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Unit5单元高考阅读
阅读提示：语言已有几千年的历史，本文从语言发展历史这一角度论述了人类的发展导致了世界上语言数量的减少。
Languageshavebeencomingandgoingforthousandsofyears，butinrecenttimestherehasbeenlesscomingandalotmoregoing.Whentheworldwasstillpopulatedbyhunter-gatherers,small,tightlyknit(联系）groupsdevelopedtheirownpatternsofspeechindependentofeachother.Somelanguageexpertsbelievethat10，000yearsago,whentheworldhadjustfivetotenmillionpeople,theyspokeperhaps12，000languagesbetweenthem.①
Soonafterwards,manyofthosepeoplestartedsettlingdowntobecomefarmers,andtheirlanguagestoobecamemoresettledandfewerinnumber.Inrecentcenturies，trade，industrialisation，thedevelopmentofthenation-stateandthespreadofuniversalcompulsoryeducation,especiallyglobalisationandbettercommunicationsinthepastfewdecades,allhavecausedmanylanguagestodisappear,anddominantlanguagessuchasEnglish，SpanishandChineseareincreasinglytakingover.
Atpresent,theworldhasabout6，800languages.Thedistributionoftheselanguagesishugelyuneven.Thegeneralruleisthatmildzoneshaverelativelyfewlanguages,oftenspokenbymanypeople,whilehot,wetzoneshavelots,oftenspokenbysmallnumbers.Europehasonlyaround200languages；theAmericasabout1，000；Africa2，400；andAsiaandthePacificperhaps3，200，ofwhichPapuaNewGuineaaloneaccountsforwellover800.Themediannumber(中位数）ofspeakersisamere6，000，whichmeansthathalftheworld’slanguagesarespokenbyfewerpeoplethanthat.②
Alreadywellover400 ofthetotalof6,800 languagesare closetoextinction(消亡），withonly afewelderlyspeakersleft. Pick, at random,BusuuinCameroon(eightremainingspeakers)，ChiapanecoinMexico(150)，LipanApacheintheUnitedStates(twoorthree)orWadjiguinAustralia(one，withaquestion-mark)：noneoftheseseemstohavemuchchanceofsurvival.