新高考读写课程 第4讲-人与社会-社会进步与人类文明-学生版.pdfVIP

新课标、新高考、新思路聚焦核心素养、获取关键能力

语篇精深、读写结合（学生版）

语篇四

2018IC

语篇选择：年高考新课标全国卷阅读理解篇

TheEconomist20041229Bablerunsbackwards

语篇来源：选自美国经济学人，年月日名为

(Theworld’slanguagesaredisappearingattherateofoneafortnight.Whattodo?)

的文章。

主题语：人与社会历史、社会与文化-

语篇体裁：说明文

304

语篇字数：词

Languageshavebeencomingandgoingforthousandsofyears,butinrecenttimestherehas

beenlesscomingandalotmoregoing.hentheworldwasstillpopulatedbyhunter-gatherers,

small,tightlyknit(联系)groupsdevelopedtheirownpatternsofspeechindependentofeachother.

Somelanguageexpertsbelievethat10,000yearsago,whentheworldhadjustfivetotenmillion

people,theyspokeperhaps12,000languagesbetweenthem.

Soonafterwards,manyofthosepeoplestartedsettlingdowntobecomefarmers,andtheir

languagestoobecamemoresettledandfewerinnumber.Inrecentcenturies,trade,

industrialisation,thedevelopmentofthenation-stateandthespreadofuniversalcompulsory

education,especiallyglobalisationandbettercommunicationsinthepastfewdecades,allhave

causedmanylanguagestodisappear,anddominantlanguagessuchasEnglish,Spanishand

Chineseareincreasinglytakingover.

Atpresent,theworldhasabout6,800languages.Thedistributionoftheselanguagesis

hugelyuneven.Thegeneralruleisthatmildzoneshaverelativelyfewlanguages,oftenspokenby

manypeople,whilehot,wetzoneshavelots,oftenspokenbysmallnumbers.Europehasonly

around200languages;theAmericasabout1,000;Africa2,400;andAsiaandthePacificperhaps

3,200,ofwhichPapuaNewGuineaaloneaccountsforwellover800.Themediannumber(中位

数)ofspeakersisamere6,000,whichmeansthathalftheworld’slanguagesarespokenbyfewer

peoplethanthat.

Alreadywellover400ofthetotalof6,800languagesareclosetoextinction(消亡),wi