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Prior to the 20th century, many languages with small numbers of speakers survived for centuries. The increasingly interconnected

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问题     Prior to the 20th century, many languages with small numbers of speakers survived for centuries. The increasingly interconnected modern world makes it much more difficult for small language communities to live in relative isolation, a key factor in language maintenance and preservation.
    It remains to be seen whether the world can maintain its linguistic and cultural diversity in the centuries ahead. Many powerful forces appear to work against it: population growth, which pushes migrant populations into the world’s last isolated locations; mass tourism; global telecommunications and mass media; and the spread of gigantic global corporations. All of these forces appear to signify a future in which the language of advertising, popular culture, and consumer products become similar. Already English and a few other major tongues have emerged as global languages of commerce and communication. For many of the world’s peoples, learning one of these languages is viewed as the key to education, economic opportunity, and a better way of life.
    Only about 3,000 languages now in use are expected to survive the coming century. Are most of the rest doomed in the century after that?
    Whether most of these languages survive will probably depend on how strongly cultural groups wish to keep their identity alive through a native language. To do so will require an emphasis on bilingualism (mastery of two languages). Bilingual speakers could use their own language in smaller spheres—at home, among friends, in community settings—and a global language at work, in dealings with government, and in commercial spheres. In this way, many small languages could sustain their cultural and linguistic integrity alongside global languages, rather than yield to the homogenizing forces of globalization.
    Ironically, the trend of technological innovation that has threatened minority languages could also help save them. For example, some experts predict that computer software translation tools will one day permit minority language speakers to browse the Internet using their native tongues. Linguists are currently using computer-aided learning tools to teach a variety of threatened languages.
    For many endangered languages, the line between revival and death is extremely thin. Language is remarkably resilient, however. It is not just a tool for communicating, but also a powerful way of separating different groups, or of demonstrating group identity. Many indigenous communities have shown that it is possible to live in the modern world while reclaiming their unique identities through language.
Computer technology is helpful for preserving minority languages in that it________.
选项 A、makes learning a global language unnecessary
B、facilitates the learning and using of those languages
C、raises public awareness of saving those languages
D、makes it easier for linguists to study those languages
答案B
解析 根据题干关键词Computer technology，答案线索可以定位到第五段。根据第五段，电脑翻译软件工具将来有一天能够让小语种使用者(minority language speakers)用他们的母语(native tongues)上网浏览(browse the Internet)。语言学家也可以使用电脑辅助教学工具(computer—aided learning tools)教授(teach)多种濒危语言(threatened languages)。也就是说，计算机技术方便了小语种使用者的使用，也使小语种学习变得更为便捷。因此选项B与原文表达相同含义，是正确答案。选项A是主观推测，虽然计算机技术能够帮助小语种使用者直接使用母语上网，但是这并不意味着没有必要再学习全球通用语言。选项C属于无中生有，文中没有提到提升公众意识的相关信息。选项D属于偷换概念，原文说的是语言学家教授(teach)小语种，而本选项是语言学家研究(study)小语种，是错误选项。第五段：电脑技术有助于拯救小语种。
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