Exercise 10. Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C or D to indicate the correct answer to
each of the questions.
In the Native American Navajo nation which sprawls across four states in the American south-
west, the native language is dying. Most of its speakers are middle-age or elderly. Although many students
take classes in Navajo, the schools are run in English. Street sign, supermarket goods and even their own
newspaper are all in English. Not surprisingly, linguists doubt that any native speakers of Navajo will
remain in a hundred years' time.
Navajo is far from alone. Half the world's 6,800 languages are likely to vanish within two generations -
that's one language lost every ten days. Never before has the planet's linguistic diversity shrunk at such
a pace. Isolation breeds linguistic diversity as a result, the world is peppered with languages spoken by
only a few people. Only 250 languages have more than a million speakers, and at least 3,000 have fewer
than 2,500. It is not necessarily these small languages that are about to disappear. Navajo is considered
endangered despite having 150,000 speakers.
What makes a language endangered is not that the number of speakers, but how old they are. If it
is spoken by children it is relatively safe. The critically endangered languages are those that are only
spoken by the elderly, according to Michael Krauss, director of the Alaska Native Language Center, in
Fairbanks.
Why do people reject the language of their parent? It begins with a crisis of confidence, when a
small community finds itself alongside a larger, wealthier society, says Nicholas Ostler of Britain's
Foundation for Endangered Languages, in Bath. “People lose faith in their culture” he says. "When the
next generation reaches their teens, they might not want to be induced into the old tradition.” The change
is not always voluntary. Quite often, governments try to kill off a minority language by banning its use in
public or discouraging its use in school, all to promote national unity. The former US policy of running
Indian reservation in English, for example, effectively put languages such as Navajo on the danger list.
But Salikoko Mufwene, who chairs the Linguistics Department at the University of Chicago, argues that
the deadliest weapon is not government policy but economic globalisation. "Native Americans have not
lost pride in their language, but they have had to adapt to socio-economic pressures" he says. “They
cannot refuse to speak English if most commercial activity is in English."
However, a growing interest in cultural identity may prevent the direct predictions from coming
true. ‘The key to fostering diversity is for people to learn their ancestral tongue, as well as the dominant
language' says Doug Whalen, founder and president of the Endangered Language Fund in New Haven,
Connecticut. “Most of these will ive without a large degree of bilingualism” he says.
123. It is stated in the passage that the number of endangered languages is_________.
A. about 3,200 B. about 6,800 C. at least 3,000 D. fewer than 2,500
124. The word peppered in paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to_________.
A. randomly separated B. slowly attacked
C. sparsely distributed D. unintentionally controlled
125. According to the passage, endangered languages cannot be saved unless people_________.
A. avoid speaking their dominant language B. grow interest in cultural identities
C. know more than one language D. write in their mother tongue
126. Who thinks that a change of language may mean a loss of traditional culture?
A. Doug Whalen B. Michael Krauss C. Nicholas Ostler D. Salikoko Mufwene
127. The word these in paragraph 5 refers to_________.
A. ancestral tongue B. dominant language
C. growing interest in cultural identity D. the key to fostering diversity
128. Navajo language is considered being endangered language because_________.
A. it currently has too few speakers
B. it is spoken by too many elderly and middle-aged speakers
C. it was banned in publicity by the former US policy
D. many young people refuse to learn to speak it
129. Which statement is NOT supported by the information in the passage?
A. A large number of native speakers fail to guarantee the survival of a language.
B. National governments could do more to protect endangered languages.
C. The loss of linguistic diversity is inevitable.
D. Young people often reject the established way of life in their community.
130. What is the main idea of this passage?
A. To describe how diverse languages are in the past.
B. To explain the importance of persevering endangered languages.
C. To explain why more and more languages disappear.
D. To point out that many languages being in danger of extinction.
Part VI. WRITING
Bạn đang xem exercise 10. - BÀI TẬP BỔ TRỢ MÔN TIẾNG ANH LỚP 12 THÍ ĐIỂM - UNIT 5: CULTURAL IDENTITY - ĐỖ BÌNH