Question

Love for language

Very few of us become fluent in another language by studying it in high school. I went to university and then moved across the country, pursued a demanding career, married and raised children.

I made an effort to maintain the little bit of French that I learned in school, but eventually realized that this was pointless.I was well aware that new languages are best learned when young, and that our abilities in that regard decline with age.However, just before my 50th birthday, I signed up for French classes.After I was tested to see which group I belonged in, I was placed at almost the introductory level.When I looked around at my first Saturday morning class, I was struck by how many of the students were learning French as a third, fourth, or even fifth language.

Contrary to my assumption that learning a new language was impossibly difficult, there were people who learned new languages as a matter of course.I found that it really was true that certain linguistic (语言的) abilities fade with age.

While I’d always thought of myself as a quick learner, that was no longer the case. I absorbed new vocabulary very slowly. What I learned one week seemed to slip away as soon as I learned the next skill. I looked up the same words and language structures over and over again.

Now, a couple of years in, I can listen to the news in French and catch 90 percent of it on the first try, read a novel if the language is not too difficult, and hold up my end of a conversation if it doesn’t go too fast.

Who knows what I might still accomplish?

I’ve learned so much beyond grammar and vocabulary. I’ve met people from around the world and all walks of life who have the courage to make fools of themselves in order to learn something new.

I’ve been taught by patient and inspirational teachers from many corners of the world, including France, Eastern Europe, the Caribbean and Africa.

Listening to the news as it is presented to the people of France, I have a renewed understanding of how something can look completely different from another perspective. I’ve learned that a language is not just a set of words, but a way of thinking. But most of all, I’ve learned that it really is never too late to learn something new.

1.When the author took her first French class, she _______.

A. was ashamed that she was learning it at such an old age

B. was afraid of being unable to learn it

C. was curious about her teachers and classmates

D. was encouraged by her classmates

2.What was the biggest challenge for the author when learning French?

A. She found the language structures puzzling.

B. She often confused French with English.

C. She couldn’t learn things as quickly as before.

D. She made a fool of herself when having conversations in French.

3.After studying French for a few years, the author ______.

A. became aware of different cultural perspectives

B. became a fluent French speaker

C. considered listening to news the best way to learn a language

D. can teach others French vocabulary and grammar

4.What message does the author want to convey with the article?

A. People’s abilities to learn languages decline with age.

B. Age is not a problem for those who are determined to learn new things.

C. It is important to hang out with different kinds of people.

D. Practice makes perfect when it comes to learning a language.

Answer

1. D

2. C

3. A

4. B

【解析】

本文是一篇记叙文，讲述了作者50岁生日前决定学习法语，她发现随着年龄的增长语言能力退化了，不像年轻时学得那么快了，但是她还是坚持了下来，经过多年的学习，她认识到语言不是一套词汇，而是一种思维方式，并且告诉我们学习新知识什么时候都不晚。

1.细节理解题。根据第二段中的“When I looked around at my first Saturday morning class, I was struck by how many of the students were learning French as a third, fourth, or even fifth language.”可知，作者在第一堂法语课上发现很多同学都把法语当作第三、四甚至第五语言来学习，这让他很震惊，深受鼓舞，故D项正确。

2.细节理解题。根据第三段中的“I found that it really was true that certain linguistic abilities fade with age.”及第四段的描述可知，作者发现随着年龄的增长语言能力退化了，不像年轻时学得那么快了，故C项正确。

3.细节理解题。根据最后一段中的“I have a renewed understanding of how something can look completely different from another perspective.”可知，经过多年的学习，作者意识到了从不同的文化视角看同一个问题，结果也不同，故C项正确。

4.写作意图题。通读全文，特别是根据最后一段中的“But most of all, I’ve learned that it really is never too late to learn something new.”可知，作者用自己快50岁时才开始学习法语的经历告诉我们，对决心学习新知识的人来说，年龄不是问题，什么时候学习都不晚，故B项正确。