Recent studies suggest that early exposure to a second language can produce subtle but lasting cognitive benefits. The size of the effect, however, depends heavily on whether the second language is sustained through adolescence. Children who acquire and then lose a second language by age ten show markedly smaller benefits than those who maintain it.
Which choice best describes the function of the second and third sentences in the text?
- A
They define the term 'cognitive benefit'.
- B
They reject the cognitive-benefit claim entirely.
- Ccheck_circle
They qualify the claim by tying the size of the benefit to language maintenance.
- D
They introduce a different language.
Explanation
Sentences two and three condition the benefit on continued exposure. B captures the qualifying function.