Unit 5 Meeting your ancestors Language points课时作业

Ⅰ.完形填空

　　Learning a second language fuels children's intelligence and makes their job future brighter.__1__ the fact is, in the U．S.A., as in many other English speaking countries, speakers of two or more languages are in the __2__.Eighty­four percent of U．S. people are monolingual (speakers of only one language)．This leaves a small number who __3__ to speak two or more languages.

　　No matter how proud people are of their cultural roots, to speak anything __4__ English is a marker of difference here.That's why fourteen­year­old Umar is __5__ when people comment on the fact that he is able to speak Arabic.Umar's mother points out, "In the U．S.A., it's not __6__ for kids to be bilingual.But, if you speak another language to your children in the U．S.A., it is thought that you are not helping them to __7__ society."

　　But in fact, the general __8__ among experts is that learning a second language is good for children.Experts believe that bilinguals - people who speak __9__ languages - have a clear learning advantage __10__ their monolingual schoolmates.This __11__ on how much of each language they can speak, not on which language is used, __12__ they are learning Arabic, French, Chinese or any other language.

　　Vinss Millon, a professor of Foreign Language Training, says, "A lot of studies have __13__ that children who speak more than one language sometimes learn one language more __14__， but in the end they do as well as their monolingual schoolmates, and often better, in other subjects."

　　The view is that there is a(n) __15__ from the effort of learning another language.A few other __16__ agree that "Bilinguals tend to use language better as a whole.They also __17__ greater creativity and problem­solving ability, and they learn further languages more easily."

　　With all of the benefits, why do we not show more __18__ for learning other languages? Parents and teachers __19__ in bilingual education say it is pressure from friends at school, general __20__ to other languages in English­speaking countries, and problems in the school system that are to blame.

语篇解读：学习一门第二语言会为孩子的智力发展提供养分，使他们的职业前景更加光明。然而，在美国说双语的孩子却很少。文章通过摆事实、列举专家学者的观点来证明用双语的孩子比只用一种语言的孩子更有优势。