Question

“Croeso I Gymru!,” If you don't know what this means, read on to find out more.

When you cross over the border from England into Wales, you don't have to show your passport but you do notice a difference immediately. All the road markings and signs are shown in two languages — English and Welsh (威尔士语）. Not all visitors to Britain know that other languages are spoken here. There's the Gaelic (盖尔语) language in Scotland and a few people speak Cornish (康沃尔语）in the southwest of England, but the most widely spoken language in the UK besides English is Welsh.

Perhaps the first Welsh word you^'ll see on the road into Wales is ARAF. There's a helpful English translation next to it — SLOW. As you can see, Welsh looks quite different from English. It sounds very different, too. Welsh looks and sounds so different from English because it’s a Celtic language. Celtic cultures still exist around the edges of the UK — in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland and also in parts of France. For hundreds of years, almost everyone in Wales spoke Welsh, but nowadays there are about 600 thousand Welsh speakers — around 20% of the population.

So is Welsh dying out? Not at all! Nowadays, all school children in Wales study Welsh and many choose to go to an all Welsh-speaking school. You can get public information in Welsh, speak Welsh in court or take a course at university in Welsh. People surf the Internet in Welsh, keep up with friends on Facebook and write blogs in Welsh.

By the way, ^“Croeso I Gymru!" means “Welcome to Wales!” 一 I hope you'll be able to visit it one day.

1.According to the passage, Welsh ________.

A. has developed from Cornish

B. is still widely used in the UK

C. sounds a little similar to English

D. is more widely spoken than before

2.How does the author feel about the future of Welsh?

A. Optimistic.B. Curious.C. Worried.D. Confused.

3.What is the author's purpose of writing the passage?

A. To explain a typical Welsh term.

B. To compare English with Welsh.

C. To give an introduction to Welsh.

D. To encourage people to visit Wales.

Answer

1.B

2.A

3.C

【解析】

试题分析：作者向我们介绍威尔士语与英语的区别及其在英国广泛应用。

1. 细节理解题。根据第二段but the most widely spoken language in the UK besides English is Welsh.可知，Welsh在英国还在广泛运用，最后一段也提到Welsh在学校、公共场合、网络等方面的广泛应用，故选B。

2. 推理判断题。根据文中的细节For hundreds of years, almost everyone in Wales spoke Welsh, but nowadays there are about 600 thousand Welsh speakers — around 20% of the population.和最后一段对Welsh在许多方面的广泛应用及最后一句I hope you'll be able to visit it one day.可推断，作者对Welsh的前景是持乐观态度的，故选A。

3. 主旨大意题。作者的写作目的是向我们介绍威尔士语与英语的区别及其广泛应用，故选C。

考点：考查语言文化类短文阅读。

【名师点睛】

在做阅读理解题过程中，应首先略读一下短文，了解一下短文的大致意思，然后把几个选项含义理解透，尤其注意意思相近，表达有交叉的选项之间的区别。然后再细读短文，把答案填入合适位置。答题时可以把含义相近的几个选项轮流填入同一处位置，反复阅读，反复体会，找出最佳选项，对于实在没有把握的小题可以最后完成。完成短文后，再认真通读一遍全文，看看上下语意是否通顺，是否符合逻辑关系。要看完全文，关键对方反复阅读，才能选对答案。

另外，做题时要注意文章的首段和每一段的首句或尾句，因为它们往往就是文章的主题句。阅读中要注意要点之间的关系。