development of the nation-state and the spread of universal compulsory education, especially globalisation and better communications in the past few decades, all have caused many languages to disappear, and dominant languages such as English，Spanish and Chinese are increasingly taking over. At present, the world has about 6, 800 languages. The distribution of these languages is hugely uneven. The general rule is that mild zones have relatively few languages, often spoken by many people, while hot wet zones have lots, often spoken by small numbers. Europe has only around 200 languages; the Americas about 1, 000; Africa 2, 400; and Asia and the Pacific perhaps 3,200, of which Papua New Guinea alone accounts for well over 800.The median number(中位数) of speakers is mere 6,000, which that half the world's languages are spoken by fewer people than that. Already well over 400 of the total of 6, 800 languages are close to extinction (消亡), with only a few elderly speakers left. Pick, at random, Busuu in Cameroon （eight remaining speakers), Chiapaneco in Mexico (150), Lipan Apache in the United States (two or three) or Wadjigu in Australia (one, with a question-mark): none of these seems to have much chance of survival.
28. What can we infer about languages in hunter-gatherer times?
A. They developed very fast B. They were large in number C. They had similar patterns D. They were closely connected
29. Which of the following best explains %underlined in paragraph 2？ A. Complex B .Advanced C. Powerful. D. Modern
30. How many languages are spoken by less than 6,000 people at present？ A. About 6,800 B, About 3,400 C. About 2,400 D. About 1,200
31. What is the main idea of the text？ A. New languages will be created.
B. People's lifestyles are reflected in languages. C. Human development results in fewer languages. D Geography determines language evolution.
D
We may think we’re a culture that gets rid of our worn technology at the first sight of something shiny and new, but a new study shows that we keep using our old devices (装置)well after they go out of style. That’s bad news for the environment- and our wallets - as these outdated devices consume much more energy than the newer ones that do the same things.
To figure out how much power these devices are using, Callie Babbitt and her colleagues at the Rochester Institute of Technology in New York tracked the environmental costs for each product throughout its life - from when its minerals are mined to when we stop using the device. This method provided a readout for how home energy use has evolved since the early 1990s.Devices were grouped by generation. Desktop computers， basic mobile phones, and box-set TVs defined 1992. Digital cameras arrived on the scene in 1997.And WP3 players, smart phones, and LCD TVs entered homes in 2002，before tablets and e-readers showed up in 2007.
As we accumulated more devices, however, we didn't throw out our old ones. \room television is replaced and gets planted in the kids’ room, and suddenly one day ，you have a TV in every room of the house,” said one researcher. The average number of electronic devices rose from four per household in 1992 to 13 in 2007. We’re not just keeping these old devices - We continue to use them. According to the analysis of Babbitt's team, old desktop monitors and box TVs with cathode ray tubes are the worst devices with their energy consumption and contribution to greenhouse gas emissions
(排放) more than doubling during the 1992 to 2007 window.
So what' s the solution(解决方案)? The team' s data only went up to2007， but the researchers also explored what would happen if consumers replaced old products with new electronics that serve more than one function, such as a tablet for word processing and TV viewing. They found that more on-demand entertainment viewing on tablets instead of TVs and desktop computers could cut energy consumption by 44%.
32. What does the author think of new devices? A. They are environment-friendly. B. They are no better than the old. C. They cost more to use at home. D. They go out of style quickly.
33. Why did Babbitt's team conduct the research? A. To reduce the cost of minerals. B. To test the life cycle of a product. C. To update consumers on new technology. D. To find out electricity consumption of the devices. 34. Which of the following uses the least energy? A. The box-set TV. B. The tablet. C. The LCD TV.
D. The desktop computer.
35. What does the text suggest people do about old electronic devices? A. Stop using them B. Take them apart C. Upgrade them. D. Recycle them.
第二节 (共5小题：每小题2分,满分10分)
根据短文内容,从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项为多余选项。
Color is fundamental in home design-something you’ll always have in every room. A grasp of how to manage color in your spaces in one of the first steps to creating rooms you'll love to live in. Do you want a room that's full of life? Professional ? Or are you just looking for a place to relax after a long day? 36 ___ , color is the key to making a room feel the way you want it to feel
Over the years, there have been a number of different techniques to help designers approach this important point. 37 ，they can get a little complex. But good news is that there’er really only three kinds of decisions you need to make about color in your home: the small ones, the medium ones, and the large ones.
___38__ ，They‘re the little spots of color like throw pillows, mirrors
and baskets that most of us use to add visual interest to our rooms. Less tiring than painting your walls and less expensive than buying a colorful sofa, small
2024全国 英语高考真题
