Like many languages spoken by people, Ayapaneco is dying. Only two people in the world still speak it, and they won't talk to each other.
Spoken in Mexico for centuries, Ayapaneco is one of 68 surviving languages in the mainly Spanish-speaking nation. The two speakers are Manuel Segovia and Isidro Velazquez. Though they live only 500 meters from each other in the village, the two men seldom talk to each other. Daniel, an American expert, who is working to make a dictionary of Ayapaneco, says the two men “don’t have a lot in mon,” and that Segovia can be “active” while Velasquez tends to mind his own business and stay at home.
While Segovia still speaks to his wife and son in Ayapaneco, neither of them can manage more than a few words. Velasquez hardly speaks his native tongue any more. Daniel is working to preserve the language in dictionary form before its last surviving speakers pass away. According to Daniel, Ayapaneco and the other languages began dying out with the introduction of public Spanish education in the mid-20th century. For decades, local children weren’t allowed to speak anything else. Many people to cities, starting in the 1970s, also helped the dying out of native languages.
Ayapaneco is the name given to the language; Segovia and Velazquez call it “Nuumte Oote”, which means “true voice”. Neither man, however, speaks the same language. The dictionary will contain two versions(版本) of the language when it es out later this year. Those behind the dictionary aren’t the only ones trying to save Ayapaneco. The National Language Institute plans to hold classes so that Segovia and Velasquez can pass on what they know to children.
It is thought that there are about 6,000 languages spoken on earth and that about half will disappear over the next 100 years. Let’s hope the “true voice” isn’t one of them.
【小题1】Segovia and Velasquez seldom talk to each other in Ayapaneco because they .A．both dislike the languageB．don’t get along well with each otherC．are too busy to talk to each otherD．don’t share the same interests【小题2】Which are the main reasons why the language Ayapaneco started dying out?
a. No teacher liked to teach it. b. Local children had to speak Spanish.
c. many villagers went to live in cities. d. The surviving speakers didn’t like to use it.A．a, bB．a, cC．b, dD．b, c【小题3】How does the National Language Institute try to save Ayapaneco?A．Write a dictionary of Ayapaneco.B．Let Ayapaneco be taught at school.C．Introduce a public Ayapaneco education.D．Ask villagers to speak Ayapaneco.【小题4】From the text we learn that the author .A．agrees that it is natural that Ayapaneco should die outB．thinks Daniel’s effort to preserve Ayapaneco won’t workC．thinks highly of Ayapaneco and wants people to learn itD．hopes that Ayapaneco will not die out in the futureD
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(答案→)D
解析：文章大意：全球有6000种语言，其中大约一半在未来的100年内都会消失。文章主要讲述了墨西哥的一种叫Ayapaneco语言，只有两个人讲此语言。
【小题1】D细节理解题。根据第二段Daniel, an American expert, who is working to make a dictionary of Ayapaneco, says the two men “don’t have a lot in mon,”可知两人没有共同的兴趣。故D正确。
【小题2】D细节理解题。根据文章第四段可知Ayapaneco语言逐渐消失的主要原因是当地的孩子不得不讲西班牙语和很多人搬到城市居住。故D正确。
【小题3】B细节理解题。根据倒数第二段最后一句The National Language Institute plans to hold classes so that Segovia and Velasquez can pass on what they know to children.可以得出答案。故B正确。
【小题4】D推理判断题。根据文章最后一段特别是最后一句Let’s hope the “true voice” isn’t one of them.可知作者不希望Ayapaneco语言在将来消失。故D正确。