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
2.Which of the following best explains "dominant" underlined in paragraph 2？
A.Complex. B.Advanced.
C.Powerful. D.Modern.
3.How many languages are spoken by less than 6, 000 people at present?
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?
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.
If English means endless new words, difficult grammar and sometimes strange pronunciation, you are wrong. Haven’t you noticed that you have become smarter since you started to learn a language? According to a new study by a British university, learning a second language can lead to an increase in your brain power. Researchers found that learning other languages changes grey matter. This is the area of the brain which processes information. It is similar to the way that exercise builds muscles.
The study also found the effect is greater when the younger people learn a second language. A team led by Dr. Andrea Mechelli, from University College London, took a group of Britons who only spoke English. They were compared with a group of “early bilinguals” who had learnt a second language before the age of five, as well as a number of later learners.
Scans showed that grey matter density (密度) in the brain was greater in bilinguals than in people without a second language. But the longer a person waited before mastering a new language, the smaller the difference.
“Our findings suggest that the structure of the brain is changed by the experience of learning a second language,” said the scientists. It means that the change itself increases the ability to learn. Professor Dylan Vaughan Jones of the University of Wales, has researched the link between bilingualism and math skills. “Having two languages gives you two windows on the world and makes the brain more flexible (灵活的),” he said. “You are actually going beyond language and have a better understanding of different ideas.”
The findings were matched in a study of native Italian speakers who had learned English as a second language between the ages of two and thirty-four. Reading, writing, and comprehension were all tested. The results showed that the younger they started to learn, the better. “Studying a language means you get an entrance to another world,” explained the scientists.
1.The main subject talked about in this passage is ________.
A.science on learning a second language
B.man’s ability of learning a second language
C.that language can help brain power
D.language learning and math study
2.The underlined word “bilingual” probably means _______.
A.a researcher on language learning
B.a person who can speak two languages
C.a second language learner
D.an active language learner
3.We may know from the scientific findings that ________.
A.the earlier you start to learn a second language, the higher the grey matter density is.
B.there is no difference between a later second language learner and one who doesn’t know a second language.
C.the experience of learning a second language has bad effect on people’s brain.
D.the ability of learning a second language is changing all the time.
Foreign visitors to the UK might be disappointed when they learn that not everyone there speaks like Harry Potter and his friends. Usually, there’s an assumption by many non-Brits that everyone in Britain speaks with what’s known as a Received Pronunciation (RP, 标准发音) accent, also called “the Queen’s English”. However, while many people do talk this way, most Britons speak in their own regional accents.
Scouse, Glaswegian and Black Country – from Liverpool, Glasgow and the West Midlands – are just three of the countless non-RP accents that British people speak with. There are even differences in accents between towns or cities just 30 kilometers apart. What is even more disappointing is that not speaking in a RP accent may mean a British person is judged and even treated differently in their everyday life.
In a 2015 study by The University of South Wales, videos of people reading a passage in three different UK accents were shown to a second group of people. The group then rated how intelligent they thought the readers sounded. The lowest-rated accent was Brummie, native to people from Birmingham, a city whose accent is considered working class.
However, there is no need to be disappointed though you are not speaking in an RP accent. In fact, doing the opposite may even give you strength.
Kong Seong-jae, 25, is an internet celebrity from Seoul. After studying in the UK, he picked up several regional accents. He’s now famous for his online videos, where he shows off the various accents he’s learned. “British people usually get really excited when I use some of their local dialect words, and they become much friendlier. I think it makes a bit of bond between local people and foreigners to speak in their local accent,” he said.
So if you’re working on perfecting your British accent, try to speak like someone from Liverpool, Glasgow or Birmingham. You may not sound like Harry Potter, but you are likely to make more friends.
1.What can we infer from paragraph 1?
A.Non-Brits usually hold that all Britons speak in a RP accent.
B.Only “the queen’s English” is accepted in the UK.
C.Foreign visitors are disappointed at their own spoken English.
D.Any Received Pronunciation around the world is also called “the Queen’s English”.
2.What do people think of the Brummie accent?
A.Favored by foreign visitors to the UK. B.Closest to the RP accent.
C.Smart and easy to understand. D.Spoken by people of lower class.
3.What does the underlined phrase “doing the opposite” in Paragraph 4 refer to?
A.Speaking in a RP accent. B.Speaking in regional accents.
C.Speaking the Brummie accent. D.Speaking like Harry Potter.
4.What is the passage mainly about?
A.A study about the most intelligent accent in Britain.
B.A comparison between different British accents.
C.How much British people value the RP accent.
D.The impact of regional accents on people’s lives.
Teaching materials for learning Chinese are provided here．There are sites where you may find interesting instructions suitable for you．Here are some sites to begin your surfing．
You may start with these pages from this website — just to get a little taste of it without working too hard．
● A Is For Love
Flash cards for learning a few Chinese words
● Listening to the sound of Chinese
Play a few words of Chinese on your computer．
● A few Chinese words
Each word is enlarged for easy study．
If you are studying Chinese, these tools can help．
● Zhongwen site
More than a dictionary!
● Clavis Sinica
Excellent program by Professor David Porter．It displays a whole document in Chinese , and gives individual word’s definition, pronunciation as well as much more information when you click on that word．If you are studying Chinese, this is a very useful tool．
● Chinese Character Visual Dictionary
If you like to know more, go to the following sites on the Internet．
● The Chinese Outpost
Pronunciation, Character and Grammar By Mark Andrew Baker．The best．A must-visit site．
● Learn Cantonese / Mandarin Online
● Internet Based Chinese Teaching and Learning
● Rainland Kids discover Chinese — Site is in Germany
If you want to have a better understanding of China, go to this one．
● Wanfang Data
As an affiliate （分支） of Chinese Ministry of Science & Technology, Wanfang Data has been the leading information provider in China since the 1950s．With a wide range of database resources and value-added services, Wanfang Data has become a gateway to understanding Chinese culture, medicine, business, science, etc．
1.This passage is most probably from ______．
A. a TV programme B. a teacher’s lecture
C. a newspaper D. the Internet
2.If you want to know each Chinese character’s definition, pronunciation and much more information, you’d better surf ______．
A. Zhongwen site B. A Is For Love
C. Clavis Sinica D. A few Chinese words
3.If you want to know China about its culture, medicine, business, science, you’d better surf ______．
A. Learn Mandarin online B. Wanfang Data
C. Rainland kids discover Chinese D. The Chinese Outpost
假定你是李华，你的美国笔友Mike来信说中国书法很难学。就此请你用英语给他写一封回信， 主要内容包括：
1.学习书法的意义；
2.学习书法的技巧；
3．给他鼓励和信心。
注意：1.词数100左右；
2.可适当增加细节，以使行文连贯；
3.开头和结尾己给出，不计入总词数。
参考词汇：书法calligraphy;毛笔writing brush
Dear Mike,
I’m sorry to know that you have difficulty in learning Chinese calligraphy.
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Best wishes.
Yours,
Li Hua
用适当的介词或副词填空
1.We work hard at English so as to have a good command ______ it.
2.I hope you will keep ______ mind what I am saying.
3.I often refer ______ this dictionary when I meet some new words.
4.You can make progress ______ English only if you are modest.
5.Now that you’ve got a chance, you might as well make full use ______ it.
6.Children usually pick ______ foreign languages very quickly.
