1 . I love learning foreign languages so much that I learn a new language every two years. When people find I’m a polyglot(通晓多种语言的人)，they always ask me,“How do you do that?” Honestly, my answer will be, “I don’t know. I simply love learning languages.”     1     They want to know why they spend years learning even one language, never achieving fluency, and what’s the secret of being polyglots.

    2     And what do we have in common? I decided to find that out. I went to several events where language lovers gather to practice their languages, asked dozens of polyglots about methods they use, and heard dozens of approaches. Everybody seems to have a unique way to speak several languages fluently.

    3     All these polyglots talked about language learning as if it was great fun. They found ways to turn language learning from a boring subject into a pleasant daily activity. You should have seen their faces when they were showing me their colorful grammar charts and handmade flash cards.     4     The methods are various, but they make sure it’s something enjoyable.

I realized it’s actually how I learn.     5     Then interesting programs became my choice. So all is clear. If you don’t like writing words down on paper, type them in an app. If you’re a shy person, apply self-talk at home. This is how polyglots learn languages, and the best news is that it’s available to anyone willing to take the learning into their own hands.

How’s everything going?

Hope you can come to our school to experience the course of Chinese.

Yours,

Li Hua

6 . Learning a second language is tricky at any age and it only gets tougher the longer you wait to open that dusty French book. Now, in a new study, scientists have pinpointed the exact age at which your chances of reaching fluency in a second language seem to plummet: 10.

The study, published in the journal Cognition, found that it’s “nearly impossible” for language learners to reach native-level fluency if they start learning a second tongue after 10. But that doesn’t seem to be because language skills go downhill. “It turns out you’re still learning fast. It’s just that you run out of time, because your ability to learn starts dropping at around 17 or 18 years old,” says study co-author Joshua Hartshorne, an assistant professor of psychology at Boston College.

Kids may be better than adults at learning new languages for many reasons. Children’s brains are more plastic than those of adults, meaning they’re better able to adapt and respond to new information. “All learning involves the brain changing,” Hartshorne says, “and children’s brains seem to be a lot more skilled at changing.”

Kids may also be more willing to try new things (and to potentially look foolish in the process) than adults are. Their comparatively new grasp on their native tongue may also be advantageous. Unlike adults, who tend to default (默认) to the rules and patterns of their first language, kids may be able to approach a new one with a blank slate (石板).

These findings may seem discouraging, but it was heartening for scientists to learn that the critical period for fluent language acquisition might be longer than they previously thought. Some scientists believed that the brief window closes shortly after birth, while others stretched it only to early adolescence. Compared to those estimates, 17 or 18 — when language learning ability starts to drop off — seems relatively old.

“People fared better when they learned by immersion (沉浸), rather than simply in a classroom. And moving to a place where your desired language is spoken is the best way to learn as an adult. If that’s not an option, you can mimic an immersive environment by finding ways to have conversations with native speakers in their own communities,” Hartshorne says. By doing so, it’s possible to become conversationally proficient — even without the advantage of a child’s brain.

7 . How to Improve Your English

Define your learning objectives early: what do you want to learn and why? Make learning a habit.     1     It is much better to study (or read, or listen to English news, and so on) for 10 minutes each day than to study for 2 hours once a week.

Choose your materials well. You will need reading, grammar, writing, speaking and listening materials—beginners can use a basic­level English guide, and then move on to an advanced­level English guide.     2     It will make learning more enjoyable—thus more effective.

Vary your learning routine. It is best to do different things each day to help keep the various relationships between each area active.     3    

    4     Learning English together can be very encouraging. You can find friends to speak English on the Internet.

Relate grammar to practical usage. Grammar by itself does not help you use the language. You should practice what you are learning by employing it actively.

Move your mouth! Understanding something doesn't mean that the muscles of your mouth can produce the sounds.     5     It may seem strange, but it is very effective.

Be patient with yourself. Remember that learning is a process—speaking a language well takes time. It is not a computer that is either on or off!

8 . 假定英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文，请你修改你同桌写的以下作文。文中 共有10处语言错误，每句中最多有两处。每处错误仅涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。

增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号（∧），并在其下面写出该加的词。

删除：把多余的词用斜线(\)划掉。

修改：在错的词下划一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。

注意：1.每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；

2.只允许修改10处，多者(从第11处起)不计分。

As we have learned English for a very long time, we may complain it. We once made a joke which foreigners should learn Chinese. Now, it was not a joke anymore. More and more foreign people are interesting in Chinese, and many of us learn Chinese well. There was a hot show calling Chinese Bridge. I had been seen the show, and I was very impressed by the foreign students, whom spoke Chinese very well. We should learn from those foreigner because they showed us a way to learn a language good.