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SB • p 6 • Ex 1Optional activity
Extra reading 1.4
Scan the article and tick the best title.
A World traveller B Speaking in many tongues C Learn a language in a night1
Some stories say he also spoke 30 other languages quite well and that he could understand another 20 (for example, Tibetan and Icelandic).Another story says that he heard there were two foreigners in a prison in Rome, so he learned their language in one night and spoke to them the next morning!It’s hard to know if all these stories are true. Some people, for example, ask, ‘How did he learn Old English without meeting anyone who spoke it?’, or ‘Did he really learn a language in a few weeks – or in one night?’ We don’t know for sure, but we can say for certain that Giuseppe Mezzofanti became a language-learning legend.
Giuseppe Mezzofanti (1774–1849) was an Italian Cardinal who was perhaps the best language learner ever. He spoke more than 38 languages " uently. He never left Italy, but he learned to speak these languages without an accent. People from all over the world came to talk to him in their mother tongue. All of them were amazed at his " uency.At the age of 12, Mezzofanti
spoke his native Italian, as well as German, Greek, Latin and at least # ve other languages. Then he learned Arabic, Russian, Hindi, Old English and Maltese. He also learned Chinese. This was the hardest language for him to learn; it took him four months.
Read the article and write T (true) or F (false).1 Mezzofanti could read many languages, but he couldn’t speak them.
2 He travelled around the world to learn them.
3 He found Chinese harder to learn than Arabic.
4 According to one story, he learned a language in a night.
5 He never met anyone who spoke Old English.
6 The stories about Mezzofanti are de! nitely true.
Read the article again. Write questions for the answers.1 Where ? Italy.
2 How many ? More than 38.
3 Did ? No, he didn’t. He didn’t have an accent.
4 Why ? To speak to two prisoners.
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© Cambridge University Press 2016 English in Mind 10e Unit 1 PHOTOCOPIABLE