Learning a second language is tricky at any age and it only gets tougher the longer you wait to open that dusty French book. Now, in a new study, scientists have pinpointed the exact age at which your chances of reaching fluency in a second language seem to 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 10. But that doesn’t seem to be because language skills go downhill. “It turns out you’re still learning fast. It’s just that you run out of time, because your ability to learn starts dropping at around 17 or 18 years old,” says study co-author Joshua Hartshorne, an assistant professor of psychology at Boston College.
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 skilled 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 (默认) to the rules and patterns of their first language, kids may be able to approach a new one with a blank slate (石板).
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 they previously thought. Some scientists believed that the brief window closes shortly after birth, while others stretched it only to early adolescence. Compared to those estimates, 17 or 18 — when language learning ability starts to drop off — seems relatively old.
“People fared better when they learned by immersion (沉浸), 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. 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, it’s possible to become conversationally proficient — even without the advantage of a child’s brain.
1.The underlined word “plummet” in Paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to “__________”.
A.decrease B.rise
C.end D.vary
2.What can be inferred from Joshua Hartshorne’s words?
A.Children are too young to grasp a second language.
B.Age 10-18 is the best time to learn a second language.
C.Adults go beyond the critical period for learning a second language.
D.Communicating with native speakers enables you to master all the language skills.
3.Why adults can’t reach native-level fluency in a second language?
A.Adults are less influenced by their mother tongues.
B.Adults spend more time responding to new information.
C.Adults are only too willing to experience something awkward in the process.
D.Adults prefer an immersive environment to a classroom in learning a second language.
4.The passage is mainly about __________.
A.the best age to learn a second language
B.the approaches to learning a second language
C.why kids learn a second language more easily than adults
D.whether adults can learn a second language like their younger selves
高三英语阅读理解困难题
Learning a second language is tricky at any age (and it only gets tougher the longer you wait to open that dusty French book). Now, in a new study, scientists have pinpointed the exact age at which your chances of reading fluency in a second language seems to 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 10. But that doesn’t seem to be because language skills go downhill. “It turns out you’re still learning fast. It’s just that you run out of time, because your ability to learn starts dropping at around 17 or 18 years old,” says study co-author Joshua Hartshorne, an assistant professor of psychology at Boston College.
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 skilled 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(默认)to the rules and patterns of their first language, kids may be able to approach a new one with a blank slate(石板).
These findings may seems discouraging, but it was heartening for scientists to learn that the critical period for fluent language acquisition might be longer than they previously thought. Some scientists believed that the brief window closes shortly after birth, while others stretched it only to early adolescence. Compared to those estimates, 17 or 18 -- when language learning ability starts to drop off -- seems relatively old. “People fared better when thy learned by immersion(沉浸), rather than simply in a classroom. And moving to a place where our desired language is spoken is the best way to learn as an adult. 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, it’s possible to become conversationally proficient -- even without the advantage of a child’s brain.
1.The word “plummet” in paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to “____”.
A.plunge B.rise C.end D.vary
2.What can be inferred from Joshua Hartshorne’s words?
A.Age 10 -18 is the best time to learn a second language.
B.Children are too young to grasp a second language.
C.Communicating with native speakers enables you to master all the language skills.
D.Adults go beyond the critical period for learning a second language.
3.What might be the reason why adults can’t reach native - level fluency in a second language?
A.Adults are less influenced by their mother tongues
B.Adults are only too willing to experience something awkward in the process.
C.Adults spend more time responding to new information.
D.Adults prefer an immersive environment to a classroom in learning a second language.
4.The passage is mainly about____.
A.the approaches to learning a second language
B.the best age to learn a second language.
C.why kids learn a second language more easily than adults
D.whether adults can learn a second language like their younger selves
高三英语阅读理解困难题查看答案及解析
Learning a second language is tricky at any age and it only gets tougher the longer you wait to open that dusty French book. Now, in a new study, scientists have pinpointed the exact age at which your chances of reaching fluency in a second language seem to 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 10. But that doesn’t seem to be because language skills go downhill. “It turns out you’re still learning fast. It’s just that you run out of time, because your ability to learn starts dropping at around 17 or 18 years old,” says study co-author Joshua Hartshorne, an assistant professor of psychology at Boston College.
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 skilled 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 (默认) to the rules and patterns of their first language, kids may be able to approach a new one with a blank slate (石板).
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 they previously thought. Some scientists believed that the brief window closes shortly after birth, while others stretched it only to early adolescence. Compared to those estimates, 17 or 18 — when language learning ability starts to drop off — seems relatively old.
“People fared better when they learned by immersion (沉浸), 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. 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, it’s possible to become conversationally proficient — even without the advantage of a child’s brain.
1.The underlined word “plummet” in Paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to “__________”.
A.decrease B.rise
C.end D.vary
2.What can be inferred from Joshua Hartshorne’s words?
A.Children are too young to grasp a second language.
B.Age 10-18 is the best time to learn a second language.
C.Adults go beyond the critical period for learning a second language.
D.Communicating with native speakers enables you to master all the language skills.
3.Why adults can’t reach native-level fluency in a second language?
A.Adults are less influenced by their mother tongues.
B.Adults spend more time responding to new information.
C.Adults are only too willing to experience something awkward in the process.
D.Adults prefer an immersive environment to a classroom in learning a second language.
4.The passage is mainly about __________.
A.the best age to learn a second language
B.the approaches to learning a second language
C.why kids learn a second language more easily than adults
D.whether adults can learn a second language like their younger selves
高三英语阅读理解困难题查看答案及解析
Unlike some other European languages, English is a little tricky when it comes to writing. How a word 1. (pronounce) and how it is actually spelt can be very different things. Take two simple 2. (verb) like “have” and “save” --shouldn’t they be pronounced the same? Why do “sir” “her” and “fur” all rhyme, but “fork” and “work” don’t?
Imagine, then, a situation 3. two words are spelt and pronounced exactly the same way, but have 4. (complete) different meanings. Welcome to the world of homonyms(同形同音异). 5. (take), for example, the word “fair” --it can be a kind of festival or an adjective to describe the color of your hair.
So how do you know which 6. (mean) someone is referring to? ---You don’t, except by the context. Obviously, if someone asks you to “give them a hand”, they don’t want you to remove 7.is at the end of your am.
Sometimes even the context doesn’t help much --- the result can be 8. (amuse). These sentences play with the double meaning of a noun.
I used to be a banker, 9. I lost interest.
A small boy swallowed some coins and had to go to hospital. When his grandmother phoned 10. (ask) how he was, the nurse said, “No change yet”.
高三英语七选五中等难度题查看答案及解析
完形填空
Learning a second language fuels children’s intelligence and makes their job prospects brighter. ______the fact is, in U.S.A, as in many other English speaking countries, speakers of two or more languages are in the ______ . Eighty-four percent of US people are monolingual (speakers of only one language). This leaves a small number who ______ to speak two or more languages.
No matter how proud people are of their cultural roots, to speak anything ______ English is a marker of differencehere. That’s why fourteen-year-old Umar is______ when people comment on the fact that he is able to speak Arabic.
Umar’s mother points out: ―In U.S.A, it’s not ______ for kids to be bilingual. But, if you speak another language to your children in U.S.A, it is thought that you are not helping them to ______ society.
But in fact, the general ______ among experts is that learning a second language is good for children. Experts believe that bilinguals – people who speak ______ languages – have a clear learning advantage ______ their monolingual schoolmates. This ______on how much of each language they can speak, not on which language is used, ______ they are learning Arabic, French, Chinese or any other language.
Vinss Millon, a professor of Foreign Language Training, says: ―A lot of studies have ______ that children who speak more than one language sometimes learn one language more______, but in the end they do as well as their monolingual schoolmates, and often better, in other subjects.
The view is that there is a(n) ______ from the effort of learning another language. A few other ______ agree that “Bilinguals tend to use language better as a whole. They also ______ greater creativity and problem-solving ability, and
they learn further languages more easily”.
With all of the benefits, why do we not show more ______ for learning other languages? Parents and teachers ______in bilingual education say it is pressure from friends at school, general ______ to other languages in English-speaking countries, and problems in the school system that are to blame.
1.A. And B. So C. But D. Thus
2.A. minimum B. maximum C. minority D. majority
3.A. claim B. pretend C. decide D. plan
4.A. more than B. less than C. rather than D. other than
5.A. excited B. embarrassed C. disappointed D. appreciated
6.A. common B. unusual C. unique D. general
7.A. fit in B. build up C. contribute to D. figure out
8.A. distinction B. commission C. announcement D. agreement
9.A. one B. two C. three D. more
10.A. beneath B. beyond C. over D. of
11.A. determines B. focuses C. comments D. depends
12.A. if B. whether C. when D. because
13.A. rejected B. released C. revealed D. reminded
14.A. slowly B. rapidly C. easily D. efficiently
15.A. outcome B. improvement C. advantage D. tendency
16.A. parents B. learners C. schoolmates D. professors
17.A. display B. produce C. inspire D. discover
18.A. concern B. respect C. enthusiasm D. intelligence
19.A. involved B. impressed C. competing D. replacing
20.A. opinions B. obstacles C. senses D. attitudes
高三英语完形填空中等难度题查看答案及解析
Learning a second language fuels children’s intelligence and makes their job prospects brighter. ________the fact is, in U.S.A, as in many other English speaking countries, speakers of two or more languages are in the ______ . Eighty-four percent of US people are monolingual (speakers of only one language). This leaves a small number who ________ to speak two or more languages.
No matter how proud people are of their cultural roots, to speak anything ________ English is a marker of difference here. That’s why fourteen-year-old Umar is________ when people comment on the fact that he is able to speak Arabic. Umar’s mother points out: ―In U.S.A, it’s not________ for kids to be bilingual. But, if you speak another language to your children in U.S.A, it is thought that you are not helping them to ________ society.
But in fact, the general ________ among experts is that learning a second language is good for children. Experts believe that bilinguals – people who speak ________ languages – have a clear learning advantage ________ their monolingual schoolmates. This ________on how much of each language they can speak, not on which language is used, ________ they are learning Arabic, French, Chinese or any other language.
Vinss Millon, a professor of Foreign Language Training, says: ―A lot of studies have ________ that children who speak more than one language sometimes learn one language more______, but in the end they do as well as their monolingual schoolmates, and often better, in other subjects. The view is that there is a(n) ________ from the effort of learning another language. A few other ________ agree that “Bilinguals tend to use language better as a whole. They also ________ greater creativity and problem-solving ability, and they learn further languages more easily”.
With all of the benefits, why do we not show more ________ for learning other languages? Parents and teachers ________in bilingual education say it is pressure from friends at school, general ________ to other languages in English-speaking countries, and problems in the school system that are to blame.
1.A. And B. So C. But D. Thus
2.A. minimum B. maximum C. minority D. majority
3.A. claim B. pretend C. decide D. plan
4.A. more than B. less than C. rather than D. other than
5.A. excited B. embarrassed C. disappointed D. appreciated
6.A. common B. unusual C. unique D. general
7.A. fit in B. build up C. contribute to D. figure out
8.A. distinction B. commission C. announcement D. agreement
9.A. one B. two C. three D. more
10.A. beneath B. beyond C. over D. of
11.A. determines B. focuses C. comments D. depends
12.A. if B. whether C. when D. because
13.A. rejected B. released C. revealed D. reminded
14.A. slowly B. rapidly C. easily D. efficiently
15.A. outcome B. improvement C. advantage D. tendency
16.A. parents B. learners C. schoolmates D. professors
17.A. display B. produce C. inspire D. discover
18.A. concern B. respect C. enthusiasm D. intelligence
19.A. involved B. impressed C. competing D. replacing
20.A. opinions B. obstacles C. senses D. attitudes
高三英语完形填空中等难度题查看答案及解析
Learning a second language fuels children’s intelligence and makes their job prospects brighter. _______ the fact is, in U.S.A, as in many other English speaking countries, speakers of two or more languages are in the ______. Eighty-four per cent of US people are monolingual (speakers of only one language). This leaves a small number who ______ to speak two or more languages.
No matter how proud people are of their cultural roots, to speak anything ______ English is a marker of difference here. That’s why fourteen-year-old Umar is ______ when people comment on the fact that he is able to speak Arabic. Umar’s mother points out: “In U.S.A, it’s not ______ for kids to be bilingual. But, if you speak another language to your children in U.S.A, it is thought that you are not helping them to ______ society.”
But in fact, the general ______ among experts is that learning a second language is good for children. Experts believe that bilinguals – people who speak ______ languages – have a clear learning advantage ____ their monolingual schoolmates. This ______ on how much of each language they can speak, not on which language is used, ______ they are learning Arabic, French, Chinese or any other language.
Vinss Millon, a professor of Foreign Language Training, says: “A lot of studies have ______ that children who speak more than one language sometimes learn one language more ______, but in the end they do as well as their monolingual schoolmates, and often better, in other subjects.”
The view is that there is a(n) ______ from the effort of learning another language. A few other _______ agree that “Bilinguals tend to use language better as a whole. They also ______ greater creativity and problem-solving ability, and they learn further languages more easily”.
With all of the benefits, why do we not show more ______ for learning other languages? Parents and teachers ______ in bilingual education say it is pressure from friends at school, general ______ to other languages in English-speaking countries, and problems in the school system that are to blame.
1.A. And B. So C. But D. Thus
2.A. minimum B. maximum C. minority D. majority
3.A. claim B. pretend C. decide D. plan
4.A. more than B. less than C. rather than D. other than
5.A. excited B. embarrassed C. disappointed D. appreciated
6.A. common B. unusual C. unique D. general
7.A. fit in B. build up C. contribute to D. figure out
8.A. distinction B. commission C. announcement D. agreement
9.A. one B. two C. three D. more
10.A. beneath B. beyond C. over D. of
11.A. determines B. focuses C. comments D. depends
12.A. if B. whether C. when D. because
13.A. rejected B. released C. revealed D. reminded
14.A. slowly B. rapidly C. easily D. efficiently
15.A. outcome B. improvement C. advantage D. tendency
16.A. parents B. learners C. schoolmates D. professors
17.A. display B. produce C. inspire D. discover
18.A. concern B. respect C. enthusiasm D. intelligence
19.A. involved B. impressed C. competing D. replacing
20.A. opinions B. obstacles C. senses D. attitudes
高三英语完形填空中等难度题查看答案及解析
Learning a new language can be tough, and there is no magical way to go about it. 1.
Know your learning style. This is the single most important thing you need to know when starting to learn a language .2. You will need to figure out if you learn best through repetition, through writing down or listening to a native speaker.
Learn pronunciation.3. Just ask a Polish person how to pronounce the letters"cz". It will help to learn IPA, the International Phonetic Alphabet, as most dictionaries use it. Besides, the Foreign Service Institute offers free online language learning materials, which include audio recordings that help with learning pronunciation.
4. This is probably the most important part of the language besides the vocabulary. "Paul want Mary go store" may communicate an idea, but it is not at all correct English. If you do not pay attention to grammar, you can sound equally incomprehensible in another language.
Memorize 30 words and phrases each day. Within 90 days this means you will have memorized about 80% of the language. Memorization is half the battle and there are many different ways to memorize.
Practice the alphabet. Especially if you are learning a language which operates in a different alphabetical system, you will need to know what the letters look like and how they operate .
5. In doing so , your brain will have an easy path to remembering the letter and the sound that accompanies it .
A. Pay attention to grammar.
B. Start with the most common words.
C. Therefore, there are really no secrets or shortcuts.
D. Try associating images with each letter and sound.
E. Everyone learns differently, especially when it comes to language.
F. Nevertheless, with certain techniques you will be fluent in no time.
G. Even if a language has the same alphabet as yours, the pronunciation is not always the same.
高三英语七选五中等难度题查看答案及解析
Learning any language is hard, but learning English can be especially challenging. Why? Because native speakers use the language in ways that textbooks could never describe. In particular, words that British people use cause many language students to scratch their heads.
Here’s an example: You overhear a Briton calling someone a “wazzock”. But what exactly is a wazzock? This word, in fact, means a foolish person, although there’s nothing about it that would help you guess that. There are many strange terms like this in British English – the Oxford English Dictionary would be much smaller without these peculiar (古怪的) usages filling its pages.
How can these odd words be explained? Part of the answer is the British sense of humor. Britons don’t like to take things too seriously, and this is evident through many British words and phrases. For example, to “spend a penny” means to use the bathroom. It refers to the days when people had to pay a penny to use a public toilet.
In an interview for the BBC’s website, British linguist David Crystal suggested there may be historical reasons for the sheer number of odd words and phrases in British English. He thinks that they began in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. This was a great age for the theater, when Shakespeare and other writers worked hard to keep up with the demand for new plays. The theater’s popularity also created an incentive (刺激) to invent new words.
With this in mind, perhaps Shakespeare and his peers are to blame for unusual British words such as “codswallop” and “balderdash” – which both, ironically, mean “nonsense”.
While these strange words may be confusing to non-native speakers, they certainly make studying English a lot more interesting.
1.According to the text, why may non-native speakers find it hard to learn English?
A. Dictionaries don’t explain odd usages of many words.
B. A great many strange words make no sense to them.
C. The English textbooks they study are usually out of date.
D. They are unable to understand the humor in conversations.
2.With the example of “spend a penny”, the author intends to _________.
A. explain one reason of how some strange phrases were created
B. explain the meaning and background of the phrase
C. show what typical British sense of humour is
D. show British people’s attitude toward strange words
3.According to David Crystal, _________.
A. many of the words that Shakespeare invented were nonsense
B. Shakespeare’s works are boring because of the odd words involved
C. the theatre’s success in the 17th century inspired the birth of many odd words
D. the odd words in Shakespeare’s plays contributed a lot to the theatre’s popularity
4.What is the text mainly about?
A. The development of the British English.
B. Shakespeare’s influence on British English.
C. The origin and meanings of British humour.
D. Some reasons for the large number of odd words in British English.
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
Learning any language is hard, but learning English can be especially challenging. Why? Because native speakers use the language in some ways that textbooks could never describe. In particular, words that British people use cause many language students to scratch(抓) their heads.
Here’s an example: You overhear(无意中听到) an Englishman calling someone a “wazzock”. But what exactly is a wazzock? This word, in fact, means a foolish person, although there’s nothing about it that would help you guess that. There are many strange terms like this in British English – the Oxford English Dictionary would be much smaller without these odd (古怪的) usages filling its pages.
How can these odd words be explained? Part of the answer is the British sense of humor. The British don’t like to take things too seriously, and this is obvious through many British words and phrases. For example, to “spend a penny” means to use the bathroom. It refers to the days when people had to pay a penny to use a public toilet.
In an interview for the BBC’s website, British linguist David Crystal suggested there may be historical reasons for the number of odd words and phrases in British English. He thinks that they began in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. This was a great age for the theater, when Shakespeare and other writers worked hard to keep up with the demand for new plays. The theater’s popularity also created an incentive (刺激) to invent new words.
With this in mind, perhaps Shakespeare and his peers are to blame for unusual British words such as “codswallop” and “balderdash” – which both mean “nonsense”.
While these strange words may be confusing to non-native speakers, they certainly make studying English a lot more interesting.
1.According to the text, why may non-native speakers find it hard to learn English?
A. Dictionaries don’t explain odd usages of many words.
B. A great many strange words make no sense to them.
C. The English textbooks they study are usually out of date.
D. They are unable to understand the humor in conversations.
2.With the example of “spend a penny”, the author intends to _________.
A. explain one reason of how some strange phrases were created
B. complain about the meaning and background of the phrase
C. show what typical British sense of humour is
D. show British people’s attitude toward strange words
3.According to David Crystal, _________.
A. many of the words that Shakespeare invented were nonsense
B. Shakespeare’s works are boring because of the odd words involved
C. the theatre’s success in the 17th century inspired the birth of many odd words
D. the odd words in Shakespeare’s plays contributed a lot to the theatre’s popularity
4.What is the text mainly about?
A. The development of the British English.
B. Shakespeare’s influence on British English.
C. The origin and meanings of British humour.
D. Some reasons for the large number of odd words in British English.
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
Learning any language (take) practice - lots of practice! Often, it’s difficult to know
you should practice it. Should you watch a video? Perhaps, would be a good idea to do a few quizzes. Of course, you should try to speak English with your friends. All of these are great ideas, but it’s also important to build a routine. A routine will help you make (study) English a habit. That’s the best way to improve your English!
It’s important to (expose) to many different areas every day. , you shouldn’t try to study too many (differ) subjects. These suggestions take a 30-minute listening and reading as the basis for daily practice. You are trying to learn many new things, so don’t try to learn too much in any one area too (quick)!
Take 5 minutes to write down all the new words you find in your listening and reading exercises. Keep a notebook, and write in the (translate) in your native language. Don’t forget to learn grammar for 10 minutes. Try to quickly summarize what you listened to and what you read and speak out loud.
That’s it! Approximately 45 minutes a day, every day or at least four times a week! If you continue to do this, you will be (surprise) at how quickly your English improves!
高三英语语法填空中等难度题查看答案及解析