Unit 5 The power of nature核心素养拓展练素养解读2017版普通高中课程标准首次提出“学科核心素养”。英语学科核心素养由语言能力、文化意识、思维品质和学习能力构成。随之而来，以后的英语考试将更加坚持能力立意，突出核心素养的考查。下面文段就是围绕“文化意识”这一学科素养展开的，文章介绍了世界上语言的种类随着人类社会的发展而逐渐减少这一现象，旨在呼吁大家保护这些濒临消失的语言种类，保持语言的多样性。(2018全国，C) Languageshavebeencomingandgoingforthousandsofyears，butinrecenttimestherehasbeenlesscomingandalotmoregoing.Whentheworldwasstillpopulatedbyhuntergatherers，small，tightlyknit(联系)groupsdevelopedtheirownpatternsofspeechindependentofeachother.Somelanguageexpertsbelievethat10,000yearsago，whentheworldhadjustfivetotenmillionpeople，theyspokeperhaps12,000languagesbetweenthem.Soonafterwards，manyofthosepeoplestartedsettlingdowntobecomefarmers，andtheirlanguagestoobecamemoresettledandfewerinnumber.Inrecentcenturies，trade，industrialisation，thedevelopmentofthenationstateandthespreadofuniversalcompulsoryeducation，especiallyglobalisationandbettercommunicationsinthepastfewdecades，allhavecausedmanylanguagestodisappear，anddominantlanguagessuchasEnglish，SpanishandChineseareincreasinglytakingover.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 worlds languages are spoken by fewer people than that.Alreadywellover400ofthetotalof6,800languagesareclosetoextinction(消亡)，withonlyafewelderlyspeakersleft.Pick，atrandom，BusuuinCameroon(eightremainingspeakers)，ChiapanecoinMexico (150)，LipanApacheintheUnitedStates (twoorthree) orWadjiguinAustralia (one，withaquestionmark)：noneoftheseseemstohavemuchchanceofsurvival.语篇解读本文是一篇说明文。文章介绍了世界上语言的种类随着人类社会的发展而逐渐减少这一现象。1Whatcanweinferaboutlanguagesinhuntergatherertimes?ATheydevelopedveryfast.BTheywerelargeinnumber.CTheyhadsimilarpatterns.DTheywerecloselyconnected.答案B解析推理判断题。根据第一段最后一句可知，一些语言专家认为，一万年前，当世界上只有500万到1000万人时，他们之间可能说12000种语言。由此可推断，采猎文明时期的语言种类很多。2Whichofthefollowingbestexplains“dominant”underlinedinParagraph2?AComplex.BAdvanced.CPowerful.DModern.答案C解析词义猜测题。根据第二段中的“.allhavecausedmanylanguagestodisappear，anddominantlanguagessuchasEnglish，SpanishandChineseareincreasinglytakingover.”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“占优势的”，故选C项(powerful强大的，有影响力的)。3Howmanylanguagesarespokenbylessthan6,000peopleatpresent?AAbout6,800.BAbout3,400.CAbout2,400.DAbout1,200.答案B解析数字计算题。根据第三段第一句“Atpresent，theworldhasabout6,800languages.”可知，目前世界上大约有6800种语言；再根据该段最后一句“Themediannumber(中位数) ofspeakersisamere6,000，whichmeansthathalftheworldslanguagesarespokenbyfewerpeoplethanthat.”可知，目前世界上一半的语言的使用人数少于6000，也就是说有大约3400种语言的使用人数少于6000。4Whatisthemainideaofthetext?ANewlanguageswillbecreated.BPeopleslifestylesarereflectedinlanguages.CHumandevelopmentresultsinfewerlanguages.DGeographydetermineslanguageevolution.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。Notes,.高频词汇1.populate vt.居住于；构成人口2.compulsory adj.义务的；强制的3.globalisation n.全球化；全球性4.distribution n.分布；分配5.uneven adj.不均匀的；不平坦的；参差不齐的.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.分析：这是一个由that 引导的表语从句。while 连接两个并列分句，hot，wet zones have lots，often spoken by small numbers其实是一个省略句，完整的句子应该是hot，wet zones have lots of languages，and they are often spoken by small numbers of people。翻译：一般规律就是温带地区语言种类较少，但说这些语言的人数较多；而热带，潮湿的地区语言种类较多，但说这些语言的人数较少。- 4 -