讲解人 · Natasha
原文
It’s long been thought that the earlier you learn new skills, the easier they are to pick up.
But whether that holds true has been heavily debated in the scientific community.
Unfortunately, the idea has helped perpetuate doubt in older individuals’ ability to quickly adapt to new grammar, syntax, and semantics, thwarting the rise of many potential polyglots.
A complex organ capable of constant evolution, the human brain has potential for higher learning after puberty, research suggests — adults and children simply absorb and learn things differently.
That said, children and adults do have their own unique strengths and weaknesses when it comes to grasping new connections.
Children tend to learn new languages more intuitively, may have more opportunities to play and experiment with new languages, and may be forced to adapt without the aid of translation apps or other resources.
Adults can employ custom strategies to hone their language learning experience, like creating their own memorization systems or visualization techniques.
“Adults all over the world arrive at different proficiencies, fluencies, capacities for what they want to do with language, but there is no ceiling to it, “ says Lourdes Ortega, a professor of linguistics at Georgetown University, who herself speaks four languages.
People who can communicate outside their mother tongue also experience a number of cognitive benefits, suggesting that it may be well worth expanding your verbal horizons.
The best way to reap the bulk of those rewards is to start today.
带着问题听讲解
- 如何理解 perpetuate doubt 这个表达？
- 短语 that said 在文章中起什么作用？
- 根据文章，为什么成年人学习语言也有优势？
讲解
重点词汇
it’s never too late (to do something)
做某事永远不会太晚
- 例句：It is never too late to give up smoking.（戒烟什么时候开始都不晚。）例句：It is never too late to mend.（改过不嫌迟；亡羊补牢，未为晚也。）
daunting
/ˈdɑːn.t̬ɪŋ/
adj. 使人畏惧的；令人胆怯的；让人气馁的
- 例句：Starting a new job can be a daunting prospect.（开始一项新工作有时会让人望而却步。）相关词汇：daunt（v. 使胆怯；使气馁；使失去信心）
- 近义词：intimidate
- 例句：Don't be daunted by all the technology.（不要被这些技术给吓住了。）
hold true/good
正确；适用
- 英文释义：to be true or remain true例句：The advice she gave us 20 years ago still holds true today.（经过了二十年，她的建议依然适用。）
perpetuate
/pɚˈpetʃ.u.eɪt/
v. 延长，使继续（尤指错误的、不公正的或危险的事情）
- 英文释义：to cause something to continue搭配短语：to perpetuate injustice（持续造成不公正）例句：Increasing the supply of weapons will only perpetuate the violence and anarchy.（增加武器供应只会使暴力和混乱持续下去。）
syntax
/ˈsɪn.tæks/
n. 句法；句子结构
- 英文释义：the grammatical arrangement of words in a sentence
semantics
/səˈmæn.t̬ɪks/
n. 语义；语义学
- 英文释义：the study of meanings in a language（语义学）；the meaning of words and phrases（语义）
thwart
/θwɔːrt/
v. 使受挫；阻碍；阻挠
- 搭配短语：to thwart somebody's plans（阻挠某人的计划）例句：His attempts to get a promotion were thwarted by office politics.（他想获得晋升，却因办公室政治而受挫。）
polyglot
/ˈpɑː.li.ɡlɑːt/
n. 使用（或通晓）多种语言的人
- 词根词缀：poly-（表示“多，众”）+ -glot（来自希腊语，表示“语言”）
- 派生词：polygon（n. 多边形）
反义词：monoglot（n. 只说一种语言的人）- 词根词缀：mono-（表示“单一，一个”）
puberty
/ˈpjuː.bɚ.t̬i/
n. 青春期
- 近义词：adolescence
that said/having said that
话虽如此；尽管如此
- 例句：The weather was terrible. That said, we still had a great time.（天气很糟糕。尽管如此，我们还是玩得很开心。）
intuitively
/ɪnˈtuː.ɪ.t̬ɪv.li/
adv. 直观地，直觉地
- 相关词汇：intuitive（adj. 直觉的，凭直觉的；易懂的；使用简便的）例句：She seems to have an intuitive awareness of how I feel.（她好像凭直觉就知道我的感受。）例句：The software has an intuitive user interface.（这个软件有一个直观的用户界面。）
employ
/ɪmˈplɔɪ/
v. 使用，利用；雇用
- 英文释义：make use of搭配短语：to employ a method/technique/tactic搭配短语：the vocabulary that she employs（“她使用的词汇”，employ 相当于 use）
hone
/hoʊn/
v. 磨练，训练；磨刀
- 词源：hone 最早来自古英语里表示“石头”的词，后被用来指用磨刀石将刀具等锋利的工具磨快的动作。搭配短语：to hone our debating skills at college（磨练辩论技巧）例句：I took a course to hone my public speaking skills.（我参加了一门课程来磨练我的公众演讲技巧。）
arrive at
取得（成果）
- 英文释义：to reach a result, decision, or solution to a problem例句：The two studies arrive at very different conclusions.（这两个研究得出了差异很大的结论。）
ceiling
/ˈsiː.lɪŋ/
n. 上限，最高限度；天花板
cognitive
/ˈkɑːɡ.nə.t̬ɪv/
adj. 认知的，感知的
- 拓展：认知指人们获得知识或应用知识的过程，或信息加工的过程，包括感觉、知觉、记忆、思维、想象和语言等。
reap
/riːp/
v. 收获，获得；收割
- 拓展：you reap what you sow（种瓜得瓜，种豆得豆）例句：You'll soon begin to reap the benefits of being fitter.（你很快就会体会到身体更健康带来的好处。）
bulk
/bʌlk/
n. 大部分
- 近义词：majority拓展：the bulk of sth. = most of sth.
