Question

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

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 an the cultures they reflect.

Mark Turin, a scientist at the Macmillan Center, Yale University,who specializes in the languages and oral traditions of the Himalayas, is following in 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 Himalaya reaches of India, Nepal, Bhutan, and China. But he is not content 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 rounded -- the Digital Himalaya Project and the World Oral Literature Project -- Turin has started a campaign t make such documents, found in libraries and stores around 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 notes, the endangered languages can be saved and reconnected with speech communities.

1.Many scholars are making efforts to _______.

A.promote global languages

B.rescue disappearing languages

C.search for language communities

D.set up language research organizations

2.What does “that tradition” in Paragraph 3 refer to ?

A.Having full records of the languages.

B.Writing books on language teaching.

C.Telling stories about language users.

D.Living with the native speakers.

3.What is Turin’s book based on?

A.The cultural studies in India. B.The documents available at Yale.

C.His language research in Bhutan. D.His personal experience in Nepal.

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

A.Write and donate. B.Record and reward.

C.Collect, protect and reconnect. D.experiment and report

Answer

1.B

2.A

3.D

4.C

【解析】

本文是一篇记叙文。叙述了学者们正在努力记录濒临消失的语言和文化，来挽救这些语言。耶鲁大学的科学家Mark Turin专门研究喜马拉雅山的语言和口述传统，并他根据自己在尼泊尔一个村庄的生活经历写了一本书。他不只是满足把这些语言在灭绝前记录下来，他要把他们挽救下来，和现在的语言进行重新的连接。

1.细节理解题。许多学者正在努力做什么？根据第二段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.“为了防止语言流失，许多组织的学者——包括联合国教科文组织和国家地理组织——多年来一直在记录正在消亡的语言及其所反映的文化。”可知许多学者正在努力记录濒临消失的语言和文化，来挽救这些语言。故选B。

2.词义猜测题。第三段中的“那个传统”指的是什么？根据But he is not content to simply record these voices before they disappear without record.“但他并不满足于在这些声音没有记录就消失之前把它们录下来。”可知这些语言在没有记录前就要消失了，所以这些学者对这些语言做的是最早的记录。故选A。

3.推理判断题。Turin的书是根据什么写的？根据第三段His recently published book, A Grammar of Thangmi with an Ethnolinguistic Introduction to the Speakers and Their Culture, grows out of his experience living, looking and raising a family in a village in Nepal.“他最近出版了一本名为《唐米语法》(A Grammar of Thangmi)的书，书中用民族语言介绍了唐米人及其文化，这本书是基于他在尼泊尔一个村庄生活、观察和养家的经历写成的。”可知他的书是根据他在尼泊尔一个村庄的生活经历写的。故选D。

4.推理判断题。下面哪一个是对Turin的作品的最好的描述？根据最后一段Generations of communities from whom the materials were originally collected.“最初收集这些材料的几代人的社区。”和Turin notes,the endangered languages can be saved and reconnected with speech communities.“都灵指出，这些濒临灭绝的语言可以被保存下来，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。因此对他的作品做好的描述是具有收集，保护和重新连接的作用。故选C。