Question

People often ask which is the most difficult language to learn, and it is not easy to answer because there are too many factors to take into consideration. Firstly, in a first language the differences are unimportant as people learn their mother tongue naturally, so the question of how hard a language is to learn only makes more sense when learning a second language.

A native speaker of Spanish, for example, will find Portuguese much easier to learn than a native speaker of Chinese, for example, because Portuguese is very similar to Spanish, while Chinese is very different, so first language can affect learning a second language. The greater the differences between the second language and our first, the harder it will be for most people to learn. Many people answer that Chinese is the hardest language to learn, possibly influenced by the thought of learning the Chinese writing system, and the pronunciation of Chinese does appear to be very difficult for many foreign learners. However, for Japanese speakers, who already use Chinese characters in their own language, learning writing will be less difficult than for speakers of languages using the Roman alphabet.

Some people seem to learn languages easily, while others find it very difficult. Teachers and the circumstances in which the language is learned also play an important role, as well as each learner's motivation for learning. If people learn a language because they need to use it professionally, they often learn it faster than people studying a language that has no direct use in their day to day life.

Obviously , British diplomats and other embassy staff have found that the second hardest language is Japanese, which will probably come as no surprise to many, but the language that they have found to be the most problematic is Hungarian, which uses a similar alphabet to English but has 35 cases (forms of a nouns according to whether it is subject, object, genitive, etc). This does not mean that Hungarian is the hardest language to learn for everyone, but it causes British diplomatic personnel, who are generally used to learning languages, the most difficulty. However, Tabassaran, a Caucasian language has 48 cases, so it might cause more difficulty if British diplomats had to learn it.

Different cultures and individuals from those cultures will find different languages more difficult. Therefore, it is impossible to say that there is one language that is the most difficult language in the world.

1.What can we infer from the first paragraph?

A. The question of how hard a language is to learn is only applicable to first language acquisition

B. The question of how hard a language is to learn is only applicable to second language acquisition

C. The question of how hard a language is to learn is applicable to both first and second language acquisition.

D. There are too many languages in the world so it’s difficult to say which one is the most difficult to learn.

2.Which language will a native Portuguese speaker probably find easier to learn?

A. Chinese , because Portuguese use Chinese characters in their own language .

B. Japanese , because it is similar to their own language.

C. Spanish , because it also uses Roman alphabet .

D. Any one but Chinese, because its pronunciation is very difficult.

3.What does the underlined word mean in Paragraph3？

A. A particular situation or environment.

B. The degree of education that somebody has obtained

C. Teachers’ encouragement.

D. Professional training.

4.The author is most likely to agree____________

A. Not Hungarian’s writing system but its grammatical complexity causes problems for native British speakers.

B. Tabassaran is the hardest language to learn in the world for native European speakers.

C. Many British diplomats learn Tabassaran.

D. Learning a different writing system is easy.

Answer

1.D

2.C

3.A

4.A

【解析】本文谈论世界上哪一种语言最难学。

1.D

细节理解题。根据第一段第一句People often ask which is the most difficult language to learn, and it is not easy to answer because there are too many factors to take into consideration.可知世界上有太多的语言，所以很难说哪一种语言最难学。答案为D。

2.C

细节理解题。根据第二段第二句A native speaker of Spanish, for example, will find Portuguese much easier to learn than a native speaker of Chinese, for example, because Portuguese is very similar to Spanish,可知一个当地的Portuguese人会发现西班牙语最容易学，因为它也使用罗马字母。答案为C。

3.A

词义猜测题。根据第三段第二句Teachers and the circumstances in which the language is learned also play an important role, as well as each learner's motivation for learning.老师和学习环境，还有每个学者的学习动机，在学语言中也扮演着重要作用。划线词的意思应该是“一个特别的境况和环境”。答案为A。

4.A

推理判断题。根据第四段中the language that they have found to be the most problematic is Hungarian, which uses a similar alphabet to English but has 35 cases (forms of a nouns according to whether it is subject, object, genitive, etc). This does not mean that Hungarian is the hardest language to learn for everyone, but it causes British diplomatic personnel, who are generally used to learning languages, the most difficulty.可知不是匈牙利语的书写体系而是它的语法复杂性给本地英语学者带来麻烦。答案为A。