B2 First FCE listening 8

1. Listen to the recording and choose the correct answer.

How does the speaker describe language?

A) As a living, breathing organism that constantly evolves over time. B) As something invented purely by modern scientists. C) As a static system that never changes.

2. What forces languages to change naturally according to the talk?

A) Aliens bringing new words to Earth. B) Strict government laws and dictionaries. C) Migration, cultural exchange, and technological advancements.

3. What is a ’language family’?

A) A group of people who speak the same language at home. B) A group of related languages that descended from a common ancestral language. C) A book containing all the world’s languages.

4. What is the Proto-Indo-European language?

A) A completely fictional language created for a movie. B) A modern language spoken in Eastern Europe. C) A theoretical ancient language that is the ancestor of many modern languages, including English and Hindi.

5. How do linguists trace the history of languages?

A) By inventing a time machine. B) By looking for cognates (words with similar sounds and meanings across different languages). C) By asking the oldest people on Earth.

6. Why do languages sometimes borrow words from each other?

A) Because dictionaries demand it. B) Because they run out of letters. C) Due to contact between cultures through trade, conquest, or globalization.

7. What happens when a group of speakers becomes geographically isolated from the rest?

A) They completely stop speaking. B) They immediately invent a new alphabet. C) Their language eventually diverges and evolves into a distinct, separate language or dialect.

8. What role does slang play in language evolution?

A) It is destroying language and making people less intelligent. B) It is entirely ignored by linguists. C) It is a driving force of change, introducing new vocabulary and meanings from the younger generation.

9. How has the internet impacted language evolution?

A) It has stopped languages from changing entirely. B) It has accelerated the spread of new words, acronyms, and global linguistic trends. C) It has forced everyone to speak only in emojis.

10. The speaker implies that the concept of a ’pure’ język is:

A) A myth, because all languages are constantly mixing and borrowing from others. B) Only possible in isolated communities. C) An achievable goal if we strictly follow grammar rules.

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