Question

    As more and more people speak the global languages of English, Chinese, Spanish, and French, other languages are rapidly disappearing. In fact, half of the 6,000-7,000 languages spoken around the world today will likely die out by the next century, according to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

In an effort to prevent language loss, scholars (学者) from a number of organizations-UNESCO and National Geographic among them-have for many years been documenting (记录) dying languages and the cultures they reflect. Mark Turin, a scientist at the Macmillan Centre Yale University, who specializes in the languages and oral traditions of the Himalayas, is following that tradition. His recently published book, A Grammar of Thangmi with an Ethnolinguistic Introduction to the Speakers and Their Culture, grows out of his experience living, working, and raising a family in a village in Nepal.

Documenting the Thangmi language and culture is just a starting point for Turin, who seeks to include other languages and oral traditions across the Himalayan reaches of India, Nepal, Bhutan, and China. But he is not satisfied to simply record these voices before they disappear without record. At the University of Cambridge Turin discovered a wealth of important materials, including photographs, films, tape recordings, and field notes, which had remained unstudied and were badly in need of care and protection. Now, through the two organizations that he has founded, the Digital Himalaya Project and the World Oral Literature Project, Turin has started a campaign to make such documents, for the world available not just to scholars but to the younger generations of communities from whom the materials were originally collected. Thanks to digital technology and the widely available Internet, Turin’s notes, the endangered languages can be saved and reconnected with speech communities.

1.Many scholars are making efforts to       .

A.save global languages

B.search for new languages

C.rescue disappearing languages

D.set up language research centers

2.What does “that tradition” in Paragraph 2 refer to?

A.Writing books on language teaching.

B.Having full records of the languages.

C.Telling stories about language users.

D.Living with the native speaker.

3.What is Turin’s book based on?

A.His experience in Nepal.

B.The documents available at Yale.

C.His language research in Bhutan.

D.The cultural studies.

4.Which of the following best describe Turin’s work?

A.Write, sell and donate.

B.Record, repair and reward.

C.Design, experiment and report.

D.Collect, protect and reconnect.

Answer

1.C

2.B

3.A

4.D

【解析】

本文是一篇说明文，主要讲述了学者们通过记录濒临消失的语言和文化，来挽救这些语言。

1.细节理解题。根据第二段第一句In an effort to prevent language loss, scholars from a number of organizations-UNESCO and National Geographic among them-have for many years been documenting dying languages and the cultures they reflect.（为了防止语言的流失，许多组织的学者——包括联合国教科文组织和国家地理——多年来一直在记录濒临灭亡的语言和它们所反映的文化。）可知为了避免一些语言的消失，学者们一直在记录濒危的语言和其反映的文化。故选C。

2.词义猜测题。前句提到了documenting (记录) dying languages and the cultures they reflect 记录濒危的语言和其反映的文化，可知Mark Turin正在遵循这一传统。故此处that tradition指的是完整记录语言的做法，故选B。

3.细节理解题。根据文章第二段最后一句His recently published book, A Grammar of Thangmi with an Ethnolinguistic Introduction to the Speakers and Their Culture, grows out of his experience living, working, and raising a family in a village in Nepal.（他最近出版的一本书A Grammar of Thangmi记叙了他在尼泊尔一个村庄的生活、工作和养家的经历，这本书用民族语言介绍了讲这种语言的人及其文化。）可知，他的著作是根据他在尼泊尔一个村庄的生活经历写的。故选A。

4.推理判断题。根据最后一段中的Turin has started a campaign to make such documents, for the world available not just to scholars but to the younger generations of communities from whom the materials were originally collected the endangered languages can be saved and reconnected with speech communities.（都灵已经开始了一场运动，使这些文献不仅对学者，而且对最初收集这些材料的社区的年轻一代都能得到。都灵指出，由于数字技术和广泛使用的互联网，濒危语言可以得到拯救，并与语言社区重新建立联系。）可知Turin的作品是从最初的材料上进行的收集，他的作品使濒临危险的语言得到了保护，并且与言语重新连接。故选D。