Endangered languages are languages that wouldn’t exist _______ any longer, much like endangered species of plants or animals. Languages are considered _______ to be endangered when parents are no longer teaching the language to their children and are not using it actively _______ in everyday life. Of the more than 6,912 languages, half may be in danger of disappearing in the next several decades. The survival of a language is threatened _______ when speakers move to other areas where different languages are spoken, or when government policies improve the use of a specific language in school, official business and the media. These situations encourage people to learn the wider-known language and may cause them, especially the young, to stop using their mother tongue _______.

With One Small Gesture

In the animal kingdom, killer whales (虎鲸) are social stars: they travel in different family groups, care for grandchildren, and even ________ imitate human speech. Now, scientists are adding one more behavior to the list: forming fast friendships. A new study shows killer whales can ________ rival animals such as chimpanzees and macaques (a kind of monkey), and even humans ________ when it comes to the kind of “social touch” that is a sign of strong friendship. Some ocean animals ________ maintain social structures — including male dolphins (海豚) that learn the “names” of their close friends. But there is little ________ proof about wild killer whales. That’s where drone (无人机) technology came in.

All human societies play games. Kicking a ball can be found everywhere whether just a ball of cloth , or a skin_________ stuffed with feathers or air.

In China for well over 2,000 years, people played the game of“kickball”-cuju.The members were often young men from wealthy families though there were also professional kickballers whom you could stick with in your team as sleepers.

Cuju was played as entertainment at formal dinners or the _________ reception of foreign ambassadors(大使). Even emperors played kickball.

As you’d expect in a Confucian society, kickballclubs_________ were keen on the key qualities of mercy and _________ courtesy. Their rules included respect for other players,polite behavior and team spirit. There was to be no _________ ungentlemanly behavior, no dangerous play, and no hogging the ball.