“How is this going to help me in my life?” As it turns out, studying and thinking in a foreign language has its own benefits!In a 2012 study, Boaz Keysar, a professor at the University of Chicago in the US, led an experiment concerning the relationship between foreign languages and people’s way of thinking. In the experiment, people were asked to make a choice: Take a guarantee of one pound or take a 50 percent chance of winning 2.50 pounds. When presented with this choice in their native language, most people took the safe option of only getting one pound. But they were more willing to make the riskier choice when asked in a foreign language, leading to more profits overall.In another study published this year, Keysar and his team did an experiment in which participants were given a series of related words like “dream”, “snooze (打盹)”, “bed” and “rest”. Later, when asked which words they remembered hearing, people were more likely to mistakenly remember “sleep”, which was not on the list, in their native language. But it was much less likely to happen if they did the test in a foreign language. As Keysar explained, people have more careful thinking when using a foreign language, leading to memories with greater accuracy.The foreign language effect may even stretch to our personality. Silvia Purpuri at the University of Trento, Italy, looked at people’s willingness to face uncertainty and enter unfamiliar situations. Being tolerant of uncertainty allows people to have more creative ideas and be more open to new things. It turns out that people naturally score more highly on this trait (特点) when they can speak or use a foreign language because speaking a foreign language requires taking risks. The evidence is clear: By learning a foreign language, you’re not just learning a language-you’re gaining a new state of mind.1. In Keysar’s experiment, when making decisions in a foreign language, people tend to be ______.

If you’re studying English or another foreign language, you might be wondering. “How is this going to help me in my life?” As it turns out, studying and thinking in a foreign language has its own benefits!In a 2012 study, Boaz Keysar, a professor at the University of Chicago in the US, led an experiment concerning the relationship between foreign languages and people’s way of thinking. In the experiment, people were asked to make a choice: Take a guarantee of one pound or take a 50 percent chance of winning 2.50 pounds. When presented with this choice in their native language, most people took the safe option of only getting one pound. But they were more willing to make the riskier choice when asked in a foreign language, leading to more profits overall.In another study published this year, Keysar and his team did an experiment in which participants were given a series of related words like “dream”, “snooze (打盹)”, “bed” and “rest”. Later, when asked which words they remembered hearing, people were more likely to mistakenly remember “sleep”, which was not on the list, in their native language. But it was much less likely to happen if they did the test in a foreign language. As Keysar explained, people have more careful thinking when using a foreign language, leading to memories with greater accuracy.The foreign language effect may even stretch to our personality. Silvia Purpuri at the University of Trento, Italy, looked at people’s willingness to face uncertainty and enter unfamiliar situations. Being tolerant of uncertainty allows people to have more creative ideas and be more open to new things. It turns out that people naturally score more highly on this trait (特点) when they can speak or use a foreign language because speaking a foreign language requires taking risks. The evidence is clear: By learning a foreign language, you’re not just learning a language-you’re gaining a new state of mind.1. In Keysar’s experiment, when making decisions in a foreign language, people tend to be ______.A. decisiveB. hopefulC. daringD. careful2. How does using a foreign language affect memory according to Keysar?A. It improves memory accuracy.B. It increases memory recall speed.C. It strengthens long-term memory.D. It requires repeated memorization.3. What is a potential benefit of being open to uncertainty?A. Increased creativity.B. Greater tolerance.C. Better learning ability.D. Boosted adventurous spirit.4. What does the text mainly talk about?A. Challenges of learning a foreign language.B. Advantages of learning a foreign language.C. How foreign language learning influences memory.D. How foreign language learning determines one’s future.