows at least one language, which he learns in his childhood and is routinely used for speaking and writing. However, many people are fond of learning two or more languages, so they try to be bilingual, which means that they try to have the knowledge of two or more languages. And being bilingual can bring a person a number of benefits in various aspects. For example:
A person can get cognitive(认知的) benefits from it. The bilingual people have two or more words for each idea and object. Therefore, a bilingual person can develop a creative thinking. The bilinguals are aware of which language should be spoken with which person in a particular situation. So they are more sensitive(敏感的) to the needs of the listener than the people who only use one language: Being bilingual also improves and enriches a person's mental development.
Being bilingual has a positive effect on a person's character. The bilinguals are able to switch between different languages and talk to different people in various languages. It increases a sense of self-esteem( 自尊). Being bilingual creates a powerful link in different people from different countries.
A bilingual education offers better curriculum(课程) results. The bilinguals tend to show a higher performance in examinations and tests. The bilinguals find it quite easy to learn and speak three, four or more languages.
Being bilingual offers potential employment benefits. It offers a wider choice of jobs in various fields. The bilinguals can get a great many career opportunities in transport, tourism, public relations, marketing and sales, banking, translation, law, teaching and so on.
So it can be concluded from the above that we should try our best to learn and master two or more languages.
Title: 71.__________ of being bilingual
72._________ | Having the knowledge of two or more languages. | |
Benefits | Cognition | ● Make a person think 73.__________. ● Make a person more sensitive to the listener's 74.__________. ● Improve and enrich a person's mental development. |
75._________ | ● Increase a person's sense of 76.__________. ●Create a powerful link in different people from different countries. | |
Curriculum | ● Enable a person to 77.__________ better in examinations and tests. ● Make a person easily learn and speak more languages. | |
78._________ | ● Offer a person more 79.__________ in finding jobs. | |
80.________ | We should try our best to learn and master two or more languages. |
高三英语任务型阅读简单题查看答案及解析
Experts say there are about 6,500 languages spoken throughout the world.But the United Nations estimates that about half of these languages are in danger of disappearing.
One non-profit organization seeking to save world languages is a New York-based group called Wikitongues.Officials from Wikitongues say the organization has a simple goal:to provide the tools and support that people need to save their languages.
Udell is the co-founder of Wikitongues.He said 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.Because of this.Udell believes the process of bringing languages back must be done by community members themselves,“from the ground up,”he said.
“There is no way an outside organization can save someone’s language for them.”
Wikitongues was launched in 2016 as an open internet collection of world languages.The self-described“community”is operated by volunteers from around the world.The collection is in the form of language videos that people add to the Wikitongues website.
There are currently more than 400 languages and dialects represented on Wikitongues’YouTube channel.Udell says more than 1,500 people from 70 different countries have added videos to the system.
“We have people from India who record dozens of languages,which is beyond their own.”he said.
One of Wikitongues’volunteers is Kolokwe,who lives in Namibia.His native language is Subiya,however,he does not get the chance to speak his native language every day.Like many other educated people from his area,he speaks a lot of English and Afrikaans.
Kolokwe is hoping his involvement with Wikitongues call help keep Subiya and other African languages from going extinct.He wants the world to know about his language.But his goal goes beyond just sharing his language with others through video.He is also working to create a dictionary and language teaching materials that can be used in schools.
1.What is tile result of languages disappearing?
A. People are uncertain about who they are.
B. All the customs and beliefs are still existing.
C. People can not communicate with each other.
D. The community becomes more independent.
2.Which of the following is true of Wikitongues?
A. It was founded by the United Nations.
B. Officials from it want to make money.
C. It contributes to saving languages.
D. 1500 languages are uploaded on its website.
3.Why is Kolokwe involved in volunteering?
A. He has no chance to speak his native language.
B. He dislikes speaking English and Afrikaans.
C. He wants to stop his native language dying out.
D. He hopes to teach his language in school himself.
4.What can we infer from the opinion of Udell?
A. The majority of languages have been saved.
B. Wikitongues can save languages disappearing.
C. Internet plays a more important part than volunteers.
D. Only community members can save their own languages.
高三英语阅读理解困难题查看答案及解析
Experts say there are about 6,500 languages spoken throughout the world. But the United Nations guesses that about half of these languages are in danger of disappearing.
One organization seeking to save world languages is Wikitongues. It has a simple goal: to provide the tools and support that people need to save their languages. When a language disappears, many other things can go away as well. For example, parts of a community's(社区的)culture. knowledge and identity can also be lost.
Because of this, Udell. co-founder of Wikitongues. believes the process of bringing languages hack must be done by community members themselves. he said. "There is no way an outside organization can save someone's language for them.”
Wikitongues was started in 2016 as an open Internet collection of world languages. The self-described "community" is operated by volunteers from around the world. The collection is in the form of language videos that people speaking the languages add to the Wikitongues website.
Udell says saving languages does count. There are many examples of languages that disappeared but later returned to use. "Hebrew went extinct(灭绝的)in the 4th century BC, and was revived(复兴)in the 1800s. Now once again,it's the mother tongue of half of the world's Jewish population.”Another example is a Native American tribe. The tribe's language went extinct in the 1940s. But the tribe was able to successfully build up a "language recovery" in recent years.
One of Wikitongues' volunteers is Theron Kolokwe. who lives in Namibia. His native language is Subiya. which is spoken by about 30.000 people.
"I want the world to know about my language,” Kolokwe said. But his goal goes beyond just sharing his language with others through video. He is also working to create a dictionary and language teaching materials that can be used in schools.
1.What does Udell consider important in saving languages?
A. Gathering language information. B. Relying on the language speakers.
C. Setting up an outside organization. D. Combining languages with culture.
2.How does Wikitongues help save languages?
A. By getting language videos from its speakers collected.
B. By building an online dictionary for each language.
C. By creating a real-life community for its speakers.
D. By requiring volunteers to learn new languages.
3.What do the examples in paragraph 5 suggest?
A. The achievements of Wikitongues. B. The influences of languages on life.
C. The significance of saving languages. D. The difficulty with language recovery.
4.What can be a suitable title for the text?
A. Wikitongues Is Struggling to Spread Languages
B. Wikitongues Starts a Language Learning Website
C. Wikitongues Is Bringing Old Languages Back to Life
D. Wikitongues Seeks to Save World's Dying Languages
高三英语阅读理解困难题查看答案及解析
A large variety of languages exist in the world. Every language has 1. own special words and expressions. And a story can be told about each of them.
Hot is a simple, 2. (easy) understood word. So are most of the 3. (express) made with the word hot. 4. not always, as we shall see. The words hot and potato, for example, give you no idea at all to the meaning of the expression, hot potato.
The potato is a popular vegetable in the United States. Many people like 5. (bake) potatoes, cooked in an oven or fire. Imagine trying to carry a hot potato in your hand. It would be difficult, even painful, to do so.
Now we are getting close to the meaning of hot potato. Some publicly disputed (广泛争议的 )issues are highly sensitive. The issues must be treated carefully, or they will be difficult and painful if 6. elected official has to deal with them. They will be as difficult and painful 7. holding a hot potato.
One such hot potato is taxes. Calling for 8. (high) taxes can mean defeat for a politician. And yet, 9. taxes are not raised, some very popular government programs could be cut. And that also can make a politician very unpopular. So the questions must 10. (deal) with carefully, the same way you would handle any other hot potato.
高三英语其他题中等难度题查看答案及解析