【正文】 have quickly spread.The origin of the IndoEuropean language family has been the most intensively studied problem of historical linguistics，but numerous genetic studies have produced inconclusive almost two centuries linguists and archaeologists debated two theories on the origins of the language family，whose members ranged from Greek and Hindi to German and English.It was thought the language was spread either by rampaging Kurgan horsemen who swept down into Europe and the Near East from the steppes of Russia 6000 years ago，or by farmers from Anatolia （modern Turkey）who had tilled their way westwards several millenniums Gray，an evolutionary biologist in the university’s psychology department，says that his results showed only the latter theory could be correct.He had used methods derived from evolutionary biology to study the problem for the past five accepted his approach to build an evolutionary tree if the IndoEuropean languages was controversial and subject to Professor Gray said he thought it was a valid technique that had clearly shown the origins of the English language went back further than had been thought，excluding the Kurgan horsemen appeared that IndoEuropean languages had expanded with the spread of agriculture from Anatolia 7800 to 9800 years ago.Professor Gray and Mr Atkinson had analyzed thousands of words from 87 languages to find out when the various branches of the IndoEuropean family tree started diverging.“We looked at words from different languages that were clearly related and grouped them in sets，” Professor Gray said a simple example was that five was cinq in French and cinque in Italian.“We built matrices of all our information，gleaned from the Internet and every obscure etymological dictionary we could find.”The researchers then used sophisticated puter programs to do the analysis and build language length of he resulting branches and their various offshoots showed when each language diverged from its predecessors and developed a separate identity.Professor Gray said Hittite （an extinct Anatolian language） was the first major language group to branch from the IndoEuropean subsequent millennia，the same trunk sprouted Tocharian，Armenian，Greek，Albanian，Iranian，Indic，Slavic，Baltic，Germanic，F(xiàn)rench/Iberian，Italic and Celtic language groups.A Marsden Fund grant from the Government and a James Cook Fellowship from the Royal Society of New Zealand helped to pay for the research，which included the equivalent of three solid years of puter time.新西蘭最大的學(xué)府奧克蘭大學(xué)的研究人員將英語溯源到土耳其的農(nóng)民那里，令全球的學(xué)術(shù)界瞠目結(jié)舌。研究人員使用了新奇的方法研發(fā)出印歐語言樹形圖，說他們有證據(jù)表明，英語的根源可以追溯到9000年以前的土耳其。羅素格雷副教授和博士生昆廷阿特金森在英國《自然》雜志發(fā)表了他們的研究成果。他們關(guān)于長期爭論的英語起源的研究成果很快地傳布開來。印歐語言的起源一直是歷史語言學(xué)研究的重點(diǎn)課題，但是，許多關(guān)于起源的研究都沒有產(chǎn)生確切的結(jié)果。近兩個世紀(jì)以來，語言學(xué)家和考古學(xué)家對于該語族的起源有兩種相持不下的理論，該語族的分枝范圍可以從希臘語和北印地語一直到德語和英語。據(jù)認(rèn)為，這種語言要么是由6000年以前從俄國西伯利亞大草原掃蕩到歐洲和近東的野蠻的庫爾干游牧民傳播的，要么是由比那還早幾千年向西部墾荒的安那托利亞（現(xiàn)代的土耳其）的農(nóng)民傳播的。該大學(xué)的心理學(xué)系進(jìn)化生物學(xué)者格雷教授說，他的研究結(jié)果表明，只有后者的理論才可能是正確的。在過去五年中，他采用了從進(jìn)化生物學(xué)衍生出的一些方法研究該問題。他承認(rèn)，他繪制印歐語言進(jìn)化樹形圖的方法會引起爭論和批評。但是，格雷教授說，他認(rèn)為這是一個有效的方法，它清楚地表明，除了庫爾干游牧民族理論以外，英語起源可以追溯到遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)早于人們現(xiàn)有的認(rèn)識?？雌饋?，在7800年到9800年以前，隨著農(nóng)業(yè)的發(fā)展，印歐語言就從安那托利亞那里擴(kuò)散開來。格雷教授和阿特金森先生對87種語言的數(shù)千詞匯進(jìn)行了分析，發(fā)現(xiàn)了印歐語族樹形圖的各種不同分枝何時開始分離開來?！拔覀冄芯縼碜圆煌Z言而明顯相關(guān)聯(lián)的字詞并將他們按類分組?！?格雷教授說一個簡單的例子就是“五”在法語中是cinq，而在意大利語中是cinque?！拔覀儗⑺械男畔⒍剂谐删仃?，這些信息是從因特網(wǎng)和每本可以搞到的不起眼的詞源詞典里收集來的?！比缓?，研究員們用精密的計算機(jī)程序進(jìn)行分析并建立語言樹形圖。圖中產(chǎn)生的各個分叉的長度及其各種不同的支條表明了每種語言何時從它的上級語支分離并發(fā)展成單獨(dú)的語體。格雷教授說，赫梯語（一種消亡的安那托利亞語言）是從印歐語系的主干上分支出來的第一種主要語群。在以后的幾千年中，同一個主干產(chǎn)生出了吐火羅語、亞美尼亞語、希臘語、阿爾巴尼亞語、伊朗語、印度語、斯拉夫語、波羅的語、日耳曼語、法語/伊比利亞語、意大利語和凱爾特語語群。來自政府的馬斯登基金的撥款和新西蘭皇家學(xué)會的詹姆士庫克研究基金支付這個研究的費(fèi)用，該研究花費(fèi)了整整三年的計算時間。Some suggested answers to the exercises on the workbook：The answer to Listing Words and Expressions on page 49.1.（1）imagine （2）government （3）dessert （4）northwestern （5）rapidly （6）eastern （7）actually （8）entertain （9）recognize （10）boss （11）standard （12）usage （13）elevator2.（1）played an important part（2）blocks（3）expects（4）such as（5）culture（6）vocabulary（7）Modern（8）native3.（1）He worked abroad for half year last year and came back without finishing the work because of his illness.（2）They have made a request for international help.（3）Victoria went into the house and closed the door with a polite smile.（4）Tim likes giving ，none of us will listen to him.（5）Betty had said that she would e up to my home this just now he called and said that she couldn’t because she had to take her kid to hospital who happened to have an accident.14用心 愛心 專心