Two weeks ago, I took a trip to my friend’s house in Serawai in Indonesia. My trip was full of unforgettable moments --- great people, delicious food, new cultures. However, what left a deep impression on me was meeting up with my friend’s dad, Fx. Ngawan. He is now working as an education supervisor (教育主管) in Sintang Regency.
At our first meeting, he looked like an ordinary man with dark skin. As he mentioned that he used to be an English teacher, we discovered we were a match! I am an English teacher myself. More importantly, he is a language lover. During the talk, he often changed from one language to another such as Indonesian, English and Javanese. He is now fluent in at least 15 languages and most of them are local languages.
He has to go all the way from Serawai sub-district (分区) to Sintang Regency by motorcycle, riding about 170 km to work. The trip can take six hours if the day is bright and sunny. However, it is not uncommon for him to spend three to seven days for the journey if the rainy season comes.
Therefore, he has to stop at some villages if he can’t continue the trip and meet up with people speaking so many different languages along the way. So, whenever he stops in a particular (特别的，独有的) village, he leans a different language. For him, learning languages helps him to connect with people.
In our talk, he said learning languages is important. He hopes that the younger generation in Indonesia starts realizing that language can open the door to so many opportunities. Local languages are on the edge of disappearance (消失，不见) because more people are leaving them behind. When people stop speaking the language, the knowledge and culture from that language will also disappear.
【小题1】What was the author’s trip to his friend’s house like?| A．Hopeful. | B．Moving. | C．Creative. | D．Wonderful. |
| A．Being interested in different cultures. | B．Being fluent in several languages. |
| C．Being a language lover. | D．Being an English teacher. |
| A．He learns different cultures. | B．He learns some languages. |
| C．He makes many friends. | D．He does much exercise. |
| A．The importance of languages. | B．The different local languages. |
| C．The cultures language carries. | D．The young’s attitude to languages. |
