Read the following passage about bonsai and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the option that best answers to each of the following questions from 16 to 23
Read the following passage about bonsai and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the option that best answers to each of the following questions from 16 to 23.
Language plays a crucial role in shaping identities and cultures around the world. The term “minority language” enjoys a natural, but problematic, definition.
In the most straightforward sense, a minority language is simply one spoken by less than 50 percent of a population in a given region, state or country. The key criterion here is the size of the speaker population within a specific geographic context: an individual language may be a minority language in one region or state but a majority language in another. Such is the case with many immigrant languages, whose speakers may continue to be a majority in the homeland but have smaller speaker bases elsewhere.
Furthermore, a single language may have different degrees of minority status within a given country. To cite one of the most obvious examples, Spanish is a majority language in a number of countries but a minority language in the United States overall. At the same time, in US states, counties, or regions with large Latino populations it is much more prevalent and even valued, and is indeed spoken by a majority of the population in some counties in Texas and New Mexico. This example highlights the most problematic part of the definition given above; namely, that it makes no claim about the economic, social, or political prestige of a minority language. In many of France’s former colonies, French is a minority language, as is Ainu in Japan, but the former is frequently associated with education and economic advancement, whereas the latter is stigmatized and subject to discrimination.
Given such differences, it may make good sense to distinguish between indigenous, immigrant, and ethnic linguistic minorities, and to characterize minority languages in terms of their social and economic functions.
Question 16. Which best paraphrases the underlined sentence in paragraph 1?
A. The definition of a minority language is universally agreed upon and simple.
B. Defining minority languages is straightforward and has few complications.
C. The term "minority language" is widely accepted but has limitations in its definition.
D. The term "minority language" is always defined based on the size of the population.
Question 17. Why is the definition of “minority language” considered problematic in the passage?
A. It assumes that all languages spoken by small populations are inferior.
B. It overlooks the social, political, or economic prestige of the language.
C. It ignores the role of indigenous languages in cultural identity.
D. It places too much focus on the number of speakers in urban areas.
Question 18. The word “specific” in paragraph 2 is CLOSEST in meaning to ____________.
A. particular B. circular C. special D. general
Question 19. What distinction does the passage suggest for better understanding minority languages?
A. Between the languages of large countries and small states
B. Between formal and informal language usage in societies
C. Between indigenous, immigrant, and ethnic linguistic minorities
D. Between languages spoken in urban versus rural areas
Question 20. The phrase “subject to” in paragraph 3 could be best replaced by ____________.
A. independent of B. indifferent to C. exempt from D. vulnerable to
Question 21. The word “their” in paragraph 4 refers to ____________.
A. minority languages B. linguistic minorities
C. differences D. functions
Question 22. In which paragraph does the writer mention the example of Spanish being a minority language in the United States?
A. Paragraph 2 B. Paragraph 1 C. Paragraph 3 D. Paragraph 4
Question 23. What is the best title for the passage?
A. The History of Immigrant Languages in the United States
B. The Struggle for Minority Language Preservation in Spain
C. The Positive Impact of Economic Prestige on Language and Political Status
D. Rethinking Minority Languages: Social, Economic, and Political Dimensions
Language plays a crucial role in shaping identities and cultures around the world. The term “minority language” enjoys a natural, but problematic, definition.
In the most straightforward sense, a minority language is simply one spoken by less than 50 percent of a population in a given region, state or country. The key criterion here is the size of the speaker population within a specific geographic context: an individual language may be a minority language in one region or state but a majority language in another. Such is the case with many immigrant languages, whose speakers may continue to be a majority in the homeland but have smaller speaker bases elsewhere.
Furthermore, a single language may have different degrees of minority status within a given country. To cite one of the most obvious examples, Spanish is a majority language in a number of countries but a minority language in the United States overall. At the same time, in US states, counties, or regions with large Latino populations it is much more prevalent and even valued, and is indeed spoken by a majority of the population in some counties in Texas and New Mexico. This example highlights the most problematic part of the definition given above; namely, that it makes no claim about the economic, social, or political prestige of a minority language. In many of France’s former colonies, French is a minority language, as is Ainu in Japan, but the former is frequently associated with education and economic advancement, whereas the latter is stigmatized and subject to discrimination.
Given such differences, it may make good sense to distinguish between indigenous, immigrant, and ethnic linguistic minorities, and to characterize minority languages in terms of their social and economic functions.
Question 16. Which best paraphrases the underlined sentence in paragraph 1?
A. The definition of a minority language is universally agreed upon and simple.
B. Defining minority languages is straightforward and has few complications.
C. The term "minority language" is widely accepted but has limitations in its definition.
D. The term "minority language" is always defined based on the size of the population.
Question 17. Why is the definition of “minority language” considered problematic in the passage?
A. It assumes that all languages spoken by small populations are inferior.
B. It overlooks the social, political, or economic prestige of the language.
C. It ignores the role of indigenous languages in cultural identity.
D. It places too much focus on the number of speakers in urban areas.
Question 18. The word “specific” in paragraph 2 is CLOSEST in meaning to ____________.
A. particular B. circular C. special D. general
Question 19. What distinction does the passage suggest for better understanding minority languages?
A. Between the languages of large countries and small states
B. Between formal and informal language usage in societies
C. Between indigenous, immigrant, and ethnic linguistic minorities
D. Between languages spoken in urban versus rural areas
Question 20. The phrase “subject to” in paragraph 3 could be best replaced by ____________.
A. independent of B. indifferent to C. exempt from D. vulnerable to
Question 21. The word “their” in paragraph 4 refers to ____________.
A. minority languages B. linguistic minorities
C. differences D. functions
Question 22. In which paragraph does the writer mention the example of Spanish being a minority language in the United States?
A. Paragraph 2 B. Paragraph 1 C. Paragraph 3 D. Paragraph 4
Question 23. What is the best title for the passage?
A. The History of Immigrant Languages in the United States
B. The Struggle for Minority Language Preservation in Spain
C. The Positive Impact of Economic Prestige on Language and Political Status
D. Rethinking Minority Languages: Social, Economic, and Political Dimensions