题目内容：

Learning a second language fuels children’s intelligence and makes their job prospects brighter. ________the fact is, in U.S.A, as in many other English speaking countries, speakers of two or more languages are in the ______ . Eighty-four percent of US people are monolingual (speakers of only one language). This leaves a small number who ________ to speak two or more languages.

No matter how proud people are of their cultural roots, to speak anything ________ English is a marker of difference here. That’s why fourteen-year-old Umar is________ when people comment on the fact that he is able to speak Arabic. Umar’s mother points out: ―In U.S.A, it’s not________ for kids to be bilingual. But, if you speak another language to your children in U.S.A, it is thought that you are not helping them to ________ society.

But in fact, the general ________ among experts is that learning a second language is good for children. Experts believe that bilinguals – people who speak ________ languages – have a clear learning advantage ________ their monolingual schoolmates. This ________on how much of each language they can speak, not on which language is used, ________ they are learning Arabic, French, Chinese or any other language.

Vinss Millon, a professor of Foreign Language Training, says: ―A lot of studies have ________ that children who speak more than one language sometimes learn one language more______, but in the end they do as well as their monolingual schoolmates, and often better, in other subjects. The view is that there is a(n) ________ from the effort of learning another language. A few other ________ agree that “Bilinguals tend to use language better as a whole. They also ________ greater creativity and problem-solving ability, and they learn further languages more easily”.

With all of the benefits, why do we not show more ________ for learning other languages? Parents and teachers ________in bilingual education say it is pressure from friends at school, general ________ to other languages in English-speaking countries, and problems in the school system that are to blame.

1.A. And    B. So    C. But    D. Thus

2.A. minimum    B. maximum    C. minority    D. majority

3.A. claim    B. pretend    C. decide    D. plan

4.A. more than    B. less than    C. rather than    D. other than

5.A. excited    B. embarrassed    C. disappointed    D. appreciated

6.A. common    B. unusual    C. unique    D. general

7.A. fit in    B. build up    C. contribute to    D. figure out

8.A. distinction    B. commission    C. announcement    D. agreement

9.A. one    B. two    C. three    D. more

10.A. beneath    B. beyond    C. over    D. of

11.A. determines    B. focuses    C. comments    D. depends

12.A. if    B. whether    C. when    D. because

13.A. rejected    B. released    C. revealed    D. reminded

14.A. slowly    B. rapidly    C. easily    D. efficiently

15.A. outcome    B. improvement    C. advantage    D. tendency

16.A. parents    B. learners    C. schoolmates    D. professors

17.A. display    B. produce    C. inspire    D. discover

18.A. concern    B. respect    C. enthusiasm    D. intelligence

19.A. involved    B. impressed    C. competing    D. replacing

20.A. opinions    B. obstacles    C. senses    D. attitudes