Learning a second language is tricky at any age (and it only gets tougher the longer
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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.
单选题第1题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.
参考答案：B
答案解析：第2段第一句话的意思是：《认知》杂志上发表的研究表明，如果一个人在10岁以后才开始学习第二语言，那他们“几乎不可能”达到与母语水平一样的流利程度。因此B项符合题意。
单选题第2题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.
参考答案：D
答案解析：A项为儿童的大脑似乎更擅长改变，B项为儿童的大脑比成人的大脑更具可塑性，C项为儿童更愿意尝试新事物，在第3段中，三项均有提及；第3段最后一句话提到，成年人己经形成了第一语言固定的规律和模式，而不是儿童，因此D项不是儿童比成人更擅长学习新语言的原因，故选D。
单选题第3题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
参考答案：D
答案解析：第4段这句话的意思是说：一些科学家认为，人们出生不久就会失去这种习得语言的机会。根据上下文可以判断，“window”在这里指代“流利习得语言的机会”，故D项符合题意。
单选题第4题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.
参考答案：C
答案解析：第4段第一句话告诉我们：令科学家们振奋的是，能使一门语言的习得达到流利程度的关键时期可能要比之前想象的长一些。故C项正确。
单选题第5题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.
参考答案：D
答案解析：题干问的是：根据发表在《认知》杂志上的研究，什么时候人们的语言学习能力会退化？ A、B、C、D项在文中均有提及，但在第四段最后一句话中提到，根据这一研究，17 18岁的孩子的语言学习能力开始下降，因此答案为D。
单选题第6题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.
参考答案：B
答案解析：从第5段最后一句话可以得知，研究人员在线测验的目的是通过分析他们的答案和语法错误，精确地得出关于语言学习的结论，因此B项为正确答案；A项为第4段中提到的内容，在线测验并不是为了证明“能使一门语言的习得达到流利程度的关键时期可能要比之前提出的时间长一些”这一论断；C项“分析他们的答案和语法错误”并不是在线测试的目的；D项“得到大量来自不同年龄段和具有不同背景的讲英语的人的研究数据”也是手段，而不是目的。答案为B。
单选题第7题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.
参考答案：D
答案解析：从第7段可知：让自己置身于浸入式的语言环境，即使没有孩子大脑一样的优势，但也足以熟练地进行对话。因此D项符合题意。从第6段第二句话可知，简单的课堂学习并非学习英语的好方法，因此A项错误。B项、C项文中未提及。答案为D。
单选题第8题Which is the synonym for the word “mimic” underlined in Paragraph 7?
A.simulate
B.diminish
C.adapt
D.exaggerate
参考答案：A
答案解析：第7段这句话的意思是“要给自己模拟一个浸入式的环境”，因此“mimic”在这里是“模仿、模拟”的意思。A项为“模仿”，B项为“使减小”，C项为“适应”，D项为“夸大、增大”，故选A。
单选题第9题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.
参考答案：B
答案解析：第2段最后一句话作者明确说明，10岁以后开始学习的人仍会擅长一门语言，只是他们不太可能流利地使用罢了，因此B项正确；A项“学语言年龄越小，效果越好”，这一点文中并未明确说明；C项是关于学习语言的最 佳起始年龄，文中也没有提及；D项“人们无法达到像母语一样的流利程度，是因为10岁以后语言能力下降”，这与第2段第二句话不符。
单选题第10题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
参考答案：B
答案解析：本篇文章主要阐述了儿童在二语习得和能够熟练运用语言方面的优势，B项符合题意。
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