题目内容
Though there are about 400 languages from all over the world that are in danger of disappearing completely, Zoque-Ayapaneco, a native Mexican language is considered the most likely to become extinct, because the only two people in the world that speak it fluently do not talk to each other!
And, it's not because they live in different countries, states or even villages. In fact, Manuel Segovia and Isidro Velazquez, both in their 70s, live within 500 yards of each other, in the village of Ayapa in the Southern Mexican State of Tabasco. They, however, refuse to communicate because they simply don't have much in common. Segovia is apparently a little flank in nature while Velazquez is described as shy.
Segovia was at least able to talk in Zoque-Ayapanece with his brother until he passed away about 12 years ago, and still manages to practice it with his family, especially his son Manuel, who for the last five years has been trying to learn it and hopes to become fluent enough to teach it to the next generation. Velazquez on the other hand, has not been heard speaking in the language with anybody.
The two men say the language used to be widely spoken in the village, but the younger generation shunned it for fear of being laughed at, and it therefore began to die a slow death, as the elders passed away.
Unless the two men get their acts together, the only way to hear the language will be to either listen to Manuel's not-so-fluent statement or see them talk in a documentary entitled “Lengua Muerta” (Dead Language) that is being filmed to capture Zoque Ayapaneco and 364 other native Mexican languages that are in a similar state.
We sure hope Segovia and Velazquez soon find something common to talk about. Maybe the fact is that the language is dying and that they should start encouraging and teaching the next generation together.
1.The reason why Segovia and Velazquez don't talk to each other is that ________.
A. they both are too shy
B. they live in different villages
C. they are too familiar to talk
D. they have no similarity in their character
2.What do we know about Zoque-Ayapaneco?
A. It was widely used twelve years ago.
B. It will be dying out if no effective measures are taken.
C. It will be popular in Mexico in the near future.
D. It is a Southern American language.
3.The underlined word “shunned” in Paragraph 4 probably means “________”.
A. favoredB. identified
C. were unwilling to learnD. protected
4.From the passage, we can conclude that ________.
A. altogether 365 languages are becoming extinct in the world
B. Segovia and Velazquez will communicate with each other soon
C. the government cares a lot about the protection of Zoque-Ayapaneco
D. we can hear the language from Manuel or documentary “Lengua Muerta”
5.What's the main idea of the passage?
A. World's endangered languages are being filmed.
B. Villagers are trying to protect their old language.
C. An endangered language is spoken by only two people.
D. There are a lot of languages in Mexico.
