Why The Dutch Are So Good At English
① They're overwhelmingly tall. They ride their bikes everywhere (without helmets). And now, they’re ranked number one in English.
overwhelmingly [ˈˌoʊvərˈ(h)wɛlmɪŋli] adv. 压倒性地；以压倒多数
helmet [ˈhɛlmət] 头盔，盔甲
rank [ræŋk] 排名
② In a recent survey on English skills, the Netherlands came first out of 72 (non-English speaking) countries. Ninety percent of respondents in the Netherlands claim to know English ‘quite well’. These results beg the question: Why are the Dutch so good at English?
recent [ˈris(ə)nt] adj. 不久前的；最新的；最近的
survey [ˈsərˌveɪ] n. 调查；测绘；测绘图；房屋检测；房屋检测报告；概述；审视vt. 对⋯进行调查；向⋯调查；对⋯进行
skill [skɪl] n. 能力；专长
respondents [rəˈspɑndənt] n. 被告
claim [kleɪm] vt. 要求⋯的所有权；认领；声称； vi. 索赔；向政府申请救济 n. 所有权；声称；索赔；
beg [bɛɡ] vi. 乞讨；恳求 vt. 乞讨；请求；恳求；回避
③ Only 28 million people in the world speak Dutch, - that's not many at all. When you speak a language like English, Mandarin, Spanish, Arabic or French, you have hundreds of millions of people in the world who speak your language.
④ If you speak a language like Dutch and nothing else, then you are restricting yourself to a fairly small amount of media and reading material. Dutch people feel the need to learn English out of necessity as they do not want to limit themselves to the media of the Dutch speaking world.
restrict [rəˈstrɪkt] vt. 限制 v. 约束自己
fairly [ˈfɛrli] adv. 相当；公正地；合理地；简直
⑤ As well as this, the Netherlands doesn't dub foreign language TV and movies. As a result, Dutch children grow up hearing English in popular culture from a very early age.
dub [dəb] vt. 为⋯配音；混录；给⋯起绰号；把⋯称为
⑥ Last but not least the Dutch can also thank their ancestors for their exceptional ability when it comes to speaking English.
least [list] adj. 最小的；最少的；最轻微的 adv. 最低限度地 adv.phr 至少；无论如何
ancestor [ˈænˌsɛstər] n. 祖先；原型
exceptional [ˌɪkˈsɛpʃ(ə)n(ə)l] adj. 例外的；不同寻常的；异常的；杰出的；
⑦ The Dutch and English language share the same roots and have similar characteristics, making it easier for Dutch people learning English. Dat is goed nieuws! (That is good news!)
roots [rut] n. 根；根（部）；起因；根源；词根npl. 根 vt. 使⋯生根；使⋯根深蒂固 vi. 生根；翻找；用嘴拱土觅食
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