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Question

A passage is given with 5 questions following it. Read the passage carefully and choose the best answer to each question out of the four alternatives and click the button corresponding to it. 
To know language is to be able to speak it; even a child who does not yet attend school can speak his or her language. In order to speak a language it is important to listen to it and to read a few pages in it everyday. A child picks up language and learns to talk just as (s)he learns to walk. Walking and talking comes naturally to a child as it grows. In our country, a child may grow up speaking more than one language, if these languages are spoken in the home and in the neighbourhood. we call this multilingualism. A child speaks a language or languages much before (s)he starts going to school. To know a language then is first of all to be able to speak it as easily and naturally as a tree year old child does. Later on the child will learn to read and write in that language. In order to read and write in a language, one has to speak it. But it is possible to speak a language but not able to read or write in it. A baby does not speak until it is nine months old but it understands a few words at six months of age. It has been listening ever since it was born, and even a little before that. So the first strategy in speaking a language is to listen.

A child has been __________ ever since it was born

This question was previously asked in
SSC CGL 2016 (Tier 1) Previous Year Question Paper (11-Sep-2016) (Shift 2)
The correct answer is

listening

The correct answer is listening.

The passage explicitly states: "A baby does not speak until it is nine months old but it understands a few words at six months of age. It has been listening ever since it was born, and even a little before that. So the first strategy in speaking a language is to listen."

This directly addresses the question, highlighting that a child's auditory development begins prenatally and continues postnatally. The passage emphasizes listening as a foundational element for language acquisition, even before the ability to speak emerges. The other options are incorrect because the passage clearly indicates that speaking and walking are later developments, while reading is a skill learned after speaking. The focus is on the early stages of language development, where listening plays a crucial role in comprehension and eventual speech. The pre-linguistic phase emphasizes passive intake – listening – as the precursor to active language production (speaking). Therefore, the answer is unequivocally "listening."

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Similar Questions

  1. A sentence/a part of the sentence is underlined. Four alternatives are given to the underlined part which will improve the sentence. Choose the correct alternative and click the button corresponding to it. In case no improvement is needed, click the button corresponding to "No improvement".
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