For immigrant （移民） parents， passing on their native languages can be a struggle． "You understand grandmother when she talks to you， don't you， darling？" The girl nods． Johnson met her - and her Danish mother and English father - at the airport， en route to Denmark． The parents were eager to discuss their experience of bringing up their daughter bilingually （双语地） in London． It isn't easy： the husband does not speak Danish， so the child hears the language only from her mother， who has come to accept that she will reply in English． This can be painful． Not sharing your first language with loved ones is hard． Not passing it on to your own child can be especially tough． Many immigrant parents feel a sense of failure； they wring their hands and share stories on parenting forums and social media， hoping to find the secret to nurturing bilingual children successfully． Children are linguistic sponges （海绵）， but this doesn't mean that a quick exposure is enough． They must hear a language quite a bit to understand it - and use it often to be able to speak it comfortably． This is mental work， and a child who doesn't have a motive to speak a language - either a need or a strong desire - will often avoid it Children's brains are already busy enough． So languages often wither and die when parents move abroad． Consider America． The foreign-born share of the population is 13.7%， and has never been lower than 4.7% （in 1970）． And yet foreign-language speakers don't accumulate： today just 25% of the population speaks another language． That's because， typically， the first generation born in America is bilingual， and the second is monolingual - in English， the children often struggling to speak easily with their immigrant grandparents． In the past， governments discouraged immigrant families from keeping their languages． Teddy Roosevelt worried that America would become a "polyglot boarding-house"． These days， however， officials tend to be less interventionist； some even see a valuable resource in immigrants' language abilities． Yet many factors work to ensure that children still lose their parents' languages， or never learn them． A big one is institutional pressure． A child's time spent with a second language is time not spent on their first． So teachers often discourage parents from speaking their languages to their children． （This is especially true if the second language lacks prestige （声望）） Parents often reluctantly compromise， worried about their offspring's education． This is a shame； children really can master two languages or even more． Research does indeed suggest their vocabulary in each language may be somewhat smaller for a while． But other studies hint at cognitive advantages among bilinguals． They may be better at complex tasks， better at maintaining attention， and suiter the onset of dementia （痴呆症） later． Even without those side-effects， though， a bilingual child's connection to relatives and another culture is a good thing in itself． How to bring it about？ When both parents share the heritage （传承） language， the strategy is often to speak that at home， and the national language outside． But when they have different languages， perhaps the most common approach is ‘'one parent， one language"． Francois Grosjean， a linguist at the University of Neuchatel in Switzerland， emphasizes necessity． He recommends reserving occasions on which the only language that may be spoken is the one that needs support． Sabine Little， a German linguist at the University of Sheffield， puts the emphasis elsewhere． Making the heritage language yet another task imposed by parents can lead to rejection （抗拒）， she argues． She recommends letting the child build their own emotional connection to the language． Her son gave up on German for several years before returning to it． She let him determine when they would speak it together． （He decided on the pair's trips in her car to after-school activities， during which his father， who doesn't speak German， would not be excluded．） They joke about his Anglo-German mash-ups and mix them into their vocabulary． Like many youngsters， his time on YouTube is restricted - but he is allowed more if he watches in German． MS Little suggests learning through apps and entertainment made for native speakers， the educational type similar to homework， she thinks． Languages are an intimate part of identity （身份）； it is painful to try and fail to pass them on to a child． Success may be a question of remembering that they are not just another thing to be drilled into a young mind， but a matter of the heart．（1）Why were the family of three mentioned in the beginning of the article？ ____ A． To prove raising a child bilingually is difficult but it will finally pay off．B． To imply that many immigrant families suffer from a similar situation．C． To present a case to set the readers thinking about language teaching methods．D． To introduce the view that culture matters in terms of language learning．（2）According to the article， what contributes to the current problem？ ____ A． That too few people speak a foreign language．B． That children are usually too lazy to learn．C． That many educators do not see the whole picture．D． That some parents are ignorant or ashamed．（3）According to the writer， what is the best way to pass native language on to the child in an immigrant family？ ____ A． The government should make sure schools do not forbid second language speaking．B． The society should stop looking on using second language as shameful or useless．C． The family should set a strict timetable to ensure time to speak native language．D． The parents should try various approaches until the child is willing to learn．（4）Which could be the best title of the article？ ____ A． A matter of the heartB． Keeping it in the familyC． Languages are dyingD． Saving immigrant culture