《2025年实验班全程提优训练高中英语必修第一册外研版》

Ⅳ. (2025·浙江诸暨中学暨阳分校期中)阅读理解
主题语境: 人与自我 语篇类型: 说明文 建议用时: 7
跨学科 If you think English means endless new words, difficult grammar and sometimes strange pronunciation, you are wrong. Haven't you noticed that you have become smarter since you started to learn a 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 earlier people learn a second language, the greater the effect is. A team led by Dr Andrea Mechelli, from University College London(UCL), took a group of Britons who only spoke English. They were compared with a group of "early bilinguals(通两种语言的人)", 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 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 was.
"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 maths skills. "Having two languages gives you two windows on the world and makes the brain more flexible," 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 2 and 34. Reading, writing and comprehension were all tested. The results showed that the earlier they started to learn, the better. "Studying a language means you get an entrance to another world," explained the scientists.
1. What does the underlined part "grey matter" in Paragraph 2 refer to?
A. Information.
B. Difficult situations.
C. Material of the brain.
D. Grey hair.
(C)
2. The experience of learning a second language can ______.
A. increase the ability to learn
B. weaken one's maths skills
C. make one smarter than others
D. change one's brain completely
(A)
3. We can learn from the passage that ______.
A. it is easy for people to learn a second language
B. age has no effect on learning a second language
C. the research on the Italians showed a different result
D. having a second language can open your eyes
(D)
4. What's the main idea of the passage?
A. Our brain is the place where all the information is processed.
B. Learning a second language can help improve your brain power.
C. Every one is advised to learn a second language at an early age.
D. It is really difficult to master English as a second language.
(B)

答案： 1. C 2. A 3. D 4. B