1) As a little child the speaker spoke little and badly because
he was left alone at home for most of the day
the family were too busy to concern themselves with his speaking skills
family conversations were too clever for the little boy

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2) The speaker’s progress in language development was interrupted by moving to
a secondary school
a foreign country
a new cultural environment

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3) At secondary school the speaker became quite noticeable for his
ability to socialize easily with girls
above average skills in math and sports
failure in Latin as a way to rebel his parents

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4) The speaker was accepted to the US Naval Academy thanks to his physical fitness,
high grades in math and ability to speak and write good English
skills needed for engineering and academic family background
academic skills in science and a textbook written by his father

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5) The speaker chose Russian as a foreign language only because it was the language
potentially useful for the military career
that was rare and seldom taught at the Academy
none of his fellow-students could have learned before

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6) Language studies opened a new world for the speaker because
they led to a lasting passion for Russian culture
the quality of linguistic instruction was inspirational
he could finally read Russian classics in the original

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7) The speaker left the Academy to continue learning and then teaching Russian history and
language
literature
world cultures