Every 14 days, another language dies. There are many reasons for this. Some people think more common languages have more economic(经济的)power. Because of this, young people choose to learn a common language as they think it is more useful. Another reason is that some languages aren't written down. Guujaaw is a leader of the Haida Nation, whose people have lived on the Queen Charlotte Islands, Canada, for more than 10, 000 years. Their language is endangered. Traditionally, it wasn’t written down, and, as a result, some people are worried that it will die one day. Guujaaw replies to this, "We talk to each other, listen, visit, and believe in the spoken word. Expressing yourself without writing is natural." However, if Guujaaw's language and others like it are going to stay alive, writing may have to become part of their lives.

When a language dies, a lot of knowledge dies with it. To begin with, language is a huge part of the culture of the people who speak it. Language allows speakers to say certain things: words that describe a cultural idea may not translate exactly into another language. Furthermore, many endangered languages have rich spoken cultures, Stories, songs and histories are passed on from older people to younger generations(一代), Elizabeth Lindsey, an expert in languages, emphasizes(强调) this. “When an elder dies, a library is burned,” she says.

Also, language death affects our knowledge about nature. Local people often have a deep understanding of plants, animals, and the relationship between them. David Harrison, a researcher on endangered languages, reflects, “80% of plant and animal species(物种)have been undiscovered by science. But that doesn’t mean they're unknown to humans.”

Many languages are endangered. However, it s not too late. Children often grow up speaking two languages. "No one ..becomes richer by giving up… one language to learn another,” Harrison said. If children feel both languages are important, they will use both. So, it is necessary that children realize how useful their local language is.

1.How many reasons are mentioned for endangered languages in Paragraph 1?

A. 2 B. 3. C. 4 D. 5.

2.In Paragraph 2, the writer mainly tells us_____.

A. how cultures are passed on B. how cultures are discovered

C. why languages are written down D. why languages are important to cultures

3.The underlined word "affects" in the passage means “_______”.

A. waits for B. depends on

C. is different from D. has an influence on

4.Which of the following is the writer's opinion?

A. People need to use common languages more often.

B. The spoken word is more important than the written word.

C. Children are the hope to stop the local language from dying.

D. Many animals and plants are in danger because of dying languages.

My mother was telling me about how she and her family got their first television when she was a teenager. Of course it was black and white. She said she only watched it at night. When I was young we had only about 3 or 4 different channels(频道). My bothers, my sisters and I would sometimes fight about which channel to watch. But we usually enjoyed the same shows.

Nowadays we can get hundreds of channels on TV. There are channels with old films, cooking, fishing and so on. It's amazing! I wonder how much my bothers, my sisters and I would fight if we had hundreds of channels when I was a child. Of course we had only one television set. These days I notice families with 2 or 3 or more television sets in their homes. I guess it keeps people from arguing(吵架) over which channel to choose.

1.In the old days, what kind of television sets did people only have?

A. Black and white ones. B. Color ones.

C. All kinds of television sets. D. Both A and B.

2.My mother watched TV _____ when she was young.

A. in the morning B. in the afternoon C. at night D. at noon

3.Nowadays, how many channels can we get on TV?

A. 3 or 4 different channels. B. only one channel.

C. Hundreds of channels. D. Several channels.

4.When I was a teenager, my brothers, my sisters and I usually enjoyed _____.

A. four shows B. the same shows

C. different shows D. hundreds of shows

5.Which of the following is NOT true?

A. My brothers, my sisters and I would sometimes fight about which channel to watch when I was a child.

B. These days, there is only one channel with old films, cooking and fishing.

C. People have many channels to choose now.

D. These days some families have 2 or 3 or more television sets in their homes.

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