(新高考)高考英语一轮复习课时精炼 必修第三册　热点话题　精深阅读(三) (含详解)

热点话题　精深阅读(三)

主题语境：人与社会——保护语言，保留语言的多样性，提升人类认知

(2018·全国Ⅰ，C)

Languages have been coming and going for thousands of years，but in recent times there has been less coming and a lot more going.When the world was still populated by hunter­gatherers，small，tightly knit(联系) groups developed their own patterns of speech independent of each other.Some language experts believe that 10,000 years ago，when the world had just five to ten million people，they spoke perhaps 12,000 languages between them.

Soon afterwards，many of those people started settling down to become farmers，and their languages too became more settled and fewer in number.In recent centuries，trade，industrialisation，the development of the nation­state and the spread of universal compulsory education，especially globalisation and better communications in the past few decades，all have caused many languages to disappear，and dominant languages such as English，Spanish and Chinese are increasingly taking over.

At present，the world has about 6,800 languages.The distribution of these languages is hugely uneven.The general rule is that mild zones have relatively few languages，often spoken by many people，while hot，wet zones have lots，often spoken by small numbers.Europe has only around 200 languages；the Americas about 1,000；Africa 2,400；and Asia and the Pacific perhaps 3,200，of which Papua New Guinea alone accounts for well over 800.The median number(中位数) of speakers is a mere 6,000，which means that half the world’s languages are spoken by fewer people than that.

Already well over 400 of the total of 6,800 languages are close to extinction(消亡)，with only a few elderly speakers left.Pick，at random，Busuu in Cameroon (eight remaining speakers)，Chiapaneco in Mexico (150)，Lipan Apache in the United States (two or three) or Wadjigu in Australia (one，with a question­mark)：none of these seems to have much chance of survival.

1．What can we infer about languages in hunter­gatherer times?

A．They developed very fast.

B．They were large in number.

C．They had similar patterns.

D．They were closely connected.

答案　B

解析　推理判断题。根据第一段最后一句“Some language experts believe that 10,000 years ago，when the world had just five to ten million people，they spoke perhaps 12,000 languages between them.”可知，一些语言专家认为，一万年前，当世界上只有500万到1 000万人时，他们之间可能说12 000种语言。由此可知，采猎文明时期的语言种类很多。

2．Which of the following best explains “dominant” underlined in Paragraph 2?

A．Complex.   B．Advanced.

C．Powerful.   D．Modern.

答案　C

解析　词义猜测题。根据第二段中的“...all have caused many languages to disappear，and dominant languages such as English，Spanish and Chinese are increasingly taking over.”可知，人类社会发展的很多因素导致许多语言消失，而逐渐被如英语、西班牙语、汉语等语言取代，这就暗示出这些语言是“占支配地位的”，故选C项(powerful强大的，有影响力的)。

3．How many languages are spoken by less than 6,000 people at present?

A．About 6,800.   B．About 3,400.

C．About 2,400.   D．About 1,200.

答案　B

解析　数字计算题。根据第三段第一句可知，目前世界上大约有6 800种语言；再根据该段最后一句可知，目前世界上一半的语言的使用人数少于6 000，也就是说有大约3 400种语言的使用人数少于6 000。

4．What is the main idea of the text?

A．New languages will be created.

B．People’s lifestyles are reflected in languages.

C．Human development results in fewer languages.

D．Geography determines language evolution.

答案　C

解析　主旨大意题。文章介绍了语言的种类随着人类社会的发展而逐渐减少这一现象，故选C项。

微技能点拨　定位比对，锁定信息，巧解词义猜测题。

第一步：先通过题干信息来选择定位词。

第二步：在原文中查找定位词所在的上下文。

第三步：分析这些句子和选项，得出正确答案。

本文中第2题为词义猜测题，根据策略解题如下：

Step 1　确定题干关键词：dominant

Step 2　回到原文准定位：dominant languages such as English，Spanish and Chinese are increasingly taking over (Paragraph 2)

Step 3　对比选项找最佳：尝试解答  C  。

文本提炼

Ⅰ.宏观把握，整体理解

Ⅱ.词汇积累

1．populate vt.构成……的人口；居住于

2．independent adj.独立的

3．decade n．十年

4．distribution n．分布

5．relatively adv.相对地

6．survival n．幸存

7．account for (数量上)占……

Ⅲ.长难句分析

The general rule is that mild zones have relatively few languages，often spoken by many people，while hot，wet zones have lots，often spoken by small numbers.

句式分析　此句是主从复合句，句子主语是the general rule，is是系动词，that引导表语从句。在表语从句中，while是连词，表示前后对比。

尝试翻译　一般的规律是，温带地区的语言种类相对较少，通常有许多人使用，而湿热地区则有很多种语言，通常有少量的人使用。

仿写运用　失败的原因是他缺乏热情和经验。

The reason for the failure is that he lacks enthusiasm and experience.