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 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 from a number of organizations- UNESCO and National Geographic among them –have for many years been documenting dying languages and 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, looking and raising a family in a village in Nepal.

Documenting the Tangmi language and culture is just a starting point for Turin, who seeks to include other languages and oral traditions across the Himalayans 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, tap 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, found in libraries and stores around the world, available not just to scholars but to the youngers.

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 the disappearing languages

C. search for language communities

D. set up languages research organizations.

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

A. Having first records of the languages

B. Writing books on language searching

C. Telling stories about language users

D. Linking with the native speakers

3.What is Turin’s book based on?

A. The cultural statics in India.

B. The documents available at Yale.

C. His language research in Britain.

D. His personal experience in Nepal.

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

A. Write sell and donate.

B. Record,repeat and reward.

C. Collect,protect and reconnect.

D. Design, experiment and report.

 

Answer 1

1.B

2.A

3.D

4.C

【解析】

试题分析：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.小题1】B.考查细节理解。许多学者正在努力做什么？根据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.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.But he is not content to simply record these voices before they disappear without record.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.Turin的书是根据什么写的？根据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.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.选项A在印度的文化统计。根据Documenting the Tangmi language and culture is just a starting point for Turin, who seeks to include other languages and oral traditions across the Himalayans reaches of India,可知他在印度记录了其他语言和口述传统，但是没有写成书。故与原文不符。 选项B在耶鲁大学可用的记录。根据At the University of Cambridge Turin discovered a wealth of important materials- including photographs, films, tap recordings, and field notes- 可知是在剑桥大学大学发现的记录而不是在耶鲁大学，故排除B项。选项C在英国的语言研究。根据At the University of Cambridge Turin discovered a wealth of important materials- including photographs, films, tap recordings, and field notes- which had remained unstudied and were badly in need of care and protection.可知在英国剑桥大学发现了很多有用的语言资料，但是为被人研究，因此没有写成书，故排除C项。

4.Turin的作品的最好的描述？根据Generations of communities from whom the materials were originally collected.和Turin notes,the endangered languages can be saved and reconnected with speech communities.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.

考点：人物类短文阅读。