2A W hose language is it?

1 READ IN G
a Read the article quickly and circle the three continents that contain the top five endangered languages.

Africa Antarctica Asia Australia Europe North America South America

Top five endangered languages

jeru speakers
Language experts estimate that as many as
Khomani speakers
half of the 6,900 languages spoken in the world
today are endangered. This means that by
the year 2050 over 3,000 languages will have
become extinct. Five of the languages that are
most likely to disappear are listed below.

A The Present Great Andamanese language is spoken by

fewer than 10 people on the Andaman Islands in the
Indian Ocean. The language is a mixture of the Bo, Sare,
Khora, and Jeru languages. The Andamanese languages
are generally believed to be the only ones in Southeast
Asia surviving from pre-Neolithic times. They are
thought to date back to a settlement of the region by
the first humans to leave Africa and are not known to
be related to any other languages in the world.

B The language known as Khomani, or “N |u” is spoken
by fewer than five elderly people living in the Kalahari
Gemsbok National Park of South Africa. N |u contains a
unique click sound, indicated by the “ |” symbol, which
sounds like the English interjection tsk tskl. The language
is closely related to Ta’a, which is spoken by about
4,000 people and has the most sounds of any language
on earth: 74 consonants, 31 vowels, and four tones.
D Among the inhabitants of Sun Moon Lake in central
Taiwan are a handful of old people that speak the
Austronesian language of Thao. The rest of the
community speaks Taiwanese Chinese. The language of
Thao is related to others in the Philippines, Indonesia,
and the Pacific. It dates back to when the original
Austronesian communities migrated south and east
over 3,000 years ago.

C Ainu is spoken by the original inhabitants of Japan. It
is used by a small number of old people on the island of
Hokkaido in the far north of the country. The language
has very complicated verbs that incorporate meanings
most languages need a whole sentence to express. It is
also the means by which an extensive oral literature
of folk tales and songs has been handed down from
generation to generation.
E Yuchi is a language spoken by just five people, all aged
over 75 in Oklahoma in the US. They are members of
a Native American Indian group of people called the
Tsoyaha, meaning Children of the Sun. Yuchi is not
known to be related to any other language on Earth. Its
nouns have ten genders indicated by word endings: six
for Yuchi people, one for non-Yuchis and animals, and
three for inanimate objects.
 b Read the article again and choose the correct
answer from the languages (A -E ). The languages may
be chosen more than once.
Which language...
1 is thought to have existed in prehistoric times?
2 is similar to other languages in the Pacific area?
3 expresses complex meanings in one word?
4 contains short, sharp sounds as well as vowels
and consonants?
5 refers to people outside the group in the same
way as it refers to animals?
6 is said to have existed three millennia ago?
7 is an isolated language that is not connected
to any other languages?
8 is similar to another language that contains
more than a hundred different sounds?
9 is used by grandparents to sing songs and tell
stories to their grandchildren?
10 comes from a group o f languages that is
not related to any others?
c Look at the highlighted words and phrases. W hat do
you think they mean? Check your dictionary.
2 L E X IS IN C O N T E X T Whose language?
Try to complete these sentences with a synonym o f
the word in bold without looking back at the text on
Student Book p. 14.
1 His performance in the play was very bad. po o r.
2 Passengers need a valid passport in order to be able to
equire
travel, r_________
3 Job interviews will be done the first week o f June,
onducted
c_________
4 Teachers followed the teaching methods they had
dhered
been using since the 1960s. a________ o
t________
5 You should see his offer from a different angle - he
iew
may be right, v_________
6 Our conversation will be w ritten down for future
ranscribed
records, t_________
7 We have to reject the idea that equality o f opportunity
otion
can never be achieved, n_________
8 You are asked to stay silent throughout the ceremony,
emain
r_________
9 Applicants are advised not to leave out any
information on the form, o mit
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3 GRAM M AR pronouns
a Correct the mistakes in the highlighted phrases.
1 One need to listen to both sides of the story in order to
find out the truth.
One needs to listen_________________
D
2 Two o f my friends aren’t talking to themselves because
C they had a big argument.
talking to each other.
B
3 As soon as he heard the alarm, Brad showered and shaved
himself and left the house.
E
Brad showered and shaved
D
4 The teacher said we should behave us while she was out
o f the room.
E we should behave ourselves
5 Anyone who leaves her cell phone on during class will be
B
asked to leave.
Anyone who leaves their cell phone on
C
6 I definitely prefer traveling by my own.
traveling by myself
A
7 She felt dizzy when she looked out the window and saw
the ground so far below herself.
so far below her
8 What a beautiful picture! Did you paint it you?
Did you paint it yourself?
b Complete the mini-dialogues with a suitable pronoun.
1 A People say you shouldn’t go outside with wet hair.
B That’s ridiculous! It won’t hurt you.
their
2 A Who hasn’t turned in _______ homework?
B Me. Sorry. Here it is.
3 A What a gorgeous dress! Where did you get it?
myself
B Well, actually, I made it________.
4 A Why isn’t Judy with Pete tonight?
each other
B They broke up. They really weren’t right fo r_______ .
5 A It’s getting much more difficult to find a job these days.
You
B That’s true._______ have to have a good education
and a lot o f experience.
6 A I just got a promotion!
B Congratulations! You must be really proud
yourself !
o f_______
7 A Why don’t you join the army?
They
B I don’t know.________say it’s really tough.
8 A Who’s Grace traveling across the country with?
herself .
B No one. She’s going by_______
c Complete the text with it or there. 6 EXAM P R A C T IC E
Read the text and think o f the word that best fits
1It_________ takes me so long to get to work, even
each blank. Use only one word in each blank.
it
though 2_________ ’s only a few miles from my house
There
to the office. 3_________ isn’t too much traffic on the
Group vacations
it
roads when I leave home, but 4_________ ’s impossible
Spending a week on vacation with other people can either
There
to park by the time I get downtown. 3_________ used be a lot of fun or a recipe for disaster. The trip will be a
to be a company bus, but they stopped it because advance . One person
success if it is planned well in 1_________
6 there ____ were only a few of us that used it. charge
should be in 2_________ of organization, provided that
7 It ____ ’s all right for people who ride motorcycles, they
3_________ consult all parties before making a final
it
b u t8_________ ’s really annoying for us car-drivers! decision on anything. Someone else should be appointed
deal
t o 4 _________ with money matters, in order to avoid
disagreements or hard feelings.
Sleeping arrangements may be unclear until you see
4 V O C A B U LA R Y language terminology Therefore it is essential to make a
the accommodations. 5_________
Match the language terminology to the words in bold. list beforehand to establish who should get first choice of
beds. A s far as housework is concerned, you may be lucky
collocation colloquial formal have
enough to 6 _________ the accommodations cleaned
idiom metaphor phrasal verb synonyms twice a week. If not, it can be organized on a rotating basis,
so that everyone does their part.
1 Her job is extremely monotonous and repetitive, synonyms
Although you are all on vacation together, it doesn't
7_________
2 My aunt does volunteer work at the hospital. collocation
__________
mean that you have to spend every minute together. You
3 Mike filled us in on the latest progress. phrasal verb
___________ hurt
w on't8_________ anyone’s feelings if you go for a walk on
idiom
4 I discovered they had a skeleton in the clo set.__________ your own for a change.
5 My dad gets tons o f perks with his job. colloquial
___________ Above all you shouldn't expect a stress-free
6 The shelf groaned under the weight o f the books. vacation, nor should you expect everyone to enjoy
metaphor 9_________ close
themselves every second. Even very 10__________ families
have the occasional argument. But you'll know your trip
7 Please ensure that your seatbelts are securely fastened.
was a success when you hear on the way home: "Let’s do it
formal
again next year."

5 PRO N UNCIATIO N sound-spelling

relationships 7 LISTEN IN G
a Which words have the same vowel sound? Complete the a fflifril.’flfr Listen to two people talking about
chart with the words from the list. learning a foreign language. Mark the sentences
W (woman), M (man), or B (both).
business handful couple distant eye formal B
1 ___ They have been able to practice the language
great half profession conduct rewarding in a country where it is spoken.
sheep spread team fired training M
2 ___ They studied the language with a private
teacher.
W They took a course to learn the language.
3 ___
M They chose to learn a language because they
4 ___
sheep handful rewarding profession liked the sound o f it.
B
5 ___ They feel very positive about the country
team half formal spread
where the language is spoken.
W
6 ___ They have a good relationship with
their classmates.

great eye business couple b Listen again with the audioscript on p. 69 and try
training distant to guess the meaning o f any words that you don’t
fired conduct
know. Then check your dictionary.
b Listen and check. Then listen again and repeat
the words.
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