Gregory Anderson, a specialist on endangered languages, once said, "Language is in many ways a window to the mind. What these languages contain are all kinds of ways that we organize the world. Languages reflect a different historical contact with other groups. And, for people who have no written history, language can be one of the ways to get the history just by looking carefully at the different parts in the language."
However, over half of the world's seven thousand languages are in danger of disappearing, and every two weeks one language disappears. One of the most endangered languages is called Siletz Dee-ni, a language from the northwestern part of the United States.
It was spoken on the Siletz reservation (居留地), where the tribe lives on a protected area within the state of Oregon. The reservation was created in the 19th century to hold people from 27 different native groups. The groups spoke different languages, so they developed Chinook Jargon. With its increased use as well as the use of English, the number of people speaking their native languages became smaller. Today, only one person on the reservation speaks Siletz Dee-ni.
Bringing back endangered languages is not easy, but it is very important. One example of this is taking place in the American state of Hawaii. Hawaii became a part of the United States in 1898. English became the official language of Hawaii. Slowly, fewer and fewer young natives learned to speak Hawaiian fluently. The language began to disappear.
In 1986, fewer than fifty children in Hawaii could speak their native language. That same year, the language ban (禁令) was removed because of strong disagreements from native groups. The Hawaiian language began to be taught again in schools. Today, about 2,000 children speak Hawaiian. Also, families now speak Hawaiian with their children at home. Anyway, it is up to the children to keep the language alive.
The author wrote the first paragraph to ________.

A．tell us that many languages are disappearing

B．tell us the importance of language

C．encourage us to be interested in studying language

D．tell us the characteristics of language

The underlined part "Chinook Jargon" in the third paragraph must be ________.

A．a hand sign	B．a language
C．a language school	D．a language textbook

After Hawaii became an American state, ________.

A．its culture was completely mixed with the American culture

B．all Hawaiian people got interested in learning English

C．Hawaiian was forbidden to be taught in the local schools

D．Hawaiian people created another language of their own

From the last paragraph we can infer that _________.

A．Hawaiian will become the official language in Hawaii soon

B．protecting the Hawaiian language is the biggest concern of the local people

C．parents play the most important role in protecting the Hawaiian language

D．more Hawaiian people have realized the value of their own language

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