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 kn it (聯(lián)系) groups developed their own patterns of speech independ ent 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,industrialisation,the development of the nation-state and the spread of universal compulsory education,especially g lobalisation 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 (中位數(shù)) 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 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?BB
A.They developed very fast.
B.They were large in number.
C.They had similar patterns.
D.They were closely connected.
(2)Which of the following best explains "dominant" underlined in paragraph 2?CC
A.Complex.
B.Advanced.
C.Powerful.
D.Modern.
(3)How many languages are spoken by less than 6,000 people at present?BB
A.About 6,800.
B.About 3,400.
C.About 2,400.
D.About 1,200.
(4)What is the main idea of the text?CC
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.
【考點(diǎn)】社會(huì).
【答案】B;C;B;C
【解答】
【點(diǎn)評(píng)】
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發(fā)布:2024/4/20 14:35:0組卷:5引用:2難度:0.5
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Kylie loves the idea."The TPP makes Halloween fun and safe," she said."It makes me feel like a normal kid,and it makes everyone feel included."
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D.important and exciting
(2)According to the passage,we know that FARE
A.helps people with food allergies recover
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(3)The households help kids with food allergies by
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C.providing them with trinkets and toys as treats
D.a(chǎn)sking them for home addresses and sending them gifts
(4)Where is the passage most probably taken from?
A.A magazine about the history of festivals.
B.A news report on cultures and customs.
C.An advertisement for an organization.
D.A research paper on kid's health.發(fā)布:2024/12/19 20:30:1組卷:36引用:3難度:0.7 -
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A.Learning a language.
B.The excitement of travel.
C.Living in a foreign country.
D.The benefits of studying abroad.
(2)What did Andrew pay special attention to while studying abroad?
A.Host families.
B.The foreign cultures.
C.Places of interest.
D.Community problems.
(3)According to the example of Christina,what do we know about studying abroad?
A.It can change our habits.
B.It can offer us opportunities.
C.It can increase our knowledge.
D.It can build our confidence.
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D.Something very soft.發(fā)布:2024/12/19 17:0:2組卷:5引用:2難度:0.5
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