If English means endless new words, difficult grammar and sometimes strange pronunciation, you are wrong. Haven’t you noticed that you have become smarter since you started to learn a language?
According to a new study by a British university, learning a second language can lead to an increase in your brain power. Researchers found that learning other languages changes grey matter(（中枢神经系统的）灰白质). This is the area of the brain which processes(加工,处理) information. It is similar to the way that exercise builds muscles.
The study also found the effect is greater when the younger people learn a second language.
A team led by Dr Andrea Mechelli, from University College London, took a group of Britons who only spoke English. They were compared with a group of “early bilinguals ” who had learnt a second language before the age of five, as well as a number of later learners.
Scans showed that grey matter density(密度) in the brain was greater in bilinguals than in people without a second language. But the longer a person waited before mastering a new language, the smaller the difference.
“Our findings suggest that the structure of the brain is changed by the experience of learning a second language,” said the scientists.
It means that the change itself increases the ability to learn.
Professor Dylan Vaughan Jones of the University of Wales has researched the link between bilingualism and maths skills. “Having two languages gives you two windows on the world and makes the brain more flexible,” he said. “You are actually going beyond language and have a better understanding of different ideas.”
The findings were matched in a study of native Italian speakers who had learned English as a second language between the ages of 2 and 34. Reading, writing, and comprehension were all tested. The results showed that the younger they started to learn, the better. “Studying a language means you get an entrance to another world,” explained the scientists.
The main subject talked about in this passage is ________.

A．science on learning a second language

B．language learning and the increase in one’s brain power.

C．man’s ability of learning a second language

D．language learning and the study of maths

In the second paragraph, the writer mentions exercise in order to _____.

A．say language is also a kind of physical labour

B．prove that one needs more practice when he or she is learning a language

C．make people believe language learning helps grey matter work well

D．to show the importance of using the language when you learn it.

What change can we get during the experience of learning a second language?

A．The increase of the ability to learn.

B．The development of muscles.

C．The improvement of strange pronunciation.

D．A worse understanding of different ideas.

We may know from the scientific findings that _______.

A．there is no difference between a later second language learner and one who doesn’t know a second language

B．the experience of learning a second language has a bad effect on people’s brain

C．the ability of learning a second language is changing all the time

D．the earlier you start to learn a second language, the higher the grey matter density is

In the last two paragraphs, the author wants to tell us that ______.

A．learning a second language is the same as studying maths

B．Italian is the best choice for you as a second language

C．early learning of a second language helps you a great deal in studying other subjects

D．you’d better start to learn a second language between 2 and 34

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