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Тест 67. Чтение. ЕГЭ по английскому языку
1)
Установите соответствие между заголовками
1 — 8
и текстами
A — G
. Используйте каждую цифру только один раз.
В задании один заголовок лишний
.
1.
Staying inside for fun
2.
A book versus the Net
3.
Reflect on your morning
4.
Sharing lunch and work
5.
Time for planning
6.
Time for physical activity
7.
Spend time outdoors
8.
Do the things you enjoy
A.
One of the best things to do during lunch break is to exercise. It still may sound a bit strange, but experts say that combining fitness and lunch is one of the best ways to incorporate exercise into a busy lifestyle. Who said that exercise is only for losing weight? Start exercising during your lunch hour and you will feel better and full of energy to accomplish your difficult tasks. Even if it’s just going for a walk or doing a few sit-ups, your body will thank you!
B.
During your lunch break you may do lots of things. You might think that reading a book isn’t a healthy thing to do during your lunch break, but it’s much better than surfing the Internet. Unlike the Net, it does not only keep our mind active, but it also improves speaking, writing, and reading skills. If we had a hard day at work, reading a book without looking at the screen will help keep our mind distracted from problems.
C.
Many people don’t leave their workplaces during a lunch break, but it’s a huge mistake. Your lunch break should be a sacred time. A time when you can step away from your computer. No matter whether you like or hate your job, leave the building and sit on a nearby bench. You can also take a short walk. You will feel much better when you are back from a lunch break and you will have more energy and motivation to accomplish your tasks.
D.
Managing school and work is never an easy task. It might seem impossible to balance all of these responsibilities, but it can be done nevertheless. If you have plenty of tasks, you can spend 15-20 minutes of your lunch hour working on them and have more free time in the evening. Just make sure you don’t spend the whole lunch hour doing your lessons, because having a healthy snack and doing some exercises are still essential.
E.
Having busy days we hope to manage time somehow and complete all the things we need to do. A lunch hour is a great time to plan your weekly meals and food shopping lists, because planning is good for your wallet and your health as well. You can also plan your lunch meals to avoid eating unhealthy food. Your lunch hour is also a wonderful time to plan your everyday jobs and social calendar and you can do it sitting on a nearby bench.
F.
Lunch break is such a period in your life which we can name ‘eternal’. Use your lunch break for something you like most of all, such as going shopping, seeing your friends, or visiting the park or some other lovely spots. Just make sure that you meet positive people during your lunch hour and it will improve your mood and refresh you till the rest of the day. You’ll go back to the office with absolutely different mindset and you’ll work much better.
G.
A lunch break is the perfect time to evaluate what you have done before noon. Try to self-reflect on tasks you’ve accomplished and this will help you feel proud of yourself. Notice what needs to be done, and concentrate on those things. If you haven’t accomplished some tasks, don’t worry, you’ll have enough time to accomplish them after your lunch break just keep a positive attitude since stress doesn’t solve anything.
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
🔗
2)
Прочитайте текст и заполните пропуски
A — F
частями предложений, обозначенными цифрами
1 — 7
. Одна из частей в списке 1—7
лишняя
.
Earth-sheltered homes
Earth-sheltered or simply underground homes are one of those creations by man, which brings him closer to nature. Unlike the normal traditional houses that
___ (A)
, these earth-sheltered homes are built using the shelter of the ground. Earth-sheltered homes can be easily made in hilly areas.
The basic idea behind the construction of such a house is that they are built with the idea of
___ (B)
and each of these homes is built entirely different from each other.
The construction of these homes is usually done according to the shape of the area where the house is built. Their designs
___ (C)
to the nature. The early earth houses which were initially built lacked windows. Modern day earth-sheltered homes though have windows as well as any other facility that the people living there might require.
Some of the major benefits of earth-sheltered homes are that they are naturally insulating. This makes them cool in the summer and cozy and warm in the winter. Another advantage
___ (D)
and are well protected from earthquakes as well as wind-storms. Many earth-sheltered homes are also defended against intruders since there is usually only one entry.
As everything has its pros and cons, earth-sheltered homes also do. The interior decoration of these homes, like placing the furniture or huge paintings,
___ (E)
. These homes also have dark spaces inside and for this reason, lots of lighting is essential.
Earth-sheltered homes are one of the greenest housing designs that combines Mother Nature with eco-friendly
___ (F)
.
1.
are built on the ground
2.
are usually very organic
3.
is being built facing south
4.
being environmentally friendly
5.
building materials and lifestyle
6.
is that these homes are safe from fire
7.
can be difficult due to the construction
A
B
C
D
E
F
🔗
3)
Прочитайте текст и запишите в поле ответа цифру
1, 2, 3 или 4
, соответствующую выбранному Вами варианту ответа.
Показать текст. ⇓
Do different languages confer different personalities?
The advantages of bilingualism include better performance at tasks which involve the brain’s ability to plan and prioritize, better defense against dementia in old age and the ability to speak a second language. One advantage wasn’t mentioned, though. Many multilinguals report different personalities, or even different worldviews, when they speak their different languages.
It’s an exciting notion, the idea that one’s very self could be broadened by the mastery of two or more languages. In obvious ways (exposure to new friends, literature, etc.) the self really is broadened. Yet it’s different to claim to have a different personality when using a different language. So what’s going on here?
Benjamin Lee Whorf, an American linguist, held that each language encodes a worldview that significantly influences its speakers. This idea has its sceptics but there are still good reasons to believe language shapes thought.
This influence isn’t necessarily linked to the vocabulary or grammar of a second language. Most people aren’t symmetrically bilingual. Many have learned one language at home from parents, and another later in life, usually at school. So bilinguals usually have different strengths and weaknesses in their different languages – and they aren’t always best in their first language. For example, when tested in a foreign language, people are less likely to fall into a cognitive trap (answering a test question with an obvious-seeming but wrong answer) than when tested in their native language. In part this is because working in a second language slows down the thinking. No wonder people feel different when speaking them. And no wonder they feel looser, more spontaneous, perhaps more assertive or funnier or blunter, in the language they were reared in from childhood.
What of bilinguals raised in two languages? Even they don’t usually have perfectly symmetrical competence. But even for a speaker whose two languages are very nearly the same in ability, there’s another big reason that person will feel different in the two languages. This is because there is an important distinction between bilingualism and biculturalism.
Many bilinguals are not bicultural. But some are. And of those bicultural bilinguals, we should be little surprised that they feel different in their two languages. Experiments in psychology have shown the power of ‘priming’ – small unnoticed factors that can affect behavior in big ways. Asking people to tell a happy story will put them in a better mood. The choice between two languages is a huge prime. Speaking Spanish rather than English, for a bilingual and bicultural Puerto Rican in New York, might conjure feelings of family and home. Switching to English might prime the same person to think of school and work.
We are still left with a third kind of argument. People seem to enjoy telling tales about their languages’ inherent properties. A group of French intellectuals once proposed that French be the sole legal language of the EU, because of its unmatchable rigour and precision. Some Germans believe that frequently putting the verb at the end of a sentence makes the language especially logical. But language myths aren’t always self-flattering: many speakers think their languages are unusually illogical or difficult – “Only in English do you park on a driveway and drive on a parkway; English must be the craziest language in the world!” What such pop-Whorfian stories share is a tendency to exoticize languages. We also see some unsurprising overlap with national stereotypes and self-stereotypes: French, rigorous; German, logical; English, playful. Neo-Whorfians continue to offer evidence and analysis that aims to prove that different languages push speakers to think differently. But strong Whorfian arguments don’t need to be valid for people to feel differently in their different languages.
Introducing the idea that speaking a second language gives one a different personality the author appears to be
1) interested.
2) skeptical.
3) concerned.
4) persuasive.
🔗
4)
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1, 2, 3 или 4
, соответствующую выбранному Вами варианту ответа.
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Do different languages confer different personalities?
The advantages of bilingualism include better performance at tasks which involve the brain’s ability to plan and prioritize, better defense against dementia in old age and the ability to speak a second language. One advantage wasn’t mentioned, though. Many multilinguals report different personalities, or even different worldviews, when they speak their different languages.
It’s an exciting notion, the idea that one’s very self could be broadened by the mastery of two or more languages. In obvious ways (exposure to new friends, literature, etc.) the self really is broadened. Yet it’s different to claim to have a different personality when using a different language. So what’s going on here?
Benjamin Lee Whorf, an American linguist, held that each language encodes a worldview that significantly influences its speakers. This idea has its sceptics but there are still good reasons to believe language shapes thought.
This influence isn’t necessarily linked to the vocabulary or grammar of a second language. Most people aren’t symmetrically bilingual. Many have learned one language at home from parents, and another later in life, usually at school. So bilinguals usually have different strengths and weaknesses in their different languages – and they aren’t always best in their first language. For example, when tested in a foreign language, people are less likely to fall into a cognitive trap (answering a test question with an obvious-seeming but wrong answer) than when tested in their native language. In part this is because working in a second language slows down the thinking. No wonder people feel different when speaking them. And no wonder they feel looser, more spontaneous, perhaps more assertive or funnier or blunter, in the language they were reared in from childhood.
What of bilinguals raised in two languages? Even they don’t usually have perfectly symmetrical competence. But even for a speaker whose two languages are very nearly the same in ability, there’s another big reason that person will feel different in the two languages. This is because there is an important distinction between bilingualism and biculturalism.
Many bilinguals are not bicultural. But some are. And of those bicultural bilinguals, we should be little surprised that they feel different in their two languages. Experiments in psychology have shown the power of ‘priming’ – small unnoticed factors that can affect behavior in big ways. Asking people to tell a happy story will put them in a better mood. The choice between two languages is a huge prime. Speaking Spanish rather than English, for a bilingual and bicultural Puerto Rican in New York, might conjure feelings of family and home. Switching to English might prime the same person to think of school and work.
We are still left with a third kind of argument. People seem to enjoy telling tales about their languages’ inherent properties. A group of French intellectuals once proposed that French be the sole legal language of the EU, because of its unmatchable rigour and precision. Some Germans believe that frequently putting the verb at the end of a sentence makes the language especially logical. But language myths aren’t always self-flattering: many speakers think their languages are unusually illogical or difficult – “Only in English do you park on a driveway and drive on a parkway; English must be the craziest language in the world!” What such pop-Whorfian stories share is a tendency to exoticize languages. We also see some unsurprising overlap with national stereotypes and self-stereotypes: French, rigorous; German, logical; English, playful. Neo-Whorfians continue to offer evidence and analysis that aims to prove that different languages push speakers to think differently. But strong Whorfian arguments don’t need to be valid for people to feel differently in their different languages.
In paragraph 4 the author claims that bilinguals
1) usually master both languages equally.
2) do tests in their first language more efficiently.
3) think faster when using their first language.
4) improve their second language at school.
🔗
5)
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1, 2, 3 или 4
, соответствующую выбранному Вами варианту ответа.
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Do different languages confer different personalities?
The advantages of bilingualism include better performance at tasks which involve the brain’s ability to plan and prioritize, better defense against dementia in old age and the ability to speak a second language. One advantage wasn’t mentioned, though. Many multilinguals report different personalities, or even different worldviews, when they speak their different languages.
It’s an exciting notion, the idea that one’s very self could be broadened by the mastery of two or more languages. In obvious ways (exposure to new friends, literature, etc.) the self really is broadened. Yet it’s different to claim to have a different personality when using a different language. So what’s going on here?
Benjamin Lee Whorf, an American linguist, held that each language encodes a worldview that significantly influences its speakers. This idea has its sceptics but there are still good reasons to believe language shapes thought.
This influence isn’t necessarily linked to the vocabulary or grammar of a second language. Most people aren’t symmetrically bilingual. Many have learned one language at home from parents, and another later in life, usually at school. So bilinguals usually have different strengths and weaknesses in their different languages – and they aren’t always best in their first language. For example, when tested in a foreign language, people are less likely to fall into a cognitive trap (answering a test question with an obvious-seeming but wrong answer) than when tested in their native language. In part this is because working in a second language slows down the thinking. No wonder people feel different when speaking them. And no wonder they feel looser, more spontaneous, perhaps more assertive or funnier or blunter, in the language they were reared in from childhood.
What of bilinguals raised in two languages? Even they don’t usually have perfectly symmetrical competence. But even for a speaker whose two languages are very nearly the same in ability, there’s another big reason that person will feel different in the two languages. This is because there is an important distinction between bilingualism and biculturalism.
Many bilinguals are not bicultural. But some are. And of those bicultural bilinguals, we should be little surprised that they feel different in their two languages. Experiments in psychology have shown the power of ‘priming’ – small unnoticed factors that can affect behavior in big ways. Asking people to tell a happy story will put them in a better mood. The choice between two languages is a huge prime. Speaking Spanish rather than English, for a bilingual and bicultural Puerto Rican in New York, might conjure feelings of family and home. Switching to English might prime the same person to think of school and work.
We are still left with a third kind of argument. People seem to enjoy telling tales about their languages’ inherent properties. A group of French intellectuals once proposed that French be the sole legal language of the EU, because of its unmatchable rigour and precision. Some Germans believe that frequently putting the verb at the end of a sentence makes the language especially logical. But language myths aren’t always self-flattering: many speakers think their languages are unusually illogical or difficult – “Only in English do you park on a driveway and drive on a parkway; English must be the craziest language in the world!” What such pop-Whorfian stories share is a tendency to exoticize languages. We also see some unsurprising overlap with national stereotypes and self-stereotypes: French, rigorous; German, logical; English, playful. Neo-Whorfians continue to offer evidence and analysis that aims to prove that different languages push speakers to think differently. But strong Whorfian arguments don’t need to be valid for people to feel differently in their different languages.
“This” in “This is because there is an important distinction ” (paragraph 5) refers to
1) a new language to be acquired.
2) general competence of a person.
3) ability to learn a second language.
4) variations in feelings of a bilingual person.
🔗
6)
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1, 2, 3 или 4
, соответствующую выбранному Вами варианту ответа.
Показать текст. ⇓
Do different languages confer different personalities?
The advantages of bilingualism include better performance at tasks which involve the brain’s ability to plan and prioritize, better defense against dementia in old age and the ability to speak a second language. One advantage wasn’t mentioned, though. Many multilinguals report different personalities, or even different worldviews, when they speak their different languages.
It’s an exciting notion, the idea that one’s very self could be broadened by the mastery of two or more languages. In obvious ways (exposure to new friends, literature, etc.) the self really is broadened. Yet it’s different to claim to have a different personality when using a different language. So what’s going on here?
Benjamin Lee Whorf, an American linguist, held that each language encodes a worldview that significantly influences its speakers. This idea has its sceptics but there are still good reasons to believe language shapes thought.
This influence isn’t necessarily linked to the vocabulary or grammar of a second language. Most people aren’t symmetrically bilingual. Many have learned one language at home from parents, and another later in life, usually at school. So bilinguals usually have different strengths and weaknesses in their different languages – and they aren’t always best in their first language. For example, when tested in a foreign language, people are less likely to fall into a cognitive trap (answering a test question with an obvious-seeming but wrong answer) than when tested in their native language. In part this is because working in a second language slows down the thinking. No wonder people feel different when speaking them. And no wonder they feel looser, more spontaneous, perhaps more assertive or funnier or blunter, in the language they were reared in from childhood.
What of bilinguals raised in two languages? Even they don’t usually have perfectly symmetrical competence. But even for a speaker whose two languages are very nearly the same in ability, there’s another big reason that person will feel different in the two languages. This is because there is an important distinction between bilingualism and biculturalism.
Many bilinguals are not bicultural. But some are. And of those bicultural bilinguals, we should be little surprised that they feel different in their two languages. Experiments in psychology have shown the power of ‘priming’ – small unnoticed factors that can affect behavior in big ways. Asking people to tell a happy story will put them in a better mood. The choice between two languages is a huge prime. Speaking Spanish rather than English, for a bilingual and bicultural Puerto Rican in New York, might conjure feelings of family and home. Switching to English might prime the same person to think of school and work.
We are still left with a third kind of argument. People seem to enjoy telling tales about their languages’ inherent properties. A group of French intellectuals once proposed that French be the sole legal language of the EU, because of its unmatchable rigour and precision. Some Germans believe that frequently putting the verb at the end of a sentence makes the language especially logical. But language myths aren’t always self-flattering: many speakers think their languages are unusually illogical or difficult – “Only in English do you park on a driveway and drive on a parkway; English must be the craziest language in the world!” What such pop-Whorfian stories share is a tendency to exoticize languages. We also see some unsurprising overlap with national stereotypes and self-stereotypes: French, rigorous; German, logical; English, playful. Neo-Whorfians continue to offer evidence and analysis that aims to prove that different languages push speakers to think differently. But strong Whorfian arguments don’t need to be valid for people to feel differently in their different languages.
Bicultural bilinguals feel different in their languages because
1) their knowledge of the languages is not equal.
2) languages are associated with different social situations.
3) their upbringing affects their behavior and speech.
4) they are happier at home than at school or at work.
🔗
7)
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1, 2, 3 или 4
, соответствующую выбранному Вами варианту ответа.
Показать текст. ⇓
Do different languages confer different personalities?
The advantages of bilingualism include better performance at tasks which involve the brain’s ability to plan and prioritize, better defense against dementia in old age and the ability to speak a second language. One advantage wasn’t mentioned, though. Many multilinguals report different personalities, or even different worldviews, when they speak their different languages.
It’s an exciting notion, the idea that one’s very self could be broadened by the mastery of two or more languages. In obvious ways (exposure to new friends, literature, etc.) the self really is broadened. Yet it’s different to claim to have a different personality when using a different language. So what’s going on here?
Benjamin Lee Whorf, an American linguist, held that each language encodes a worldview that significantly influences its speakers. This idea has its sceptics but there are still good reasons to believe language shapes thought.
This influence isn’t necessarily linked to the vocabulary or grammar of a second language. Most people aren’t symmetrically bilingual. Many have learned one language at home from parents, and another later in life, usually at school. So bilinguals usually have different strengths and weaknesses in their different languages – and they aren’t always best in their first language. For example, when tested in a foreign language, people are less likely to fall into a cognitive trap (answering a test question with an obvious-seeming but wrong answer) than when tested in their native language. In part this is because working in a second language slows down the thinking. No wonder people feel different when speaking them. And no wonder they feel looser, more spontaneous, perhaps more assertive or funnier or blunter, in the language they were reared in from childhood.
What of bilinguals raised in two languages? Even they don’t usually have perfectly symmetrical competence. But even for a speaker whose two languages are very nearly the same in ability, there’s another big reason that person will feel different in the two languages. This is because there is an important distinction between bilingualism and biculturalism.
Many bilinguals are not bicultural. But some are. And of those bicultural bilinguals, we should be little surprised that they feel different in their two languages. Experiments in psychology have shown the power of ‘priming’ – small unnoticed factors that can affect behavior in big ways. Asking people to tell a happy story will put them in a better mood. The choice between two languages is a huge prime. Speaking Spanish rather than English, for a bilingual and bicultural Puerto Rican in New York, might conjure feelings of family and home. Switching to English might prime the same person to think of school and work.
We are still left with a third kind of argument. People seem to enjoy telling tales about their languages’ inherent properties. A group of French intellectuals once proposed that French be the sole legal language of the EU, because of its unmatchable rigour and precision. Some Germans believe that frequently putting the verb at the end of a sentence makes the language especially logical. But language myths aren’t always self-flattering: many speakers think their languages are unusually illogical or difficult – “Only in English do you park on a driveway and drive on a parkway; English must be the craziest language in the world!” What such pop-Whorfian stories share is a tendency to exoticize languages. We also see some unsurprising overlap with national stereotypes and self-stereotypes: French, rigorous; German, logical; English, playful. Neo-Whorfians continue to offer evidence and analysis that aims to prove that different languages push speakers to think differently. But strong Whorfian arguments don’t need to be valid for people to feel differently in their different languages.
According to the article, the choice between languages for a bilingual person
1) is not important in communication.
2) may influence his/her mood.
3) is of primary importance.
4) may be very problematic.
🔗
8)
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1, 2, 3 или 4
, соответствующую выбранному Вами варианту ответа.
Показать текст. ⇓
Do different languages confer different personalities?
The advantages of bilingualism include better performance at tasks which involve the brain’s ability to plan and prioritize, better defense against dementia in old age and the ability to speak a second language. One advantage wasn’t mentioned, though. Many multilinguals report different personalities, or even different worldviews, when they speak their different languages.
It’s an exciting notion, the idea that one’s very self could be broadened by the mastery of two or more languages. In obvious ways (exposure to new friends, literature, etc.) the self really is broadened. Yet it’s different to claim to have a different personality when using a different language. So what’s going on here?
Benjamin Lee Whorf, an American linguist, held that each language encodes a worldview that significantly influences its speakers. This idea has its sceptics but there are still good reasons to believe language shapes thought.
This influence isn’t necessarily linked to the vocabulary or grammar of a second language. Most people aren’t symmetrically bilingual. Many have learned one language at home from parents, and another later in life, usually at school. So bilinguals usually have different strengths and weaknesses in their different languages – and they aren’t always best in their first language. For example, when tested in a foreign language, people are less likely to fall into a cognitive trap (answering a test question with an obvious-seeming but wrong answer) than when tested in their native language. In part this is because working in a second language slows down the thinking. No wonder people feel different when speaking them. And no wonder they feel looser, more spontaneous, perhaps more assertive or funnier or blunter, in the language they were reared in from childhood.
What of bilinguals raised in two languages? Even they don’t usually have perfectly symmetrical competence. But even for a speaker whose two languages are very nearly the same in ability, there’s another big reason that person will feel different in the two languages. This is because there is an important distinction between bilingualism and biculturalism.
Many bilinguals are not bicultural. But some are. And of those bicultural bilinguals, we should be little surprised that they feel different in their two languages. Experiments in psychology have shown the power of ‘priming’ – small unnoticed factors that can affect behavior in big ways. Asking people to tell a happy story will put them in a better mood. The choice between two languages is a huge prime. Speaking Spanish rather than English, for a bilingual and bicultural Puerto Rican in New York, might conjure feelings of family and home. Switching to English might prime the same person to think of school and work.
We are still left with a third kind of argument. People seem to enjoy telling tales about their languages’ inherent properties. A group of French intellectuals once proposed that French be the sole legal language of the EU, because of its unmatchable rigour and precision. Some Germans believe that frequently putting the verb at the end of a sentence makes the language especially logical. But language myths aren’t always self-flattering: many speakers think their languages are unusually illogical or difficult – “Only in English do you park on a driveway and drive on a parkway; English must be the craziest language in the world!” What such pop-Whorfian stories share is a tendency to exoticize languages. We also see some unsurprising overlap with national stereotypes and self-stereotypes: French, rigorous; German, logical; English, playful. Neo-Whorfians continue to offer evidence and analysis that aims to prove that different languages push speakers to think differently. But strong Whorfian arguments don’t need to be valid for people to feel differently in their different languages.
According to the author, the inherent properties of the languages are
1) imaginary.
2) funny.
3) obvious.
4) complicated.
🔗
9)
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1, 2, 3 или 4
, соответствующую выбранному Вами варианту ответа.
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Do different languages confer different personalities?
The advantages of bilingualism include better performance at tasks which involve the brain’s ability to plan and prioritize, better defense against dementia in old age and the ability to speak a second language. One advantage wasn’t mentioned, though. Many multilinguals report different personalities, or even different worldviews, when they speak their different languages.
It’s an exciting notion, the idea that one’s very self could be broadened by the mastery of two or more languages. In obvious ways (exposure to new friends, literature, etc.) the self really is broadened. Yet it’s different to claim to have a different personality when using a different language. So what’s going on here?
Benjamin Lee Whorf, an American linguist, held that each language encodes a worldview that significantly influences its speakers. This idea has its sceptics but there are still good reasons to believe language shapes thought.
This influence isn’t necessarily linked to the vocabulary or grammar of a second language. Most people aren’t symmetrically bilingual. Many have learned one language at home from parents, and another later in life, usually at school. So bilinguals usually have different strengths and weaknesses in their different languages – and they aren’t always best in their first language. For example, when tested in a foreign language, people are less likely to fall into a cognitive trap (answering a test question with an obvious-seeming but wrong answer) than when tested in their native language. In part this is because working in a second language slows down the thinking. No wonder people feel different when speaking them. And no wonder they feel looser, more spontaneous, perhaps more assertive or funnier or blunter, in the language they were reared in from childhood.
What of bilinguals raised in two languages? Even they don’t usually have perfectly symmetrical competence. But even for a speaker whose two languages are very nearly the same in ability, there’s another big reason that person will feel different in the two languages. This is because there is an important distinction between bilingualism and biculturalism.
Many bilinguals are not bicultural. But some are. And of those bicultural bilinguals, we should be little surprised that they feel different in their two languages. Experiments in psychology have shown the power of ‘priming’ – small unnoticed factors that can affect behavior in big ways. Asking people to tell a happy story will put them in a better mood. The choice between two languages is a huge prime. Speaking Spanish rather than English, for a bilingual and bicultural Puerto Rican in New York, might conjure feelings of family and home. Switching to English might prime the same person to think of school and work.
We are still left with a third kind of argument. People seem to enjoy telling tales about their languages’ inherent properties. A group of French intellectuals once proposed that French be the sole legal language of the EU, because of its unmatchable rigour and precision. Some Germans believe that frequently putting the verb at the end of a sentence makes the language especially logical. But language myths aren’t always self-flattering: many speakers think their languages are unusually illogical or difficult – “Only in English do you park on a driveway and drive on a parkway; English must be the craziest language in the world!” What such pop-Whorfian stories share is a tendency to exoticize languages. We also see some unsurprising overlap with national stereotypes and self-stereotypes: French, rigorous; German, logical; English, playful. Neo-Whorfians continue to offer evidence and analysis that aims to prove that different languages push speakers to think differently. But strong Whorfian arguments don’t need to be valid for people to feel differently in their different languages.
The author concludes that there is evidence that
1) a second language will turn you into a different person.
2) a second language improves your chances to socialize.
3) one’s world outlook depends on one’s native language.
4) people may feel differently working in different languages.
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