Question

    As more Europeans arrived in America 500 years ago, they were in such great need of the land that they and the Native American Indians battled constantly. By the end of the 19^th century, most Indian tribes (部落) were moved to reservations. A lot of their children were taken away to boarding schools to learn to speak English. By the end of the 20^th century, more than half of the Native Americans in the US were living in the cities. They gave up speaking their old tribal language and only used English. As a result, many Native American languages disappeared and with that their culture.

Today some American Indian languages are usually spoken by the older members of the tribes who still live on the reservations. In North America there are 150-170 languages that have at least one speaker. One ancient language spoken by the Northern Paiute tribe has over 100 speakers.

But the good news is that some of these people are keeping their culture and language alive. They are also receiving help from the National Geographic Society’s Enduring Voices project, whose aim is to help languages around the world which are dying out. The team meets these “last speakers”. The experts interview them and they are recorded with video, pictures and so on. They also tell old stories which are written down in English so people can learn more about the cultures.

Recording the language and culture is only part of the project. The next stage is to pass on the language to the next generation. The Salish tribe is an excellent example of how schools can help. The tribe lives on the Flathead Indian Reservation in Montana. Their language is spoken by about 50 people aged over 75. So now, the local people have set up a school. It has 30 students aged two to twelve during the day and there are also courses for adults in the evening.

1.Why did Europeans fight with the American Indians?

A. To live in American cities    B. To occupy more living space

C. To have Indians speak English    D. To make Indian cultures disappear

2.What does the underlined word “They” refer to in Paragraph 3?

A. The experts    B. The recordings

C. The Indian cultures    D. The last speakers

3.What can we know about the Salish tribe?

A. It has its own language school.    B. It has given up speaking English.

C. Its next generation speaks English.    D. Its language is only learnt by adults.

4.What can be a suitable title for the text?

A. Learning American Indian Languages

B. Researching on American Indian Languages

C. Saving American Indian Languages

D. Finding Lost American Indian Languages

Answer

1. B

2. D

3. A

4. C

【解析】

这是一篇夹叙夹议的文章。这篇文章主要讲了社会各界积极拯救正在消逝的美洲印第安人的语言。

1.细节理解题。答案定位在第一段As more Europeans arrived in America 500 years ago, they were in such great need of the land that they and the Native American Indians battled constantly.（500年前，随着越来越多的欧洲人来到美洲，他们对这片土地的需求越来越大，以至于他们和美洲印第安人不断地进行着战争。）故选B。

2.推理判断题。上文The team meets these “last speakers”. The experts interview them and they are recorded with video, pictures and so on.说团队会见了这些“最后的演讲者”。专家们对他们进行采访，并用视频、图片等进行记录。由此可知下文意思是“最后的演讲者”还讲用英语写下来的旧故事，这样人们可以了解更多的文化。“They”指的是“The last speakers”，故选D。

3.细节理解题。答案定位在最后一段The Salish tribe is an excellent example of how schools can help.（Salish部落是学校如何提供帮助的一个很好的例子。）由此可知Salish部落有自己的语言学校，故选A。

4.主旨大意题。最后一段Recording the language and culture is only part of the project. The next stage is to pass on the language to the next generation.是全文的主题句，结合全文内容，可知这篇文章主要讲了社会各界积极拯救正在消逝的美洲印第安人的语言，故选C。