英国女子失语2个月,再张口奇迹般拥有4国口音
英国女子失语2个月,再张口奇迹般拥有4国口音

Emily Egan, 31, who went mute for two months after a mystery brain injury, has finally got her voice back, but now speaks with four different accents. Doctors were perplexed after countless tests failed to explain why she lost the ability to speak. And when she finally began to talk again, Emily’s voice sounded nothing like the Essex accent she had before. Emily, from Bournemouth, now mostly speaks with a Polish accent——even in “broken English” at times—but her accent can suddenly change to sound French and Italian as well. If she experiences a lot of stress, her accent will become Russian, and when she is exhausted, Emily can lose the ability to speak altogether.
After months of being confused, Emily has finally been diagnosed with foreign accent syndrome—a rare speech disorder caused by brain damage. Initially suffering from headaches, she went to hospital and doctors suspected a stroke at first, but tests ruled out. Finally, she lost the ability to speak altogether and doctors were baffled. They believe her speech disorder was caused by brain damage, but don’t yet know what happened to cause the damage.
Emily said, “It’s not just my accent that has changed. I don’t speak or think in the same way as before and I can’t construct sentences like I used to. I write differently now, my whole vocabulary has changed and my English has got worse.” 
Emily and her partner Bradleigh, 27, had booked a holiday to Thailand before she fell ill and her doctor encouraged her to take the trip and try to relax as much as possible. Five days into her holiday in March 2020, Emily slowly began to speak again but with great difficulty. “I was so thrilled when my voice started coming back but now I don’t even recognize the voice that comes out of my mouth, it doesn’t sound like me,” she said.

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1.The following words mentioned in the passage can be replaced with each other EXCEPT _____.

A perplexed

B confused

C baffled

D thrilled

解析:选D。词义猜测题。根据四词所在的上下文句子内容可知,艾米丽失去语言能力后,医生们尝试了无数次,却无法解释她为什么会失语,艾米丽和医生为此都感到大为困惑(perplexed/confused/baffled),后来,当艾米丽的声音开始恢复时,她感到非常兴奋(thrilled),故选D。

2.Why was Emily Egan unable to speak as usual?

A Because she had a stroke.

B Because she suffered brain damage.

C Because she experienced a lot of stress.

D Because she got tired in a trip to Thailand.

解析:选B。细节理解题。根据文章第二段第一句After months of being confused, Emily has finally been diagnosed with foreign accent syndrome—a rare speech disorder caused by brain damage. 可知,艾米丽终于被诊断出患有外国口音综合症——一种罕见的由脑损伤引起的语言障碍,故选B。

3.What has nothing to do with Emily’s illness?

A The changes in her handwriting.

B The changes in her way of thinking.

C The changes in her language learning ability.

D The changes in her manner of oral expression.

解析:选C。细节理解题。根据文章第三段可知,不仅仅是艾米丽的口音变了。她不象以前那样说话或思考,也不能像以前那样造句。她现在写字不一样了,整个词汇量都变了,英语变差了,文中未提及她语言学习能力的变化,故选C。

4.Which tip may probably make a difference to Emily?

A A light heart lives long.

B An apple a day keeps the doctor away.

C All work and no play make Jack a dull boy.

D Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy.

解析:选C。推理判断题。根据文章全文内容可知,艾米丽这种语言失调是脑损伤引起的,但是医生仍然不清楚到底是什么引起的脑损伤,医生鼓励她尽可能放松来缓解这一症状,艾米丽听从医嘱出去旅行了一次,竟然神奇地恢复语言功能。但目前,艾米丽仍表示在压力大的时候,她的口音又会变成俄罗斯口音。当她疲惫不堪时,她又变成了哑巴。由此说明平时只有做到劳逸结合,才会有利于她病情的好转,故选C。