1 . According to statistics published by the BPI (Buying Power Index) a couple of months ago, digital streaming (流媒体) now accounts for 80 percent of the music consumption in the UK. Despite the incredible growth of online streaming platforms like iTunes, Apple Music and Tidal over the past 15 years, a more traditional medium has also seen a return of interest and sales in the music industry. In 2020, almost one in five of all albums purchased in the UK is vinyl (黑胶唱片), and it has once again become the most popular physical musical medium.
With digital streaming so easy and convenient, why are so many people drawn to traditional records? Some experts claim that vinyl is a physical medium for experiencing music, something tangible (有形的) to hold and own. For most people, having something tangible and interacting with it gives depth to the experience of music. Listening to an album and touching it the way the artist intended can make them feel more connected to the music and the artist. Records are physical products that can be not only displayed but also gifted, shared, traded and passed down through generations.
Sound quality is another hot topic. A lot of music lovers feel that the analogue sound (模拟声音) vinyl offers is superior to modern digital audio, particularly with regards to the compressed formats streaming platforms use. There’s a common belief that old-school analogue audio has a warmer, fuller sound than digitised music. For vinyl followers, the very defect traditional recorders often have, such as the familiar crackle (劈啪作响) when the record starts, bring the music to life in a different way.
There’s a ritualistic aspect to vinyl that a lot of people are drawn to, too. The act of putting a record on—carefully removing the record from the sleeve, placing it on the record player and gently dropping the needle on the right groove (凹槽)—is a more assiduous (一丝不苟的), mindful way of engaging with music. When you’re listening to vinyl, you can’t tap a button and go about your day while the streaming service provides hours of music. You need to stay close to the record player to move the needle and flip the record over.
It’s clear that the vinyl interest is well underway, and vinyl records are truly making a comeback. In an increasingly digital society, there’s something to be said for analogue experiences. Perhaps one of the great things about being alive in the 21st century is our ability to have the best of both worlds—the timeless appeal of physical records alongside the easy access to vast music libraries that streaming offers.
1. What are the statistics published by the BPI used to show?| A．An increase in music consumption. |
| B．The recovery of music industry. |
| C．A comeback of a physical medium. |
| D．The acceptance of online streaming. |
| A．It attracts people by its realistic feel. |
| B．It offers simple access to different music. |
| C．It shares a new way to enjoy music. |
| D．It provides people with perfect sound effect. |
| A．Overlooked by society. |
| B．Updated very frequently. |
| C．Performed as part of a ceremony. |
| D．Kept for a long time without changing. |
| A．Traditional records will get underway. |
| B．The analogue experiences may matter more. |
| C．Vinyl sales will boom with technological advance. |
| D．There should be a good mix of old and new. |
2 . Humans’ overconsumption of resources is a leading contributor to global climate change, says University of Arizona researcher Sabrina Helm. Therefore, it’s increasingly important to understand the choices consumers make and how those decisions affect the health of a planet with limited resources. In a new study, published in the journal Young Consumers, Helm and her colleagues explore how materialistic values influence pro-environmental behaviors in millennials, who are now the nation’s most influential group of consumers.
The researchers focused on two main categories of pro-environmental behaviors: reduced consumption, which includes actions like repairing instead of replacing older items; and “green buying,” or purchasing products designed to limit environmental impacts. The researchers also looked at how engaging in pro-environmental behaviors affects consumer well-being.
More materialistic participants, the researchers found, were unlikely to engage in reduced consumption. However, materialism did not seem to have an effect on their likelihood of practicing “green buying.” That’s probably because “green buying,” unlike reduced consumption, still offers a way for materialists to fulfill their desire to get new items, Helm said.
Study participants who reported having fewer materialistic values were much more likely to engage in reduced consumption. Consuming less was, in turn, linked to higher personal well-being and lower psychological suffering. Green buying—which may have some positive environmental effects, although to a smaller degree than reduced consumption—was not found to improve consumer well-being, Helm said.
The take-home message for consumers: “The key is to reduce consumption and not just buy green stuff. Having less and buying less can actually make us more satisfied and happier,” Helm said. “If you have a lot of stuff, you have a lot on your mind,” she said. “For example, it requires maintenance and there’s a lot of burdens of ownership, and if you relieve yourself of that burden of ownership, most people report feeling a lot better and freer.”
Helm and her colleagues additionally looked at how materialism affects millennial consumers’ proactive financial behaviors, such as budgeting and saving. Examining financial behaviors alongside pro-environmental behaviors provides a picture of how young adults proactively deal with resource limitations in two contexts: environmental and financial, Helm said.
As expected, Helm and her colleagues found that those who reported having more materialistic values engaged in fewer proactive financial behaviors than their less materialistic counterparts (对应的人). The researchers also found that, consistent with previous studies, proactive financial behaviors were associated with better personal well-being, life satisfaction and financial satisfaction, as well as lower psychological suffering.
Understanding how materialistic values impact consumer behaviors, and how those behaviors in turn affect personal and environmental well-being, is important, Helm said. However, she acknowledges that for many consumers, shifting behaviors to be more financially proactive and consume less will be challenging.
1. What do we know about pro-environmental behaviors?| A．They are a cause of climate change. |
| B．They lead to a more satisfying life. |
| C．They vary in different age groups. |
| D．They are affected by materialism. |
| A．ownership of green products brings a sense of happiness |
| B．materialists prefer practicing green buying to buying less |
| C．green buying helps control people’s desire to buy new items |
| D．buying less and green buying have similar effects on people |
| A．Replacing older items. | B．Developing new resources. |
| C．Buying greener products. | D．Being careful with expenses. |
| A．When people develop proactive financial behaviors. |
| B．Which financial behaviors lead to mental well-being. |
| C．Why it is hard to change people’s financial behaviors. |
| D．How materialistic values influence financial behaviors. |
3 . Immersive Van Gogh
From the creators of the blockbuster show in Paris seen by over two million visitors and still wowing crowds in Toronto, the west coast premiere (首场) of the Immersive Van Gogh Exhibit will bring the art of Vincent to life in Los Angeles.
Immersive art is not just a technical way to represent video and audio in huge spaces. The word immersive indicates a deep commitment of intentions which connect images and sounds in a way that the audience is able to experience a different way of the art.
True to its name, this exhibition transforms the iconic (偶像的) paintings of Vincent van Gogh into moving, wall-filling projections. “Immersive Van Gogh” promises half-a-million cubic feet of projections that pull from some of the post-impressionist’s most recognizable pieces, including The Bedroom, Sunflowers and, yes, The Starry Night.
You will experience art like never before—lose yourself in entrancing, moving images that highlight brushstrokes, detail, and color—truly illuminating (照亮) the mind of the genius.
LOCATION
The Immersive Van Gogh Exhibit is located at a secret place situated in the heart of Los Angeles. To be announced before the exhibit opens, existing ticket holders will receive an email with the place name and location once it is made public.
TICKET PRICES
| VIP TICKETS—$99.99 ●Priority access ●Van Gogh cushion (a gift for you) ●Limited edition poster | PREMIUM TICKETS—$59.99 ●Van Gogh cushion (rental) ●Limited edition poster |
| BASIC TICKETS—$54.99 ●Admission only | CHILD TICKETS—$29.99 ●Ages 6—16 (children 5 and under do not require a ticket) ●Admission only ●Child tickets are not subject to change of date fees |
Tickets are available online at www.vangoghla.com.
GIFT SHOP
Stop by our Exhibit Gift Shop to take the magic of Van Gogh home with you! From clothing and jewelry to home décor, children’s books, and so much more, you will find unique and thoughtful souvenirs at the Immersive Van Gogh Exhibit. Also be sure to check out at our online store!
Experience the organic landscapes of Van Gogh’s imagination, and journey through his brilliance and madness in a completely new and unforgettable way.
1. According to the passage, the Immersive Van Gogh Exhibit ________.| A．presents Van Gogh’s art in a modern way |
| B．begins a journey to Van Gogh’s hometown |
| C．displays Van Gogh’s paintings on moving walls |
| D．designs projects on Van Gogh’s learning experience |
| A．An email. | B．A website. |
| C．The ticket office. | D．The gift shop. |
| A．$109.98. | B．$154.98. |
| C．$159.98. | D．$199.98. |
4 . Social Networking Sites: Are They Changing Human Communication?
It is hardly news that people are using the Internet to communicate with others more and more. Some people fear that someday we will no longer feel the need to talk to one another face to face. However, some recent studies suggest that people communicate, or stay in touch, even more than they used to. Whichever side you fall on, what is clear and without a doubt is that human communication has changed in the 21st century. But results of recent scientific studies may have us reconsider just how much our new communication forms have changed our world.
In June 2008, a British psychiatrist, Himanshu Tyagi, warned that communicating on social networking sites could have a negative effect on the generation of people born after 1990. This generation has never known a world without the Internet. Tyagi says that these people use the Internet to communicate with others so much that they may have trouble forming real relationships. Tyagi is concerned that people may start and end relationships over the Internet. Describing the Internet he said, “It’s a world where everything moves fast and changes all the time, where relationships are quickly ended at the click of a mouse.”
Another psychologist, Dr. Aric Sigman, warned of the physical effects that come with using social networking sites. He suggests that the reduction in the amount of time we spend interacting (互动交流) with people face to face could have biological effects on the human body. The results of his study suggest that, without real personal interaction, the body does not react the same way it would if people were meeting face to face. As a result, immune responses, even hormone levels, can be changed. These changes may lead to the development of illnesses, such as cancer.
Despite these warnings, studies can be found that show the positive sides of social networking sites. The results of one study show that using social networking sites has increased the self-esteem (自尊心) of young adults. Another suggests that college students using these sites feel more “connected” with people when they use them. In addition to scientific studies, there are many who feel that the benefits of social networking sites outweigh the possible negative sides. Many people, especially those who spend a lot of time at home, for various reasons, find the Internet a lifeline. They are able to communicate with many people using these sites.
Perhaps the key to this new communication style is self-control and common sense. If someone spends all of his time on the Internet, and never actually sees friends face to face, that seems like an unhealthy way to live. But if someone spends time on the Internet, some of which is spent arranging meetings for “real” time together, then it seems almost complementary (互补的). Balance is the key to keeping communication alive and well in the 21st century.
1. Which of the following ideas may Himanshu Tyagi agree with?| A．Social networking sites harm people of all ages. |
| B．The Internet weakens young people’s relationships. |
| C．The use of the Internet improves people’s immune system. |
| D．The online world pushes people to live a faster and better life. |
| A．It will stop the face-to-face interaction. |
| B．It reduces the self-esteem of young adults. |
| C．It may cause some serious health problems. |
| D．It makes people feel less connected with others. |
| A．Are greater than. | B．Are heavier than. |
| C．Are more effective than. | D．Are more difficult than. |
CP: Central Point P: Point Sp: Sub-point(次要点) C: Conclusion
A． | B． |
C． | D． |
5 . Identifying the chemical makeup of pigment (色素) used in ancient documents, paintings, and watercolors is critical to restoring and conserving the precious artworks. However, despite numerous efforts, scientists had been unable to determine the source of folium, a popular blue dye used to color manuscripts (手稿) in Europe during the middle ages — from the 5th to the 15th century. Now, a team of researchers from Portugal has finally uncovered the mysterious ingredient responsible for the gorgeous blueish-purple color that helped bring ancient illustrations and texts to life.
The research team began by poring over instructions penned by European dye makers from the 12th, 14th, and 15th centuries. They found what they were seeking in a 15th-century text entitled The Book on How to Make All the Color Paints for Illuminating Books. However, translating the instructions was no easy task. It was written in the now extinct Judaeo-Portuguese language, and though the source of the dye was traced back to a plant, no name was mentioned.
However, by piecing together suggestions from the text, the scientists were able to determine that the dye was made from the bluish-green berries of the chrozophora tinctoria plant. After an extensive search, the team found a few varieties of the plant growing along the roadside near the town of Monsaraz in south Portugal.
The detailed instructions gave the researchers critical clues — including the best time to pick the berries. “You need to squeeze the fruits, being careful not to break the seeds, and then to put them on linen (亚麻).” The scientist says the detail was important since broken seeds polluted the pigment, producing an inferior quality ink. The dyed linen, which was left to dry, was an efficient way to store and transport the pigment during ancient times. When needed, the artist would simply cut off a piece of the cloth and dip it with water to squeeze out the blue color.
Once the key ingredient had been identified, the researchers began to determine the dye’s molecular structure. To their surprise, they found that folium was not like any other known permanent blue dyes — it was an entirely new class of color, one they named chrozophoridin. “Chrozophoridin was used in ancient times to make a beautiful blue dye for painting.” the team wrote in the study. “Thus, we believe that this will not be our final word on this amazing plant and its story and that further discoveries will follow soon.”
1. The primary purpose of the study is to ________.| A．restore and conserve ancient precious artworks |
| B．determine the substance making up the folium |
| C．prove the ancient dye-making technique was organic |
| D．identify which class of color folium belongs to |
| A．discussing publicly | B．testing repeatedly |
| C．passing directly | D．reading carefully |
| A．It was essentially an inferior type of ink. |
| B．It was the only kind made from wild berries. |
| C．It could be carried and used easily. |
| D．It was carefully squeezed from broken seeds. |
| A．how the mystery of a thousand-year-old blue dye was solved |
| B．why the researchers took the trouble to recreate the dye |
| C．what needs to be done to make an organic dye from a plant |
| D．when and where the discovery of the dye was made |
6 . Success and Risk in Extreme Sports
What is it that drives some to take extreme risks, while the rest of us hurry for the safety of the sidelines?
Lester Keller, sports-psychology expert, says that not everyone has the mental makeup to do well in extreme sports. He notes that most of us hit a natural ceiling that limits our appetite for extreme risk in tricky conditions. But others have a much higher tolerance for risk. Keller points to a top ski racer. He told Keller that “the high element of risk makes you feel alive, tests what you are made of and how far you can take yourself”. He said he would get nervous on some of the courses, but that this would just make him fight more.
Psychologists note that some people seem to have a strong desire for adrenaline (肾上腺素) rushes as a behavior seeking excited feelings. Like many extreme athletes, Emily Cook’s appetite for risk appeared at a young age. “I was a gymnast,” she said. “I was one of those kids who enjoyed and did well at anything where you were upside down.” As she started doing harder tricks, she was drawn to the challenge. “There are moments when you’re up there doing a new trick and it seems like an impossible thing. But overcoming that is just the coolest feeling in the world.”
Shane Murphy, sports professor, has worked with groups climbing Everest. “To me, that just seems like the height of risk,” he said. “But to them it was the next step in an activity that they’ve prepared for years.” Murphy said the view of extreme athletes is different from our own. “We look at a risky situation and know that if we were in that situation we would be out of control. But from the athletes’ view, they have a lot of control, and there are many things that they do to minimize risk.”
Another aspect of risk perception (认知) may be something referred to as “the flow”, a state in which many athletes become absorbed in the acts that focus the mind completely on the present. “Something that makes you try doing a tougher climb than usual, perhaps, is that your adrenaline flows and you become very concentrated on what you’re doing,” Murphy says. “After it’s over, there’s great excitement.”
People of different skill levels experience the flow at different times. Some may always be driven to adventures that others consider extreme. “I can enjoy hitting a tennis ball around, because that’s my skill level,” Murphy says. “But others might need the challenge of Olympic competition.”
1. By using the term “natural ceiling” in Paragraph 2, Lester Keller points out that ______.| A．extreme athletes must learn special skills |
| B．extreme athletes have chances to take risks |
| C．many people don’t want to do extreme sports |
| D．many people can’t limit desire for extreme sports |
| A．They put in lots of preparation for challenges. |
| B．They are more fortunate than other sportspeople. |
| C．They carry little risk when facing big challenges. |
| D．They have special reasons that others can’t easily understand. |
| A．Extreme athletes use techniques other people don’t use. |
| B．Non-athletes are probably wise not to try extreme sports. |
| C．Most people lack the focus required to take bigger risks. |
| D．A certain state of mind makes attempting an activity more likely. |
| A．risk-taking is something you either naturally do or avoid |
| B．those who take risks are more likely to be successful in life |
| C．extreme athletes are driven by a need to be better than others |
| D．taking part in extreme sports is not as difficult as people think |
7 . In a recent announcement, Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology（MIT）said that they have joined forces to offer free online courses in an effort to attract millions of online learners worldwide.
Beginning this fall, a number of courses developed by teachers at both universities will be offered online through a new $60 million program, known as edX. “Anyone with an Internet connection anywhere in the world can use our online courses,” Harvard President Drew Faust said during a meeting to announce the plan.
MIT has offered a program called OpenCourseWare for ten years that makes materials from more than 2,000 classes free online. It has been used by more than 100 million people. In December, the school announced it also would begin offering a special certificate, known as MITx, for people who complete certain online courses. Harvard has long offered courses to a wider population through a similar program.
The MITx will serve as the foundation for the new learning platform.
MIT President Susan Hockfield said more than 120,000 people signed up for the first MITx course. She said Harvard and MIT hope other universities will join them in offering courses on the open-source edX platform.
“Fasten your seatbelts,” Hockfield said.
Other universities, including Stanford, Yale and Carnegie-Mellon, have been experimenting with teaching to a global population online.
The Harvard-MIT program will be monitored by a not-for-profit（非盈利的）organization based in Cambridge, to be owned equally by the two universities. Both MIT and Harvard have provided $30 million to start the program. They also plan to use the edX platform to research how students learn and which teaching methods and tools are most successful.
1. According to this text, edX is _______.| A．a part of the free MIT OpenCourseWare |
| B．a free computer program by MIT and Harvard |
| C．a Harvard-MIT platform of free online courses |
| D．a free program online for universities worldwide |
| A．Universities have been trying online courses. |
| B．About 2,000 online courses have been offered. |
| C．Over 100 million people have finished courses online. |
| D．Stanford and Yale together have courses similar to edX. |
| A．Get ready for the difficulties |
| B．Get ready for this educational change |
| C．Get prepared to complete the online courses |
| D．Get prepared to make materials for the edX courses |
| A．It is first offered as part of the edX learning program. |
| B．It is another free MIT-Harvard online learning program. |
| C．It is a standard to recognize online learners’ achievement. |
| D．It is a new kind of free online course of Harvard and MIT. |
8 . Round and Round They Go
Space is becoming more crowded. Quite a few low-Earth-orbit (LEO) satellites have been launched into the sky, which are designed to move around the Earth only a few hundred kilometres above its surface. SpaceX and OneWeb plan to launch LEO satellites in their thousands, not hundreds, to double the total number of satellites in orbit (轨道) by 2027.
That promises to change things on Earth. LEO satellites can bring Internet connectivity to places where it is still unavailable. This will also be a source of new demand for the space economy. Morgan Stanley, a bank, projects that the space industry will grow from $350 billion in 2016 to more than $1.1 trillion by 2040. New Internet satellites will account for half this increase.
For that to happen, however, three worries must be overcome. Debris (碎片) is the most familiar concern. When enough satellites were packed into low-Earth orbits, any collision (碰撞) could cause a chain reaction which would eventually destroy all spaceships. One solution is to grab the satellites with problems and pull them down into the Earth’s atmosphere. Another is to monitor space more closely for debris. But technology is only part of the answer. Rules are needed to deal with old satellites safely from low-Earth orbits.
Cyber (网络的)-security is a second, long-standing worry. Hackers (黑客) could take control of a satellite and steal intellectual property, redirect data flows or cause a collision. The satellite industry has been slow to respond to such concerns. But as more of the world’s population comes to rely on the space for access to the Internet, the need for action will intensify. Measures will surely be taken to protect network security.
The third issue follows from the first two. If there is a simple mistake or a cyber-attack, it may cause a chain reaction which wipes out hundreds of billions of dollars of investment. Who is responsible for that? Now the plans of firms wishing to operate large numbers of satellites are being studied. But there is a long way to go before the risks are well understood, let alone priced.
As space becomes more commercialized, mind-bending prospects open up: packages moved across the planet in minutes by rocket rather than by plane, equipment sent to other small planets, passengers launched into orbit and beyond. All that and more may come, one day. But such activities would raise the same questions as LEO satellites do. They must be answered before the space economy can truly develop.
1. What can we learn about LEO satellites from the passage?| A．They are supposed to limit the space economy. |
| B．They are expected to increase in large numbers. |
| C．They are designed to move beyond the Earth as far as possible. |
| D．They are mainly intended to bring Internet connectivity to remote areas. |
| A．depending entirely on the modern technology |
| B．monitoring the movement of spaceships carefully |
| C．strengthening rules to remove old satellites safely |
| D．destroying all the satellites with problems instantly |
| A．Measure. | B．Increase. | C．Spread. | D．Repeat. |
| A．It should be further confirmed for its ownership. |
| B．It should be continued because of its advantages. |
| C．It should be done carefully to avoid potential risks. |
| D．It should be stopped in face of the space economy. |
9 . Alzheimer's AI
An estimated 5.7 million people in the U.S. have Alzheimer's disease-the most common type of dementia(痴呆）－and that number is expected to more than double by 2050. Early diagnosis is crucial for patients to benefit from the few therapies available. But no scans can deliver a conclusive diagnosis while a person is alive; instead doctors have to conduct numerous and complicated clinical and neuropsychological tests.So there is growing interest in developing artificial intelligence to identify Alzheimer's based on brain imaging.
Researchers at the University of California,San Francisco, have now successfully trained an AI algorithm(算法）to recognize one of the early signs of Alzheimer's-a reduction in the brain's glucose（葡萄糖）consumption-in positron emission tomography (PET) imaging.
The algorithm accurately predicted an eventual Alzheimer's diagnosis in nearly all the test cases, according to the study. In PET imaging, a very small amount of a radioactive compound are injected into the body, producing three-dimensional images of metabolism(新陈代谢）,circulation and other cellular activities. PET is well suited for an AI diagnostic tool because Alzheimer's leads to subtle changes in the brain's metabolism that begin years before neural(神经的） tissue starts to go downhill, says study co-author Jae Ho Sohn,a radiologist at UCSF. These changes are "very hard for radiologists to pick up,"he notes.
The algorithm was trained and tested on 2,100 PET brain images from about 1,000 people 55 years and older. The images came from a 12-year study that tracked people who would ultimately be diagnosed with Alzheimer's, as well as those with mild memory declines and healthy control participants. The algorithm was trained on 90 percent of the data and tested on the remaining 10 percent. It was then retested on a second, independent data set from 40 patients monitored for 10 years. The algorithm was highly sensitive and was able to recognize 81 percent of the patients in the first test group and 100 percent in the second who would be diagnosed with Alzheimer's six years later, on average. The findings were published in February in Radiology.
The algorithm is based on "deep learning ,a machine-learning technique that uses artificial neural networks programmed to learn from examples. "This is one of the first promising,preliminary(初步的） applications of deep learning to the diagnosis of Alzheimer's," says Christian Salvatore, a physicist at Italy's National Research Council, who was not involved in the study. “The model performs very well when identifying patients with mild or late diagnoses", he says, “but catching it in the earliest stages remains one of the most critical open issues in this field."
1. People are increasingly interested in using AI to identify Alzheimer's because______| A．the number of people suffering from dementia is more than doubling |
| B．diagnostic methods that are both reliable and convenient are in need |
| C．there are only a limited number of effective therapies for the patients |
| D．diagnosing Alzheimer's disease through AI is still an unexplored area |
| A．It recognizes the worsening of the neural tissue. |
| B．It reduces the glucose consumption in the brain. |
| C．It changes the pattern of the brain's metabolism. |
| D．It photographs various kinds of cellular activities. |
| A．90% of the people in the study were trained on the algorithm |
| B．the participants in the study consist of people both young and old |
| C．81% of the people in the first test group were diagnosed with Alzheimer's |
| D．the algorithm managed to recognize all the patients in the second test group |
| A．The algorithm serves as a promising treatment of Alzheimer's. |
| B．Deep learning has been widely applied in diagnosing Alzheimer's. |
| C．To detect Alzheimer's in its earliest stages calls for more exploration. |
| D．Whether to use the model to detect Alzheimer's remains a critical issue. |
10 . A crucial period for learning the rules and structure of a language lasts up to around age 17 or 18, say psychologist Joshua Hartshorne of MIT and his colleagues.
Previous research had suggested that grammar-learning ability developed in early childhood before hitting a dead end around age 5. However, Hartshorne’s team reports online in Cognition that people who started learning English as a second language in an English-speaking country by age 10 to 12 ultimately mastered the new tongue as well as folks who had learned English and another language at the same time from birth. Both groups, however, fell somewhat short of the grammatical fluency displayed by English-only speakers. After ages 10 to 12, new-to-English learners reached lower levels of fluency than those who started learning English at younger ages because time ran out when their grammar-absorbing ability fell starting around age 17.
Aiming for a sample of tens of thousands of volunteers, Hartshorne began by contacting friends on Facebook to take an online English grammar quiz, which used a person’s responses to guess his or her native language and dialect (方言) of English. Then volunteers filled out a questionnaire asking where they had lived, languages they had spoken from birth, the age at which they began learning English and the number of years they had lived in an English-speaking country.
In the end, the researchers analyzed responses of 669,498 native and nonnative English speakers. Statistical calculations focused on estimating at what ages people with varying amounts of experience peaking English reached peak grammar ability.
Researchers who study language learning regard the new study as fascinating, but exploratory. According to psycholinguist David Barner of the University of California, San Diego, Hartshorne’s team can’t yet say that language skill develops along a single timeline. Different elements of grammar, such as using correct word order or subjects and verbs that agree with one another, might be learned at different rates, Barner says. It’s also unclear whether the responses of volunteers to an online, 132-item grammar test reflect how well of poorly they actually speak English, he says.
What’s more, language learning involves more than a crucial period for acquiring grammar, cautions linguist David Birdsong of the University of Texas at Austin. For instance, growing up speaking two languages at once puts still poorly understood burdens on the ability to grasp grammar, he says.
In the new study, people who were bilinguals from birth fell short of peak English grammar scores achieved by English-only speakers. That’s consistent with evidence that bilinguals cannot easily turn off one language while speaking another, Birdsong says. Interactions between tongues spoken by one person may slightly depress how much can be learned about both languages, even if bilingual communication still reaches high levels, he suggests.
1. Hartshorne and his colleagues found that____ .| A．one reaches a higher level of fluency at age 10 |
| B．one learns a second language fastest at about age 12 |
| C．one gets a good grasp of English grammar before age 5 |
| D．one’s ability to master grammar declines at around age17 |
| A．social media |
| B．experiments in the lab |
| C．literature review |
| D．face-to-face interviews |
| A．language skill develops along a single timeline |
| B．online volunteers do not cover a wide enough range |
| C．different grammar items may be acquired at different paces |
| D．the quiz in the new study does not include enough questions |
| A．They can achieve a perfect grammar score. |
| B．Grammar learning is the biggest burden for them. |
| C．They are able to make a swift shift between languages. |
| D．Speaking two languages affects their language acquisition. |
