嘉兴市第一中学2015学年第二学期高二英语期中考(2)

language?

According to a new study by a British university, learning a second language can lead to an increase in your brain power. Researchers found that learning other languages changes grey matter. This is the area of the brain which processes information. It is similar to the way that exercise builds muscles.

The study also found the effect is greater the younger people learn a second language.

A team led by Dr Andrea Mechelli, from University College London, took a group of Britons who only spoke English. They were compared with a group of “early bilinguals” (能说两种语言的人)who had learnt a second language before the age of five, as well as a number of later learners. Scans showed that grey matter density(密度) in the brain was greater in bilinguals than in people without a second language. But the longer a person waited before mastering a new language, the smaller the difference.

“Our findings suggest that the structure of the brain is changed by the experience of learning a second language,” said the scientists.

It means that the change itself increases the ability to learn.

Professor Dylan Vaughan Jones of the University of Wales, has researched the link between bilingualism and math skills. “Having two languages gives you two windows on the world and makes the brain more flexible(灵活的),” he said. “You are actually going beyond language and have a better understanding of different ideas.”

The findings were matched in a study of native Italian speakers who had learned English as a second language between the ages of the two and thirty-four. Reading, writing, and comprehension were all tested. The results showed that the younger they started to learn, the better. “Studying a language means you get an entrance to another world,” explained the scientists.

24. What did the researchers at UCL find about the effect of learning a second language on the human brain?

A. It will build up muscles that make people smarter.

B. It will change the grey matter in the brain to a different shape.

C. It will develop the area of brain where information is processed.

D. It will change the size of the grey matter, which makes people clever.

25. The meaning of the sentence “the longer a person waited before mastering a new language, the smaller the difference” is _______

A. the grey matter density in the brain of the early second language learners is greater than that of people without a second language.

B. there is no difference between the grey matter density in the brain of later learners and that of people without a second language.

C. the difference of the grey matter density in the brain tends to be smaller between the later learners and the people without a second language.

D. people should take long to learn a second language in order to have greater grey matter density in the brain.