As more and more people speak the global languages of English, Chinese, Spanish, and Arabic, other languages are rapidly disappearing. In fact, half of the 6,000-7,000 languages spoken around the world today will likely die out by the next century, according to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
In an effort to prevent language loss, scholars from a number of organizations — UNESCO and National Geographic among them — have for many years been documenting dying languages and the cultures they reflect.
Mark Turin, a scientists at the Macmillan Centre Yale University, who specializes in the languages and oral traditions of the Himalayas, is following in that tradition. His recently published book, A Grammar of Thangmi with an Ethnolingustic Introduction to the Speaker and Their Culture, grows out of his experience of living, working, and raising a family in a village in Nepal.
Documenting the Thang-mi language and culture is just a starting point for Turin, who seeks to include other languages and oral traditions across the Himalayan reaches of India, Nepal, Bhutan, and China. But he is not content to simply record these voices before they disappear without record.
At the University of Cambridge Turin discovered a wealth of important materials — including photographs, films, tape recording, and field notes — which had remained unstudied and were badly in need of care and protection.
Now, through the two organizations that he has founded — the Digital Himalaya Project and the World Oral Literature Project — Turin has started a campaign to make such documents available not just to scholars but to the younger generations of communities from whom the materials were originally collected. Thanks to digital technology and the widely available Internet, Turin notes, the endangered languages can be saved reconnected with speech communities.
1. Many scholars are making efforts to __________.| A．promote global languages | B．rescue disappearing languages |
| C．search for language communities | D．set up language research organizations |
| A．Having full records of the languages. |
| B．Writing books on languages teaching. |
| C．Telling stories about language users. |
| D．Living with the native speaker. |
| A．The cultural studies. | B．The documents available at Yale. |
| C．His language research in Bhutan. | D．His personal experience in Nepal. |
| A．Write, sell and donate. | B．Record, repair and reward. |
| C．Collect, protect and reconnect. | D．Design, experiment and report. |
相似题推荐
【推荐1】English as a Foreign Language
There are now about 376 million people who speak English as their first language,and about the same number who have learnt it in addition to their mother tongue.There are one billion people learning English now and about 80% of the information on the Internet is in English.
Is this a good thing,or a bad thing?Should we celebrate the fact that more and more of us can communicate,using a common language,across countries and cultures?Or should we worry about the dangers of “mono-culturalism”,a world in which we all speak the same language,eat the same food and listen to the same music?
Does it matter if an increasing number of people speak the same language?On the contrary,I would have thought—although I have never accepted the argument that if only we all understood each other better,there would be fewer wars.Ask the people of India(where many of them speak at least some English)and Pakistan(the same situation with India)....
If we all speak English,will we then all start eating McDonald’s burgers?Surely not.If English becomes more dominant(占主导地位的),will it kill other languages?I doubt it.When I travel in Africa or Asia,I am always surprised by how many people can speak not only their own language but often one or more other related languages,as well as English and perhaps some French or German as well.
When we discussed this on TalkingPoint a couple of years ago,we received a wonderful poetic e-mail from a listener in Ireland.“The English language is a beautiful language.Maybe it’s like a rose,” he said.“But who would ever want their garden just full of roses?”
1. By saying “Ask the people of India ...and Pakistan ...” in Paragraph 3,the author is trying to show that .| A．speaking the same language doesn’t necessarily bring peace |
| B．wars can destroy the peace between two countries |
| C．English doesn’t kill other languages |
| D．English is widely spoken in the world |
| A．Language. | B．Family. |
| C．The world. | D．The culture. |
| A．it’s very hard to plant many kinds of flowers in a garden |
| B．it’s good for people from other countries to learn English |
| C．more and more people like to plant roses in their gardens |
| D．English is easier to learn than other languages |
| A．Why English has become a global language. |
| B．How many people in the world speak English. |
| C．How people in the world learn English as a foreign language. |
| D．Whether we need to worry about English being a world language. |
【推荐2】The death of languages is not a new phenomenon. Languages usually have a relatively short life span as well as a very high death rate. Only a few, including Egyptian, Chinese, Greek, Latin, have lasted more than 2,000 years.
What is new, however, is the speed at which they are dying out. Europe's colonial conquests caused a sharp decline in linguistic diversity, eliminating at least 15 percent of all languages spoken at the time. Over the last 300 years, Europe has lost a dozen, and Australia has only 20 left of the 250 spoken at the end of the 18th century.
The rise of nation-states has also been decisive in selecting and consolidating national languages and sidelining others. By making great efforts to establish an official language in education, the media and the civil service, national governments have deliberately tried to eliminate minority languages.
This process of linguistic standardization has been boosted by industrialization and scientific progress, which have imposed new methods of communication that are swift, straightforward and practical. Language diversity came to be seen as an obstacle to trade and the spread of knowledge. Monolingualism became an ideal.
More recently, the internationalization of financial markets, the spread of information by electronic media and other aspects of globalization have intensified the threat to “small” languages. A language not on the Internet is a language that “no longer exists'' in the modern world. It is out of the game.
The serious effects of the death of languages are evident. First of all, it is possible that if we all ended up speaking the same language, our brains would lose some of their natural capacity for linguistic inventiveness. We would never be able to figure out the origins of human language or resolve the mystery of "the first language". As each language dies, a chapter of human history closes.
Multilingualism is the most accurate reflection of multiculturalism. The destruction of the first will inevitably lead to the loss of the second. Imposing a language without any links to a people's culture and way of life stifles the expression of their collective genius. A language is not only used for the main instrument of human communication. It also expresses the world vision of those who speak it, their ways of using knowledge. To safeguard languages is an urgent matter.
1. Which of the following does not contribute to the death of languages?| A．Colonial conquests of Europe |
| B．The boom of human population |
| C．Advances in science and industrialization |
| D．The rise of nation-states |
| A．boosts | B．fuels |
| C．imposes | D．kills |
| A．People would fail to understand how languages originated |
| B．Language diversity would become an obstacle to globalization |
| C．Monolingualism would lead to the loss of multiculturalism |
| D．Human brains would become less creative linguistically |
| A．To explain the reasons why languages are dying out. |
| B．To warn people of the negative aspects of globalization. |
| C．To call people's attention to the urgency of language preservation. |
| D．To argue how important it is for people to speak more languages. |
【推荐3】If you live in a place where most people speak the language you are learning, you may use the language for several hours each day. But you may not have these chances to practice English. You may even be self-taught. The good news is that thinking in English can bring you a huge step closer to fluency!
Think in single words.
Another exercise is describing in your mind objects you don’t know the words for. An example would be if you couldn’t think of the word “garage”, Hinshaw says. “
Think in sentences.
The next exercise is thinking in simple sentences. For example,
Describe your day.
Another exercise experts suggest is to describe your daily activities. You can mentally make plans in the morning when you wake up. This would require future verb tenses. So the skill level is a little higher.
| A．Describe unknown words |
| B．Guess the meaning of a new word |
| C．if you are sitting in a park |
| D．A good first step is to think in single words |
| E．Hinshaw says doing this can help learners of any language |
| F．If you’re looking at your house and you see your garage |
| G．It is not very difficult |
【推荐1】Clark’s Nutcrackers generally live in high mountain whitebark pine (白皮松) forests. They seem to prefer forests that open or, at least, with frequent openings. The bird has a gray body with black wings and tail. If you were to draw a cartoon combining a crow with a woodpecker( KNA), you would have the Clark’s Nutcracker. It is a member of the family Corvidae, which includes crows. It was first discovered during the Lewis and Clark Expedition — the first American expedition to cross what is now the western part of the US. Clark described it as “some form of woodpecker”.
The nutcracker consumes the seeds of the whitebark pine. In late summer and fall, the tracker will begin to store its seeds. The bird buries the seeds in the soil. A single Clark’s Nutcracker may store upwards of 30, 000 seeds each year, and there may be as many as 1, 000 separate storage sites. In the winter, they will get the seeds back for food.
This creature, however, does not just rely on its food stores. Much of its diet consists of pine seeds and the remainder is composed of nuts, berries, insects, eggs, and in the winter dead animals flesh. They search for food in the trees and on the ground. They catch insects out of midair in flight. Occasionally, the bird becomes a woodpecker using its specialized mouth to pound dead wood for insects.
The nutcracker possesses the behavior suitable to spread the seeds constantly.
The bird stores them deep enough in the soil to greatly reduce the problem of rodents (啮齿动物) finding the seeds. It will certainly fail to get back a certain percentage of its food. The unused seeds will then start to grow and become new trees so not only does the Clark’s Nutcracker take advantage of the whitebark pine, the tree uses the bird too.
1. What do we know about the Clark’s Nutcracker?| A．It looks like a kind of crow |
| B．It has bright and colorful body |
| C．It likes living in the riverside. |
| D．It belongs to a species of Corvidae. |
| A．caring and fierce |
| B．sensitive and beautiful |
| C．hardworking and intelligent |
| D．clever and selfless |
| A．The nutcracker can help to spread seeds. |
| B．The nutcracker faces the danger of dying out. |
| C．Rodents are the whitebark pine’s main enemies. |
| D．The birds can hide their food inside the whitebark pine. |
About 10 percent of outbound（出境的）Chinese tourists get expensive marring charges（漫游费）by using 3G-powered smart phones. About 90 percent of Chinese travelers consider Wi-Fi indispensable when traveling abroad They often use phone apps to create travel routes and book hotels, which requires large data flows that can be expensive without Wi-Fi
But free Wi-Fi is not always available, even in regions with advanced telecnrnmunications，such as the United States and Europe. Portable Wi-Fi costs 15 -50 yuan a day，depending on the country. Ifs cheaper in South Korea,Japan and Thailand. The Wi-Fi services increase rapidly thanks to reasonable pricing and smooth surfing
Thus, a growing number of travel agencies begin to offer increasingly diverse Wi-Fi services. A travel website Ctrip leases Wi-Fi transmitters that offer unlimited data for about 20 yuan a day on average in more than 100 countries. It plans to make mobile Wi-Fi an important part of its business model. Another travel website Tumiu also launched a Wi-Fi phone service in 2013. More than 100, 000 people used the service in 2014.
More than 100 million Chinese went abroad last year, and the 10 percent who used Wi-Fi services spent an average of 150 youn, and it’s expected to grow largely. But the business may become out of date in five to eight years, for more locations am offering free Wi-Fi. 1n the meantime, it is reported that more for-profit models should be introduced and offer more services for outbound travelers in the future
1. Why do Chinese travelers prefer hotels and restaurants with free Wi-Fi when traveling abroad?
| A．They want to have their phones updated. |
| B．They are fond of using phone apps to create their travel routes. |
| C．They prefer to experience the Wi-Fi service in different countries |
| D．They'd like to share what they have seen with their friends and family |
| A．Necessary. | B．Useless. |
| C．Expensive. | D．Amazing. |
| A．Travel websites will stop offering free Wi-Fi services to travelers. |
| B．Travel website Tuniu intended to compete with Ctrip and launched its Wi-Fi phone service |
| C．The portable Wi-Fi costs less when traveling in some Asian countries than in European countries |
| D．The demand for Wi-Fi transmitters is growing in pace with 3G-smartphones. |
| A．It will be useless when for-profit models me introduced |
| B．It will be used by more then 100 million Chinese next year |
| C．It will grow in the future but will be outdated in a couple of years |
| D．It will offer more non-profit services for outbound travelers. |
【推荐3】Negative thoughts we have about ourselves can destroy our spirits. Many of us have problems with negative thoughts. The negative thoughts lead to bad feelings and they make you believe that the bad things you are suffering are actually true. In short, they bring your focus on your failures, which will make you depressed. What can you do to avoid negative thoughts to affect you?
Recognize that actions always follow beliefs
Whatever you believe, you’ll experience more of them.
Picture the good things
If you want to change the negative tapes playing in your heads, you have to imagine yourself positively that means judging yourself right.
You may talk to yourself with statements like "if only" or "what if". The former keeps reminding you of the past with regret, while the latter keeps you fearful of the future. There is nothing you can do about the past and the future isn't here yet.
Develop positive views
Instead of always putting yourself down in your head, think of some things you actually like about yourself. Tell yourself " I am able. I'm good at it." instead of saying "I'm not good enough",
Thinking poorly gets us nowhere and is extremely self-limiting. Decide, today, to turn off the negative channel in your mind and develop your true possibilities.
| A．Forget the past |
| B．Live in the moment |
| C．Here are some suggestions |
| D．Make friends with optimistic people |
| E．Imagine a picture about yourself |
| F．Always keep positive, rather than say something negative |
| G．You’ll also find your actions are suitable for your beliefs |
【推荐1】Scientists from around the world examined whether supplements marketed are good for brain health, particularly in those aged over 50. Despite the claims of some supplements that they could improve cognitive （认知的）skills, no clear evidence was found to back this up.
The report said, "For the handful that have been researched, several well-designed studies of supplements for brain health found no benefit in people with normal nutrient levels. It's unclear whether people who lack nutrition can benefit their brains by taking a supplement. The pills failed to protect against dementia （痴呆）and did not slow the process or improve the symptoms of the disease and the report said that a healthy diet rich in fruit and vegetables, being physically active and getting sufficient sleep were linked to better brain function. ”
The value of the food supplement market in Britain is expected to reach more than £1 billion by 2012 and supplements sold on the high street for brain performance cost up to £26 for 60 pills. And Caroline Abrahams, the charity director at Age UK said that people were better off spending money to improve diets.
The report did find evidence suggesting that supplements could benefit people diagnosed with lacking vitamin. It added that these should only be taken if advised by a doctor because some supplements could interact with medicines or contain high levels of nutrients, which could be deadly. Supplements were not strictly controlled in the way that medicines were and may not contain high-quality ingredients or what was on the label, the report said.
The Health Food Manufacturers' Association, which represents the British supplement industry, said that the report was based on the American market. In Britain products could only make claims approved by the European Food Safety Authority, such as the zinc （锌）contributed to normal cognitive functions, a spokesman said.
1. What is the finding of the scientists about the supplements?| A．They bring about no positive effect. | B．They break the balance of normal life. |
| C．They get people to get addicted to them. | D．They are hardly suitable for the younger. |
| A．be aware of their needs clearly | B．change their daily diets regularly |
| C．take control of the market strictly | D．make use of their money properly |
| A．Follow professional suggestions. |
| B．Be sure of the vitamins they lack. |
| C．Refer to the instructions of the labels. |
| D．Avoid taking together with other medicines. |
| A．Annoying. | B．Unacceptable. |
| C．Worrying. | D．Favorable. |
【推荐2】Wonder Woman 1984
Wonder Woman 1984 was finally leaping into cinemas in December — and onto a streaming platform. Gal Gadot returns as the brave Amazon princess, this time battling Kristen Wiig's Cheetah in the 1980s; and Chris Pine is back as Steve Trevor.
Released in cinemas on 25 Dec in the US, Canada and Scandinavia, and from 16 Dec in the UK and around the world.
The Midnight Sky
George Clooney stars as Augustine, a scientist stationed in an Arctic observatory. He needs to contact a spaceship so that he can warn its astronauts not to return to the ruined Earth. The Midnight Sky is adapted from Lily Brooks-Dalton's novel by Mark L Smith, the co-screenwriter of The Revenant.
On Netflix from 23 Dec.
News of the World
In News of the World, Tom Hanks plays a former Civil War soldier who makes his living as a storyteller. When he finds a 10-year-old girl who was taken away by a native tribe, he takes her across Texas to reunite her with her aunt and uncle. Adapted from the novel by Paulette Jiles.
Released in cinemas on 25 Dec in the US and Canada, and on 1 Jan in the UK and Spain.
Wolfwalkers
It is set in the mid 17th-Centuiy when English soldiers are trying to train the wild woods near Kilkenny. One hunter's daughter learns that there aren't just wolves in the forest, but “wolfWkers” who can change into wolves at night. Critics praises “a heartwarming story of family and friendship, a family-friendly examination of the horror of severe control, an exciting adventure about two girls finding themselves, and a secret art history lesson...
On Apple TV+ from 11 Dec.
1. What do The Midnight Sky and News of the World have in common?| A．They have a similar story. | B．They were created from novels. |
| C．They can be enjoyed on the Internet. | D．They were released on the same day. |
| A．Wolfwalker. | B．The Midnight Shy. |
| C．News of the world. | D．Wonder woman 1984. |
| A．To share some stories. | B．To introduce some films. |
| C．To comment on some films. | D．To describe different characters. |
【推荐3】Samuel Osmond is a 19-year-old law student from Cornwall, England. He never studied the piano. However, he can play very difficult musical pieces by musicians such as Chopin and Beethoven just a few minutes after he hears them. He learns a piece of music by listening to it in parts. Then he thinks about the notes in his head. Two years ago, he played his first piece Moonlight Sonata (奏鸣曲) by Beethoven. He surprised everyone around him.
Amazed that he remembered this long and difficult piece of music and played it perfectly, his teachers say Samuel is unbelievable. They say his ability is very rare, but Samuel doesn't even realize that what he can do is special. Samuel wanted to become a lawyer as it was the wish of his parents, but music teachers told him he should study music instead. Now, he studies law and music.
Samuel can't understand why everyone is so surprised. "I grew up with music. My mother played the piano and my father played the guitar. About two years ago, I suddenly decided to start playing the piano, without being able to read music and without having any lessons. It comes easily to me—I hear the notes and can bear them in mind—each and every note," says Samuel.
Recently, Samuel performed a piece during a special event at his college. The piece had more than a thousand notes. The audience was impressed by his amazing performance. He is now learning a piece that is so difficult that many professional pianists can't play it. Samuel says confidently, "It's all about super memory—I guess I have that gift."
However, Samuel's ability to remember things doesn't stop with music. His family says that even when he was a young boy, Samuel heard someone read a story, and then he could retell the story word for word.
Samuel is still only a teenager. He doesn't know what he wants to do in the future. For now, he is just happy to play beautiful music and continue his studies.
1. What is special about Samuel Osmond?| A．He has a gift for writing music. |
| B．He can write down the note he hears. |
| C．He is a top student at the law school. |
| D．He can play the musical piece he hears. |
| A．Samuel chose law against the wish of his parents. |
| B．Samuel planned to be a lawyer rather than a musician. |
| C．Samuel thinks of himself as a man of great musical ability. |
| D．Samuel studies law and music on the advice of his teachers. |
| A．received a good early education in music |
| B．played the guitar and the piano perfectly |
| C．could play the piano without reading music |
| D．could play the guitar better than his father |
| A．He became famous during a special event at his college. |
| B．He is proud of his ability to remember things accurately. |
| C．He plays the piano better than many professional pianists. |
| D．He impressed the audience by playing all the musical pieces. |
【推荐1】“Alexa, what’s 5 minus 3?” A 6-year-old boy recently asked that question in a video, which was popular on Twitter. Alexa, Amazon’s voice-started assistant, delivered a quick answer: 2.
It’s cute, but it raises a question that’s been on the minds of many parents and educators lately: How do virtual assistants like Alexa affect children’s learning experiences?
Clint Hill, an English teacher, says in his classrooms he often sees “children quietly talking into their phones and asking Google or other services to spell some complicated words that they don’t know.” But Hill says he doesn’t mind. “I struggle with spelling, and spellcheck on my word processing has been a lifesaver for me.” he says. “I think being able to use those technological aids is not hurting anybody,” Hill adds.
But some experts say it’s not just about learning basic math or spelling. “One of the best gifts we can give our children is doing that kind of problem-solving together,” says Diane Levin, a professor of applied human development. Levin says it’s important for children to learn to struggle—even just a little—with challenges. “They will use those skills that they’re learning for all kinds of things that come along,” Levin says.
How much concern should parents have over Alexa and their children? Every new wave of technology, from calculators to TV sets, causes a panic about its effect on children, and nostalgia (怀旧) for the past, says Dimitri Christakis, an expert in child health, behavior and development.
But he says that a child watching television is having a completely passive experience. Because new technology is interactive, “it helps understand how the world works,” Christakis says. “But while watching television, you play no role in the content,” Christakis says.
Still, he agrees that this debate is about much more than knowing what 5 minus 3 is. It’s also about developing the patience to solve problems. “That ability to stay focused,” he says, “is one of the most important developmental skills that children acquire.”
1. What can be inferred from Hill’s words?| A．Technological aids are helpful. |
| B．His students don’t use their brains. |
| C．His students aren’t focused in class. |
| D．Spelling is really difficult for small children. |
| A．They fail to solve problems. |
| B．They give children challenges. |
| C．They present a threat to teachers at school. |
| D．They are harmful to children’s development. |
| A．New technology affects children most. | B．New technology tends to cause worries. |
| C．Television has been a thing of the past. | D．Today’s parents are too concerned. |
| A．Their ability to interact with others. | B．Their ability to learn from the past. |
| C．Their ability to study technology. | D．Their ability to pay attention. |
【推荐2】According to the notice from the government, our school will close and your child can stay at home if it snows in order to avoid the traffic inconvenience and possible danger. But Snow Day is not a homework-free holiday. We will call it Snow Learning Day.
Snow Learning Day is a time for students to continue learning at home when they miss a day of regular school study. Students will have the opportunity for skill improvement through computer or paper worksheets.
We will send home a packet with each student that contains work for Snow Learning. Please sign your name in the following activity boxes when you make sure your child completes for each Snow Learning Day we have. Your child needs to return this sheet and all completed work to Mr. Turner within 5 days after they return to school.
ACTIVITY BOX ON SNOW LEARNING DAY
| ● Create a 15-song play list from the 1970s, 1980s or 1990s that you think your parents would have listened to growing up. Include the song title and the artist. | ● Write a biography of your favorite writer. Explore important details about their life, their works and writing style. |
| ● Think of a fictional book you have read recently. Write a new ending to that book. Minimum one page. | ● Write a step-by-step guide that explains in detail how to prepare and cook a meal that you made on your snow day. |
1. What is Snow Learning Day according to paragraph I?
| A．It is a school festival. |
| B．It is a computer program. |
| C．It is a school-free day with homework。. |
| D．It is a wintertime safety training activity. |
| A．Learning 15 old songs. | B．Writing a cooking guide. |
| C．Exploring a fictional book. | D．Interviewing a writer. |
| A．Government. | B．Teachers. |
| C．Parents. | D．Students. |
【推荐3】Google has launched its Pixel 5 smart phone—a 5G-compatible flagship device with a more affordable price tag—and an updated Nest smart speaker, alongside new services including google TV．
Although the Pixel 5 had been announced earlier this year when google launched the low-cost Pixel 4a phone, consumers are now being given their first look at the device and its instructions.
The new handset’s stand-out feature isn’t its 6”screen or 90Hz OLED display, but its significantly reduced price tag—coming in at￡599($699), well below the￡669($799)that the last generation Pixel 4 retailed at．
Affordability seems to have been the key factor for Google when developing the new device, with 5G connectivity allowing users to connect to services off of the device, rather than rely on the impressive hardware itself outperforming market competition such as Apple’s iPhone—the latest of which is set to be launched next month．
Access to Google services has always been the Pixel’s main selling point, and a principal advertising image for the new phone shows it being used with a controller for Google Stadia—the company’s games streaming platform．A three-month subscription to stadia pro is presented with the Pixel 5, as are subscriptions to some of the company’s other digital services．
“The global economic crisis will suppress(阻止)the demand for smartphones for at least the next 12 months．” said Marina Koytcheva of analyst firm CCS Insight．
1. What’s Pixel 5’s stand-out feature?| A．Its 6’ screen． | B．Its affordability． |
| C．Its 90Hz OLED display． | D．Its service． |
| A．Apple’s latest is better than Google’s latest． |
| B．Google’s latest is set to be launched next month． |
| C．Users rely on the impressive hardware of the device． |
| D．Users can connect to services when the device is off． |
| A．Some of other digital devices． |
| B．A controller for Google services． |
| C．A three-month subscription to stadia pro． |
| D．The company’s games streaming platform． |
| A．To introduce a new product | B．To develop a new product |
| C．To improve a new product | D．To invest a new product |
