Each year on Feb 21,UNESCO (联合国教科文组织) holds an International Mother Language Day (IMLD). The event is to help people to pay attention to the disappearance of the world's languages; many of them are disappearing each year. UNESCO sees this as a terrible fact.

What happens when a language dies out? Something great is lost—not just sounds and words but the way that people understand the world and communicate with each other. We keep different cultures and traditions through languages. Killing a language means all these are killed too.

Through IMLD, more and more people come to realize the terrible situation and try to stop it. Google's 2018 Endangered Languages Project is a good example. Many speakers and protectors of endangered languages upload (上传) texts, audios (音频) and videos to the project website. They want to introduce the way that people communicate and express themselves around the world.

The Myaamia Project is the same kind of effort to revive the language spoken by the Miami tribes (部落) of the United States. Project members work to encourage people to study and communicate with this language, which died out in the 1960s.

These activities give life to those endangered languages. People who work to keep languages alive are not limited to the past. Many young people design apps and use social media (媒体) to support their activities. They "spread the word" to save the world.

So, while the problem of disappearing languages remains a very serious one, there is hope. We all have a special feeling of our mother languages. This is why we should remember the wise words of late president of South Africa, Nelson Mandela: "If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to a man in his own language, that goes to his heart."

1.What did people do in Google's 2018 Endangered Languages Project?

A.They provided books on communication skills.

B.They discussed how to make good use of the Internet.

C.They shared materials about endangered languages online.

D.They translated endangered languages into mother languages.

2.The word "revive" in Paragraph 4 probably means "________."

A.start reusing B.remember choosing

C.try creating D.continue experimenting

3.What can we infer from Paragraph 5?

A.The disappearance of languages has already stopped.

B.It's impossible for young people to protect languages.

C.Fewer and fewer people work to keep languages alive.

D.Young people have creative ways to protect languages.

4.The writer mentions Nelson Mandela's words in order to ________.

A.express his thought of language protection

B.stress the importance of one's mother language

C.tell the trouble in learning endangered languages

D.remind us of the problem of disappearing languages

A live-streaming app (直播应用) that monitors (监控) students in classrooms in some middle schools has raised a lot of online discussion. It was reported that any user of the app Shuidi could see inside classrooms. Some parents have praised the app for giving them the chance to monitor their children, while others worry about privacy problems, Do you think the app is a good idea?

I strongly support this app. Nowadays, children play an important role in the whole family, and parents always want to care for their children, wherever they are. This new platform (平台) helps parents see what their children are doing in classes. It's also a good way to make students behave themselves in school.

I'm in favor of this app if parents get their children's permission (准许) first. The app could help parents focus on children's bad habits. It could also be used as a tool to prevent bullying (霸凌). However, parents should get their permission first to protect their privacy.

I think this app is a bad idea. Schools should be a pleasant and relaxing place for students to study and play. But we will feel uncomfortable if cameras are watching us all the time. We should pay attention to our privacy. Our lives shouldn't be watched by the public.

Any form of privacy invasion (侵犯) shouldn't be allowed. Although some parents want to know more about their children, they should do it in a better way. Being under the eye of strangers is too dangerous.

1.Can any user of a living-streaming app see inside classroom?

______________________

2.In Linda's opinion, what does this new platform help both parents and students?

______________________

3.According to Jeff, what are the advantages of this app if parents get their permission first to protect their privacy?

______________________

4.Why does Betty think this app is a bad idea?

______________________

5.What form does David think is too dangerous?

______________________

6.Are you in favor of having monitoring equipment in your school? Why?

______________________

Dear Marjorie,

I’m having troubles at school. I find it difficult to get down to work in the evenings and I can’t concentrate(全神贯注) on anything at the moment. I spend most of my time listening to music or watching TV instead of doing my homework when I am at home. The other students in my class are much better than I am and I have problems with following the lessons as well. I can’t always take down the important things my teacher says because I write so slowly. She has told me that I’m falling behind with my studies. I’m not good at writing and I usually hand in my homework late because I put off doing it until the last minute. So I often have to invent different excuses to tell my teacher why I haven’t done the work. I’m sure I’ m not going to get through my final exams in July. I’m now so far behind that I don’t know how I’ m going to catch up with them. My teacher spent some time going through my homework with me but she found so many mistakes that I felt even more depressed(沮丧). What do you suggest I do?

Yours,

George

1.George usually________ when he is at home.

A.does his homework B.listens to music

C.concentrates on his study D.gets ready for the final exams

2.Why can’t George take down the important things his teacher says?

A.Because he can’t write fast enough. B.Because the teacher speaks too fast.

C.Because the teacher speaks too much. D.Because he can’t hear the teacher clearly.

3.What made George feel worse?

A.He fell behind his classmates. B.He didn’t pass the final exam.

C.He didn’t hand in the homework on time. D.He made a lot of mistakes in his homework.

4.According to the passage, it is clear that George has problems with his________.

A.family B.study C.teachers D.friends

5.Why does George think it’s difficult to catch up with his classmates?

A.Because his teacher doesn’t want to help him. B.Because his classmates always laugh at him.

C.Because he falls very far behind his classmates. D.Because he has too much homework to do.

违法和不良信息举报电话:027-86699610 举报邮箱:58377363@163.com

精英家教网