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  3. 　　American Sign Language (ASL) users are no strangers to video chatting. The technology lets deaf and hard-of-hearing people sig

　　American Sign Language (ASL) users are no strangers to video chatting. The technology lets deaf and hard-of-hearing people sig

admin2022-02-15  44
问题 　　American Sign Language (ASL) users are no strangers to video chatting. The technology lets deaf and hard-of-hearing people sign via the air waves. But after the coronavirus pandemic began confining people to their homes early last year, the use of platforms such as Zoom, Microsoft Teams and Google Meet exploded. This increased reliance on videoconferencing is altering some common elements of sign language.
　　Some adaptations arise as a result of a video meeting’s limited window size. "The signing space is expansive," says Michael Skyer, a deaf education lecturer. " Even if many signs are produced easily or normally in the ’ Zoom screen’ dimensions, many are not. " Besides, smaller signs with finer differences are also harder to convey on video. Finger spelled words, for example, as well as numbers and colors, all involve relatively small details formed with a single hand.
　　In addition, signers communicating through video must also consider how they angle their bodies to convey meaning clearly. If two people face each other in person, each can easily see whether the other’s hands are moving toward or away from them. For example, signs representing future tense are usually made with a forward motion away from the signer’s body, whereas past tense signs move the opposite way. Such nuances are sometimes difficult to detect on a video screen.
　　Will such changes fade after people return to in-person interactions? They might—but some experts say linguistic shifts are still inevitable. Because sign languages often involve their specific physical environment and are impossible to separate from it, Skyer suggests people should not necessarily think of each sign language as having a defined identity. "Instead I like to say there are ASL communities with varying practices and lexicons," Skyer says. "Yes, undoubtedly, the long-term use of Zoom and other videoconferencing platforms will shape and constrain our language practices. But that’s true for anything in our lives... Our tools, people we interact with, and other aspects of our environment will always be a factor in our language and communicative practices. "
　　Despite the limitations they place on American Sign Language, videoconferencing platforms can also be empowering for deaf people. Skyer says the multimodal features of these tools—which enable both video and text chat—give his students multiple avenues for learning. Instead of being constrained to one way of communicating, they can now type in written English using the chat feature or sign in ASL using the video feature, or do a combination of both—all from home.
　　"ASL is defined by how it is used," Skyer says. "How it is used is not static, and the Zoom changes show us this. Words, concepts and pragmatics themselves evolve and shift given new mediums of expression. "
The surge in usage of video chatting platforms resulted from_________.
选项 A、increased ASL users
B、the outbreak of coronavirus epidemic
C、the union of Zoom, Microsoft and Google
D、the prevalence of sign languages
答案B
解析 细节题。根据题干可定位至第一段第三句，其中surge对应exploded。由“after the coronavirus pandemic began confining people to their homes early last year，the use of platforms such as Zoom，Microsoft Teams and Google Meet exploded”可知疫情是原因，视频聊天平台使用增加是其结果，故选项B正确。选项A，C，D均为无中生有，故排除。
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