Question

【题目】Are you trying to learn a new language in a foreign land? You might be better off if you stopped looking at that picture of your family and friends.

New research from Columbia University found that prompting (提示) someone who is learning a new language with images and reminders of their own culture could temporarily ruin everything that the brain was trying to build.

When native Chinese students were asked to talk with a Caucasian avatar (白种人的虚拟头像) and a Chinese avatar, their English skills were so different. Simply exposing students to a Chinese person affected their ability to speak English. Subjects who talked with the Chinese version felt more comfortable in their speech, but they produced 11% fewer words per minute. They actually became less fluent speakers.

To make sure it wasn’t just the avatar, researchers also showed people random images of China while the participants told a story. When pictures of their homeland appeared, fluency dropped 16% and volunteers were 85% more likely to use a literal (照字面的) translation, for example, calling pistachios “happy nuts”, because that’s literally what the Chinese word for pistachio means.

When the students were shown pictures of fish with one swimming ahead of the others, their culture would change how they look at the photo. With Chinese prompt, like photos of the Great Wall or Chinese Dragon, etc. they saw more students thinking that the fish was being chased, while an American prompt, like pictures of Marilyn Monroe or Superman, saw those students believing that it was a leader fish.

The bottom line is: when attempting to learn a new culture it is far better to surround yourself with that culture than create an island of the old one.

【1】Why does the author use a question in the first paragraph?

A. To raise a question.

B. To arouse readers’ awareness.

C. To introduce the topic.

D. To tell a story.

【2】The underlined word “pistachios” in the fourth paragraph refers to ______.

A. pictures B. volunteers

C. an image D. a kind of food

【3】From the passage we can infer that ______.

A. different images would change with different people

B. different cultures would affect how students look at the photo

C. with Chinese prompts, more students thought that it was a leader fish

D. with an American prompt, more students thought that the fish was being chased

【4】According to the research, which is a better way for a student in a foreign land to learn a new culture?

A. To surround himself with that culture.

B. To create an island of the old one.

C. To see random images of China.

D. To talk with a Caucasian avatar.

Answer 1

【答案】

【1】C

【2】D

【3】B

【4】A

【解析】

试题分析: 学习新语言需要什么？哥伦比亚大学的最新研究发现，在熟悉的旧文化环境里，人们说外语的能力会差于在新文化的环境里。熟悉的环境会让人产生原有的思维方式而阻碍新语言。

【1】 C 主旨大意题。文章主要讲了哥大的新研究让人们在学新语言的时候尽量避免原有文化的影响，因此是为了引出主题。故选C。

【2】 D 细节理解题。根据“When pictures of their homeland appeared, fluency dropped 16% and volunteers were 85% more likely to use a literal (照字面的) translation, for example, calling pistachios “happy nuts”,”可知，照字面上翻译，中国人称之为“开心果”，所以应该是一种食物。Pictures图片； volunteers志愿者；an image影像；a kind of food一种食物。故选D。

【3】B 细节理解题。根据“When the students were shown pictures of fish with one swimming ahead of the others, their culture would change how they look at the photo.”可知，不同文化的人在看照片的时候也是不一样的。故选B。

【4】A 主旨大意题。根据“The bottom line is: when attempting to learn a new culture it is far better to surround yourself with that culture than create an island of the old one. ”并联系全文，学习新语言最好能避免原本文化环境的影响，让自己处于新的文化的包围中。故选A。