题目内容
Learning a second language fuels children’s intelligence and makes their job prospects brighter. _______ the fact is, in U.S.A, as in many other English speaking countries, speakers of two or more languages are in the ______. Eighty-four per cent of US people are monolingual (speakers of only one language). This leaves a small number who ______ to speak two or more languages.
No matter how proud people are of their cultural roots, to speak anything ______ English is a marker of difference here. That’s why fourteen-year-old Umar is ______ when people comment on the fact that he is able to speak Arabic. Umar’s mother points out: “In U.S.A, it’s not ______ for kids to be bilingual. But, if you speak another language to your children in U.S.A, it is thought that you are not helping them to ______ society.”
But in fact, the general ______ among experts is that learning a second language is good for children. Experts believe that bilinguals – people who speak ______ languages – have a clear learning advantage ____ their monolingual schoolmates. This ______ on how much of each language they can speak, not on which language is used, ______ they are learning Arabic, French, Chinese or any other language.
Vinss Millon, a professor of Foreign Language Training, says: “A lot of studies have ______ that children who speak more than one language sometimes learn one language more ______, but in the end they do as well as their monolingual schoolmates, and often better, in other subjects.”
The view is that there is a(n) ______ from the effort of learning another language. A few other _______ agree that “Bilinguals tend to use language better as a whole. They also ______ greater creativity and problem-solving ability, and they learn further languages more easily”.
With all of the benefits, why do we not show more ______ for learning other languages? Parents and teachers ______ in bilingual education say it is pressure from friends at school, general ______ to other languages in English-speaking countries, and problems in the school system that are to blame.
1.A. And B. So C. But D. Thus
2.A. minimum B. maximum C. minority D. majority
3.A. claim B. pretend C. decide D. plan
4.A. more than B. less than C. rather than D. other than
5.A. excited B. embarrassed C. disappointed D. appreciated
6.A. common B. unusual C. unique D. general
7.A. fit in B. build up C. contribute to D. figure out
8.A. distinction B. commission C. announcement D. agreement
9.A. one B. two C. three D. more
10.A. beneath B. beyond C. over D. of
11.A. determines B. focuses C. comments D. depends
12.A. if B. whether C. when D. because
13.A. rejected B. released C. revealed D. reminded
14.A. slowly B. rapidly C. easily D. efficiently
15.A. outcome B. improvement C. advantage D. tendency
16.A. parents B. learners C. schoolmates D. professors
17.A. display B. produce C. inspire D. discover
18.A. concern B. respect C. enthusiasm D. intelligence
19.A. involved B. impressed C. competing D. replacing
20.A. opinions B. obstacles C. senses D. attitudes
