公共课英语一模拟题2020年(76)_真题-无答案

公共课英语一模拟题2020年(76)

(总分100,考试时间180分钟)

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Partly due to a historical development marked by worldwide colonialism, urbanization, and

globalization, in the course of this century humankind is likely to experience its most extreme

cultural loss. As K. David Harrison notes in When Languages Die, "The last speakers of probably

half of the world's languages are alive today." Their children or grandchildren are pressured to

speak only the dominant language of **munity or country. Under one estimate, more than 50% of

the 6,900 or so languages identified nowadays are expected to become extinct in a matter of a few

decades.

The precise criteria for what counts as a distinct language are controversial—especially those

regarding closely related linguistic systems, which are often inaccurately referred to as dialects of

the same language. The problem is complicated by the insufficiency of studies about the grammar

of many of the world's endangered languages. In addition, from a cognitive standpoint any two

groups of individuals whose languages are mutually intelligible may in fact have distinct mental

grammars.

As a cognitive system, a language shows dynamic properties that cannot exist independently

of its speakers. This is the sense in which the Anatolian languages and Dalmatian are extinct.

Therefore, language preservation depends on the maintenance of the native-speaking human

groups. Unfortunately, the most accelerated loss of distinct languages takes place where economic

development is rapid, worsening the breakdown of **munities that speak different languages. In

this perspective, a language often begins to die long before the passing of the last speaker: New

generations may start using it only for limited purposes, increasingly shifting to **munity's

dominant language. In this process, knowledge of the dying language erodes both at the individual

level and at **munity level.

Linguistic diversity itself may be the worst loss at stake, because it may be the most

promising and precise source of evidence for the range of variation allowed in the organization of

the human cognitive system. For instance, Harrison discusses many strategies for manipulating

quantities across languages, often endangered ones. The rapid loss of linguistic diversity

substantially **parative investigation about the multiple ways in which a single cognitive domain

can be organized.

Linguists are well aware that their efforts alone cannot prevent this loss. Community

involvement, especially with government support, has proven essential in slowing or even

reversing language loss in different cases (e.g., Basque and Irish). Crucially, endangered languages

must be acquired by new generations of speakers. Here the biological metaphor adopted by

Harrison applies appropriately — documentation of dead languages is akin to a fossil record,

providing only partial clues **plex cognitive systems.

1. ing to the first paragraph, language loss

A. is caused partly by colonialism, urbanization and globalization.

B. is the most extreme cultural loss people experiences.

C. is expected to occur in a few centuries.

D. occurs in less than half of the world's 6,900 languages.

2. of the difficulties in differentiating one language from another is that

A. one language may have many dialects.

B. grammar study on some languages is not enough.

C. they are dialects of the same languages.

D. grammars reflected by languages are different.

3. start of language dying is indicated by

A. the disappearance of its last speakers.

B. the fact that new generations stop using it.

C. the official ban on speaking it.

D. its new generations' decreased use of it.

4. es that can be taken to prevent language loss include

A. turning endangered languages into dominant languages.

B. protecting minority groups by slowing economic growth.

C. relying on the joint efforts of linguists and government.

D. **parative investigation across languages.

5. can infer from the metaphor in the last paragraph that

A. dead languages are similar to fossils in biological sense.

B. documentation is not enough for us to understand dead languages.

C. fossil records give a complete picture of ancient lives.

D. dead languages can remain alive if they are documented properly.

Judith Vogtli, director of an upstate New York-based abstinence (the practice of refraining

from sex, alcohol, etc) organization called Project Truth, is worried that the golden age of

"abstinence-only" education may **e to an end. George W. Bush helped increase funding for this

kind of sex education—which focuses on chastity as the way to prevent pregnancy and sexually

transmitted diseases, and discusses condoms only in terms of failure—to over $175m a year. The

fate of that money, and of abstinence education itself, is uncertain under a new administration and

Congress.

Ms Vogtli need only wait a few weeks. Barack Obama will submit the first draft of his budget

to Congress later this month. In the meantime, her organization, funded entirely by a government

grant, is trying to go about business as usual. That means teaching about abstaining from sex,

drugs and alcohol in New York schools and holding its sixth annual abstinence Creativity Contest,

to which students submitted essays, poems, artwork and music on the theme of "Waiting is easier

"

Abstinence-only education programs have been controversial ever since they were introduced

under Ronald Reagan in 1981. Some liberals have labeled it "ignorance-only" education and most

favor a curriculum that includes discussion of both abstinence and contraception (the method to

prevent pregnancy). Since the start of abstinence-only programs, the federal government has spent

over $1.5 billion on them, but the United States still has one of the highest teen-pregnancy rates of

any developed country. Supporters of abstinence-only education mostly think that the media and a

culture of casual sexual behaviors are to blame for this and that more government support for

abstinence could help offset the rise of teenage pregnancy and sexually transmitted disease. But

opponents blame abstinence-only education.

There is some evidence to support their case. According to Sarah Brown of the National

Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, an advocacy organization, there has been no

randomized study showing that abstinence-only education delays sexual activity, and research

from the University of Washington suggests that teens who **prehensive sex education have a

50% lower risk of becoming pregnant than those enrolled in abstinence-only courses.

Abstinence-only advocates want the government to let school districts choose which type of

sex education they prefer. But in an unfavorable sign for them, the new Congress is already

shifting its emphasis. Louise Slaughter, a congresswoman from New York and a former scientist,

has introduced a bill that would fund "medically accurate" comprehensive sex education in

schools. It is likely to pass.

6. learn from the first paragraph that "abstinence-only" education

A. fails to win the support from the new administration.

B. focuses on both chastity and condoms.

C. enjoys great popularity among the young people.

D. might see a decline of public interest in such education.

7. of the following is true of Paragraph 2?

A. Ms Vogtli's organization is funded by the government and **panies.

B. Obama's financial budget will depend on the result of abstinence Creativity Contest.

C. The annual abstinence Creativity Contest has been held for six consecutive years.

D. Student participants of the contest should submit essays, poems, artwork of any themes.

8. ing to Paragraph 3, the teen-pregnancy rates are high because of

A. a lack of government support for abstinence education.

B. the casual attitude towards abstinence education.

C. the casual attitude towards sex and mass media.

D. the curriculum that excludes discussion of contraception.

9. is suggested in the fourth paragraph **prehensive sex education

A. does not put off sexual activity among the teens.

B. helps the teens reduce the risk of becoming pregnant by 50%.

C. helps 50% of the teens avoid the sexual behavior.

D. helps the teens avoid becoming pregnant more effectively.

10. may infer from the last paragraph that

A. the new Congress still emphasizes the abstinence-only education.

B. **prehensive sex education may receive more support.

C. a bill of **prehensive sex education has been passed.

D. Louise Slaughter is in favor of abstinence-only education.

Writing for an historical series is tricky, and the outcome is not always a success. The best

overall European history in English is the old Fontana History of Europe, but it was uneven in

quality, and it suffered because the volumes appeared so far apart in time. The new Penguin

History of Europe has only recently begun. But judging by this second volume in a projected

eight-volume series, it is going to be a smashing success.

Tim Blanning, a Cambridge history professor, brings his period knowledge, experience,

sound judgment and a colorful narrative style. His broad range is evident from the start when, in

place of the usual recitation of politics and battles, he expounds on such themes as

communications, transport, demography and farming. Indeed, much of what might be seen as

traditional history is pushed back to the fourth and final part of the book. Not the least of Mr.

Blanning's achievements is his integrated approach to the entire continent. He jumps nimbly from

Spain to the Low Countries, from Russia to Austria, from Prussia to Turkey. Many of Europe's

royal families were related, after all.

The author also expertly places the history of the two greatest rivals of the day, England and

France, in its wider European context. Any British Eurosceptic who thinks his country's history is

detached from continental Europe's would realize from even the most inadequate reading of this

book how bound up with the continent it has in fact always been.

The 17th and 18th centuries in Europe were, above all, a period of war. Indeed, it seemed at

times as if France and Austria, the leading martial powers in 1648, did little else but fight.

Sometimes war helped to stimulate economic **mercial development. But it is striking that it fell

to Britain, which enjoyed at least a few years of peace, to pioneer Europe's industrialization.

The book is stronger on the 18th century than on the second half of the 17th, reflecting the

author's own historical bias. Another weakness is that, though there is a reasonable bibliography, it

has no footnotes citing sources, a scandalous omission in a work with serious academic

pretensions. It also sometimes takes for granted a basic grounding in the history of the period,

which may be problematic for students at whom it is presumably in part aimed. But overall Mr.

Blanning has produced a triumphant success.

11. of the following is true about the old Fontana History of Europe?

A. Some parts are good, while others not.

B. It is an eight-volume historical series.

C. It is not a successful historical series.

D. It becomes less famous as time goes by.

12. the second volume, Tim Blanning wrote the History of Europe

A. in a traditional way.

B. in an unconventional way.

C. in a separate way.

D. in a funny way.

13. and Austria are mentioned in Paragraph 4 to show that

A. they were the leading European military powers in the 17th century.

B. war between these two countries failed to spur economic **mercial development.

C. war was quite a common thing in the 17th and 18th centuries in Europe.

D. the war between them made them lag behind England in development.

14. author thinks Mr. Blanning's work is flawed because

A. it is ethnically biased.

B. it is uneven in quality.

C. it lacks bibliography.

D. it omits the footnotes.

15. can learn from the text that the second volume of the Penguin History of Europe

A. is the best book on overall European history.