Question

    "Ma uka, ma uka ka ua , Ma kai, ma kai ka ua." So sing the children at a kindergarten on the Island of Hawaii. The song is much like "Rain, rain, go away” nursery rhyme, but it has an unusual power: it is one of the tools that have revived a near-dead language.

The decline of Hawaiian was not, as is the case with most disappearing languages, a natural death caused by migration（迁徙）and mass media. In 1896, after American business interests ended the Hawaiian original political system， schools were banned from using it. By the late 20th century, apart from a couple of hundred people on one tiny island, English had replaced Hawaiian and only the old spoke it to each other.

The civil-rights movement brought a revival of interest among the young, centred on the University of Hawaii at Hilo. Larry Kimura, a professor there, was not satisfied that the language should be only a subject at college： he and his students wanted to bring it back to life. The idea for how to do that came from a visiting Maori, who suggested. “language nests", which had successfully revived New Zealand's native language.

In 1985, when educating children in Hawaiian was still banned, Kauanoe Kamana and her husband Pila Wilson, both students of Kimura's, created the first Language nest" at Hilo. Neither was a native speaker, but both were determined, to bring up their children, as such. They gathered a small group of children, including their own son and daughter, and elderly native speakers.

The movement grew： there are now 12 kindergartens and 23 schools involved. The number of children being educated in Hawaiian has risen from 1, 877 in 2008 to 3.028 in 2018. Along with Japanese, Hawaiian is the non-English language most commonly spoken among children.

1.What makes the decline of Hawaiian different from other disappearing languages?

A.The number of its users.

B.The language features it bears.

C.People's unwillingness to use it.

D.The unfair treatment it received.

2.What has been done to save Hawaiian?

A.More schools have been set up.

B.More people are persuaded to stay.

C.More children are exposed to Hawaiian.

D.Government promotes the use of Hawaiian.

3.How does the author feel about the present situation of Hawaiian?

A.Relieved. B.Curious.

C.Anxious. D.Doubtful.

4.What is the best title for the text?

A.The Revival of Hawaiian B.The Future of Hawaiian.

C.The History of Hawaiian D.The Development of Hawaiian

Answer

1.D

2.C

3.A

4.A

【解析】

这是一篇记叙文。文章讲述了衰落到几近消失的夏威夷语在一些当地教育人士的努力之下重新得到了重视和学习。

1.推理判断题。根据第二段第一句“The decline of Hawaiian was not, as is the case with most disappearing languages, a natural death caused by migration（迁徙）and mass media.”和整段内容可知，夏威夷语的衰落并非自然原因，而是因为国家政策和经济方面的原因，学校也禁止教授夏威夷语，D选项“因其受到的不公平待遇”符合文意。故选D项。

2.推理判断题。根据最后一段第二句“The number of children being educated in Hawaiian has risen from 1, 877 in 2008 to 3.028 in 2018.”可知，接受夏威夷语教育的孩子们越来越多，这正是复兴夏威夷语的民权运动的举措之一。C选项“更多的孩子接触到夏威夷语”符合文意。故选C项。

3.推理判断题。根据最后一段对夏威夷语现状的描述“The number of children being educated in Hawaiian has risen from 1, 877 in 2008 to 3.028 in 2018. Along with Japanese, Hawaiian is the non-English language most commonly spoken among children.”可知，情况正在逐渐变好，从作者的角度来说应该是感到宽慰、安心的。故选A项。

4.主旨大意题。总览全文，从过去夏威夷语行将消亡和其原因引入，用较多篇幅讲述了当地教育人士采取一些举措拯救夏威夷语，最终取得了成效。文中出现的revived、bring it back to life等都表明文章就是在讲述夏威夷语的复兴过程。故选A项。