This space contains
reference material beginning next to Question 24. There are two
separate passages to read: There are two separate passages to read:
"Saving Our Vanishing Heritage" and "Saving Our Vanishing
'Tongues'."
Saving Our Vanishing Heritage
The following passage is the foreword of a report from the Global
Heritage Fund, an international conservancy whose mission is to
protect, preserve, and sustain the most significant and endangered
cultural heritage sites in the developing world.
Saving Our Vanishing Heritage explores the challenges facing our
most significant and endangered archaeological and heritage sites in
the developing world—and what we can do to save them—before they are
lost forever.
Our focus on the developing world is driven by the large number of
important cultural heritage sites which exist in regions with little
capacity to safeguard their existence. In the first decade of the
21st century, we have lost or seriously impaired hundreds of our
most precious historic sites—the physical record of our human
civilization.
Vanishing surveys over 500 global heritage sites and highlights the
accelerating threats facing these cultural treasures. Many have
survived thousands of years, only to be lost in this generation—on
our watch.
With the critical review of 24 leading experts working in heritage
conservation and international development, this report surveys
hundreds of endangered global heritage sites and strives to identify
those most in need of immediate intervention, and what the global
community can do to save them.
Our primary goals of this report are:
to raise critically needed global awareness
to identify innovative technologies and solutions
to increase funding through private-public
partnerships
Vanishing’s findings strongly suggest that the demise of our most
significant cultural heritage sites has become a global crisis, on
par with environmental destruction.
GHF surveyed over 1,600 accounts published between 2000 and 2009
concerning the state of conservation of hundreds of major sites in
the developing world.
In this report, GHF considered sites with the highest potential for
responsible development critical for the sustained preservation of
the site. GHF considers the scientific conservation of a site and
its potential for responsible development during our design and
planning process resulting in an integrated master plan and strategy
that goes well beyond traditional monument based approaches to
preservation. This report represents the first attempt to quantify
the value of heritage sites as global economic resources to help
achieve the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
Vanishing focuses on significant global heritage sites that have
high potential for future tourism and responsible development, but
the report’s findings and recommendations can and should be extended
to other realms of heritage preservation. Global heritage sites
generate extremely high economic asset values, with some worth
billions of dollars a year. These sites can help to greatly
diversify local economies beyond tourism and sustenance agriculture
reducing dependency and alleviating poverty.
Vanishing begins a global campaign to save the most important and
endangered heritage sites in the developing world.
How we as a global community act—or fail to act—in the coming years
will determine if we save our global heritage and can realize the
untapped economic opportunity these precious sites offer for global
development in the world's lowest-income communities and countries.
Saving Vanishing “Tongues”
by Stephen Ornes
Press “record” to pause
extinction
Many languages disappear every year. In a race against time,
language researchers are using digital technology to preserve those
tongues from extinction.
Linguists and other scientists record, share and study dwindling
tongues so the value of the language won’t be lost. These
researchers use modern technology, including voice recorders, MP3
players, computer software and online dictionaries, to preserve
words and sounds that would otherwise vanish.
“We can’t always stop [language extinction] from happening, but we
can make recordings of a language for future studies,” says Steven
Bird. A computer scientist at the University of Melbourne in
Australia, he develops software for recording languages. “People can
preserve these languages now, while there’s still time,” he says.
Documenting a language before it goes quiet isn’t just an effort to
preserve history. Linguists also can study the particular sounds,
words and structure of a language to better understand how it is
related to others. For instance, understanding how the English
language’s roots lie in ancient Germanic tells a story about human
history.
Languages also can provide unique insights into a place. For
example, a native tribe may have lived in one remote region for
thousands of years. That means its members know their natural
surroundings better than anyone else. Their language may contain
terms that reflect special knowledge about the local landscape, its
plants and its animals, Harrison points out. This can aid scientists
who want to study ecosystems near to where the language is spoken.
But Harrison sees his job as more than just aiding science. He
appreciates helping members of these threatened cultures preserve
part of their heritage. Many young people, he says, want to remember
their own history—even as they engage with the rest of the world.
“I come across many people in their teens and early 20s who want to
keep their heritage language because they value it,” he says.
“They’re saying, ‘Hey, our language is important to us. If we lose
it, we lose our identity.’”
Margaret Noodin can relate to that. She’s a linguist at the
University of Wisconsin in Milwaukee. Growing up in Minnesota during
the 1970s, she occasionally heard members of her family speaking
Anishinaabemowin (Ah-neesh-ee-nah-beh-MO-win). It’s the language of
the Ojibwe (Oh-JIB-way) Native American people.
Back then, speaking her tribe’s language was a risky move. That's
because the U.S. government had forbidden Native American tribes
from practicing many of their customs, including some parts of
religious ceremonies. That ban extended to their native languages.
“It didn’t count as a language in many ways, since it was illegal to
teach and publish,” Noodin says.
Forty years ago, the American Indian Religious Freedom Act became
law. It was followed, 12 years later, by the Native American
Languages Act. These changed government attitudes. With these laws,
the United States now recognized Native American cultural practices
as valuable. And it again legalized the teaching and publishing of
Native American languages.
That policy inspired a generation of people to preserve tribal
heritage. Growing up in an environment where her language had been
forbidden left a big mark on Noodin. She has spent decades since
then studying the endangered language of her family. She also is
working with other Native American tribes to preserve theirs.
For Questions 1-12, please
select the correct definition for the given vocabulary word.
overwrought
overworked
to obtain
to beat
sad
sentient
equal
throaty
a glow
feeling
daunted
fearful
tone
perplexing
bloodthirsty
luminescence
equal
throaty
a glow
feeling
tantamount
equal
throaty
a glow
feeling
procure
overworked
to obtain
to beat
sad
confounding
fearful
tone
perplexing
bloodthirsty
sanguinary
fearful
tone
perplexing
bloodthirsty
disconsolate
overworked
to obtain
to beat
sad
inflection
fearful
tone
perplexing
bloodthirsty
bludgeon
overworked
to obtain
to beat
sad
guttural
equal
throaty
a glow
feeling
Which of the following family members should NOT be capitalized?
Uncle Frank
my Mother
Cousin Devora
Grandfather
Which of the following has been written correctly?
“The Son From America”
president of the United States
“Shalom, Grandmother. Shalom, Grandfather.”
Peter Cox, jr.
According to Pi, what is “life’s only true opponent” (p. 161)?
fear
overconfidence
hunger
death
Ironically, what is the one thing that calms Pi down, gives him purpose, and saves his life?
hopefulness
overconfidence
hunger
Richard Parker
What leads Pi to realize that he should tame Richard Parker instead of trying to get rid of him?
Richard Parker protects Pi from sharks.
Richard P. backs off when Pi throws him the rat.
Pi almost drowns in a storm on the raft.
Richard P. makes the prusten call.
Why does Pi save some of his urine by urinating into a beaker?
to drink
to wet his clothes
to mark his territory
to signal for help
What does Pi mistake for a swat in the face from one of Richard Parker’s paws?
an oar propelled by a large wave
a flying fish jumping away from a Dorado
the shutting of the storage locker in the wind
a Dorado trying to escape from a shark
How does Pi fail in his second attempt to tame Richard Parker with food?
a flying fish glides away from RP.’s jaws
a rat scurries over the side of the lifeboat
a dive-bombing cockroach is caught by a fish
Pi brings himself to kill a fish he has caught
Which sentence is written correctly?
Since both dad and Uncle Bob likes fishing on the columbia river, hunts in the southwest and mountain climbs in washington.
Both Dad and Uncle Bob like fishing on the Columbia River, hunting in the Southwest, and mountain climbing in Washington.
Since both Dad and Uncle Bob like fishing on the Columbia River, hunting the Southwest, and mountain climbing in Washington.
Both dad and Uncle Bob like fishing on the Columbia River, hunting in the Southwest, and mountain climbing in Washington.
What implement (tool) does Pi use to train Richard Parker, and what does the tiger do when he uses this training device?
Pi uses a whistle to train Richard Parker, and the tiger usually retreats and does what Pi wants him to do when he uses it.
Pi uses food to train Richard Parker, and the tiger usually eats the food and leaves Pi alone.
Pi uses a rat to train Richard Parker, and the tiger usually is afraid of the rat and does what Pi wants him to do.
Pi uses a rope like a whip to train Richard Parker, and the tiger usually retreats and does what Pi wants him to do when he uses it.
What animal does Pi first kill on the lifeboat, how does he do it, and how does he react to this killing? What’s the second animal he kills, how does he do it, and how does he react differently? What reason does Pi give for his different reactions, and do you agree with his reasoning?
Pi first kills a rat by drowning it. He reacts by feeling great empathy for the rat while he’s killing it and then by weeping heartily over its lost soul once it’s dead. He feels like a guilty killer with “blood on his hands” (p.183), both figuratively and literally. Although the teen mentions that he never forgets to mention this first kill in his prayers, his subsequent kills become much easier to handle. His second victim is a flying fish that he bludgeons over the head with the blunt end of a hatchet with relative glee. He explains that his change in outlook with a simple truth: “a person can get used to anything, even to killing” (p.185). Personally, I have mixed feelings about Pi’s line of reasoning. I’d have to agree with his assumption, but it seems to be a depressingly macabre take on human behavior when one considers that Pi is using it to justify murder. Even so, if seen as a comment on human adaptability and perseverance, it could be a contrarily uplifting sentiment. Surely, Yann Martel intended the observation to reflect the complexity of the human condition and the duality of human behavior.
Pi first kills a cockroach by stepping on it. He reacts by feeling great empathy for the cockroach while he’s killing it and then by weeping heartily over its lost soul once it’s dead. He feels like a guilty killer with “blood on his hands” (p.183), both figuratively and literally. Although the teen mentions that he never forgets to mention this first kill in his prayers, his subsequent kills become much easier to handle. His second victim is a mako shark that he bludgeons over the head with the blunt end of a hatchet with relative glee. He explains that his change in outlook with a simple truth: “a person can get used to anything, even to killing” (p.185). Personally, I have mixed feelings about Pi’s line of reasoning. I’d have to agree with his assumption, but it seems to be a depressingly macabre take on human behavior when one considers that Pi is using it to justify murder. Even so, if seen as a comment on human adaptability and perseverance, it could be a contrarily uplifting sentiment. Surely, Yann Martel intended the observation to reflect the complexity of the human condition and the duality of human behavior.
Pi first kills a flying fish by wrapping it in a blanket and breaking its neck. He reacts by feeling great empathy for the fish while he’s killing it and then by weeping heartily over its lost soul once it’s dead. He feels like a guilty killer with “blood on his hands” (p.183), both figuratively and literally. Although the teen mentions that he never forgets to mention this first kill in his prayers, his subsequent kills become much easier to handle. His second fish is a dorado that he bludgeons over the head with the blunt end of a hatchet with relative glee. He explains that his change in outlook with a simple truth: “a person can get used to anything, even to killing” (p.185). Personally, I have mixed feelings about Pi’s line of reasoning. I’d have to agree with his assumption, but it seems to be a depressingly macabre take on human behavior when one considers that Pi is using it to justify murder. Even so, if seen as a comment on human adaptability and perseverance, it could be a contrarily uplifting sentiment. Surely, Yann Martel intended the observation to reflect the complexity of the human condition and the duality of human behavior.
Pi first kills a fly by squishing it in his hand. He reacts by feeling great empathy for the fly while he’s killing it and then by weeping heartily over its lost soul once it’s dead. He feels like a guilty killer with “blood on his hands” (p.183), both figuratively and literally. Although the teen mentions that he never forgets to mention this first kill in his prayers, his subsequent kills become much easier to handle. His second victim is a dorado that he bludgeons over the head with the blunt end of a hatchet with relative glee. He explains that his change in outlook with a simple truth: “a person can get used to anything, even to killing” (p.185). Personally, I have mixed feelings about Pi’s line of reasoning. I’d have to agree with his assumption, but it seems to be a depressingly macabre take on human behavior when one considers that Pi is using it to justify murder. Even so, if seen as a comment on human adaptability and perseverance, it could be a contrarily uplifting sentiment. Surely, Yann Martel intended the observation to reflect the complexity of the human condition and the duality of human behavior.
The main purpose of the passage “Saving Our Vanishing Heritage” is to
frame the argument that heritage sites should be assessed according to their economic value.
introduce the idea that many heritage sites are not worthy of being preserved.
present an initial overview of statistics that support the preservation of heritage sites.
outline a position in support of saving all heritage sites from potential destruction.
In the passage “Saving Vanishing 'Tongues,'” how does the report relate losing one’s language to losing oneself?
It explains that language and cultural identification are intertwined.
It illustrates that language is closely tied to the success of an individual.
It shows that the loss of a language precedes the extinction of a way of life.
It proves that the loss of a language has minimal effect on a culture.
Which statement best describes the central idea in the passage “Saving Vanishing ‘Tongues’”?
Government intervention is often required to help preserve vanishing languages.
Linguists use a wide variety of techniques to help preserve vanishing languages.
Preserving vanishing languages is vital to science, history, and people’s cultural identity.
Many vanishing languages would be lost forever if not for the efforts of linguists recording, sharing, and studying them.