Question 1
1. Historically, colonial governments practised policies of compelling minority cultures to speak the majority language. But even where there was little or no forced assimilation, imperialism still took its toll. Ostler cites the example of the ancient Roman Empire, which had no specific policy of forcing subjects to speak Latin, but still greatly reduced linguistic diversity across Europe.
Many citizens of the Roman Empire chose to become Latin speakers.
Question 2
2. In recent decades, the mass media have reinforced this process further and extended the penetration of metropolitan languages like English and Spanish beyond urban centres into smaller communities.
Majority languages such as Spanish and English are now spreading faster within smaller communities than larger ones.
Question 3
3. When the internet first took off during the mid-1990s, many feared it represented the end of the road for endangered languages. Because it was only available to English-speakers, it would only serve to continue the decline. However, these fears proved to be unfounded, as the diversity of languages on the web increased rapidly in the years that followed.
There is a greater proportion of English used on the Internet nowadays than in the 1990s.
Question 4
4. The ear is a supreme detection device, and a scientific system has yet to be developed which can match the brain’s sophisticated ability to assess complex sounds.
Scientific instruments analyse complex sound more accurately than humans.
Question 5
5. In conclusion, science has not provided any convincing evidence to set Cremonese instruments apart from the finest violins made by skilled craftsmen today. Indeed, some leading soloists do occasionally play on modern instruments. However, the foremost soloists—and, not surprisingly, violin dealers who have a vested interest in maintaining the Cremonese legend of intrinsic superiority—remain utterly unconvinced.
Modern violins are gaining in popularity amongst the top violinists.
Score: 0/5 | Accuracy: 0%