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 Centre 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 Himalayan 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 founded -----the Digital Himalaya Project and the World Oral Literature Project -----Turin has started a campaign to make such documents, for 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. rescue disappearing languages

B. promote global languages

C. search for language communities

D. set up language research organizations.

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

A. Telling stories about language users

B. Writing books on language teaching.

C. Having full records of the languages

D. Living with the native speaker.

3.What is Turin’s book based on?

A. The cultual studies

B. His personal experience in Nepal.

C. His language research in Bhutan.

D. The documents available at Yale.

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

A. Write, sell and donate.

B. Collect, protect and reconnect.

C. Record, repair and reward.

D. Design, experiment and report.

練習(xí)冊系列答案
相關(guān)習(xí)題

科目：高中英語 來源：2016屆湖南衡陽八中高一下學(xué)期期末考試英語試卷（解析版） 題型：單項填空

When I got off the crowded bus, I found my pocket _____ and the disk in it with the important documents gone.

A. stolen B. missing

C. lost D. picked

查看答案和解析>>

科目：高中英語 來源：2015-2016學(xué)年湖北荊州中學(xué)高二上期中英語試卷（解析版） 題型：閱讀理解

Hello, I'm Severn Suzuki speaking for E.C.O. — The Environmental Children's Organization.

Coming here today, I am fighting for my future. I am here to speak for all generations to come. I am here to speak on behalf of (代表) the starving children around the world whose cries go unheard. I am here to speak for the countless animals dying across this planet because they have nowhere left to go. I am afraid to go out in the sun now because of the holes in the ozone (臭氧層). I am afraid to breathe the air because I don't know what chemicals are in it.

You don't know how to fix the holes in our ozone layer. You don't know how to bring back an animal now extinct. And you can't bring back forests that once grew where there is now desert. If you don't know how to fix it, please stop breaking it!

Here, you may be delegates of your governments, business people, organizers, reporters or politicians— but really you are mothers and fathers, brothers and sister, aunts and uncles— and all of you are somebody's child.

At school, even in kindergarten, you teach us to behave in the world. You teach us: not to fight with others, to respect others, to clean up our mess, not to hurt other creatures, to share— not be greedy. Then why do you go out and do the things you tell us not to do?

Do not forget why you're attending these conferences, who you're doing this for— we are your own children. You are deciding what kind of world we will grow up in. But are we even on your list of priorities? My father always says "You are what you do, not what you say."

Well, what you do makes me cry at night. You grown-ups say you love us. I challenge you, please make your actions reflect your words. Thank you for listening.

1.What did the speaker mainly talk about?

A. politics B. environment

C. economy D. war

2.Where was the speech probably given?

A. At a meeting held by school teachers.

B. At a party where many children played.

C. At a ceremony for the speaker’s achievement.

D. At a conference representatives of countries attended.

3.The speech is meant to be given to the following people EXCEPT .

A. News reporters.

B. Children from E.C.O.

C. Decision makers of the governments.

D. Business men.

4.Why did the speaker mention what she was taught at school?

A. To praise her teachers and her father.

B. To warn children of the importance of study.

C. To show her great achievements at school.

D. To prove the grown-ups’ words and actions were not consistent.

查看答案和解析>>

科目：高中英語 來源：2015-2016學(xué)年江蘇鹽城響水中學(xué)高二10月月考英語試卷（解析版） 題型：閱讀理解

Last year I ruined my summer vacation－a two-week vacation at my wife’s family cabin on a lake in northern Ontario, located at the boundary of the US and Canada－by bringing along a modern convenience that was too convenient for my own good: the iPad.

Instead of admiring the beauty of nature, I checked e-mail. Instead of paddling an old canoe, I followed my Twitter feed. Instead of devouring great (or merely amusing) novels, I stuck to my workday diet of four newspapers each morning.

And that was the problem: I was behaving as if I were still in the office, sticking to the unending news cycle. My body was on vacation but my head wasn’t.

So this year I made up my mind to try something different, a social media experiment in reverse: withdrawal from the Internet. Could I manage to unplug?

I knew it wouldn’t be easy, since I’m not good at self-denial. But I was determined. I started with a physical restraint: handing the iPad to my wife, who helpfully announced that she was going to use it to read a 630-page novel for her book club and would not be inclined to relinquish the tablet for even a moment.

Then, a stroke of luck: The cell phone signal at the Canadian cabin was spottier than in the past, making my attempts at cheating an experience in frustration.

I was trapped, forced to comply with my own good intentions. Largely cut off from e-mail, Twitter and my favorite newspaper websites, I had little way to connect to the world except for radio－and how much radio can one listen to, really?

I had no choice but to do what I had planned to do all along: read books. I experienced criminal plots on the streets of Los Angeles, cutthroat battles between cancer labs and the psyche of a London social butterfly in 1922. And there were old magazines to read.

I’m not claiming that I cut myself off from the Internet completely. Every few days, we biked into the nearest town and, as a reward, sat on a park bench in front of the public library to use its Wi-Fi. And back at the cabin, we suffered through a slow dial-up connection once a day to check e-mail.

This tale of self-denial has a happy ending－for now, at least. With determination and deep breathing, plus the strong support of my wife, I succeeded in my vacation struggle against the Internet, realizing finally that it was me, of course, not the iPad, that was the problem.

I knew I had won when we passed a Starbucks and my wife asked if I wanted to stop to use the Wi-Fi. “Don’t need it,” I said, trying not to sound too pleased.

However, as we return to post-vacation situation, a test begins: Can I stay on the wagon now that I’m back at work? There are times when the compulsion to know what’s being said right now is overwhelming (and for me, sometimes it’s crucial to my livelihood). And I have no intention of giving up my membership in the cult of immediacy. But I hope to resist the temptation to reflexively check my e-mail every five minutes, which often leads, as long as I’m looking, to checking my Twitter feed and a website or two.

A vacation is supposed to help you reset your brain to become more productive. Here’s hoping this one worked.

1.What ruined the writer’s trip last year?

A. That he was worn out because of the schedule.

B. That he forgot to bring amusing novels with him.

C. That he read too much newspaper last year.

D. That he was distracted by too many things unrelated to the trip.

2.What does the underlined word ‘restraint’ mean?

A. A calm and controlled behavior.

B. A relaxing move.

C. A strong determination.

D. An unshakable faith.

3.What did the writer do to get in touch with the outside world during the trip?

A. Reading online newspapers.

B. Following his friends’ Twitter.

C. Checking email every now and then.

D. Listening to the radio.

4.Why did the writer claim that his self-denial process have a happy ending?

A. He has completely turned down the Internet.

B. He gave up his habit of checking the latest news online.

C. He realized that his body was on vacation but his head wasn’t.

D. It dawned on him that it was people that are in control of their behavior.

5.What is the main idea of the passage?

A. Say no to electronic devices.

B. Relationships harmed by distractions.

C. Abandoned distractions ease break.

D. Things that can take your mind off.

查看答案和解析>>

科目：高中英語 來源：2015-2016學(xué)年河北棗強(qiáng)中學(xué)高三上學(xué)期期中考試英語試卷（解析版） 題型：閱讀理解

Cleverness is a gift while kindness is a choice. Gifts are easy – they’re given after all. Choices can be hard.

I got the idea to start Amazon 16 years ago. I came across the fact that the Internet usage was growing at 2,300 percent per year. I’d never seen or heard of anything that grew that fast, and the idea of building an online bookstore with millions of titles was very exciting to me. I had just turned 30 years old, and I’d been married for a year. I told my wife MacKenzie that I wanted to quit my job and go to do this crazy thing that probably wouldn’t work since most start-ups don’t, and I wasn’t sure what to expect. MacKenzie told me I should go for it. As a young boy, I’d been a garage inventor. I’d always wanted to be an inventor, and she wanted me to follow my passion.

I was working at a financial firm in New York City with a bunch of very smart people, and I had a brilliant boss that I much admired. I went to my boss and told him I wanted to start a company selling books on the Internet. He took me on a long walk in Central Park, listened carefully to me, and finally said, “That sounds like a really good idea, but it would be an even better idea for someone who didn’t already have a good job.” That logic made some sense to me, and he convinced me to think about it for 48 hours before making a final decision. Seen in that light, it really was a difficult choice, but finally, I decided I had to give it a shot. I didn’t think I’d regret trying and failing. And I suspected I would always be haunted by a decision not to try at all.

After much consideration, I took the less safe path to follow my passion, and I’m proud of that choice. For all of us, in the end, we are our choices.

1.What inspired the author with the idea of building an online bookstore?

A. His dream of being an inventor.

B. The support of his wife.

C. The greatly increasing usage of the Internet.

D. Millions of exciting titles.

2.Which of the following is closest in meaning to the underlined sentence?

A. The idea of not trying would keep coming to his mind and disturb him.

B. He would be very excited if he tried it out.

C. He would be always having a doubt if he didn’t try.

D. The decision not to try the online bookstore would terrify him.

3.We can know from the passage that _______.

A. the boss thought the idea was suitable for the author

B. the author wanted someone else to try the idea

C. the author might not regret if he failed the idea

D. the author might go back to his boss if he failed

4.Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?

A. Cleverness and Kindness B. The Starting of Amazon

C. Following My Passion D. We Are What We Choose

查看答案和解析>>

科目：高中英語 來源：2016屆山東青島市高三上單元檢測英語試卷（解析版） 題型：完形填空

閱讀下面短文，從短文后各題所給的四個選項（A, B, C和D）中，選出可以填入空白處的最佳選項，并在答題卡上將該項涂黑。

There Was a Greek shopkeeper in a small corner shop in London．She taught me about the _ of an act of kindness, which has motivated me to give．

On the day I went to that shop．I was _with a very high fever．I had been off work for days and I had _ out of food．Because I had been working so hard since I had _ _ to town, I also had no friends who could help．

So I went out to get some food． _ ,1 would have gone to the supermarket, but on this __, I went into the Greek shop because it was closer．I _ a few things, from the looks of which revealed （透露） the _ that I lived alone．Then I _ them to the shopkeeper, who told me, "You are unwell．" I _ rather shyly．She pointed at the things I was buying and _．"I can make you a sandwich, so you don't have to do it yourself．

So, she made the sandwich and asked me to _ a moment．She went in the back room and reappeared with a container of hot soup．"It will _ you up," she said with a smile．

What really warmed me up, _ ,was not the soup．It was her _ that told me she cared．Her kindness made me feel cared for when I was particularly _ ．

And it _ me．It made me want to be as _ as the shopkeeper．I had been quite shy, but from that day on, I did not let shyness prevent me from _ random acts of kindness．

I was determined to _ the joy ．．．a(chǎn)nd I haven't felt lonely since!

1.A．lesson B．method C．power D．cause

2.A．sick B．a(chǎn)ngry C．satisfied D．nervous

3.A．made B．run C．sold D．eaten

4.A．a(chǎn)rrived B．turned C．toured D．moved

5.A．Normally B．Officially C．Formally D．Probably

6.A．chance B．point C．occasion D．reason

7.A．made out B．took in C．gave off D．picked up

8.A．news B．fact C．secret D．idea

9.A．handed B．lent C．returned D．threw

10.A．paid B．listened C．nodded D．followed

11.A．promised B．offered C．introduced D．wondered

12.A．leave B．stop C．wait D．last

13.A．warm B．take C．put D．catch

14.A．thus B．even C．though D．still

15.A．permission B．choice C．view D．smile

16.A．bored B．lonely C．guilty D．curious

17.A．surprised B．developed C．inspired D．punished

18.A． patient B．kind C．lovely D．pure

19.A．performing B．judging C．a(chǎn)ccepting D．helping

20.A．hold B．value C．enjoy D．spread

查看答案和解析>>

科目：高中英語 來源：2014-2015學(xué)年廣東茂名市高三第二次模擬考試英語試卷（解析版） 題型：閱讀理解

D

Experts estimate that one out of every five fish sold was caught illegally. It threatens(威脅) food security and hurts the environment. Officials are using new observational technology to fight illegal fishing.

“Thank you for taking the time to join us here in Harwell (UK) in the Operations Center to what we call ‘Project Eyes on the Seas.’” says Tony Long, who leads the Ending Illegal Fishing program for Pew Charitable Trusts. The group created Project Eyes on the Seas. Large three-dimensional images of a globe can be seen on a video.

“It looks different from what you might expect because this globe only shows you the boats that are coming into this system from a live automated information system or AIS.”

The screen shows 120,000 fishing boats have AIS. They are required to have the technology. But those who are fishing illegally often turn it off. The technology does not tell observers when that happens. Project Eyes on the Seas combines satellite information with secret government records on every ship’s past activities.

Mr. Long says that permits researchers to understand exactly where the fishing boats are operating. The Pew team gives the information it gathers to port officials to help them decide if they should take action against a ship. Tony Long says he would like to be able to provide port officials all over the world with clear lists. They would inform the officials about ships to inspect, ships to bar from entrance, and ships to permit entrance for trade activities.

The Pacific island nation of Palau was an early user of the technology. Palau has one of the richest fishing areas in the world. Last year, it announced a plan to ban commercial fishing in a 630,000 square kilometer area. K.B. Sakuma is a special adviser to the president of Palau. He says Palau is trying to deal with a recent increase in illegal, unsupervised（無人監(jiān)管的）and unreported fishing.

“And it’s come to a head in the last year or two. From our southern island in the evening you can see on the horizon just dotted lights of these illegal fishermen that come into our waters, fill their ships with our fish, our resources, our food security...”

1.According to the estimation, what is the percentage of illegal fishing?

A. 1% B. 5% C. 23.5% D.20%

2.The information is collected by the Pew team so as to ________.

A. leave written records for the country only

B. help fishermen to catch more fish on the Seas

C. prevent all of the fishing practices on the Seas

D. assist port officials in deciding whether to ban a ship from fishing

3.What does the underlined word “they” in Paragraph 5 refer to?

A. The clear lists.

B. The investigators.

C. The fishing boats.

D. The Project Eyes.

4.Which of the following statements is closest in the meaning to the underlined sentence in the last paragraph?

A. The issue is urgent.

B. The problem begins to appear.

C. The number of fishermen is increasing.

D. The head of the fishermen is coming.

5.Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A. When the fishermen turn off the AIS, the inspector will know the situation.

B. The special adviser to the president of Palau leads the Ending Illegal Fishing

program.

C. The new technology contributes to solving the problem of illegal fishing.

D. Commercial fishing is permitted in Palau.

查看答案和解析>>

科目：高中英語 來源：2014-2015學(xué)年北京市西城區(qū)高三二模英語試卷（解析版） 題型：單項填空

—Are you going to the concert next week?

—I’d like to, but I ______ an exam then.

A. take B. took

C. was taking D. will be taking

查看答案和解析>>

科目：高中英語 來源：2014-2015學(xué)年湖南省懷化市高三一�？荚囉⒄Z試卷（解析版） 題型：單項填空

The class teacher was anxious to hear one of his top students _____ because of family move．

A．will leave B．is leaving

C．was leaving D．has left

查看答案和解析>>

同步練習(xí)冊答案