The world’s native languages are dying out at an unprecedented(空前的) rate, taking with them irreplaceable(不能替代的) knowledge about the natural world, according to a new study.
The study identified five global “hot spots” where languages are vanishing faster than anywhere else ---- eastern Siberia, northern Australia, central South America, the US state of Oklahoma and the US Pacific Northwest. “Languages are suffering a global extinction crisis that greatly goes beyond the pace of species extinction,” linguistics(语言学的) professor David Harrison noted, who said half of the world’s 7,000 languages were expected to disappear before the end of the century.
Native people had an intimate(详尽的) knowledge of their environment that was lost when their language disappeared, along with other certain things often unfamiliar to us, Harrison stressed. “Most of what we know about species and ecosystems is not written down anywhere, it’s only in people’s heads,” he said. “We are seeing in front of our eyes the loss of the human knowledge base.”
Harrison was one of a team of linguists who carried out the study. The researchers traveled to Australia this year to study native languages, some of the most endangered. According to Harrison, in Australia, they were heartened to see a woman in her 80s who was one of the only three remaining speakers of the Yawuru language passing on her knowledge to schoolchildren. He said such inter-generational exchanges were the only way native languages could survive. “The children had elected to take this course, no one forced them,” he said. “When we asked them why they were learning it, they said,‘This is a dying language, we need to learn it’.” Also, while there they found a man with knowledge of the Amurdag language, which had previously been thought extinct.
The researchers said all five of the hot spots identified were areas that had been successfully colonized and where a dominant language such as Spanish or English was threatening native tongues.
1.What does this text mainly talk about?
A. A study on native languages endangered.
B. The knowledge of native languages.
C. People’s efforts in saving native languages.
D. Harrison and his study on languages.
2.The underlined word“vanishing”in the second paragraph can be best replaced by .
A. developing B. changing C. increasing D. Disappearing
3.According to Harrison, language extinction .
A. causes the researchers lots of worries
B. speeds up the pace of species extinction
C. threatens the existing of Spanish and English
D. brings about a loss of knowledge about the environment
4.Which of the following can be described as good news?
A. Native languages became less endangered in Australia.
B. A man was found with knowledge of the Amurdag language.
C. Researchers were well received by native people in Australia.
D. Many schoolchildren showed interest in the Yawuru language.
We’re one of the biggest ESL professional organizations in Shanghai, China and we have 10 primary schools, 2 middle schools, and 5 kindergartens in Shanghai and 1 in Suzhou. For these schools, we only need oral English teachers.
We also own an international school whose name is Shanghai World Foreign Language Primary and Middle School. For this school, we need classroom teachers and subject teachers to teach Science, PE, and Music in English.
We prefer to hire experienced teachers with TESOL or Teacher’s Certificate. If you want to know more about us, please visit our website at http://www.shyulun.com/.
●Dates and Durations
We need 1 teacher for every position as below:
1. Classroom Teacher Position in Shanghai World Foreign Language Primary School (From 17th Feb 2009, 12 months)
2. Subject Teacher Position in Shanghai World Foreign Language Middle School (From 1st Sep 2009, 10 months)
3. Oral English teachers in Shanghai Changning Experimental Primary School (From 3rd March 2009, 3 months)
●Basic requirements for the Positions
1. Native English speakers for all of the above positions
2. Bachelor Degree at least (Position 1 and 2) with related teaching experience
3. TESOL or related certificate (Position 3)
●Working Conditions and Environment www.zxxk.com
The schools are the top schools in Shanghai with libraries and public computer rooms. Every teacher will have the office desk, free access to the Internet. We provide teaching materials and teaching guidelines.
●Salary, International Travel Allowance and Bonus
The salary ranges from 6,000 RMB to 10,000 RMB per month according to the position you apply for, which can ensure you have a comfortable life in Shanghai.
We will offer you part or full international travel allowances depending on how long you will work for us. Generally, we will pay you a return ticket for one year contract.
1.The ESL professional organization in Shanghai wants to take on .
A. some language teachers to work in Shanghai
B. some native English teachers to work in Suzhou
C. some language teachers to work in Suzhou
D. some native English teachers to work in Shanghai
2.Those who are going to work for the organization will .
A. prepare teaching materials themselves
B. get at least $6,000 a month
C. get international travel allowances
D. buy their return tickets themselves
3.If you want to be hired as a classroom teacher by the above organization, you should .
A. speak several languages
B. have Bachelor Degree
C. present good teaching plans
D. know how to teach middle school students
4.The passage is probably taken from a .
A. novel B. travel guide C. news report D. Website
Family traditions were important in our house, and none was more appreciated than the perfect Christmas tree.
“Dad, can we watch when you trim(修剪) the tree?” My eldest son, Dan, nine, and his seven-year-old brother John, asked.
“I won’t be cutting this year,” my husband Bob said. “Dan, you and John are old enough to measure things. Do it all by yourselves. Think you boys can handle it?”
Dan and John seemed to grow six inches in their chairs at the thought of such an amazing responsibility. “We can handle it,” Dan promised. “We won’t let you down.”
A few days before Christmas, Dan and John rushed in after school. They gathered the tools they’d need and brought them out to the yard, where the tree waited. I was cooking when I heard the happy sounds as the boys carried the tree into the living room. Then I heard the sound that every mother knows is trouble: dead silence. I hurried out to them. The tree was cut too short. John crossed his arms tight across his chest. His eyes filled with angry tears.
I felt worried. The tree was central to our holiday. I didn’t want the boys to feel ashamed every time they looked at it. I couldn’t lower the ceiling, and I couldn’t raise the floor either. There was no way to undo the damage done. Suddenly, a thought came to my mind, which turned the problem into the solution.
“We can’t make the tree taller,” I said. “But we can put it on a higher position.”
Dan nodded his head sideways. “We could put it on the coffee table. It just might work! Let’s try it!”
When Bob got home and looked at the big tree on top of the coffee table, Dan and John held their breath.
“What a good idea!” he declared. “Why didn’t I ever think of such a thing?”
John broke into a grin. Dan’s chest swelled with pride.
1.The underlined part “grow six inches” (Para. 4) implies the brothers felt .
A. proud B. nervous C. embarrassed D. Scared
2.What happened after the brothers moved the Christmas tree into the living room?
A. They rushed to school.
B. They began to decorate the tree.
C. They got angry with each other.
D. They found the tree was cut short.
3.How could the short tree be turned into a perfect one?
A. By making the tree taller.
B. By lowering the ceiling.
C. By placing it on a coffee table.
D. By raising the floor.
4.What Bob said in the last but one paragraph showed .
A. he was a little disappointed
B. he was too stupid to think of the idea
C. he appreciated what the brothers had done
D. he should not have given them the task
Laziness is a state of inaction. It is something that you do, not something that you are. Being lazy means you have no to do anything. This is obvious but the mistake that many people make is themselves as someone who is lazy.
Lazy people are often seen as useless. , are they really being lazy or are they acting lazy? There is a huge difference between saying you are lazy sometimes and you are a lazy person. One is suggesting that your laziness is while the other suggests that it’s permanent. This is the myth of laziness. People who are lazy aren’t lazy; they are people who are temporarily acting that way.
So what causes a person to be inactive? The answer is a lack of goals. If you give someone a good enough to do something, he will do it. People who don’t seem to do anything just haven’t found a good enough reason to do something. Lazy students don’t study because they don’t see the in studying. For example, if you are too lazy to clean out the garage, would someone a gun to your head help you take action? The reason can be positive or negative it’s strong enough to induce(引起) action.
To motivate someone who is lazy, what you need to do is to help him find enough to work towards a certain goal.
1.A. motivation B. question C. promotion D. courage
2.A. agreeing B. denying C. identifying D. refusing
3.A. Otherwise B. Besides C. However D. Therefore
4.A. correct B. false C. temporary D. inspirational
5.A. simply B. occasionally C. often D. hardly
6.A. excuse B. gift C. chance D. purpose
7.A. point B. success C. situation D. difficulty
8.A. dropping B. pointing C. shooting D. hiding
9.A. as long as B. as soon as C. so that D. in case
10.A. reasons B. money C. energy D. Confidence
“It is never too late and you are never too old to start something new!” says Englishtown Ellen Rema. Ellen began to learn English at the age of 50, and in just a few years, she has made progress!
Ellen chose to study at Englishtown because no evening classes were in the German countryside where she lives. At Englishtown, she joins classes online and speaks with live native English-speaking teacher.
In 2010, Ellen began with the first level of Englishtown and quickly . “I spent hours and hours studying,” she said “Maybe I wanted too much in a short time. I finished all my after 2 years and studying English isn’t all about hard work. It should also be ! I really like the online conversation classrooms, in which I can learn so much about other cultures and traditions. I am open for all .”
Ellen has been able to her English to use by visiting England five times! “I am very thankful to Englishtown because most of the English I know now was learned here,” Ellen says. “My life has with Englishtown.”
1.A. professor B. friend C.student D.reporter
2.A. amazing B. challenging C. discouraging D. disturbing
3.A. satisfied B. offered C. attended D. represented
4.A. conversation B. composition C. listening D. reading
5.A. dropped B. brushed C. awarded D. progressed
6.A. channels B. schedules C. courses D. papers
7.A. fun B. waster C. weakness D. wonder
8.A. measures B. topics C. timetables D. fashions
9.A. take B. set C. make D. put
10.A. ruined B. started C. changed D. Turned
---Nowadays children are bearing too heavy a learning burden.
---______. So much homework do they have to do that they almost have no time for other activities.
A. So what? B. It cannot be better
C. Good idea D. I cannot agree more
