专题30 语言文化

2023中考英语阅读理解专项练习（常考+热门话题）

专题30 语言文化

一、阅读单选。

（2022·江苏省锡山高级中学实验学校三模）

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 word was still populated by hunter-gatherers, small closely knit (联系) groups developed their own forms of speech which have no connection with 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 (定居) down to become farmers, and their languages too became more settled and fewer in number. In recent centuries, trade, industrialisation (工业化), the development of the nation-state and the wide spread of basic education, especially globalisation and better communications in the past few years, 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. And they are used in different parts of the world. The general rule is that mild zones have relatively few languages, often spoken by many people, while hot wet zones have lot, 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 offers over 800. The median number (中位数) of speakers is only 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. For example, 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 question-mark): none of these seems to have much chance of survival.

1．What can we infer about languages in hunter-gatherer times?

A．They had similar forms. B．They were large in number.

C．They developed very fast. D．They were closely connected.

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

A．Ancient. B．Basic. C．Powerful. D．Modern.

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

4．What is the main idea of the text?

A．New languages will be created. B．Geography decides how language changes.

C．Human development causes fewer languages. D．People’s lifestyles are influenced by languages

（2022·河南商丘·三模）English has become a global language. So which country, not including English-speaking countries, speaks English best? And where does China rank (排名)?

Swedish language education company EF published their 2016 English proficiency index this month. The Netherlands (荷兰) ranked first, followed by Denmark and Sweden. The rankings are based on English reading and listening test results of 950,000 people from 72 countries and areas.

According to the index, the English proficiency in China is still low, ranking 39th. Out of the whole country, people in Shanghai are the best English speakers. They speak better English than Italians and French. Hong Kong and Beijing follow Shanghai as China’s next best English-speaking cities.

Shanghai and Beijing rank high because they are international cities. However, across China, proficiency in English is different from east to west.

China has 400 million English learners, reported China Daily. However, the teaching of English in some areas is not very good. According to the People’s Daily Online, there are seven primary schools in Shetianqiao town in Hunan, but only one English teacher. Many students still learn English by rote memorization (死记硬背).

Sebastian Magnusson, an officer at the Swedish embassy(大使馆)in Beijing, gave some advice. Swedish people speak English well and Magnusson himself is also fluent in Chinese. He said TV programs, movies and even computer games could be learning tools. “Do not limit it to textbooks. What matters most is to use what you’ve learned,” Magnusson said.

根据材料内容选择最佳答案。

5．Where did China rank in the 2016 English Proficiency index?

A．First. B．Second. C．39th. D．72th.

6．What are the rankings based on?

A．The English teaching levels of different countries.

B．The number of primary schools in different countries.

C．The number of English-speakers in different countries.

D．The test results of English-speaker from different countries.

7．Which city has the best English speakers in China?

A．Beijing. B．Shanghai. C．Hong Kong. D．Guangzhou.

8．What does the fifth paragraph mainly tell us?

A．Some Chinese schools are short of English teachers.

B．Half of Chinese population is learning English now.

C．Chinese people have high English proficiency levels.

D．Rote rememorization is the best way to learn English.

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