Speaking two languages rather than just one has obvious practical benefits in an increasingly globalized world．But in recent years, scientists have begun to show that the advantages of bilingualism （雙語(yǔ)能力） are even more important than being able to converse with a wider range of people．Being bilingual, it turns out, makes you smarter．It can have a deep effect on your brain, improving skills not related to language and even protecting against a serious mental disorder in old age．
This view of bilingualism is different from the understanding of bilingualism through much of the 20th century．Researchers, educators and policy makers long considered a second language to be an interruption that prevented a child's school work and ability to think and understand things．They were not wrong about the interruption: there is ample evidence that in a bilingual \s brain both language systems are active even when he is using only one language, thus creating situations in which one system disturbs the other．But this interruption, researchers are finding out, isn't so much a disturbance．It forces the brain to solve inside conflict, giving the mind a workout that strengthens its thinking muscles．
The key difference between bilinguals and monolinguals may be more basic: a heightened ability to monitor the environment．"Bilinguals have to switch languages quite often—you may talk to your father in one language and to your mother in another language," says Albert Costa, a researcher at the University of Pompea Fabra in Spain．
"It requires keeping track of changes around you in the same way that we monitor our surroundings when driving．" In a study comparing German-Italian bilinguals with Italian monolinguals on monitoring tasks, Mr．Costa and his colleagues found that the bilingual subjects not only performed better, but they also did so with less activity in parts of the brain involved in monitoring, showing that they did better in it．
【小題1】From the passage we can learn that experts used to believe that ______．

A．interruption forced a bilingual's brain to strengthen its thinking ability
B．a(chǎn) second language stopped children's studying as well as mental development
C．using two languages annoyed the children who have trouble in learning skills
D．language systems were busy in a bilingual's brain when he was using languages
【小題2】The underlined word "switch" in Paragraph 3 probably means "______"．
A．change B．use C．speak D．study
【小題3】What is the author's attitude towards bilingualism?
A．Cautious． B．Doubtful． C．Concerned． D．Favourable．
【小題4】Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?
A．How Bilinguals Use Languages
B．What Bilingualism Is Really about
C．Why Bilinguals Are More Intelligent
D．When People Learn a Second Language


【小題1】B
【小題2】A
【小題3】D
【小題4】C

解析試題分析：近些年來(lái)，科學(xué)家開(kāi)始證明具備雙語(yǔ)學(xué)習(xí)能力者有著更多的優(yōu)勢(shì)。這種雙語(yǔ)的使用除了使他們能與更大范圍的人進(jìn)行交流以外，還能夠使人更加聰明、思維更加敏捷，而且還能夠有效預(yù)防年老后的神經(jīng)紊亂。
【小題1】B細(xì)節(jié)理解題。文章第二段內(nèi)容提到considered a second language to be an interruption that prevented a child's school work and ability to think and understand things在二十世紀(jì)一些研究人員和教育家都一致認(rèn)為第二語(yǔ)言的學(xué)習(xí)會(huì)干擾兒童的學(xué)業(yè)、會(huì)影響思維和理解能力，答案選B。
【小題2】A細(xì)節(jié)理解題。破折號(hào)在句中起解釋說(shuō)明作用，根據(jù)破折號(hào)后面—you may talk to your father in one language and to your mother in another language可以推斷switch指的是兩種語(yǔ)言間的轉(zhuǎn)換，答案選A。
【小題3】D 推理判斷題。根據(jù)文章第一段開(kāi)頭Speaking two languages rather than just one has obvious practical benefits in an increasingly globalized world．以及下文中一些積極性詞匯makes you smarter、makes you smarter可以判斷作者對(duì)此持贊同態(tài)度，選D。
【小題4】C主旨大意題。作者在文章開(kāi)頭提出說(shuō)兩種語(yǔ)言的好處，然后在下文分析為什么講雙語(yǔ)的人要比單一語(yǔ)言者頭腦更為靈活，思維更加敏捷，由此推斷C選項(xiàng)內(nèi)容更能體現(xiàn)文章中心，答案選C。
考點(diǎn)：考查科學(xué)知識(shí)類短文閱讀。

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Online Communication
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【小題1】The underlined word "synthetics" probably means_________.

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Everyone has heard of the San Andreas fault （斷層）, which constantly threatens California and the West Coast with earthquakes. But how many people know about the equally serious New Madrid fault in Missouri?
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The New Madrid fault, on the other hand, is a vertical fault; at some points, possibly hundreds of millions of years ago, rock was pushed up toward the surface, probably by volcanoes under the surface. Suddenly, the volcanoes cooled and the rock collapsed, leaving huge cracks. Even now, the rock continues to settle downwards, and sudden sinking motions cause earthquakes in the region. The fault itself, a large crack in this layer of rock, with dozens of other cracks that split off from it, extends from northeast Arkansas through Missouri and into southern Illinois.
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