Languages have been coming and going for thousands of years, but in recent times there has been less coming and a lot more going. When the world was still populated by hunter-gatherers, small, tightly knit (联系)groups developed their own patterns of speech independent of each other.Some language experts believe that 10,000 years ago, when the world had just five to ten million people, they spoke perhaps 12,000 languages between them.

Soon afterwards, many of those people started settling down to become farmers, and their languages too became more settled and fewer in number. In recent centuries, trade, industrialization, the 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.zxxk

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 a mere 6,000, which means 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.

We’ve all been there: in a lift, in line at the bank or on an airplane, surrounded by people who are, like us, deeply focused on their smartphones or, worse, struggling with the uncomfortable silence.

What’s the problem? It’s possible that we all have compromised conversational intelligence. It’s more likely that none of us start a conversation because it’s awkward and challenging, or we think it’s annoying and unnecessary. But the next time you find yourself among strangers, consider that small talk is worth the trouble. Experts say it’s an invaluable social practice that results in big benefits.

Dismissing small talk as unimportant is easy, but we can’t forget that deep relationships wouldn’t even exist if it weren’t for casual conversation. Small talk is the grease (润滑剂) for social communication, says Bernardo Carducci, director of the Shyness Research Institute at Indiana University Southeast. “Almost every great love story and each big business deal begins with small talk,” he explains. “The key to successful small talk is learning how to connect with others, not just communicate with them.”

In a 2014 study, Elizabeth Dunn, associate professor of psychology at UBC, invited people on their way into a coffee shop. One group was asked to seek out an interaction (互动) with its waiter; the other, to speak only when necessary. The results showed that those who chatted with their server reported significantly higher positive feelings and a better coffee shop experience. “It’s not that talking to the waiter is better than talking to your husband,” say Dunn. “But interactions with peripheral (边缘的) members of our social network matter for our well-being also.”

Dunn believes that people who reach out to strangers feel a significantly greater sense of belonging, a bond with others. Carducci believes developing such a sense of belonging starts with small talk. “Small talk is the basis of good manners,” he says.

Adults understand what if feels like to be flooded with objects． Why do we often assume that more is more when it comes to kids and their belongings？ The good news is that I can help my own kids learn earlier than I did how to live more with less．

    I found the pre﹣holidays a good time to encourage young children to donate less﹣used things， and it worked． Because of our efforts， our daughter Georgia did decide to donate a large bag of toys to a little girl whose mother was unable to pay for her holiday due to illness．  She chose to sell a few larger objects that were less often used when we promised to put the money into her school fund （基金）（our kindergarten is serious about becoming a doctor）

    For weeks， I've been thinking of bigger， deeper questions． How do we make it a habit for them？ And how do we train ourselves to help them live with， need， and use less？ Yesterday， I sat with my son， Shepherd， determined to test my own theory on this． I decided to play with him with only one toy for as long as it would keep his interest． I expected that one toy would keep his attention for about five minutes， ten minutes， max． I chose a red rubber ball﹣simple， universally available． We passed it， he tried to put it in his mouth， he tried bouncing it， rolling it， sitting on it， throwing it． It was totally， completely enough for him． Before I knew it an hour had passed and it was time to move on to lunch．

    We both became absorbed in the simplicity of playing together． He had my full attention and I had his． My little experiment to find joy in a single object worked for both of us．

Give yourself a test. Which way is the wind blowing? How many kinds of wildflowers can be seen from your front door? If your awareness is as sharp as it could be, you’ll have no trouble answering these questions.

Most of us observed much more as children than we do as adults. A child’s day is filled with fascination, newness and wonder. Curiosity gave us all a natural awareness. But distinctions that were sharp to us as children become unclear; we are numb(麻木的）to new stimulation(刺激), new ideas. Relearning the art of seeing the world around us is quite simple, although it takes practice and requires breaking some bad habits.

The first step in awakening senses is to stop predicting what we are going to see and feel before it occurs. This blocks awareness. One chilly night when I was hiking in the Rocky Mountains with some students, I mentioned that we were going to cross a mountain stream. The students began complaining about how cold it would be. We reached the stream, and they unwillingly walked ahead. They were almost knee-deep when they realized it was a hot spring. Later they all admitted they’d felt cold water at first.

Another block to awareness is the obsession(痴迷) many of us have with naming things. I saw bird watchers who spotted a bird, immediately looked it up in field guides, and said, a "ruby-crowned kinglet" and checked it off. They no longer paid attention to the bird and never learned what it was doing.

The pressures of "time" and "destination" are further blocks to awareness. I encountered many hikers who were headed to a distant camp-ground with just enough time to get there before dark. It seldom occurred to them to wander a bit, to take a moment to see what’s around them. I asked them what they’d seen. "Oh, a few birds," they said. They seemed bent on their destinations.

Nature seems to unfold to people who watch and wait. Next time you take a walk, no matter where it is, take in all the sights, sounds and sensations. Wander in this frame of mind and you will open a new dimension to your life.z.xxk

In the 1960s，Douglas McGregor，one of the key thinkers in the art of management，developed the mow famous Theory X and Theory Y．Theory X is the idea that people instinctively (1)work and will do anything to avoid it．Theory Y is the view that everyone has the potential to find satisfaction in work．

In any case，despite so much evidence to the (2)，many managers still agree to Theory X．They believe，(3)，that their employees need constant supervision if they are to work effectively，or that decisions must be imposed from (4)without consultation．This，of course，makes for authoritarian（专制的）managers．

Different cultures have different ways of (5)people．Unlike authoritarian management，some cultures，particularly in Asia，are well known for the consultative nature of decision﹣making﹣all members of the department or work group are asked to (6) to this process．This is management by the collective opinion．Many western companies have tried to imitate such Asian ways of doing things，which are based on general (7)．Some experts say that women will become more effective managers than men because they have the power to reach common goals in a way that traditional(8) managers cannot．

A recent trend has been to encourage employees to use their own initiative，to make decisions on their own without(9) managers first．This empowerment（授权）has been part of the trend towards downsizing：(10)the number of management layers in companies．After de﹣layering in this way，a company may be (11) with just a top level of senior managers，front﹣line managers and employees with direct contact with the public．Empowerment takes the idea of delegation（委托）much further than has (12) been the case．Empowerment and delegation mean new forms of management control to (13) that the overall business plan is being followed，and that operations become more profitable under the new organization，rather than less．

Another trend is off﹣site or (14) management，where teams of people linked by e﹣mail and the Internet work on projects from their own houses．Project managers evaluate the (15) of the team members in terms of what they produce for projects，rather than the amount of time they spend on them．

In the depths of the French Guianese rainforest，there still remain unusual groups of indigenous（土著的） people．Surprisingly，these people live largely by their own laws and their own social customs．And yet，people in this area are in fact French citizens because it has been a colony（殖民地） of the French Republic since 1946．In theory，they should live by the French law is often ignored or unknown，thus making them into an interesting area of “lawlessness” in the world．

The lives of these people have finally been recorded thanks to the effects of a Frenchman from Paris called Gin．Gin spent five months in early 2015 exploring the most remote corners of this area，which sits on the edge of the Amazon rainforest，with half its population of only 250，000living in its capital，Cayenne．

“I have a special love for the French Guianese people．I have worked there on and off for almost ten years，”says Gin．“I’ve been able to keep firm friendships with them．Thus I have been allowed to gain access to their living environment．I don’t see it as a lawless land．But rather I see it as an area of freedom．”

“I wanted to show the audience a photographic record touching upon the uncivilized life，”continues Gin．“I prefer to work in black and white，which allows me to show different specific worlds more clearly．”

His black﹣and﹣white pictures present a world almost lost in time．These pictures show people seemingly pushed into a world that they were unprepared for．These local citizens now have to balance their traditional self﹣supporting hunting lifestyle with the lifestyle offered by the modern French Republic，which brings with it not only necessary state welfare，but also alcoholism，betrayal and even suicide．

Why does the author feel surprised about the indigenous people in French Guiana？

Gin introduced the special world of the indigenous Guianese as 　　．

What is Gin’s attitude towards the lives of the indigenous Guianese？

What does the underlined word “it” in the last paragraph refer to？

If you are a fruit grower﹣or would like to become one﹣take advantage of Apple Day to see what’s around．It’s called Apple Day but in practice it’s more like Apple Month．The day itself is on October 21，but since it has caught on，events now spread out over most of October around Britain．

Visiting an apple event is a good chance to see，and often taste，a wide variety of apples．To people who are used to the limited choice of apples such as Golden Delicious and Royal Gala in supermarkets，it can be quite an eye opener to see the range of classical apples still in existence，such as Decio which was grown by the Romans．Although it doesn’t taste of anything special，it’s still worth a try，as is the knobbly（多疙瘩的） Cat’s Head which is more of a curiosity than anything else．

There are also varieties developed to suit specific local conditions．One of the very best varieties for eating quality is Orleans Reinette，but you’ll need a warm，sheltered place with perfect soil to grow it，so it’s a pipe dream for most apple lovers who fall for it．

At the events，you can meet expert growers and discuss which ones will best suit your conditions，and because these are family affairs，children are well catered for with apple﹣themed fun and games．

Apple Days are being held at all sorts of places with an interest in fruit，including stately gardens and commercial orchards（果园）．If you want to have a real orchard experience，try visiting the National Fruit Collection at Brogdale，near Faversham in Kent．

What can people do at the apple events？

What can we learn about Decio？

What does the underlined phrase “a pipe dream” in Paragraph 3 mean？

What is the author’s purpose in writing the text？

Many Native Americans value silence and feel it is a basic part of communicating among people，just as some traditional Chinese and Thai persons do．Therefore，when a person from one of these cultures is speaking and suddenly stops，what may be implied（暗示） is that the person wants the listener to consider what has been said before continuing．In these cultures，silence is a call for reflection．

Other cultures may use silence in other ways，particularly when dealing with conflicts among people or in relationships of people with different amounts of power．For example，Russian，French，and Spanish persons may use silence to show agreement between parties about the topic under discussion．However，Mexicans may use silence when instructions are given by a person in authority rather than be rude to that person by arguing with him or her．In still another use，persons in Asian cultures may view silence as a sign of respect，particularly to an elder or a person in authority．

Nurses and other care﹣givers need to be aware of the possible meanings of silence when they come across the personal anxiety their patients may be experiencing．Nurses should recognize their own personal and cultural construction of silence so that a patient’s silence is not interrupted too early or allowed to go on unnecessarily．A nurse who understands the healing（治愈） value of silence can use this understanding to assist in the care of patients from their own and from other cultures．