Languages have been coming and going for thousands of years, but in recent times there has been less coming and a lot more going. When the world was still populated by hunter-gatherers，small，tightly knit(联系)groups developed their own patterns of speech independent of each other. Some language experts believe that 10,000 years ago, when the world had just five to ten million people, they spoke perhaps 12, 000 languages between them. Soon afterwards, many of those people started settling down to become farmers, and their languages too became more settled and fewer in number. In recent centuries, trade, industrialization, the development of the nation-state and the spread of universal compulsory education, especially globalization and better communications in the past few decades, all have caused many languages to disappear, and dominant languages such as English，Spanish and Chinese are increasingly taking over. At present, the world has about 6, 800 languages. The distribution of these languages is hugely uneven. The general rule is that mild zones have relatively few languages, often spoken by many people, while hot wet zones have lots, often spoken by small numbers. Europe has only around 200 languages; the Americas about 1, 000; Africa 2, 400; and Asia and the Pacific perhaps 3,200, of which Papua New Guinea alone accounts for well over 800.The median number(中位数) of speakers is mere 6,000, which that half the world‘s languages are spoken by fewer people than that. Already well over 400 of the total of 6, 800 languages are close to extinction (消亡), with only a few elderly speakers left. Pick, at random, Busuu in Cameroon （eight remaining speakers), Chiapaneco in Mexico (150), Lipan Apache in the United States (two or three) or Wadjigu in Australia (one, with a question-mark): none of these seems to have much chance of survival.1. What can we infer about languages in hunter-gatherer times?A. They developed very fastB. They were large in numberC. They had similar patternsD. They were closely connected2. Which of the following best explains "dominant" underlined in paragraph 2？A. ComplexB. .AdvancedC. Powerful.D. Modern3. How many languages are spoken by less than 6,000 people at present？A. About 6,800B. About 3,400C. About 2,400D. About 1,2004. What is the main idea of the text？A. New languages will be created.B. People‘s lifestyles are reflected in languages.C. Human development results in fewer languages.D. Geography determines language evolution.
CThe year was 1932. Amelia Earhart was flying alone from North America to England in a small single-engine airplane. At midnight, several hours after she had left Newfoundland, she ran into bad weather. To make things worse, her altimeter failed and she didn’t know how high she was flying. At night, and in a storm, a pilot is in great difficulty without an altimeter. At times, her plane nearly plunged into the sea.Just before dawn, there was further trouble. Amelia noticed flames coming from the engine. Would she be able to reach land? There was nothing to do except keep going and hope.In the end, Amelia Earhart did reach Ireland, and for the courage she had shown, she was warmly welcomed in England and Europe. When she returned to the United States, she was honored by President Hoover at a special dinner in the White House. From that time on, Amelia Earhart was famous. What was so important about her flight？ Amelia Earhart was the first woman to fly the Atlantic Ocean alone, and she had set a record of fourteen hours and fifty-six minutes. In the years that followed, Amelia Earhart made several flights across the United States, and on each occasion she set a new record for flying time. Amelia Earhart made these filths to show that women had place in aviation and that air travel was useful.29. According to the passage, what was Amelia Earhart’s reason for making her flights?A. To set a new record for lying time.B. To be the first woman to fly around the world.C. To show that aviation was not just for men.D. To become famous in the world.30. Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?A. A New Record for Flying TimeB. Amelia Earhart---First Across the AtlanticC. Amelia Earhart ---Pioneer in Women’s AviationD. A Dangerous Flight from North America to England.
