How language transformed humanity

Language is very probably the one characteristic that separates us from the chimpanzees, our closest relatives. All other major differences between us likely stem from language. “It allows you to implant (植入) a thought from your mind directly into someone else’s mind”, says Mark Pagel, professor and head of the Evolution Laboratory at the University of Reading.

Humans use discrete (分离的) pulses of sound—their language—【小题1】(alter) the internal settings inside someone else’s brain to suit an individual’s interests. Language is a form of social learning instead of something 【小题2】(pursue) all by oneself.

Social learning is visual theft: for example, if I can learn by watching you, I can steal (and benefit from) your best ideas, wisdom or skills without having to invest the time and energy to develop these 【小题3】.

There are two options for dealing with this crisis: either return into small family groups so the benefits of each group’s knowledge 【小题4】(share) only with one’s relatives or expand one’s group to include unrelated others.【小题5】our relatives, the Neanderthals, who withdrew into small groups, humans chose the second option, and language was the result.

“Language evolved to solve the crisis of visual theft and to exploit cooperation and exchange”, says Professor Pagel.

In fact, as Professor Pagel argues, language is a “social technology” 【小题6】(allow) for cooperation between unrelated individuals and groups. According to the archaeological record, it was this cooperation and sharing of ideas 【小题7】came before human migration around the planet and the following human population explosion.

But almost incomprehensibly, thousands of languages evolved. So just 【小题8】a shared language facilitates communication and cooperation between unrelated groups, different languages slow the flow of ideas, technologies—and even genes.

“Can humans afford to have all these different languages?” asks Professor Pagel. In a world 【小题9】we want to promote cooperation, in a world that is more dependent than ever on cooperation to maintain and enhance humanity’s levels of prosperity, multiple languages 【小题10】not be practical.

In fact, humanity’s “destiny is to be one world with one language”, concludes Professor Pagel.

John, an ESL tutor of a community college, moved to New York City with all the members of his family. John is a remarkable teacher, so 【小题1】 (be) his students for several years, we all missed him very much since he left. It was not long 【小题2】 John came back to North Carolina to handle some rounding-off (结束) affairs, ESL teachers and we students held a small party for him.

At the party, 【小题3】people walked around and talked with each other cheerfully, I certainly would not lightly give up that good opportunity to learn English. Then I tried to think of all sorts of topics to converse with Monica, another ESL teacher.

Just before I was about 【小题4】 (run) out of my topics of conversation when I heard John said to others loudly, “I dig New York!” I immediately asked Monica seriously, “Is it really difficult to find a job in New York? Why does John, such 【小题5】 outstanding ESL teacher, have to do laborious work?”

Looking puzzled, Monica asked, “Why do you have such a feeling?”

“Haven’t you heard him say that he 【小题6】 (dig) New York? Is he building a tunnel?” I replied. When she finally understood 【小题7】 I said, Monica laughed so hard as to narrowly escape spewing (喷出) her food in her mouth. Wearing a broad smile, she gestured to us to stop talking, and then asked us, the ESL students, 【小题8】 we knew the meaning of “I dig New York.” All of us shook our heads and said no. Monica then requested John to explain it to us.

【小题9】 turns out that, in American slang, “I dig New York” means, “I love New York.” Though few people say like that nowadays, we can still find it 【小题10】 (use) in literary works.

China is a distant and 【小题1】 (mystery) country for most people in Uruguay. 【小题2】 for Uruguayan writer Pablo Rovetta, he has learned a lot about Chinese culture 【小题3】 childhood. Speaking fluent Chinese with a Beijing accent, Rovetta likes to be called Lao Luo meaning “old Luo”, which is 【小题4】 traditional Chinese call for seniors or longtime friends.

Coming to China in 1975, Pablo Rovetta studied for seven years in Beijing. He soon 【小题5】 (fall) in love with the country, getting on well with his Chinese classmates and making many friends. After 【小题6】 (graduate) from Tsinghua University, Rovetta worked at the China Foreign Languages Publishing Administration, allowing him 【小题7】 (have) more opportunities to observe China from different angles. Over the past 40 years of China’s reform and opening-up, Rovetta has seen the fast development of China, rising from a poor country to the world’s second 【小题8】 (large) economy.

Up to now Rovetta has translated many works of Chinese literature and has written a book about his life in China in the 1970s. And a couple of years ago a personal website 【小题9】 (establish) to publish his original 【小题10】 (article) in Spanish about Chinese history, culture and other fields.