Question

Most people think that the older you get, the harder it is to learn a new language. That is, they believe that children learn more easily and efficiently than adults. Thus, at some point in our lives, maybe around age 12 or 13, we lose the ability to learn languages well. Is this idea a fact or myth(懸念)？

Is it true that children learn a foreign language more efficiently than adults? On the contrary, research studies suggest that the opposite may be true. One report, on 2,000 Danish children studying Swedish, concluded that the teenagers learned more, in less time, than the younger children. Another report, on Americans learning Russian, showed a direct improvement of ability over the age range tested; that is, the ability to learn increased as the age increased, from childhood to adulthood.

There are several possible explanations for these findings. For one thing, adults know more about the world and therefore are able to understand meanings more easily than children. Moreover, adults can use logical(邏輯的) thinking to help themselves see patterns in the language. Finally, adults have more self-discipline (self-control) than children.

All in all, it seems that the common idea that children are better language learners than adults may not be a fact, but a myth.

1.The main idea of the passage is ____.

A．teenagers are more difficult to teach

B．Danish teenagers can learn Swedish faster than younger children

C．a(chǎn)dults are more logical than children

D．the ability to learn languages increases with age

2.According to the passage, teenagers can learn a foreign language _____ than younger children.

A．harder                               B．more efficiently

C．more slowly                           D．more carefully

3.Which of the following possible explanations for older student’s better achievement is not mentioned in the above passage?

A．Adults know more about the world.         B．Adults can use logical thinking

C．Adults have more self-discipline.            D．Adults can read better.

 

Answer 1

【答案】

1.D

2.B

3.D

【解析】

試題分析：本文通過兩個研究告訴我們一個人學(xué)習(xí)語言的能力是隨著年齡的增加而增加的。

1.D 主旨大意題。根據(jù)第二段中的兩個研究結(jié)果和第六行the ability to learn increased as the age increased, from childhood to adulthood.說明本文講述的是學(xué)習(xí)語言的能力是隨著年齡的增加而增加的，故D正確。

2.B 細節(jié)題。根據(jù)第二段2,3,4行One report, on 2,000 Danish children studying Swedish, concluded that the teenagers learned more, in less time, than the younger children.說明年輕人學(xué)習(xí)語言比孩子要快，要更好。故B正確。

3.D 細節(jié)題。根據(jù)文章第二段最后五行For one thing, adults know more about the world and therefore are able to understand meanings more easily than children. Moreover, adults can use logical(邏輯的) thinking to help themselves see patterns in the language. Finally, adults have more self-discipline (self-control) than children.

說明ABC三項都是優(yōu)勢，只有D項沒有提及。

考點：考查調(diào)查報告類短文

點評：本文以細節(jié)題的考查為主，細節(jié)題是針對文中某個細節(jié)、某句話或某部分具體內(nèi)容設(shè)置問題，正確答案的根據(jù)一定可以在原文中找到，即原文的改寫往往成為正確選項。通常細節(jié)題的正確選項有以下特征：

1、對原文句子中的關(guān)鍵詞進行替換。把原文中的一些詞換成意義相近的詞，成為正確選項。

2、詞性或者語態(tài)的變化。把原文中的一些詞變換一下詞性，或者改變原文句子的語態(tài)，給考生制造障礙。

3、語言簡化。把原文中的復(fù)雜語言現(xiàn)象進行簡化，成為正確答案。

4、正話反說。把原文中的意思反過來表達而成為正確選項(適用于尋找錯誤選項的題目)。