The Birth of a Language (Reading)

Click the link below for the reading passage:

The Birth of a Language


1) According to paragraph 1, which of the following is true?

A) Children often develop complex languages with each other.
B) Most of the world's languages are complex and stable.
C) If a change occurs in a language, it usually spreads without the conscious effort of its speakers.
D) Speakers of a language have the capacity to create social, political and environmental changes through that language.


2) From paragraph 2, line 3, which of the following is closest to the meaning of "intricate"?

A) simplistic
B) perplexing
C) remarkable
D) elaborate


3) All of the following are true EXCEPT:

A) Relationships between deaf children and their parents and siblings were difficult because of their inability to communicate with one another.
B) Nicaragua did not have a local sign language at the time.
C) Post-revolution Nicaragua emphasized education on a national level.
D) Teachers at the deaf schools helped the students develop ISN. 


4) From paragraph 8, the sentence, "The idea holds that, in general, young children can rapidly absorb and master new languages until the age of six; the ability declines quickly until age twelve, and after that any acquisition of a new language requires substantially more effort," can be best restated as:

A) The critical period theory suggests that during adolescence an individual's ability to learn new languages has deteriorated but prior to that point, such a task is less challenging.
B) Evidence that young children learn languages faster than teenagers supports the critical period theory.
C) For a child over twelve years, learning a language requires a significant amount of effort.
D) Children under the age of six are at the peak stage of their language acquiring abilities and this skill gradually fades in the subsequent years.


5) From paragraph 7, line 2, which of the following is closest to the meaning of "baffled"?

A) surprised
B) confounded
C) amazed
D) undermined


6) From paragraph 7, line 4, which of the following is closest to the meaning of "fledgling"? 

A) overwhelming
B) developed
C) new
D) complex

7) Why were Noam Chomsky and Steven Pinker mentioned in paragraph 10?

A) They wanted to perform an experiment by isolating children to observe language development.
B) They both believed that a child who spoke ISN from birth would not grow up isolated.
C) The spontaneous development of ISN coincides with their ideas on language development.
D) The emergence ISN is supported by the research of both scholars.


8) Choose 3 sentences that best summarize the passage.

A) After a revolution in Nicaragua, the government tried to promote literacy in the country, which led to the founding of some schools for the deaf.

B) The deaf children used mimicas with their families.

C) Judy Shepard-Kegl had some difficulty understanding the teenagers of the school she studied.

D) The younger children's version of the ISN was more complex than the teenagers' due to differences in their brains.

E) The development of the language supported some theorists' views that humans have an inborn talent for learning complex language.

F) The deaf children began to speak their own language with no input from the teachers at the school.