Unit2Englisharoundtheworld课时作业Ⅰ
阅读理解(2018·全国卷Ⅰ)Languageshavebeencomingandgoingforthousandsofyears,butinrecenttimestherehasbeenlesscomingandalotmoregoing
Whentheworldwasstillpopulatedbyhuntergatherers,small,tightlyknit(联系)groupsdevelopedtheirownpatternsofspeechindependentofeachother
Somelanguageexpertsbelievethat10,000yearsago,whentheworldhadjustfivetotenmillionpeople,theyspokeperhaps12,000languagesbetweenthem
Soonafterwards,manyofthosepeoplestartedsettlingdowntobecomefarmers,andtheirlanguagestoobecamemoresettledandfewerinnumber
Inrecentcenturies,trade,industrialisation,thedevelopmentofthenationstateandthespreadofuniversalcompulsoryeducation,especiallyglobalisationandbettercommunicationsinthepastfewdecades,allhavecausedmanylanguagestodisappear,anddominantlanguagessuchasEnglish,SpanishandChi