Learning a second language is tricky at any age (and it only gets tougher the longer
類型：學習教育
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plummet: 10.
The study, published in the journal Cognition, found that it"s "nearly impossible" for language learners to reach native-level fluency if they start learning a second tongue after age 10. But that"s not because language skills start to go downhill. “It turns out you"re still learning fast,” says study co-author Joshua Hartshorne, an assistant professor of psychology at Boston College. “It’s just that you run out of time, because your ability to learn starts dropping at around 17 or 18 years old.” People who start a few years after age 10 may still become quite good at a language, the authors say, but they are unlikely to become fluent.
Kids may be better than adults at learning new languages for many reasons. Children"s brains are more plastic than those of adults, meaning they"re better able to adapt and respond to new information. “All learning involves the brain changing，” Hartshorne says，“and children"s brains seem to be a lot more adept at changing.” Kids may also be more willing to try new things (and to potentially look foolish in the process) than adults are. Their comparatively new grasp on their native tongue may also be advantageous. Unlike adults, who tend to default to the rules and patterns of their first language, kids may be able to approach a new one with a blank slate.
These findings may seem discouraging, but it was heartening for scientists to learn that the critical period for fluent language acquisition might be longer than previously thought.Some scientists believed that the window begins to close shortly after birth, while others stretched it to early adolescence. Compared with those estimates, age 17 or 18 — when language-learning ability starts to drop off 一 seems relatively old.
For the study, the researchers created an online quiz promising to guess peopled native language，dialect and home country based on their responses to English grammar questions.At the end of the quiz, people entered their actual native language, if and when they had
learned any others and where they had liveD.The quiz went viral: almost 670,000 people took it, giving the researchers huge amounts of data from English speakers of many ages and backgrounds. Analyzing the responses and grammar mistakes allowed them to draw unusually precise conclusions about language learning.
The findings also offer insights for adults hoping to pick up a new tongue. People fared better when they learned by immersion, rather than simply in a classroom. And moving to a place where your desired language is spoken is the best way to learn as an adult，says Hartshorne.
If that"s not an option, you can mimic an immersive environment by finding ways to have conversations with native speakers in their own communities, Hartshorne says. By doing so, ifs possible to become conversationally proficient — even without the advantage of a child"s brain.
單選題第1題What is the “nearly impossible” thing from the journal Cognition?
A.Learning a second language for an adult.
B.Reaching native-level fluency if language learners start learning a second language after age 10.
C.Learning a language fast for an adult.
D.Having opportunity to learn a foreign language for adults.
參考答案：B
答案解析：第2段第一句話的意思是：《認知》雜志上發(fā)表的研究表明，如果一個人在10歲以后才開始學習第二語言，那他們“幾乎不可能”達到與母語水平一樣的流利程度。因此B項符合題意。
單選題第2題Which of the following is NOT the reason for kids to learn foreign languages more easily than adults do?
A.Kids' brains seem to be a lot more adept at changing.
B.Kids' brains are more plastic than those of adults.
C.Kids are more willing to try new information.
D.Kids are more likely to follow the rules and patterns of their native language.
參考答案：D
答案解析：A項為兒童的大腦似乎更擅長改變，B項為兒童的大腦比成人的大腦更具可塑性，C項為兒童更愿意嘗試新事物，在第3段中，三項均有提及；第3段最后一句話提到，成年人己經形成了第一語言固定的規(guī)律和模式，而不是兒童，因此D項不是兒童比成人更擅長學習新語言的原因，故選D。
單選題第3題The word “window” underlined in Paragraph 4 refers to______.
A.people's early adolescence
B.children's birthplace
C.opening in the wall
D.chance of fluent language acquisition
參考答案：D
答案解析：第4段這句話的意思是說：一些科學家認為，人們出生不久就會失去這種習得語言的機會。根據上下文可以判斷，“window”在這里指代“流利習得語言的機會”，故D項符合題意。
單選題第4題According to this passage, what is heartening for scientists to learn?
A.The exact age at which people can reach fluency in a second language is 10.
B.It is completely possible for adults to reach native-like fluency.
C.The critical period for fluent language acquisition might be longer than previously thought.
D.Kids are clever than adults.
參考答案：C
答案解析：第4段第一句話告訴我們：令科學家們振奮的是，能使一門語言的習得達到流利程度的關鍵時期可能要比之前想象的長一些。故C項正確。
單選題第5題According to the study published in Cognition, when will peopled language-learning ability start to decline?
A.At age 10.
B.Shortly after birth.
C.Before early adolescence.
D.After age 17 or 18.
參考答案：D
答案解析：題干問的是：根據發(fā)表在《認知》雜志上的研究，什么時候人們的語言學習能力會退化？ A、B、C、D項在文中均有提及，但在第四段最后一句話中提到，根據這一研究，17 18歲的孩子的語言學習能力開始下降，因此答案為D。
單選題第6題What is the purpose of the online quiz?
A.To prove the period for fluent language acquisition might be longer than previously thought.
B.To guess people's native language, dialect and home country and draw precise conclusions about people's language learning.
C.To analyze the responses and grammar mistakes they produced.
D.To get huge amounts of data from English speakers of many ages and backgrounds.
參考答案：B
答案解析：從第5段最后一句話可以得知，研究人員在線測驗的目的是通過分析他們的答案和語法錯誤，精確地得出關于語言學習的結論，因此B項為正確答案；A項為第4段中提到的內容，在線測驗并不是為了證明“能使一門語言的習得達到流利程度的關鍵時期可能要比之前提出的時間長一些”這一論斷；C項“分析他們的答案和語法錯誤”并不是在線測試的目的；D項“得到大量來自不同年齡段和具有不同背景的講英語的人的研究數據”也是手段，而不是目的。答案為B。
單選題第7題According to this passage, what is the possible way to be conversationally proficient even without the advantage of a child's brain?
A.To be in a classroom.
B.To learn from children.
C.To develop their language learning potential.
D.To be involved in an immersive environment.
參考答案：D
答案解析：從第7段可知：讓自己置身于浸入式的語言環(huán)境，即使沒有孩子大腦一樣的優(yōu)勢，但也足以熟練地進行對話。因此D項符合題意。從第6段第二句話可知，簡單的課堂學習并非學習英語的好方法，因此A項錯誤。B項、C項文中未提及。答案為D。
單選題第8題Which is the synonym for the word “mimic” underlined in Paragraph 7?
A.simulate
B.diminish
C.adapt
D.exaggerate
參考答案：A
答案解析：第7段這句話的意思是“要給自己模擬一個浸入式的環(huán)境”，因此“mimic”在這里是“模仿、模擬”的意思。A項為“模仿”，B項為“使減小”，C項為“適應”，D項為“夸大、增大”，故選A。
單選題第9題Which of the following statements is TRUE about language acquisition?
A.The earlier you start to learn a language，the better you will learn.
B.People may still be good at a language even if they start to learn it after 10.
C.There is a definite conclusion about the optimal starting age to learn a new language.
D.People cannot reach native-level fluency because people's language skill start to go downhill after age 10.
參考答案：B
答案解析：第2段最后一句話作者明確說明，10歲以后開始學習的人仍會擅長一門語言，只是他們不太可能流利地使用罷了，因此B項正確；A項“學語言年齡越小，效果越好”，這一點文中并未明確說明；C項是關于學習語言的最 佳起始年齡，文中也沒有提及；D項“人們無法達到像母語一樣的流利程度，是因為10歲以后語言能力下降”，這與第2段第二句話不符。
單選題第10題Which is the suitable title for this passage?
A.The ability of learning language for children
B.Kids' advantages in learning languages
C.The experiment of fluent language acquisition
D.Online quiz for language learning
參考答案：B
答案解析：本篇文章主要闡述了兒童在二語習得和能夠熟練運用語言方面的優(yōu)勢，B項符合題意。
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