首页
外语
计算机
考研
公务员
职业资格
财经
工程
司法
医学
专升本
自考
实用职业技能
登录
外语
CARDINAL MEZZOFANTI of Bologna was a saint who was said to speak 72 languages. No one was certain of the true figure, but it was
CARDINAL MEZZOFANTI of Bologna was a saint who was said to speak 72 languages. No one was certain of the true figure, but it was
admin
2013-12-04
34
问题
CARDINAL MEZZOFANTI of Bologna was a saint who was said to speak 72 languages. No one was certain of the true figure, but it was a lot. Visitors flocked from all corners of Europe to test him and came away stunned. Two condemned prisoners were due to be executed, but no one knew their language to hear their confession. Mezzofanti learned it in a night, heard their sins the next morning and saved them from hell.
Or so the legend goes. In Babel No More, Michael Erard has written the first serious book about the people who master vast numbers of languages. A journalist with some linguistics training, Mr. Erard is not a
hyperpolyglot
himself, but he approaches his topic with both wonder and a healthy dash of skepticism.
To find out whether anyone could really learn so many languages, Mr. Erard set out to find modern Mezzofantis. The people he meets are certainly interesting. One man with a mental age of nine has a vast memory for foreign words and the use of grammatical endings, but he cannot seem to break free of English word-order. Ken Hale, who was a linguist at MIT and died in 2001, was said to have learned 50 languages. Professional linguists still swear by his talent. But he insisted he spoke only three and could merely "talk" in others. Mr. Erard says that true hyperpolyglottery begins at about 11 languages, and that while legends abound, tried and tested exemplars are few.
Hyperpolyglots are likely to be introverted, which may come as a surprise to some. Hale’s son always said that, in his father’s case, languages were a cloak for a shy man. Emil Krebs, a German diplomat who was also credited with knowing dozens of languages, was rude in all of them. He once refused to speak to his wife for several months because she told him to put on a winter coat.
At the end of his story, however, Erard finds a surprise in Mezzofanti’s archive: flashcards. Stacks of them in twelve tongues. The world’s most celebrated hyperpolyglot relied on the same tools given to first-year language-learners today. The conclusion? Hyperpolyglots may begin with talent, but they aren’t geniuses. They simply enjoy tasks that are tedious to normal people. The talent and enjoyment drive a virtuous cycle that pushes them to feats others simply shake their heads at.
The word "hyperpolyglot"(Para. 2)refers to one who______.
选项
A、enjoys learning languages
B、excels on each language test
C、speaks many languages
D、is an eloquent speaker
答案
C
解析
第二段介绍了Michael Erard的书《巴别塔不再》。Erard是一位接受了一定语言学训练的记者,但是他本人不是多国语言通。根据上下文可以推测出hyperpolyglot的意思是能说多种语言的人。
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/LhHO777K
0
研究生英语学位课统考(GET)
相关试题推荐
Advancedcomputertechnologyhas______ananswertoaccurateweatherforecasting.
Therelationshipbetweenformaleducationandeconomicgrowthinpoorcountriesiswidelymisunderstoodbyeconomistsandpoliti
Developmentalpsychologistsoftenciteyellingatchildrenas______andapoorwaytohelpthemlearn.
Negotiationislimitedtothecorporateboardroomortohigh-stakesbusinesssettings.Bybecomingfamiliarwithsimplenegotia
Wehaveknownforalongtimethattheorganizationofanyparticularsocietyisinfluencedbythedefinitionofthesexesandt
ThenameofFlorenceNightingalelivesinthememoryoftheworldbyvirtueoftheheroicadventureoftheCrimea.Hadshedied
Bothversionsofthemyth—theWestasaplaceofescapefromsocietyandtheWestasastageonwhichthemoralconflictsconf
Whenaninventionismade,theinventorhasthreepossiblecoursesofactionopentohim:hecangivetheinventiontotheworld
Thelong,wetsummerhereinthenortheasternU.S.notwithstanding,there’saworldshortageofpure,freshwater.Asdemandfor
(中国矿业大学2009年试题)Solvingaproblemcanbebrokenintoseveralsteps.First,theproblemmustbeidentifiedcorrectly.Psychol
随机试题
一个袋内有100个球,其中有红球28个、绿球20个、黄球12个、蓝球20个、白球10个、黑球10个。现在从袋中任意摸球出来,如果要使摸出的球中,至少有15个球的颜色相同,问至少要摸出几个球才能保证满足上述要求。
A、心得安B、利血平C、安定D、甲状腺片E、复方碘溶液抗甲状腺药物治疗后,甲亢症状缓解,甲状腺继续增大时可加用()
A.盐皮质激素B.性激素C.糖皮质激素D.去甲肾上腺素E.生长素肾上腺皮质网状带分泌
可经输血感染的寄生虫为
根据下面材料回答问题。2011年1-9月,全国造船完工5101万载重吨,同比增长18.3%,9月当月完工786万载重吨,环比增长67.2%;新承接船舶订单规模2902万载重吨,同比下降42.8%;手持船舶订单规模16886万载重吨,同比下降13.8%,比
个人在一生中社会地位的变动情况是指()。
2013年11月我国货物周转总量中,水运周转量占比在以下哪个范围之内?()
Travellingcanbeawonderfuladventure.Travellingbyairplane,however,canbeverytiring.Thefollowing【K1】______(be)some
Bornin1842inNewYorkCity,WilliamJamesshowedlittle______ofacademicbrillianceduringhisschoolyears.
A、Anengineer.B、Aprofessor.C、Amanager.D、Asecretary.C事实细节题。本题询问男士现在做什么工作。由这位男士的回答可知他现在是一家技术公司的项目经理,故选项C为正确答案。
最新回复
(
0
)