Noah Higgs hated learning Irish in school. He hated the way it was taught, overly formal and disconnected from ordinary people’s lives. Most of all he hated the effect the lessons had on his fellow students’ willingness to speak the language. But the Dublin native never lost his love for Irish, nor his opinion that more people should be learning the language.
Today, almost 40% of the 7,000 languages spoken worldwide are endangered, according to the United Nations. More are going extinct every year. It was once widely feared that the Internet revolution would accelerate this decline. If developers and smartphone manufacturers aren’t willing to invest in supporting minority languages, that would cut off people who speak them from an important way to communicate and trap those languages in the past.
Higgs, 23, though, is one of a small group of educators and activists reinventing how minority languages are taught and preserved online by using cutting-edge technology.
When he was 17, Higgs had a “crazy teenage idea”. He had begun using Duolingo, a mobile language-learning app, to study French, and wondered if the creators had considered adding support for Irish.
At the time in early 2013, there were five languages on Duolingo, the smallest of which, Italian, has an estimated 67.9 million speakers worldwide. By comparison, at its height in the 18th century, there were an estimated four million Irish speakers. Today the figure is closer to 1.2 million.
“I didn’t get a reply,” Higgs said.
But his email wasn’t ignored. Inside Duolingo’s open-plan, Silicon Valley-style headquarters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, change was going on. Within five years, the language startup would build a library of over 30 languages, including some of the most endangered on the planet.
1.What was the public concern over the Internet revolution?
A.People’s less contact in real life. B.The negative effect on the lessons.
C.Fewer ways of learning languages. D.The decline of endangered languages.
2.What was Higgs’ “crazy teenage idea”?
A.Turning to Duolingo to study French.
B.Teaching minority languages on the Internet.
C.Asking Duolingo developers to support Irish.
D.Using cutting-edge technology to preserve Irish.
3.What can be learned from the last three paragraphs?
A.Higgs’ email went unnoticed. B.Duolingo improved its service.
C.Duolingo’s headquarters changed. D.Irish was on the point of dying out.
The promise of college in America is the promise of a clear path to the future, of a reward for all the sleep deprivation and soul-deadening competition of high school, and, most of all, of instant adulthood. As of April, 2020, however, none of that is happening due to the outbreak of the novel coronavirus（新型冠状病毒）.
Saminah Haddad, a seventeen-year-old senior at Long Beach Polytechnic High School, wasn’t expecting her college offers until later in the spring. This year, there will be no spring season, which for Haddad means no four-year college. She is considering Long Beach City College, which is free for state residents. She also lost her job at an amusement park. All of the senior-year milestones that Haddad had been looking forward to have been cancelled: prom, graduation, and an event called the “Pursuit of Excellence Awards,” where she would have been recognized for perfect attendance. She doesn’t yet know if she’ll still be working this summer for her father, who was about to open a juice bar in Brooklyn.
In the meantime, Haddad’s school is offering some online instruction, but in her case the course load has dropped to just two classes: A.P. Literature, which meets virtually, and a government class, which consists of written assignments that she receives by e-mail. Haddad is planning to take her A.P. exam, though she finds it hard to imagine what the forty-five-minute, cell-phone-friendly version of the test will be like. No one knows how colleges will view it, either.
Life has been emptied of content, and the plot is lost. She texts with friends. She argues with her mom and stepdad a lot. “It’s bringing us closer together,” she half joked. “But it’s O.K.”
1.What can be known about Haddad from Paragraph 2?
A.She has applied to study abroad.
B.She will attend a graduation ceremony.
C.She won’t work in her father’s juice bar.
D.She may get her college offers in late spring.
2.How does Haddad feel about the A.P. exam?
A.Doubtful. B.Bored.
C.Excited. D.Nervous.
3.In which section of a newspaper may the passage appear?
A.Family. B.Society.
C.Education . D.Health.
假定你是李华，你校的“英语角社团”想邀请你校外教Smith参加本周末的活动。请你给他写封邮件。内容包括：
1. 邀请参加；
2. 主题：京剧（Peking Opera）；
活动形式：自由交流；
3. 时间和地点。
注意：1. 词数 100 左右；
2.可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯；
3.开头和结尾已给出，不计入总词数
Dear Smith，
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Yours,
Li Hua
假定英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文，请你修改你同桌写的以下作文。文中共有 10 处语言错误，每句中最多有两处。错误涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。
增加：在缺词处加一个漏词符号（∧），并在其下面写出该加的词。
删除：把多余的词用斜线（﹨）划掉。
修改：在错的词下划一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意：1. 每处错误及修改均仅限一词；
2. 只允许修改 10 处，多者（从第 11 处起）不计分。
I was lucky enough to study abroad as an exchange student, but this allowed me to improve my language skills and found out more about the local culture. It was my active participation (参与) which helped me make the friends in a foreign country. Instead staying in my room, I got out of the house so as not to be homesick. I’ll never forget the times when I first went camping with my friends. I also tried something entire new such as a dance class and a walking club. In addition, I tried to make my voice hearing. As a result, everyone wanted to know something about myself and I made much good friends!
阅读下面材料，在空白处填入适当的内容（1个单词）或括号内单词的正确形式。
Eliud Kipchoge has become the first athlete1. (run) a marathon in less than two hours, 2. (beat) the record by 20 seconds. The Kenyan,34, covered the 26.2 miles in one hour 59 minutes 40 seconds in the Ineos 1:59 Challenge in Vienna, Austria3. 12 October. It will not4. (recognize) as the official marathon world record because it was not in an open 5. (compete) and he used a team of 42 pacemakers (领跑员). “This shows no one is limited,” said Kipchoge. “Now I’ve done it, and I am expecting 6. (many) people to do it after me.” Knowing he was about to make history, the pacemakers dropped back to let Kipchoge pass the line alone. The four-time London Marathon winner 7. (hug) his wife Grace, grabbed 8. Kenyan flag and was surrounded by his pacemakers, including many of the world’s best middle and long-distance runners. Kipchoge’s coaches delivered him water and energy food by bike, while9. (normal) the athletes are only permitted to pick refreshments up from a table in official marathons. These aids are not allowed under the rules of the IAAF(国 际田联), 10. is why it will not recognize this achievement as the official marathon world record.
One day, the sewer line (污水管道) under our house burst open. My first reaction was to _______ the pipe repairer, but when he heard what was on, he _______ . He did, however, recommend someone. I made the call, _______ the man to complain about such a terrible job. _______ , he simply asked, “The _______?”
And that was it. An hour later, Steve arrived in his truck. He looked exactly like what I had imagined: rough and bearlike. I _______ as he walked down into the wet depths. A few moments later he _______ , saying, “Yep. It’s broken.”
“Can you fix it?” I asked with a mixture of doubt and _______.
Steve looked at me as if scolding me for lack of _______, saying, “Sure.” Then he told me that he ________ to tear up the street to the main sewer line.
“How long will all this take?” I asked.
“I should have it done by evening.”
I didn’t ________ to watch the digging. All I wanted was to leave, go somewhere, and upon my ________, have everything the way it was before the damage. I felt somewhat ________ upon driving off in my clean vehicle, leaving Steve such a (n) ________ task. I went into town and visited a few friends. ________, around 6 pm, my curiosity got the better of me. I went home, and there was a sweeter ________ I never saw: an area of newly-covered street across my front lawn (草坪). I opened the underground room door and — all was________ and dry.
I sat down and thought about Steve — big and rough Steve, and how people, upon seeing him, might judge him. His good job taught me a lesson: Never judge people by their ________ . And I was taken by the very idea that, whatever might happen to a(n) ________ homeowner, there is somebody who is skilled in its solution. If that’s not a reason for ________, I’m not sure what is.
1.A.visit B.call C.ask D.remind
2.A.apologized B.refused C.complained D.shouted
3.A.requiring B.telling C.forcing D.expecting
4.A.Instead B.Therefore C.Again D.Then
5.A.direction B.payment C.address D.problem
6.A.remained B.watched C.hesitated D.followed
7.A.arrived B.stayed C.nodded D.appeared
8.A.hope B.anxiety C.pleasure D.disappointment
9.A.wisdom B.strength C.trust D.energy
10.A.used B.failed C.struggled D.needed
11.A.decide B.volunteer C.want D.agree
12.A.return B.repair C.check D.arrival
13.A.nervous B.comfortable C.relaxed D.guilty
14.A.dangerous B.dirty C.urgent D.meaningless
15.A.Surprisingly B.Thankfully C.Eventually D.Fortunately
16.A.situation B.place C.environment D.sight
17.A.warm B.tidy C.new D.empty
18.A.appearance B.job C.voice D.action
19.A.helpless B.careless C.fearless D.harmless
20.A.celebration B.consideration C.appreciation D.excitement
