יש לקרוא את הטקסט ולענות על השאלות באנגלית. אין להשתמש במילון: מילים שאינן ברשימות אוצר המילים מוסברות ברשימת המילים שמתחת לטקסט. אפשר לענות במילים שלך, אלא אם השאלה מבקשת להעתיק מהטקסט.
Read the text and answer the questions in English. You may not use a dictionary; words outside the vocabulary bands are explained in the word list under the text. Answer in your own words if the question does not ask for words from the text.
Thousands of the world's languages are in danger. Can they be saved?
Today, people around the world speak about 7,000 different languages.
But this enormous variety is not evenly spread. Around half of the world's
population speaks just over twenty languages, such as Chinese, English,
Spanish, Hindi and Arabic. Thousands of other languages have only a few
hundred or a few thousand speakers, and experts estimate that around 40
percent of all languages are endangered.
A language rarely disappears suddenly. The process begins when parents
decide that their children will have a better future if they speak the
language of the majority, the language of school, work and television. The
children grow up understanding their grandparents' language but never using
it themselves. One or two generations later, nobody speaks it at home
anymore. This is happening today in many parts of the world, from Australia
to the Americas. When its last fluent speaker dies, the language becomes
extinct.
Why should this matter? Supporters of language preservation argue that
every language holds knowledge that cannot be fully translated: names for
local plants and animals, traditional stories, songs, jokes, and particular
ways of seeing the world. When a language dies, much of this knowledge is
lost forever.
Fortunately, a language in danger can sometimes be brought back. The
most famous example is Hebrew. For many centuries it was used mainly for
prayer and study, and hardly anyone spoke it in daily life. At the end of
the nineteenth century, a small group of enthusiasts began to raise their
children in Hebrew and to invent words for modern objects. Today it is the
everyday language of millions of people.
Other communities have learned from such success stories. In New
Zealand, the Maori opened "language nests" in the 1980s: kindergartens where
young children hear only the Maori language. On the Isle of Man, the last
native speaker of Manx died in 1974, yet today a small primary school
teaches all its lessons in Manx. Technology helps too: linguists record
elderly speakers, and some endangered languages now have their own apps and
online dictionaries.
Saving a language is not simple, and it is never the work of experts
alone. In the end, a language survives only if people, especially young
people, choose to speak it.
Exercices
Part A — Understanding the text
Exercice 1
What does the first paragraph say about the world's languages? Choose the correct answer. (lines 1–6)
Voir la réponse et le corrigé
Réponse : A A few languages are spoken by many people, while thousands have few speakers.
Exercice 2
Complete the sentence. (lines 1–6)
There are about ____ languages in the world, and about ____ of them are endangered.
Voir la réponse et le corrigé
Réponse : There are about 7,000 languages in the world, and about 40 percent of them are endangered.
Exercice 3
Complete the stages: how a language disappears. (lines 7–14)
1. Parents decide that ___.
2. The children ___.
3. One or two generations later, ___.
4. When the last fluent speaker dies, ___.
1. Parents decide that ___.
Voir la réponse et le corrigé
Réponse : {{en|their children will have a better future if they speak the language of the majority}}
Exercice 4
Complete the stages: how a language disappears. (lines 7–14)
1. Parents decide that ___.
2. The children ___.
3. One or two generations later, ___.
4. When the last fluent speaker dies, ___.
2. The children ___.
Voir la réponse et le corrigé
Réponse : {{en|understand their grandparents' language but never use it}}
Exercice 5
Complete the stages: how a language disappears. (lines 7–14)
1. Parents decide that ___.
2. The children ___.
3. One or two generations later, ___.
4. When the last fluent speaker dies, ___.
3. One or two generations later, ___.
Voir la réponse et le corrigé
Réponse : {{en|nobody speaks it at home anymore}}
Exercice 6
Complete the stages: how a language disappears. (lines 7–14)
1. Parents decide that ___.
2. The children ___.
3. One or two generations later, ___.
4. When the last fluent speaker dies, ___.
4. When the last fluent speaker dies, ___.
Voir la réponse et le corrigé
Réponse : {{en|the language becomes extinct (it dies / disappears)}}
Exercice 7
Why do supporters of language preservation think that losing a language matters? Give TWO examples of what is lost. (lines 15–19)
Why:
Voir la réponse et le corrigé
Réponse : {{en|Every language holds knowledge that cannot be fully translated.}}
Exercice 8
Why do supporters of language preservation think that losing a language matters? Give TWO examples of what is lost. (lines 15–19)
Two examples:
Voir la réponse et le corrigé
Réponse : {{en|Any two of: names for local plants and animals; traditional stories; songs; jokes; particular ways of seeing the world.}}
Exercice 9
For many centuries, Hebrew was not used at all.
Voir la réponse et le corrigé
Réponse : Faux · “it was used mainly for prayer and study”
Exercice 10
The people who brought Hebrew back created new words.
Voir la réponse et le corrigé
Réponse : Vrai · “to invent words for modern objects”
Exercice 11
Today Manx is not taught anywhere.
Voir la réponse et le corrigé
Réponse : Faux · “today a small primary school teaches all its lessons in Manx”
Exercice 12
What is a "language nest" in New Zealand? (lines 26–28)
Voir la réponse et le corrigé
Réponse : {{en|A kindergarten where young children hear only the Maori language.}}
Exercice 13
How does technology help endangered languages? Choose the correct answer. (lines 30–32)
Voir la réponse et le corrigé
Réponse : D Linguists record elderly speakers, and some languages have apps and online dictionaries.
Part B — Thinking about the text
Exercice 14
What do the following words refer to?
“themselves” (line 11) refers to ___
Voir la réponse et le corrigé
Réponse : {{en|the children}}
Exercice 15
What do the following words refer to?
“it” (line 21) refers to ___
Voir la réponse et le corrigé
Réponse : {{en|Hebrew}}
Exercice 16
What do the following words refer to?
“its” (line 30) refers to ___
Voir la réponse et le corrigé
Réponse : {{en|the (small primary) school's}}
Exercice 17
The writer says that a language survives "only if people, especially young people, choose to speak it." (lines 33–35)
Why are young people so important for the future of a language?
Voir la réponse et le corrigé
Réponse : {{en|If young people do not speak it, they will not pass it on to their children, and when the old speakers die, the language dies with them.}}
Exercice 18
The writer says that a language survives "only if people, especially young people, choose to speak it." (lines 33–35)
Give ONE example from the text that supports this idea.
Voir la réponse et le corrigé
Réponse : {{en|Any one: Hebrew enthusiasts raised their children in Hebrew; Maori language nests for young children; the Manx primary school.}}
Part C — Vocabulary
Exercice 19
Complete the sentences with words from the list. There are two extra words.
Words: abandon · decline · fluent · generation · heritage · minority · revive
My grandmother's recipes are part of our family ____.
Voir la réponse et le corrigé
Réponse : My grandmother's recipes are part of our family heritage.
Exercice 20
Complete the sentences with words from the list. There are two extra words.
Words: abandon · decline · fluent · generation · heritage · minority · revive
The number of people who speak the language has continued to ____ over the last fifty years.
Voir la réponse et le corrigé
Réponse : The number of people who speak the language has continued to decline over the last fifty years.
Exercice 21
Complete the sentences with words from the list. There are two extra words.
Words: abandon · decline · fluent · generation · heritage · minority · revive
After living in London for five years, Ori is ____ in English.
Voir la réponse et le corrigé
Réponse : After living in London for five years, Ori is fluent in English.
Exercice 22
Complete the sentences with words from the list. There are two extra words.
Words: abandon · decline · fluent · generation · heritage · minority · revive
The town hopes to ____ its old summer festival, which stopped thirty years ago.
Voir la réponse et le corrigé
Réponse : The town hopes to revive its old summer festival, which stopped thirty years ago.
Exercice 23
Complete the sentences with words from the list. There are two extra words.
Words: abandon · decline · fluent · generation · heritage · minority · revive
Only a small ____ of the students voted against the plan.
Voir la réponse et le corrigé
Réponse : Only a small minority of the students voted against the plan.