Languages have been coming and going for thousands of years, but in recent times there has been less coming and a lot more going. When the world was still populated by hunter-gatherers, small, tightly connected groups developed their own patterns of speech independent of each other. Some language experts believe that 10,000 years ago, when the world had just five to ten million people, they spoke perhaps 12,000 languages between them.
Soon afterwards, many of those people started settling down to becoming farmers, and their languages became more settled and fewer in number, too. In recent centuries, trade, industrialization, the development of the nation-state and the spread of universal compulsory (强制的) education, especially globalization and better communications in the past few decades, all have caused many languages to disappear, and dominant languages such as English, Spanish and Chinese are increasingly taking over.
At present, the world has about 6,800 languages. The distribution (分布) of these languages is hugely uneven (不均衡). The general rule is that mild zones have relatively few languages, often spoken by many people, while hot, wet zones have lots, often spoken by small numbers. Europe has only around 200 languages; the America about 1,000; Africa 2,400; and Asia and the Pacific perhaps 3,200, of which Papua New Guinea alone accounts for well over 800. The median number (中位数) of speakers is a mere 6,000, which means that half the world’s languages are spoken by fewer people than that.
Already well over 400 of the total of 6,800 languages and close to disappear, with only a few elderly speakers left. Pick, at random, Busuu in Cameroon(eight remaining speakers), Chiapaneco in Mexico(150), Lipan Apache in the United States (two or three) or Wadjigu in Australia(one, with a question-mark): none of these seems to have much chance of survival.
1. What can we infer about languages in hunter-gatherer times?A.They developed very fast. | B.They were large in number. |
C.They had similar patterns. | D.They were closely connected. |
A.Difficult. | B.Advanced. | C.Powerful | D.Modern. |
A.About 6,800. | B.About 3,400. | C.About 2,400. | D.About 1,200. |
A.New languages will be created. | B.People’s lifestyles are reflected in languages. |
C.Human development results in fewer languages. | D.Geography determines language evolution. |
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【推荐1】The Meta company has announced a research project to create translation software that works for everyone in the world. It’s part of a growing effort to serve almost 20 percent of the world’s population who do not speak languages covered by present translation systems. “Properly understanding one foreign language is hard enough, let alone so many different languages in the world,” said Scott Mann, the co-CEO of Flawless AI. “Nowadays, the only way to do translation has been to turn to human translators who have learned foreign languages and try to bridge language barriers (障碍)for different uses.”
Work on improving translation software has been underway for decades.
New technology has been developed to ensure accurate translations from one language to another. Meta is planning a long-term effort to build MT(machine translation) tools that will include most of the world’s languages.The company is building a new AI model called No Language Left Behind. It will learn from languages with examples and use them to enable expert quality translations in hundreds of languages.
“Breaking language barriers would be great, making it possible for billions of people to have information online in their native or preferred languages,” the Meta company said, “Advances in MT tools won’t just help those people who don’t speak one of the languages that are widely used on the Internet today; they’ll also change the way people in the world share ideas. Better translation software also make good business sense. When companies go global, it’s hard to have native-speaking support agents for every language. So if the translation software can help them chat with and email their customers, the efficiency(效率) can be immediately improved.”
But some experts say that Meta’s machine translation project faces great difficulties. “The industry is still in the research mode, and we’ve excited to be a part of that, but it’s not about presenting a product that eight billion people will start using tomorrow,” said Jesse Shemen, the CEO of the translation software company.
1. What do Scott Mann’s words mainly suggest?A.The influence of present translation systems. |
B.The necessity of developing translation software. |
C.The importance of human translators nowadays. |
D.The difficulty in learning different languages. |
A.It allows excellent translation in a variety of languages. |
B.It adjusts its translation speed accordingly. |
C.It is mainly designed for advanced language learners. |
D.It is limited to common languages worldwide. |
A.They make language learning easy and interesting. |
B.They quicken the development of language software. |
C.They help people show good manners in communication. |
D.They benefit both personal and business lives. |
A.Critical | B.Pessimistic | C.Uncertain | D.Negative |
【推荐2】In the US, speaking more than one language fluently is not very common — except in Los Angeles, California. The city has one of the largest populations in the US of young people between the ages of 18 and 34. More than half of them in Los Angeles are bilingual (会两种语言的), which means they speak more than one language.
Maria Elena Burgos, a mother of two American born daughters, is cooking a Mexican breakfast. She says making Mexican food is just one of the many traditions in her home. Another is speaking Spanish to her children. “We want to keep the Spanish somewhere in their learning too, not only at home.” She says being bilingual will give them more opportunities in the future. Knowing Spanish also means the children can talk with their relatives in Mexico.
Msburgos’ daughters both want to know their family’s culture. “We are doing this in order to go back to our roots because that’s part of who we are.” they say.
The US Census Bureau says more than half the adults in the Los Angeles area between 18 and 34 years old speak a language other than English at home. For the whole country, the number of bilingual adults is only 25 percent. The number of bilingual speakers has gone up since the 1990s.
“In the past, the children and grandchildren of immigrants (移民) did not continue to speak the parents’ native language. But now the opposite is true”, says University of California Los Angeles professor Raul Hinojosa.
More immigrant parents say they want their children to keep speaking their native language. Mr. Hinojosa calls their choice the “path of pride”. The decision to keep a native language is clear in Los Angeles now. And, as the number of minorities in the US continues to grow, he thinks bilingualism will spread to the rest of the country.
1. What does Paragraph I mainly talk about?A.Americans aren’t good at language learning. |
B.More and more young Americans are bilingual. |
C.You can seldom see Americans speaking foreign languages. |
D.Most young people in Los Angeles can speak more than one language. |
A.To make them true Americans. |
B.To make them more competitive. |
C.To prepare them for immigration. |
D.To help them learn about Mexican food. |
A.speak English very fluently |
B.are proud of their new country |
C.are learning a second language |
D.forget their parents’ native language |
A.the US is on the path to bilingualism |
B.more people will immigrate to the US |
C.the population of Los Angeles will drop |
D.more minorities will be accepted by the US |
【推荐3】Language is part of our daily lives, no matter where we live in the world. Similarly, music is a part of many people’s lives.
Both language and music have a writing system
You can make a good guess at where someone is from by listening to the language they use. In the same way, we know that styles of music are different around the world, which gives us the opportunity to explore many different cultures through their music and providing us with music for every situation.
Both share emotion
How do you know that I am angry? Of course, you may be able to see it in my face, but you will know for sure through my words.
A.Both vary with culture. |
B.Different culture makes different music. |
C.Similarly, music can sound angry, sad or happy. |
D.Both language and music play a huge role in our lives. |
E.In English we record language using the alphabet, which is a collection of letters. |
F.We use music to express emotions, combining it with language in form of lyrics. |
G.In contrast, you have probably also listened to sad music when you feel down. |
【推荐1】On September 26, 2022, NASA successfully completed its Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission by intentionally crashing an unmanned spacecraft into the asteroid(小行星) Dimorphos. The goal was not to destroy the asteroid but to change its orbit. With the successful mission, NASA proved the concept that this technique could keep a potentially dangerous asteroid from crashing into Earth in the future.
Dimorphos is a small asteroid orbiting the larger asteroid Didymos. NASA noted that Dimorphos is not a threat to Earth, but because it passes relatively close to Earth, it was chosen as the target for the test mission. Although the intended crash should change the asteroid’s position slightly, it will add to a major shift over time. “If you were going to do this for planetary defense, you would do it 5, 10, 15, or 20 years in advance for this technique to work,” said NASA program executive Andrea Riley. “This is why we test. We want to do it now rather than when there’s an actual need.”
Asteroids can pose a significant threat to planet Earth. For example, around 66 million years ago, an asteroid around 6 to 9 miles across struck the Earth in what is now the Yucatan Peninsula. The resulting impact was so catastrophic that it caused one of the largest extinction events in Earth’s history. Therefore, DART’s success is an important step forward in protecting the planet from potential damage from an asteroid. This shows humans are no longer powerless to prevent this type of natural disaster.
The DART spacecraft was launched by NASA on November 24, 2021. It was accompanied by another craft called LICIACube, supplied by the Italian Space Agency, and separated from DART just 15 days before the crash. LICIACube remained in orbit around the asteroid and took photographs of the crash and material ejected (弹出) from the asteroid’s surface.
1. What is the purpose of the DART mission?A.To change the orbit of Dimorphos. |
B.To destroy Dimorphos completely. |
C.To track potentially dangerous asteroids. |
D.To stop Dimorphos from hitting the Earth. |
A.Bark up the wrong tree. | B.Rob Peter to pay Paul. |
C.Better late than never. | D.Prepare for a rainy day. |
A.Collecting rock samples from Dimorphos’s surface. |
B.Keeping track of the crash test with some photos. |
C.Providing additional energy for the DART spacecraft. |
D.Increasing the force of crashing the DART spacecraft into Dimorphos. |
A.To advocate a new space technique. |
B.To introduce an preventative space mission. |
C.To prove human determination to fight against asteroid disasters. |
D.To explain the difficulty of protecting the Earth from asteroid strikes. |
【推荐2】Why do some people flush when they drink alcohol? This effect is a common reaction to alcohol among East Asians. It affects about 36 percent of Japanese, Chinese and Koreans.
For many, even a small amount of alcohol can cause unpleasant effects. Most commonly, their face, neck and sometimes their whole body turn red. People might also feel uncomfortable and sick to their stomach. They might experience a burning sensation(感觉), increased heart rate, shortness of breath and headaches. The cause is a genetic difference that they are born with called an ALDH2 deficiency(缺乏). It prevents their bodies from treating alcohol the way other people do. But the effects might be more serious than just a red face. Researchers warn of a link between this condition and an increased risk of cancer of the esophagus(食道) from drinking alcohol. The more alcohol people with this deficiency drink, the greater their risk is. In Japan and South Korea, for example, many people have the deficiency but still drink heavily. Researchers have found that these drinkers develop a form of esophageal cancer six to ten times more often than those without the deficiency.
Esophageal cancer is one of the deadliest cancers. It can be treated when found early, but once it grows the chances of survival drop sharply. The researchers estimate that at least five hundred forty million people have the deficiency, about eight percent of the world’s population. Philip Brooks is a researcher at the National Institute in the United States. He says it is important to educate people about the link between the alcohol flushing effect and esophageal cancer. He says doctors should ask East Asian patients about their experiences with facial flushing after drinking alcohol. Those with a history of it should be advised to limit their alcohol use. They should also be warned that cigarette smoking works with the alcohol in a way that further increases the risk of esophageal cancer.
1. The underlined word “flush” in Pargraph1 probably means ________.A.walk unsteadily | B.turn red in the face |
C.appear unpleasant | D.talk more than usual |
A.The cause of the effects of alcohol. |
B.Asians and alcohol. |
C.The advantages of drinking alcohol. |
D.Unpleasant effects caused by alcohol. |
A.it can’t be treated at all | B.it is not easy to be discovered early |
C.it is hard to cure once it has developed | D.people are addicted to alcohol |
A.only some East Asians have the ALDH2 deficiency |
B.about 36 percent of Japanese, Chinese and Koreans are heavy drinkers |
C.unpleasant effects occur only when people with this deficiency drink a lot |
D.the ALDH2 deficiency may be passed on from generation to generation |
【推荐3】Healthy, shiny hair is an attainable goal for many people. What you eat can bring luster and strength back to your hair. A balanced diet filled with so-called superfoods like certain fruits and oils treat your hair from the inside out.
Oils
The omega-3 fatty acids in eggs, walnuts, and fatty fish like salmon help make hair shiny. These oils can also be obtained through some vegetable oils or flaxseed oil, but are found in higher amounts in oily fish and eggs. The protein in these foods also helps hair grow strong and healthy. Also found in eggs are B12 and biotin, both of which are essential for healthy skin, nails, and hair.
Avocado
Avocados contain high amounts of vitamin E. Only 2 ounce of a medium-size avocado contains 8 percent of your daily recommended intake of vitamin E. If you don’t like to actually eat avocado, you can make an avocado mask to put on your hair. Vitamin E helps to keep your hair color bright and prevents split ends.
Coconut Oil
The medium-chain fatty acids in coconut oil are used differently by your body than other saturated fats. An added benefit of coconut oil is its ability to make your hair shiny and healthy. Use coconut oil to cook your chicken or seafood, add it to your salad, or put it directly on your hair as a mask. Coconut oil’s anti-fungal agents also help protect against and treat dandruff and other scalp problems.
Vitamin C Fruits
Fruits high in vitamin C, such as oranges, peaches, pineapples, strawberries, and kiwi - help maintain healthy hair and fight against free-radical damage from the environment to protect your hair against pollutants. Make sure to eat lots of fruits high in vitamin C. You can also apply the juices of these fruits directly to your hair by mixing it into your shampoo.
1. According to the passage, eggs contain a lot of essential nutrients needed by healthy hair EXCEPT ________.A.biotin. | B.flaxseed oil. | C.B12. | D.omega-3 fatty acids. |
A.Avocados are rich in Vitamin E, which helps keep your hair brightly coloured. |
B.Oranges are rich in Vitamin C, which protects your hair from pollutants. |
C.To have healthy shiny hair, you can either eat superfoods or apply them to your hair. |
D.Coconut oil is high in saturated fats and sugar, which can help treat scalp problems. |
A.Beauty and skin care. | B.Life and society. |
C.Food around the world. | D.News abroad. |