1 . 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 knit(联系) 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 become farmers, and their languages too became more settled and fewer in number. In recent centuries, trade, industrialization, the development of the nation-state and the spread of universal compulsory education, especially globalisation 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 of these languages is hugely uneven. 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 Americas 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 worlds languages are spoken by fewer people than that.
Already well over 400 of the total of 6,800 languages are close to extinction(消亡), 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 patters. | D.They were closely connected |
A.Complex. | 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.Peoples lifestyles are reflected in languages. |
C.Human development results in fewer languages. |
D.Geography determines language evolution. |
2 . The day I met Hani Irmawati, she was a shy, 17-year-old girl standing alone in the parking lot of the international school in Indonesia, where I teach English. She asked if I could help her improve her English. I could
“I want to go to a US university,” she said with confidence. I was surprised.
I agreed to work with her
When I met Hani’s family at their
One day I received the announcement of a(n)
“Will you send in my name?” she asked.
I couldn’t
Three weeks later, just before Hani went to Jakarta to take the Test of English Fluency, she received a letter from the scholarship association. She had been
I leaped around the room, overjoyed and shocked. Hani stood by, smiling. I realized that it was I who had learned something Hani had known from the beginning: It is not intelligence alone that brings success, but also the
A.believe | B.tell | C.spot | D.expect |
A.convince | B.excuse | C.turn | D.approach |
A.as | B.in | C.on | D.by |
A.ride | B.break | C.stay | D.class |
A.accent | B.assignment | C.guideline | D.journal |
A.excited | B.bored | C.exhausted | D.confused |
A.humble | B.comfortable | C.ugly | D.untidy |
A.decreasing | B.increasing | C.showing | D.fading |
A.promotion | B.growth | C.scholarship | D.investment |
A.fair | B.solid | C.slim | D.real |
A.genuine | B.subjective | C.practical | D.determined |
A.put | B.take | C.break | D.turn |
A.concern | B.praise | C.criticism | D.analysis |
A.impressed | B.rejected | C.confirmed | D.accepted |
A.drive | B.wisdom | C.pressure | D.secret |
3 . The older I get, the more I understand how my teachers have transformed my life.
On a recent Sunday afternoon, I went to see Mr. C at Roxbury Park in Beverly Hills. His love of life has not dimmed despite the fact that his legs no longer work like they used to. He visited some of his former students while he was in town. At Beverly Hills High School, Mr. C taught ancient history, coached football and golf, and risked his life teaching driver’s training on Saturday mornings from 1964 to 1988. The gray and hobbled students lined up one after another to thank their favorite teacher. One called him a rock star. Another was grateful for helping him when he couldn’t say so. It was a beautiful tribute, especially in these times of catastrophic teacher shortages.
Spending that Sunday in the park with Mr. C was nothing short of magic. It was a reminder of all that is promising and possible in public education, including a teacher whose rare emotional honesty could be appreciated and honored decades later. It also brought to mind Maya Angelou’s saying “People will forget what you said and did, but never forget how you make them feel.” He made me and others in the park feel heard and seen.
Mr. C changed my perception of myself. Rather than seeing myself as a loser cheerleader who couldn’t compete with the smart kids, I realized how much I loved learning. His history class was so interesting. In his classes about the Persians, Greeks, and Romans, extra credits can be earned for creativity. During earthquake drills, we counted on Mr. C to scream his head off in mock terror.
It should come as little surprise that I’d value the role of teachers in my life. Both of my parents taught; so did my siblings, aunts, uncles and cousins. I, too, have become a teacher and I try to follow in Mr. C’s footsteps. Some days, I fantasize what it would be like to go on a teacher tour, reaching out to my mentors to express my deep gratitude for all they’ve given me. Seeing Mr. C sparked that fantasy again. When I finally worked up my courage to thank him, knowing a floodgate of tears would open, he said to me with his typical modesty: “You were doing me more good than I was doing you.”
1. What does the underlined word “tribute” mean in Paragraph 2?A.enthusiasm | B.admiration | C.devotion | D.commitment |
A.To make a suggestion. |
B.To introduce a celebrity. |
C.To show respect to an educator. |
D.To interpret the influence of education. |
A.Enjoyable. | B.Intolerant. | C.Incompetent. | D.Patient. |
A.A reunion. | B.A rock star. | C.A surprise. | D.A great teacher. |
4 . In 1959, Handler changed how toy dolls were made when she introduced “Barbie” to the world. With her mature figure, Barbie was one of the first “grown-up” dolls to hit the retail market.
Handler wanted to create a toy that was different from the baby dolls that dominated little girls’ toy boxes. She wanted a doll that girls could project their future dreams upon and allowed for limitless clothing and career choices. Inspired by paper dolls of the time, Handler, to much disagreement, made sure Barbie had the body of a grown woman.
“My own philosophy of Barbie,” Handler wrote in her autobiography, “was that through the doll, the little girl could be anything she wanted to be. Barbie always represented the fact that a woman had choices.”
There’s even a Barbie for cancer patients — Brave Barbie — a partnership between Mattel and CureSearch that sends a bald (光头的) Barbie to families affected by cancer. “Gifting my daughter a Barbie who suffered from cancer was tremendous,” Michelle, a cancer survivor said, “We would play with that Barbie together and I’d heartbreakingly watch her pretend to take the doll to the hospital for chemo (化疗), or place its long wig on top of its head and tell the doll ‘It’s time to be beautiful again.’”
Bald Barbie was super brave and went on awesome adventures after chemo. Sometimes she felt sick and needed to sleep, but would feel much better after a rest. Bald Barbie always beat the cancer and went on to live a long and happy life with her family. That Barbie became so much more than a plastic doll — she was a means of communication and a coping mechanism during an extremely distressing time for little families.
1. Why did Handler create Barbie?A.To make a hit in the retail market. | B.To appeal to girls with her diverse outfits. |
C.To do a project on women’s career choices. | D.To inspire girls to make choices as they wish. |
A.Sad yet comforted. | B.Envious yet proud. |
C.Overwhelmed and ashamed. | D.Heartbroken and regretful. |
A.A reliable emotional support. | B.A glue for broken relationships. |
C.An effective practical treatment. | D.A secret medium of negotiation. |
A.A medical journal. | B.A charity brochure. |
C.A financial report. | D.A story collection. |
5 . In the mid-1990s, Tom Bissell taught English as a volunteer in Uzbekistan. He left after seven months, physically broken and having lost his mind. A few years later, still attracted to the country, he returned to Uzbekistan to write an article about the disappearance of the Aral Sea.
His visit, however, ended up involving a lot more than that. Hence this book, Chasing the Sea: Lost Among the Ghosts of Empire in Central Asia, which talks about a road trip from Tashkent to Karakalpakstan, where millions of lives have been destroyed by the slow drying up of the sea. It is the story of an American travelling to a strange land, and of the people he meets on his way: Rustam, his translator, a lovely 24-year-old who picked up his colorful English in California, Oleg and Natasha, his hosts in Tashkent, and a string of foreign aid workers.
This is a quick look at life in Uzbekistan, made of friendliness and warmth, but also its darker side of society. In Samarkand, Mr Bissell admires the architectural wonders, while on his way to Bukhara he gets a taste of police methods when suspected of drug dealing. In Ferghana, he attends a mountain funeral(葬礼)followed by a strange drinking party. And in Karakalpakstan, he is saddened by the dust storms, diseases and fishing boats stuck miles from the sea.
Mr Bissell skillfully organizes historical insights and cultural references, making his tale a well-rounded picture of Uzbekistan, seen from Western eyes. His judgment and references are decidedly American, as well as his delicate stomach. As the author explains, this is neither a travel nor a history book, or even a piece of reportage. Whatever it is, the result is a fine and vivid description of the purest of Central Asian traditions.
1. What made Mr Bissell return to Uzbekistan?A.His friends' invitation. | B.His interest in the country. |
C.His love for teaching. | D.His desire to regain health. |
A.Developing a serious mental disease. |
B.Taking a guided tour in Central Asia. |
C.Working as a volunteer in Uzbekistan. |
D.Writing an article about the Aral Sea. |
A.Romantic. | B.Eventful. | C.Pleasant. | D.Dangerous. |
A.To introduce a book. | B.To explain a cultural phenomenon. |
C.To remember a writer. | D.To recommend a travel destination. |
6 . Get up at 6 am, arrive at the hospital one hour earlier to help patients check in, and accompany patients during consultations… In recent years, “patient escorts” has emerged as a new industry, and those who have taken on this career are known as “people who sell time”, 26-year-old Zhang Tian is one of them.
September 4 was a lucky day for Zhang Tian. On this day, Zhang Tian saw a video about patient escorts on a short video platform. The daily routine of patient escorts shown in the video fascinated her and gradually inspired her to take this on as a business. She browsed through many platforms and read multiple information and found there indeed exists a certain demand for patient escorts, especially for the elderly, children, and pregnant women. Since she had never engaged in this kind of work before, she spent two days in major hospitals in Wuhan, in order to familiarize herself with all the departments on different floors, as well as the processes of medical consultation and preparation for surgery.
After preliminary preparatory (预备的) work, Zhang Tian posted a video of myself-introduction on major social platforms, talking about the help and services a patient escort provides, as well as some tips for a quick and convenient medical consultation. At first, she was a little worried that her video would go unnoticed. However, after she uploaded the video, it got over 100 likes and she received her first ever offer as a patient escort.
The memory of her first task is still alive and fresh in her mind. She received a phone call on September 9 from a man whose father was seriously ill and might need surgery. He wanted Zhang Tian to accompany his father through his consultation and treatment.” Zhang Tian made full preparations before meeting her first client and did a very good job despite her nervousness.
“Later, the family expressed their gratitude to me over and over again, which warmed my heart and gave me a sense of achievement.” Zhang Tian said.
1. What do patient escorts do?A.They assist doctors in hospitals. |
B.They arrive at hospitals early to check in. |
C.They take on this career to sell their time. |
D.They help patients get treated in hospitals. |
A.she enjoyed seeing an interesting video |
B.she got inspiration for her own career |
C.she found a demand for medical workers |
D.she was well received on social platforms |
A.She got familiar with the routine work in hospitals. |
B.She spent two days in major hospitals to meet patients. |
C.Her video on social platforms attracted her first client. |
D.The man’s father was seriously ill and might need a surgery. |
A.Hardworking and considerate. | B.Humorous and careful. |
C.Ambitious and imaginative. | D.Talkative and positive. |
7 . Television has transformed politics in the United States by changing the way in which information is spread, by altering political campaigns, and by changing citizen’s patterns of response to politics. By giving citizens independent access to the candidates, television reduced the role of the political party in the selection of the major party candidates. By centering politics on the person of the candidate, television accelerated the citizen’s focus on character rather than issues.
Television has altered the forms of political communication as well. The messages on which most of us rely are briefer than they once were. The stump speech, a political speech given by traveling politicians and lasting 1 to 2 hours, which was popular in the nineteenth-century, has given way to the 30-second advertisement and the 10 second “sound bite” in broadcast news. Increasingly the audience for speeches is not that standing in front of the politician but rather the viewing audience who will hear and see a short video of the speech on the news.
In these simplified forms, much of what comprised the traditional political speech of earlier ages has been lost. In 15 or 30 seconds, a speaker cannot establish the historical context that shaped the issue in question, cannot detail the probable causes of the problem, and cannot examine alternative proposals to argue that one is preferable to others. In short videos, politicians assert (断言) but do not argue.
Because television is an intimate (亲密的) medium, speaking through it requires a changed political style that is more conversational, personal, and visual than that of the old-style stump speech. Reliance on television means that increasingly our political world contains memorable pictures rather than memorable words. Schools teach us to analyze words and print. However, in a world in which politics is increasingly visual, informed citizenship requires a new set of skills.
Recognizing the power of television’s pictures, politicians craft televisual, staged events designed to attract media coverage. Much of the political activity we see on television news has been crafted by politicians, their speechwriters, and their public relations advisers for televised consumption. Sound bites in news and answers to questions in debates increasingly sound like advertisements.
1. What do we know about “stump speech” in paragraph 2?A.It’s an event created by politicians to attract media attention. |
B.It’s an interactive discussion between two politicians. |
C.It’s a kind of political presentation typical of the nineteenth century. |
D.It’s a style of speech common to televised political events. |
A.politicians need to learn to become more personal |
B.attractive politicians are favored by citizens |
C.citizens tend to favor a politician who analyzed issues |
D.citizens need to learn how to evaluate visual political images |
A.Political presentations today are more like advertisements than in the past. |
B.Politicians today tend to be more familiar with the views of citizens than in the past. |
C.Citizens today are less informed about a politician’s character than in the past. |
D.Political speeches today focus more on details about issues than in the past. |
A.Television: an Agent of Change in Politics | B.Television: a Platform for Political Debate |
C.Television: an Alternative to Stump Speech | D.Television: a New Medium for Communication |
8 . Gang (团伙) tensions were rising at Southwood High School. Some community activists held a(n)
That’s how Dads on Duty was born with its goal - make sure the kids are
Now, anyone who wants to enter the school with
Since Dads on Duty arrived on campus, gang battles have
The dads aren’t meant to
A.regular | B.difficult | C.emergency | D.scheduled |
A.on duty | B.in attendance | C.at work | D.under guard |
A.voice | B.status | C.effort | D.presence |
A.safe | B.hardworking | C.healthy | D.equal |
A.practiced | B.started | C.gathered | D.prepared |
A.check | B.maintain | C.sacrifice | D.arrange |
A.large | B.wild | C.entire | D.local |
A.confusion | B.anger | C.fright | D.shock |
A.tricked | B.persuaded | C.forced | D.scared |
A.never | B.unexpectedly | C.further | D.dramatically |
A.happy | B.curious | C.cautious | D.innovative |
A.yell at | B.interact with | C.make fun of | D.look up to |
A.change | B.post | C.replace | D.criticize |
A.debate | B.theft | C.fight | D.instance. |
A.practical | B.extraordinary | C.temporary | D.preventive |
9 . When Jim Grant spotted black smoke coming out of a building on his way to work, he
Pulling up to the building, Grant saw flames(火焰)shooting out of a second-floor window. Not seeing or hearing any fire engines
On the second floor, he
Thanks to them, a family was saved from the fire. Grant and the policeman were honored for their
A.drove | B.stopped | C.reached | D.abandoned |
A.saw | B.made | C.missed | D.crossed |
A.burning | B.leaving | C.approaching | D.waiting |
A.entrance | B.road | C.building | D.window |
A.locked | B.kicked | C.counted | D.repaired |
A.agreed | B.cared | C.responded | D.understood |
A.arrived | B.returned | C.hidden | D.escaped |
A.skipped | B.closed | C.noticed | D.remembered |
A.frightened | B.curious | C.patient | D.grateful |
A.turn back | B.go up | C.get out | D.lie down |
A.following | B.dragging | C.examining | D.passing |
A.safely | B.secretly | C.suddenly | D.previously |
A.witness | B.guide | C.service | D.help |
A.woman | B.door | C.car | D.baby |
A.wisdom | B.generosity | C.honesty | D.courage |
10 . Each year, eight children in an average class in the UK are unable to read well when they leave primary school. Volunteers are welcome to join Bookmark, a non-profit organization to help
Sally joined Bookmark as a volunteer in 2021 when she had retired and wanted to
“Volunteering has made me feel more
A.observe | B.protect | C.judge | D.change |
A.write | B.unfold | C.invent | D.outline |
A.lend | B.pass | C.show | D.take |
A.books | B.children | C.readers | D.volunteers |
A.friend | B.favorite | C.comfort | D.time |
A.connection | B.thought | C.entrance | D.admission |
A.keep on | B.pay off | C.work out | D.pick up |
A.patient | B.curious | C.serious | D.content |
A.fantastic | B.interesting | C.small | D.ordinary |
A.joy | B.praise | C.respect | D.result |
A.normal | B.funny | C.similar | D.awkward |
A.honest | B.kind | C.enthusiastic | D.confused |
A.focus on | B.distinguish | C.improve | D.discover |
A.continued | B.minded | C.remembered | D.enjoyed |
A.route | B.look | C.reason | D.search |