Silbo Gomero is an ancient language of whistle that enabled people to communicate across long distances before the invention of the telephone or the computer. It’s now being revived on mountainous Canary Islands and the island of La Gomera, where the usual language is Spanish.
The Canary Islands government is providing funding to help school children on La Gomera to learn this ancient whistling language as part of their heritage. It sounds like birdsongs and was developed thousands of years ago by islanders to enable them to communicate up to two miles across La Gomera’s valleys.
In the past, Silbo Gomero has been passed down from parent to child, but the islanders felt embarrassed at this form of communication when they came into contact with the outside world and modern technology. It started to die out when the telephone arrived and the island open to tourism. However, the government realized what was happening and decided to make sure that it would not be lost. So, since 1999 Silbo Gomero has been part of the school curriculum and now about 3,000 Gomero children spend at least 25 minutes a week learning it. This is enough time for the basics to be learned.
Probably originating in the Atlas Mountains of North Africa, the language was brought to the island by settlers 2,500 years ago. It was adapted to Spanish speech patterns, but uses tones rather than vowels and consonants (辅音). These are whistled at different frequencies (频率) to produce over 4,000 words, making proper conversations possible.
The importance of the language is growing. In 2003 the island held the first International Congress of Whistled Languages. Research is now being carried out in all places to which Gomerans have traditionally emigrated (移居国外) and where forms of the language survive. The Canary government’s Historical Heritage Department hopes to attract outside support so that it will continue.
1. According to the passage, which of the following is the reason for the disappearing of Silbo Gomero?A.The limited vocabulary. |
B.The arrival of modern technology. |
C.Gomerans’ traditional emigration. |
D.Its complex speech patterns. |
A.It originated in the island of La Gomero. |
B.It was adapted to English speech pattern. |
C.It was developed for long-distance communication. |
D.It has more than 4,000 words made up of vowels and consonants. |
A.the local government provides financial help |
B.students spend 25 minutes daily learning it |
C.the islanders begin to do research where it originated |
D.the islanders frequently use it to communicate with the outside world |
A.To call on people to protect cultural heritage. |
B.To advertise for La Gomera. |
C.To promote the use of Silbo Gomero. |
D.To introduce the dying language Silbo Gomero. |
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【推荐1】The British are known for their sense of humor. However, it is often difficult for foreigners to understand their jokes. The main point to remember is that the British often use understatement.
Understatement means saying less than you think or feel. For example, if someone gets very wet in shower of rain, he might say, “It’s a little damp (潮湿的) outside”. Or, if someone is very impolite and shouts at another person, someone else might say, “She isn’t exactly friendly ”. Understatement is often used in unpleasant situation or to make another person look silly. Understatement plays an important part in British humor.
Another key to understanding British humor is that the British like to make fun of themselves as well as others. They often laugh about the silly and unpleasant things that happen to our everyday life. They also like to make jokes about people from different classes of society. What’s more, the British love to watch comedies about people who do not know how to behave in society. The comedy series Mr. Bean is a good example of this kind of humor. Mr. Bean doesn’t talk often. Instead, he uses his body movements and facial expressions to make people laugh. Perhaps what makes Mr. Bean so funny is that he does things that adults in the real world cannot do. Mr. Bean is popular in many countries around the world because you do not have to speak English to understand the humor. Because of this, many people have become familiar with the British sense of humor.
1. What can we learn from the text?A.The British are famous for their sense of humor. |
B.The British are usually used to enlarging the fact. |
C.Understatement is often used in pleasant situation. |
D.The British like to play jokes on others instead of themselves. |
A.By using examples | B.By making comparisons |
C.By following time order | D.By describing a process |
A.he makes fun of others |
B.he doesn’t talk too much |
C.he copies others’ expressions |
D.he does what others will never do |
A.British humor in Comedy |
B.Humor in different cultures |
C.Understanding British Humor |
D.Developing Your Sense of Humor |
【推荐2】The key to effective cross-cultural communication is knowledge. First, it is essential that people understand the potential problems of cross-cultural communication, and make a conscious effort to overcome these problems. Second, it is important to assume(假定)that one’s efforts will not always be successful, and adjust one’s behavior appropriately.
For example, one should always assume that there is a great possibility that cultural differences are causing communication problems. One should respond slowly and carefully in cross-cultural exchanges, not jumping to the conclusion that you know what is being thought and said.
William Ury’s suggestion for heated conflicts is to stop, listen, and think, or as he puts it “go to the balcony” when the situation gets tense(紧张的). This helps in cross-cultural communication as well. When things seem to be going badly, stop or slow down and think. What could be going on here? Is it possible that I misinterpreted what they said?
Active listening can sometimes be used to check this out—by repeating what one thinks he/she heard, one can confirm that he/she understands the communication accurately.
Often intermediaries(调解人)can be helpful in cross-cultural communication situations. They can translate both the essential meaning and the manner of what is said. For example, they can tone down strong statements that would be considered appropriate in one culture but not in another, before they are given to people from a culture that does not talk together in such a strong way. They can also adjust the timing of what is said and done. Some cultures move quickly to the point; others talk about other things long enough to establish a relationship with the other person. If discussion on the primary topic begins too soon, the group that needs a “warm up” first will feel uncomfortable. An intermediary who understands this can explain the problem, and make appropriate adjustments.
1. What is the most important thing in cross-cultural communication?A.Knowledge of your own culture. |
B.The ability to take in different opinions. |
C.Awareness of the problems that may arise. |
D.Successful efforts to change your behavior. |
A.Patience. | B.Honesty. |
C.Generosity. | D.Stubbornness. |
A.Go outside and enjoy fresh air. |
B.Get out of the situation temporarily. |
C.Exchange positions with each other. |
D.Deal with the conflicts in a secret way. |
A.be an experienced translator |
B.know both cultures very well |
C.be directly involved in a discussion |
D.behave properly all through a discussion |
【推荐3】Partly due to a historical development marked by worldwide colonialism, urbanization, and globalization, in the course of this century humankind is likely to experience its most extreme cultural loss. As K. David Harrison notes in When Languages Die, “The last speakers of probably half of the world’s languages are alive today.” Their children or grandchildren are pressured to speak only the dominant language of their community or country. Under one estimate, more than 50% of the 6,900 or so languages identified nowadays are expected to become extinct in a matter of a few decades.
As a cognitive system, a language shows dynamic properties that cannot exist independently of its speakers. This is the sense in which the Anatolian languages and Dalmatian are extinct. Therefore, language preservation depends on the maintenance of the native-speaking human groups. Unfortunately, the most accelerated loss of distinct languages takes place where economic development is rapid, worsening the breakdown of minority communities that speak different languages. In this perspective, a language often begins to die long before the passing of the last speaker: New generations may start using it only for limited purposes, increasingly shifting to the community’s dominant language. In this process, knowledge of the dying language erodes both at the individual level and at the community level.
Linguistic diversity itself may be the worst loss at risk, because it may be the most promising and precise source of evidence for the range of variation allowed in the organization of the human cognitive system. For instance, Harrison discusses many strategies for manipulating quantities across languages, often endangered ones. The rapid loss of linguistic diversity substantially hinders comparative investigation about the multiple ways in which a single cognitive domain can be organized.
Linguists are well aware that their efforts alone cannot prevent this loss. Community involvement specially with government support, has proven essential in slowing or even reversing language loss in different cases (e.g. Basque and Irish). Crucially, endangered languages must be acquired by new generations of speakers. Here the biological metaphor adopted by Harrison applies appropriately - documentation of dead languages is akin to a fossil record, providing only partial clues about complex cognitive systems.
1. According to the first paragraph, language loss _________.A.is caused partly by colonialism, urbanization and globalization |
B.is the most extreme cultural loss people experience |
C.is expected to occur in a few centuries. |
D.occurs in less than half of the world’s 6,000 languages |
A.the disappearance of its last speakers |
B.the fact that new generations stop using it |
C.the official ban on speaking it |
D.its new generations’ decreased use of it |
A.turning endangered languages into dominant languages |
B.protecting minority groups by slowing economic growth |
C.relying on the joint efforts of linguists and government |
D.conducting comparative investigation across languages |
A.dead languages are similar to fossils in biological sense |
B.documentation is not enough for us to understand dead languages |
C.fossil records give a complete picture of ancient lives |
D.dead languages can remain alive if they are documented properly |
【推荐1】Every year, millions of people head to London's Trafalgar Square to see Nelson's Column, and the four lion statues that “guard" it. And last month, during the London Design Festival, a bright red lion sculpture(雕像) was added to the collection.
But this was more than just a statue: It had a large open mouth, with an LED screen inside it. At the same time, passersby could type in words on a screen close to the lion, which were used to produce an AI-created poem. The most interesting part of the poems lies in their randomness, as the words that people choose to enter include many things, such as the time, the weather and their mood. In the daytime,the finished poem appeared on the LED screen, but at night, it was projected(投射) onto the lion's body and the famous Nelson's Column, in a lovely light display.
Es Devlin, the sculpture's creator, was inspired(赋予灵感) by the history behind the four historic lion statues. Sir Edwin Landseer, the designer of the lions, wanted them to look much more lifelike, but Queen Victoria refused his plan. This made Devlin wonder, " What if we could give a lion a poetic voice?" According to Devlin, although England has seen many poems about national identity in recent years, these works have been lacking imagination. "I wanted to make a piece that was poetic," he told BBC News.
After standing for almost 180 years, the purpose of Trafalgar Square has changed over the years. But thanks to the high-tech lion and its poetry, the square will stand the test of time.
1. Why was the red lion more than just a statue?A.It had an LED screen inside it. |
B.It had a larger mouth than the others. |
C.It could produce an AI-created poem. |
D.Poems were projected onto the lion's body. |
A.Lacking styles. | B.Not having regular patterns. |
C.Being special. | D.Attracting passersby. |
A.They are creative. | B.They are not popular. |
C.They are not imaginative. | D.They are poetic and collective. |
A.Nelson's Column | B.The London Design Festival |
C.The history of lion statues | D.The red lion in Trafalgar Square |
【推荐2】The tradition of giving gifts didn’t start with the modern holidays we celebrate. Many ancient cultures celebrated holidays with the exchange of gifts. People who love to give gifts often can’t wait until it’s time for the recipients to open their gifts. If you’ve ever been given a gift, you know that part of the fun is the curiosity that builds as you wonder what the gift is.
The wish to hide the identity of a gift until just the right moment led people to wrap gifts long, long ago. Historians believed wrapping gifts in paper probably started not long after paper was invented thousands of years ago.
Wrapping paper like what we use today, though, is a much more recent invention. More than 100 years ago, gifts were usually wrapped in heavy brown paper. Before that, cloth was often used. The technology to mass-produce wrapping paper didn’t come along until the early 1900s. The first American gift wrap company— Hy-Sill Manufacturing Inc. — was founded by Eli Hyman and Morris Silverman in 1903. It wasn’t as easy to wrap presents back then as it is today, though, because adhesive tape (胶带) wasn’t invented until 1930.
Over the years, wrapping paper has developed into what we see in stores each holiday season. But scientists say that the United States alone produces an extra 5 million tons of waste over the holidays, most of which is from wrapping paper and shopping bags. To cut down on this waste, some people carefully unwrap presents, so that the wrapping paper can be reused. Others have started to use reusable gift bags instead of wrapping paper.
1. What is the interesting part of people giving a gift?A.Hiding their gifts and their feelings. |
B.Giving the recipients a surprise. |
C.Letting the recipients open gifts at once. |
D.Following a century-old tradition. |
A.People didn’t know wrapping paper until 1903. |
B.Heavy brown paper has been used to wrap gifts for 100 years. |
C.Technology made wrapping paper widely available. |
D.Adhesive tape was first created by gift wrap companies. |
A.The future of reusable gift bags. |
B.The waste produced by Americans. |
C.Wrapping paper’s influence on the environment. |
D.People’s admiration for wrapping paper. |
A.The popularity of wrapping gifts. |
B.The start of wrapping gifts in paper. |
C.The problems caused by wrapping paper. |
D.The story behind wrapping paper. |
【推荐3】Failure is an unavoidable part of life. Though science has named some life skills that promise success, we’re told over and over again that no great success was ever achieved without failure—or many failed attempts. One of life’s most important lessons, therefore, has to be how to handle failure best. But what is the message?
For starters, ignore advice from anyone that tells you, “Don’t beat yourself up about it, ” no matter how well-meaning they are. According to the new research from the University of Kansas, we absolutely should be beating ourselves up when we fail. Marketing professor Noelle Nelson and her team found that the more emotional a person’s response is to failure, the more likely they are to achieve better results the next time they deal with a related task.
The researchers carried out two experiments in which undergraduate students were required to perform specific tasks. In one experiment, they were asked to search online for a squeezer and report the lowest price they could find with the possibility of winning a $50 cash prize. However, the task was controlled, and all participants were told (by a computer) that the lowest price was $3.27 less than their reported price. Consequently, no participant won the cash prize. When the results were announced, some participants were asked to focus on their emotional response, and others on their cognitive (认知的) response. During the next similar task, participants who focused on their emotional response to failure made more effort than those who focused on a cognitive response.
Everybody has their own unique challenges, responsibilities, duties, and projects, but these findings are related to all of us. Your personal failure may be a cake that fails to rise, a presentation that goes wrong, or a deadline that gets missed—it doesn’t matter. What matters is how you react to it. Instead of thinking about the failure, let yourself feel bad about it. Then follow this advice on how to bounce back after your failure.
1. What’s the relationship between failure and success?A.Failure promises success. | B.Failure is the key to success. |
C.Failure does damage to success. | D.Well-handled failure is good for success. |
A.It’s a well-meaning suggestion for failure. |
B.It’s been proved by the study of a university. |
C.Being emotional is good for one’s future success. |
D.It can make people less emotional about failure. |
A.To test the participants’ abilities to search online. |
B.To improve the participants’ cognitive response. |
C.To teach the participants to avoid failures. |
D.To test the benefit of emotional response to failure. |
A.Personal Failure Is a Cake That Fails to Appear |
B.The Most Productive Way to Handle Any Failure |
C.Different Methods to Change Failure into Success |
D.The Reason Why Failure Is the Mother of Success |