Question

It is not unusual for people to speak two or three languages; they’re known as bilinguals or trilinguals. Speakers of more than three languages are known as polyglots. And when we refer to people who speak many languages, perhaps a dozen or more, we use the term hyper-polyglot.

The most famous hyper-polyglot was Giuseppe Mezzofanti, a 19th century Italian cardinal, who was said to speak 72 languages. This claim sounds absurd. If you assume each language had 20,000 words, Mezzofanti would have to learn a word a minute, six hours a day, for eleven years—an impossible task. But Mezzofanti was tested by critics, and they were all impressed.

Did Mezzofanti have an extraordinary brain? Or are hyper-polyglots just ordinary people with ordinary brains who manage to do something extraordinary through hard work?

U.S. linguist Stephen Drashen believes that outstanding language learners just work harder at it and then they acquire unusually strong language ability. As an example, he mentions a Hungarian woman who worked as an interpreter during the 20th century. When she was 86, she could speak 16 languages and was still working on learning new languages. She said she learned them mostly on her own, reading fiction or working through dictionaries or textbooks.

Some researchers argue to the contrary. They believe that there is such a thing as a talent for learning languages. In the 1930s, a German scientist examined parts of the preserved brain of a hyper-polyglot named Emil Krebs, who could speak 60 languages fluently. The scientist found that the area of Krebs’s brain called Broca’s area, which is associated with language, looked different from the Broca’s area in the brains of men who speak only one language. However, we still don’t know if Krebs was born with a brain ready to learn dozens of languages or if his brain adapted to the demands he put on it.

Although it is still not clear whether the ability to learn many languages is in born, there’s no doubt that just about all of us can acquire skills in a second, third, or even fourth language by putting our mind to it.

1.What does the underlined sentence imply?

A. Mezzofanti could remember 360 words a day.

B. Mezzofanti had a special way to learn languages.

C. Mezzofanti’s achievement was ridiculous.

D. Mezzofanti language ability was astonishing.

2.The Hungarian woman became a hyper-polyglot mainly because of her __.

A. good memory       B. unique brain      C. hard work      D. learning methods

3.The German scientist’s findings showed that Krebs ___.

A. had an unusual brain

B. was born with great talent

C. had worked hard at languages

D. expected too much of himself

4.The author seems to agree that ___.

A. it is not hard to learn foreign languages

B. hard work plays a part in language learning

C. there is no such thing as a talent for languages

D. hyper-polyglots have an inborn talent for language

Answer

1.D

2.C

3.A

4.B

【解析】

试题分析：文章介绍了人在学习语言存在的一些现象，有些人能撑握很多种语言，文中举了两个例子Giuseppe Mezzofanti spoke 72 languages. Emil Krebs spoke 60 languages.有两种观点来解释这种现象。一种是有这种学习语言的天赋；他们天生善于学习语言，在大脑部分有不同于常人的地方。另一种情况是他们在学习语言方面很刻苦，他们的大脑和普通人是一样的。善于学习语言的人的大脑是否和普通人一样还不够清晰，但每个人用心去学习三四种语言都是不难的。

1.D细节理解题。The most famous hyper-polyglot was Giuseppe Mezzofanti, a 19th century Italian cardinal, who was said to speak 72 languages. This claim sounds absurd. If you assume each language had 20,000 words, Mezzofanti would have to learn a word a minute, six hours a day, for eleven years—an impossible task. But Mezzofanti was tested by critics, and they were all impressed.句意为：Giuseppe Mezzofanti 是十九世纪的意大利人，能说七十二种语言，听起来有点我荒谬，如果你假定每种语言有两万个单词，那么Mezzofanti不得不一分种记一个单词，每天六个小时，也要十一年的时间，是一件不可能的任务。所以他感觉这种学习语言的能力是令人吃惊的。

2.C细节理解题。She said she learned them mostly on her own, reading fiction or working through dictionaries or textbooks.句意思为：她（The Hungarian woman）她学习语言大多都是靠她自己，读小说，看词典或者是练习本等，所以此处应是通过努力的工作而学到的。故答案应为C。

3.A细节理解题。The scientist found that the area of Krebs’s brain called Broca’s area, which is associated with language, looked different from the Broca’s area in the brains of men who speak only one language.科学家发现，他的大脑叫着Broca’s area的部分和语言有关，说一种语言的人的这个大脑部分与Krebs’的这个部分是不同的，所以答案应为A。有一种不同寻常的电脑。

4.B大意理解题。Although it is still not clear whether the ability to learn many languages is in born, there’s no doubt that just about all of us can acquire skills in a second, third, or even fourth language by putting our mind to it. 句意为：尽管学习语言的能力与先天是否有关还不是很清楚，但毫无疑问，通过我们的用心学习，我们大多数都能够撑握二种三种甚至是四种语言。故答案应为B。

【考点】考查社会现象类文章的阅读理解。