Is learning a foreign language ever easy? Yes. If you are five and move to another country, you will quickly pick up the language. But what about for the rest of us who are no longer five, and need to be polite when traveling for business or for pleasure? I think that answer is also yes. Language learning can be easy if you don’t want or need to learn too much.

The key to successful language learning in my mind is not to set the goal too high. It is rather like running. Even if you run twice a week, you don’t necessarily want to be able to run a marathon (马拉松). You might just want to keep a level of fitness. I think the same can be true for language learning.

Let’s get back to the goal. If you decide to learn ten words in a foreign language before visiting the country, you know that you will be sure to do this. However, if you decide to talk to people with great fluency (流利), unless you are quite a talented person, you will probably fail and give up in half-way.

It is also far easier to start learning a foreign language than to finish. In other words, the better you are, the slower it can be to improve, because you will not be able to move further because of grammar, making sentences, learning less common words, etc. If you are only trying to learn a few foreign words and sentences, you will enjoy faster progress, have more fun, and won’t have to spend too much time.

The idea of learning only a few hundred words in a language, and then stopping, isn’t the usual way to language learning, but it can be a very meaningful and enjoyable activity.

1.In the writer’s opinion, it is easy for adults to learn English if _______.

A．they are especially talented people

B．they don’t want or need to learn too much

C．they have to spend a lot of time on it

D．they have a chance to go abroad

2.The writer believes that if you want to be good at a foreign language, you will probably _______.

A．forget your own goals

B．become a talented language learner

C．get tired of learning it

D．reach your learning goal

3.The best title of this passage would be _______.

A．Easy Language Learning                   B．Hard Language Learning

C．Fluency in a Foreign Language              D．A way of Language Learning

Is learning a foreign language ever easy? Yes. If you are five and move to another country, you will quickly pick up the language. But what about for the rest of us who are no longer five, and need to be polite when traveling for business or for pleasure? I think that answer is also yes. Language learning can be easy if you don’t want or need to learn too much.
The key to successful language learning in my mind is not to set the goal too high. It is rather like running. Even if you run twice a week, you don’t necessarily want to be able to run a marathon (马拉松). You might just want to keep a level of fitness. I think the same can be true for language learning.
Let’s get back to the goal. If you decide to learn ten words in a foreign language before visiting the country, you know that you will be sure to do this. However, if you decide to talk to people with great fluency (流利), unless you are quite a talented person, you will probably fail and give up in half-way.
It is also far easier to start learning a foreign language than to finish. In other words, the better you are, the slower it can be to improve, because you will not be able to move further because of grammar, making sentences, learning less common words, etc. If you are only trying to learn a few foreign words and sentences, you will enjoy faster progress, have more fun, and won’t have to spend too much time.
The idea of learning only a few hundred words in a language, and then stopping, isn’t the usual way to language learning, but it can be a very meaningful and enjoyable activity.
【小题1】In the writer’s opinion, it is easy for adults to learn English if _______.

"Dear Grandpa Guo, we are losing our childhoods! Please help us!"
Guo Chuanjie, a famous scientist, received a letter from a Beijing primary school student. The student said that many Chinese kids have to take extra classes on weekends in order to enter key middle schools. The kid hoped more people would hear his voice with Guo’s help.
Guo is a member of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC,中国人民政治 协商会议). Last month the CPPCC members met in Beijing. They are from all walks of life - scientists, businesspeople, doctors, artists and athletes. They give proposals (提案) on the country’s important issues(问题) to make our country better. For the Beijing student’s letter, Guo read it in front of Yuan Guiren, China’s Minister of Education (教育部部长), during a CPPCC meeting.
According to Xinhua, there were 5,762 proposals in all. Many of the proposals were about problems like housing prices, heavy traffic and food safety, which were related to people’s daily lives. Some proposals were about teenagers. For example, singer Han Hong suggested that the government should deal with people who traffic(拐卖) children.
As usual, proposals will be given to relative departments (相关部门) after the meetings. For example, Guo’s proposal was handed to the Ministry of Education. The departments will consider the proposals carefully and see if they can be carried out in the future.
【小题1】The primary school student thought ____________ with Guo’s help.

Reading is the key to school success and, like any skill, it takes practice. A child learns to walk by practicing until he no longer has to think about how to put one foot in front of the other. An excellent sportsman practices until he can play quickly, correctly and without thinking. Educators call it “automaticity (自动性)”.
A child learns to read by sounding out the letters and finding the meaning of the words. With practice, he stumbles less and less, reading by the phrase (短语). With automaticity, he doesn't have to think about the meaning of words, so he can give all his attention to the meaning of the text.
It can begin as early as first grade. In a recent study of children in Illinois schools, Alan Rossman of Northwestern University found that automatic readers in the first grade not only read almost three times as fast as the others, but also got better results in exams.
According to Rossman, the key to automaticity is the amount (数量) of time a child spends reading, not his IQ. Any child who spends at least 3.5 to 4 hours a week reading books, magazines or newspapers will probably reach automaticity. It can happen if a child turns off TV just one night for reading at home.
You can test yourself by reading something new which is suitable (适合) for your level. If you read aloud with expression, with a sense of the meaning of the sentences, you probably are an automatic reader. If you read brokenly, one word at a time, without expression or meaning, you need more practice.
【小题1】Children with “automaticity” can read faster because they don’t have to think about ________.