Long live language. That’s the message Edmonton Mayor Don Iveson and city councilor Amarjeet Sohi voiced when they declared Feb. 21 to be International Mother Language Day (IMLD) in Edmonton, the capital of the Canadian province of Alberta.
The pair were on hand for the International and Heriage Languages Association’s (IHLA) 12th annual Mother Language Day celebrations in an effort to save endangered languages.
“Keeping languages alive is important for me richness of our culture and the diversity that strengthens Edmonton,” said Iveson.
There are nearly 7,000 unique languages spoken worldwide, but according to data from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) half of those languages are at risk of going extinct in just a few generations.
For example, there are currently over 3,000 languages spoken throughout Africa. This sounds impressive until you realize that there were over 10,000 languages spoken on the continent before colonization during the 19th century.
“People who lose their language experience suffering,” said Olenka Bilash, professor of second language education at the University of Alberta. Bilash likened the loss of language to the loss of cultural identity.
“As a multicultural society, it is very important to continue to preserve and pass on to future generations the language, culture, traditions and customs that we bring to Canada, ” said IHLA president Olga Prokhorova.
While the City of Edmonton’s citizen and new arrival centre in city hall provides services in 150 languages, Bilash said research shows that “most people are still uncomfortable speaking their own language in public spaces.”
Bliash hopes the official announcement of International Mother Language Day in Edmonton——which echoes International Mother Language Day declared by UNESCO in 1999 —— will be a step toward encouraging more language diversity in order to preserve the cultures tied to them.
“Our words define us; our expressions and vocabulary define who we are as people,” said Marueen Kubinec, Alberta’s minister of culture and tourism. “Our words are living examples, perhaps the best that there are, of human creativity.”
1.The example of the languages in Africa is given to show .
A.there’re many languages in Arica.
B.a great number of languages became extinct.
C.Africa believes in encouraging cultural diversity.
D.Africans are trying to save endangered languages.
2.Both Bilash and Prokhorova stress the importance of .
A.mastering more than one foreign language.
B.public policy on Canadian traditions and customs.
C.protecting languages and cultures from extinction.
D.the official announcement of IMLD by UNESCO.
3.What does the underlined word “echoes” in the text mean ?
A.Suggests. B.Creates.
C.Celebrates. D.Imitates.
4.What can we learn from Kubinec’s words ?
A.Your language is your identity.
B.Native language is disappearing.
C.Alberta is rich in language diversity.
D.Language can be saved by creativity.
At any given time, hundreds of postcards are in transit (运输中) across the world as strangers communicate through a movement called Post-crossing.
Emma Delaney says it’s a sad day when there isn’t a postcard in her mailbox. She doesn’t have a bunch of friends travelling overseas at the moment —— she’s just really active in the underground hobby of Postcrossing.
“I’ve sent over 3,000 postcards, but I’ve been doing it for close to seven years,” she says. “My husband, generally appreciative of my hobby, is sometimes frustrated by the amount of cardboard hanging around the house or in my car.”
Postcrossing is a hobby where strangers send each other postcards across the world. You register on the website, list your interests and preferences for postcards, then receive an address of a stranger on the other side of the world to send a postcard to.
“I tend to send a lot of postcards of the local area because people are interested in where you’re from and what you do,” Emma says.
From Uzbekistan to Belarus and Kazakhstan to Moldova, Emma has a growing collection of photos from around the world. The postcards have helped shape her international travelling too. “I didn’t travel overseas until I was 32 and a lot of the locations we chose for our honeymoon were selected because of the postcards I’d received.”
“Some people see sending mail as being a bit boring and unfashionable, but Postcrossing is popular and lots of people are fascinated that I do it.,”
The Postcrossing project has just celebrated its eighth birthday and has over 400,000 active members in 215 countries. The group says they’ve delivered over 18 million postcards.
And while postal workers aren’t supposed to read people’s postcards, Emma says she’s happy for them to do so at her post office in Shellharbour. She even encourages her correspondents to say hello to the Australia Post staff.
“It’s a hobby that I continue to do because I find it enjoyable and relaxing.”
1.Emma Delaney’s friends .
A.do a lot of travelling.
B.send her lots of postcards.
C.share the same hobby as her.
D.aren’t active in travelling abroad.
2.What’s Emma’s husband’s attitude towards her hobby ?
A.Somewhat annoyed.
B.Totally unconcerned.
C.Deeply disapproving.
D.Strongly supportive.
3.What’s the benefit of being involved in Postcrossing according to Emma Delaney ?
A.Broadening the mind.
B.Deepening the mind.
C.Giving others a helping hand.
D.Bringing her family more happiness.
4.The Postcrossing project .
A.delivers both postcards official letters.
B.was set up a couple of years ago in Australia.
C.has granted membership in 215 countries all over the world.
D.receives more public approval compared with sending mail.
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书面表达
随着信息技术的发展,网络成为我们生活中重要的组成部分。近期英语报社就“中学生课余时间上网的利弊”这一话题组织了一场讨论。请你根据以下信息,给报社写一封信,客观地介绍讨论情况,并陈述你自己的观点。
部分同学观点:1、时间是自己的,提倡上网。
2、网络使我们交流方便,获得国内外新知识及最新信息。
3、因特网丰富了学生的业余生活。
多数同学观点:1、上网可以,但必须限时。
2、多数人上网是玩游戏、聊天而不是学习。
3、个别同学因上网而荒废了学业。
你的观点:……
注意:1. 词数100左右;
2. 短文必须包括以上所有要点,可适当增加细节,以使行文连贯。
Dear Editor,
I’m writing to tell you about the discussion we’ve had about whether we should surf the Internet in our spare time._____________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
Yours,
Li Hua
英汉互译
1.据报道司机的粗心大意导致了事故的发生。( result in)
2.发火是没有用的。(there is no point in)
3.爸爸建议我考试前睡眠要充足。(recommend that)
4.这项建议不值得考虑。(be worth doing)
5.随便浏览可能是快乐的消遣,却不适合大多数人。(at random)
6.He needed to think carefully about what to take and what to leave behind.
7.These things have helped to mould us into the people we are.
8.The telephone allows us to reach out beyond our own lives.
9.With the phone hooked up to the computer, we can access the Internet, the biggest library on Earth.
10.An intelligent browser that does the searching for relevant information automatically needs to be developed further.
根据首字母或汉语提示拼写单词
1.Please f_________ the toilet after you use it.
2.It's illegal to use the fire alarm except in case of e_________.
3.I was d_________ by the traffic and missed the train.
4.He is very p_________ -- always arrives on time.
5.P_________, I think it’s a waste of time.
6.Officials have repeatedly _________ (否认) the existence of a secret report.
7.Nixon was _________(被卷入,涉及) in Watergate Scandal.
8.No parking is allowed, but an _________ (例外) is made for disabled drivers.
9.I was scared and I don't mind _________ it.(承认)
10.The new machine is far more _________ (有效率的) than the old one.