# The Pirahã people of Brazil - 科目：雅思阅读真题（Part 3） - 考频：中频 - 最近考试：2025.4.24北京理工大学 - 题目数：14 - 来源页：https://www.yaquan.site/paper/1b51e44a-2938-4412-8c06-754265d9129b（在线机考练习与音频请访问该页面） - 数据更新：2026-10-29 ## 题目原文 The Pirahã language has stirred up debate among experts A The Pirahã live deep in Brazil's Amazon forest, and their language is hotly debated by linguists. Since 1977, the ethnologist Daniel Everett has spent a total of seven years living with the Pirahã and has committed his career to studying their puzzling speech. Indeed, he was uncertain for so long about what he was actually hearing while living among the Pirahã that he waited nearly three decades before publishing his findings. B The debate over the Pirahã language goes right to the core of the riddle regarding how Homo sapiens managed to develop vocal communication. Although bees dance, birds sing and whales even sing with syntax, human language is unique, if only for the reason that it enables humans to piece together never-before-constructed thoughts, and be infinitely imaginative - think of Shakespeare's plays or Einstein's theory of relativity. C Linguistics generally focuses on what features all human languages have in common, but the Pirahã language departs from what same academics have long maintained are essential and mallemable features of all human languages. Most of all, it may be unique for not employing subordinate clauses. Instead of saying, 'When I have finished eating, I will speak to you', the Pirahã say, 'I finish eating, I speak with you'. Equally perplexing, the Pirahã appear not to use numbers. During the time he spent with them, Everett never heard words like 'all', 'every' and 'more'. There is one word, 'hói', that comes close to the numeral 1, but it can't go more small. And they were never connected to count without language, on their fingers for example, in order to determine important tasks in village life like how many pieces of meat to grill. D Everett's findings among the Pirahã have brought new life to a controversial theory by the linguist Benjamin Whorf, who suggested that people are only capable of constructing thoughts for which they possess actual words. Or to put it another way, because they have no words for numbers, they cannot truly conceive of the concept of numbers. This idea, known as linguistic determinism, was largely abandoned by the 1970s, but the Pirahã have put it back on the table. E The Waripiri language - spoken by a group of Australian Aborigines - like that of the Pirahã, features only the most rudimentary system of counting. However, the Waripiri people had no difficulty counting further than three in a foreign language, in this case English, but when Everett attempted to teach the Pirahã how to count in Portuguese, like other Brazilians, not one of them managed to learn. Even after eight months of one-on-one tutoring, the Pirahã could not consistently get the answers right for simple sums they had successfully completed just the day before. For Everett, this was powerful evidence that the Pirahã's world is shaped by their language in a way previously thought impossible. F This conclusion has been fiercely contested. One of the most prominent critics is the linguist Noam Chomsky, who proposes that all human languages share a "universal grammar" – a basic, innate set of grammatical rules hardwired into the human brain. From this perspective, the Pirahã language cannot be an exception. Critics suggest that the Pirahã's inability to learn to count is a cultural choice, not a cognitive limitation imposed by their language. They argue that the Pirahã place a high cultural value on living in the present and discussing only direct, personal experience, which may render abstract concepts like numbers unnecessary. ## 题目与答案 ### 27. paragraph_main - a controversial claim about the influence of language - the initial difficulty of linguistic research - a comparison with another language group - challenging a universal theory of language - the unique characteristics of a language - the key to human communication **答案**：the initial difficulty of linguistic research 原文定位：Indeed, he was uncertain for so long about what he was actually hearing while living among the Pirahã that he waited nearly three decades before publishing his findings ### 28. paragraph_main - a controversial claim about the influence of language - the initial difficulty of linguistic research - a comparison with another language group - challenging a universal theory of language - the unique characteristics of a language - the key to human communication **答案**：the key to human communication 原文定位：human language is unique, if only for the reason that it enables humans to piece together never-before-constructed thoughts, and be infinitely imaginative ### 29. paragraph_main - a controversial claim about the influence of language - the initial difficulty of linguistic research - a comparison with another language group - challenging a universal theory of language - the unique characteristics of a language - the key to human communication **答案**：the unique characteristics of a language 原文定位：the Pirahã language departs from what some academics have long maintained are essential and malleable features of all human languages. Most of all, it may be unique for not employing subordinate clauses;Equally perplexing, the Pirahã appear not to use numbers ### 30. paragraph_main - a controversial claim about the influence of language - the initial difficulty of linguistic research - a comparison with another language group - challenging a universal theory of language - the unique characteristics of a language - the key to human communication **答案**：a controversial claim about the influence of language 原文定位：Everett's findings among the Pirahã have brought new life to a controversial theory by the linguist Benjamin Whorf, who suggested that people are only capable of constructing thoughts for which they possess actual words;This idea, known as linguistic determinism, was largely abandoned by the 1970s, but the Pirahã have put it back on the table ### 31. paragraph_main - a controversial claim about the influence of language - the initial difficulty of linguistic research - a comparison with another language group - challenging a universal theory of language - the unique characteristics of a language - the key to human communication **答案**：a comparison with another language group 原文定位：The Waripiri language - spoken by a group of Australian Aborigines - like that of the Pirahã, features only the most rudimentary system of counting. However, the Waripiri people had no difficulty counting further than three in a foreign language;but when Everett attempted to teach the Pirahã how to count in Portuguese... not one of them managed to learn ### 32. paragraph_main - a controversial claim about the influence of language - the initial difficulty of linguistic research - a comparison with another language group - challenging a universal theory of language - the unique characteristics of a language - the key to human communication **答案**：challenging a universal theory of language 原文定位：One of the most prominent critics is the linguist Noam Chomsky, who proposes that all human languages share a "universal grammar" - a basic, innate set of grammatical rules hardwired into the human brain. From this perspective, the Pirahã language cannot be an exception. Critics suggest that the Pirahã's inability to learn to count is a cultural choice, not a cognitive limitation imposed by their language ### 33. 33 Daniel Everett published his findings on the Pirahã language soon after he began studying it. 33 Daniel Everett published his findings on the Pirahã language soon after he began studying it. - YES - NO - NOT GIVEN **答案**：NO 原文定位：Indeed, he was uncertain for so long about what he was actually hearing while living among the Pirahã that he waited nearly three decades before publishing his findings ### 34. 34 The Pirahã language uses a complex system of subordinate clauses. 34 The Pirahã language uses a complex system of subordinate clauses. - YES - NO - NOT GIVEN **答案**：NO 原文定位：Most of all, it may be unique for not employing subordinate clauses ### 35. 35 The Pirahã were able to learn to count in Portuguese after eight months of tutoring. 35 The Pirahã were able to learn to count in Portuguese after eight months of tutoring. - YES - NO - NOT GIVEN **答案**：NO 原文定位：Even after eight months of one-on-one tutoring, the Pirahã could not consistently get the answers right for simple sums they had successfully completed just the day before ### 36. 36 Some experts believe the Pirahã's culture explains their lack of numbers. 36 Some experts believe the Pirahã's culture explains their lack of numbers. - YES - NO - NOT GIVEN **答案**：YES 原文定位：Critics suggest that the Pirahã's inability to learn to count is a cultural choice, not a cognitive limitation imposed by their language. They argue that the Pirahã place a high cultural value on living in the present and discussing only direct, personal experience, which may render abstract concepts like numbers unnecessary ### 37. 37 The Pirahã language has caused significant debate in the field of linguistics. Daniel Everett's research suggests the language lacks numbers and _____, which challenges the idea that all languages share a common structure. 37 The Pirahã language has caused significant debate in the field of linguistics. Daniel Everett's research suggests the language lacks numbers and _____, which challenges the idea that all languages share a common structure. - A cultural choice - B universal grammar - C linguistic determinism - D subordinate clauses - E vocal communication - F cognitive limitation **答案**：D subordinate clauses 原文定位：Most of all, it may be unique for not employing subordinate clauses;Equally perplexing, the Pirahã appear not to use numbers ### 38. 38 His findings support the theory of _____, proposed by Benjamin Whorf, which had been largely dismissed. 38 His findings support the theory of _____, proposed by Benjamin Whorf, which had been largely dismissed. - A cultural choice - B universal grammar - C linguistic determinism - D subordinate clauses - E vocal communication - F cognitive limitation **答案**：C linguistic determinism 原文定位：This idea, known as linguistic determinism, was largely abandoned by the 1970s, but the Pirahã have put it back on the table ### 39. 39 However, other linguists, such as Noam Chomsky, argue for the existence of a _____ that all humans are born with. 39 However, other linguists, such as Noam Chomsky, argue for the existence of a _____ that all humans are born with. - A cultural choice - B universal grammar - C linguistic determinism - D subordinate clauses - E vocal communication - F cognitive limitation **答案**：B universal grammar 原文定位：One of the most prominent critics is the linguist Noam Chomsky, who proposes that all human languages share a "universal grammar"-a basic, innate set of grammatical rules hardwired into the human brain ### 40. 40 These critics propose that the Pirahã's avoidance of numbers is not a linguistic limitation, but rather a _____ rooted in their cultural values. 40 These critics propose that the Pirahã's avoidance of numbers is not a linguistic limitation, but rather a _____ rooted in their cultural values. - A cultural choice - B universal grammar - C linguistic determinism - D subordinate clauses - E vocal communication - F cognitive limitation **答案**：A cultural choice 原文定位：Critics suggest that the Pirahã's inability to learn to count is a cultural choice, not a cognitive limitation imposed by their language --- 以上内容由鸭圈雅思真题库（www.yaquan.site）提供，收录近期雅思考试真题回忆，支持在线机考模式免费练习。