It's possible that interstellar (星際的) space explorers arriving on another planet come across problems communicating with previous and subsequent arrivals,as their spoken language has changed in isolation along the way.
Regarding the issue,two American scholars,Andrew McKenzie and Jeffrey Punske,co-authored the article "Language Development During Interstellar Travel".What has been discussed in the article is the concept of language change over time.They wrote that given more time,new grammatical forms can completely replace current ones.
In a recent interview,McKenzie explained it.
"If you're on a spaceship for 10 generations,new concepts will emerge,new social issues will come up,and people will create ways of talking about them," McKenzie said, "and these will become the vocabulary particular to the spaceship.People on Earth might never know about these words,unless there's a reason to tell them.And the further away you get,the less you're going to talk to people back home."
"So if we have Earth English and spaceship English,and they become different over the years,you will have to learn a little Earth English to send messages back or to read the instruction manuals and information that come with the spaceship."
"Also,keep in mind that the language back on Earth is going to change,too,during that time.So they may well be communicating like we'd be using Latin—communicating with this version of the language nobody uses."
McKenzie and Punske also pointed out that an adaptation in the form of sign language will be needed for use with and among those working on the spaceship who,genetics tells us,are sure to be born deaf.
There will be a need for an informed linguistic policy on board that can be maintained without referring back to Earth-based regulations.
The authors concluded that if a study of the linguistic changes aboard a spaceship could be performed,it would "add to its scientific value".
(1)What is McKenzie and Punske's article mainly about? CC
A.The new grammatical forms appearing in outer space.
B.The effective way to communicate in isolated planets.
C.The challenge brought by language evolution during space travel.
D.The problem of communication between former and future space travelers.
(2)What does the underlined word "these" in Paragraph 4 refer to? CC
A.Ten generations.
B.People on Earth.
C.New grammatical forms.
D.Descriptions of new concepts and social issues.
(3)What might made the communication possible between people on Earth and space travelers? CC
A.Creating new grammatical forms.
B.Mastering basic vocabulary in Latin.
C.Making adaptions to their own languages.
D.Reading the spaceship instruction manuals.
(4)According to the text,what do the researchers expect to study in the future? AA
A.How language changes on board.
B.How sign language is translated in space travel.
C.Whether language would change as they predict.
D.Whether a linguistic policy in outer space is necessary.
(5)What is the title for the passage? AA
A.Future Linguistic Issues in Space.
B.Two American Scholars.
C.A Recent Interview with McKenzie.
D.Exploring Interstellar Space.
【答案】C;C;C;A;A
【解答】
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發(fā)布:2024/7/27 8:0:9組卷:11引用:2難度:0.3
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