专题30-语言文化-备战2023年中考英语之阅读理解专项练（常考+热门话题）（通用版）（原卷版）.pdf

专题30-语言文化

备战2023年中考英语之阅读理解专项练（常考+热门话题）

一、阅读单选。

（2022·江苏省锡山高级中学实验学校三模）

Languageshavebeencomingandgoingforthousandsofyears,butinrecenttimesthere

hasbeenlesscomingandalotmoregoing.Whenthewordwasstillpopulatedby

hunter-gatherers,smallcloselyknit(联系)groupsdevelopedtheirownformsofspeech

whichhavenoconnectionwitheachother.Somelanguageexpertsbelievethat10,000years

ago,whentheworldhadjustfivetotenmillionpeople,theyspokeperhaps12,000languages

betweenthem.

Soonafterwards,manyofthosepeoplestartedsettling(定居)downtobecomefarmers,

andtheirlanguagestoobecamemoresettledandfewerinnumber.Inrecentcenturies,trade,

industrialisation(工业化),thedevelopmentofthenation-stateandthewidespreadofbasic

education,especiallyglobalisationandbettercommunicationsinthepastfewyears,allhave

causedmanylanguagestodisappear,anddominantlanguagessuchasEnglish,Spanishand

Chineseareincreasinglytakingover.

Atpresent,theworldhasabout6,800languages.Andtheyareusedindifferentpartsof

theworld.Thegeneralruleisthatmildzoneshaverelativelyfewlanguages,oftenspokenby

manypeople,whilehotwetzoneshavelot,oftenspokenbysmallnumbers,Europehasonly

around200languages;theAmericasabout1,000;Africa2,400;andAsiaandthePacific

perhaps3,200,ofwhichPapuaNewGuineaaloneoffersover800.Themediannumber(中位

数)ofspeakersisonly6,000,whichmeansthathalftheworld’slanguagesarespokenby

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fewerpeoplethanthat.

Alreadywellover400ofthetotalof6,800languagesareclosetoextinction(消亡),with

onlyafewelderlyspeakersleft.Forexample,BusuuinCameroon(eightremainingspeakers),

ChiapanecoinMexico(150),LipanApacheintheUnitedStates(twoorthree)orWadjiguin

Australia(one,withaquestion-mark):noneoftheseseemstohavemuchchanceofsurvival.

1．Whatcanweinferaboutlanguagesinhunter-gatherertimes?

A．Theyhadsimilarforms.B．Theywerelargeinnumber.

C．Theydevelopedveryfast.