People who learned a second language as children used the same region in Broca’s area for both their first and second languages. People who learned a second language later in life used a different part of Broca’s area for their second language. ____4____ Hirsch believes that when language is first being programmed in young children, their brains may mix the sounds and structures of all languages in the same area. Once that programming is complete, the processing of a new language must be taken over by a different part of the brain.
A second possibility is simply that we may acquire languages differently as children than we do as adults. Hirsch thinks that mothers teach a baby to speak by using different methods involving touch, sound, and sight. ____5____
注释:
1.Now he speaks it fluently,and he had a unique opportunity to see how our brains adapt to a second language.现在他说一口流利的英语,并且有一独特的机会来审视我们的大脑是如何适应第二语言的。adapt to:适应
2.MRj(magnetic resonance imaging):磁共振成像
3.Broca’s area:布洛卡区,也译为布罗卡区是大脑的一区,它主管语言讯息的处理、话语的产生。与Wernicke’s area共同形成语言系统。布若卡区与韦尼克区通常位于脑部的优势半脑 (通常位于左侧),这是由于大多数人(97%)是右利的缘故。1861年法国神经学家兼外科医生保罗.布罗卡(Paul Broca,1824--1880)对一些失语症患者进行研究及治疗时发现此一区域,位于大脑皮层额下回后部的44、45区,故以其发现者的名字命名为布罗卡区。