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  3. Prior to the 20th century, many languages with small numbers of speakers survived for centuries. The increasingly interconnected

Prior to the 20th century, many languages with small numbers of speakers survived for centuries. The increasingly interconnected

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问题     Prior to the 20th century, many languages with small numbers of speakers survived for centuries. The increasingly interconnected modern world makes it much more difficult for small language communities to live in relative isolation, a key factor in language maintenance and preservation.
    It remains to be seen whether the world can maintain its linguistic and cultural diversity in the centuries ahead. Many powerful forces appear to work against it: population growth, which pushes migrant populations into the world’s last isolated locations; mass tourism; global telecommunications and mass media; and the spread of gigantic global corporations. All of these forces appear to signify a future in which the language of advertising, popular culture, and consumer products become similar. Already English and a few other major tongues have emerged as global languages of commerce and communication. For many of the world’s peoples, learning one of these languages is viewed as the key to education, economic opportunity, and a better way of life.
    Only about 3,000 languages now in use are expected to survive the coming century. Are most of the rest doomed in the century after that?
    Whether most of these languages survive will probably depend on how strongly cultural groups wish to keep their identity alive through a native language. To do so will require an emphasis on bilingualism (mastery of two languages). Bilingual speakers could use their own language in smaller spheres—at home, among friends, in community settings—and a global language at work, in dealings with government, and in commercial spheres. In this way, many small languages could sustain their cultural and linguistic integrity alongside global languages, rather than yield to the homogenizing forces of globalization.
    Ironically, the trend of technological innovation that has threatened minority languages could also help save them. For example, some experts predict that computer software translation tools will one day permit minority language speakers to browse the Internet using their native tongues. Linguists are currently using computer-aided learning tools to teach a variety of threatened languages.
    For many endangered languages, the line between revival and death is extremely thin. Language is remarkably resilient, however. It is not just a tool for communicating, but also a powerful way of separating different groups, or of demonstrating group identity. Many indigenous communities have shown that it is possible to live in the modern world while reclaiming their unique identities through language.
According to Paragraph 2, that the world can maintain its linguistic diversity in the future is________.
选项 A、uncertain
B、unrealistic
C、foreseeable
D、definite
答案A
解析 根据题干关键词linguistic diversity，答案线索可以定位到第二段第一句话。问题是：世界能否在未来维持语言多样性?根据第二段第一句话，在未来的几个世纪中(in the centuries ahead)，这个世界能否维持其语言和文化的多样性(linguistic and cultural diversity)尚待观察(It remains to be seen whether)。尚待观察意味着尚未确定。选项A “uncertain”与原文中的remains to be seen属于相同含义，因此选项A是正确答案。选项B属于无中生有，可排除。选项C“可预见的”和选项D“肯定的”，属于正反混淆。第二段：许多因素阻碍了小语种的维系和生存。
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