A recent survey has shown that today, very few people learn a language foreign to their own. There is no scientific evidence to prove that our linguistic skills are experiencing deterioration. When the same survey was conducted 40 years ago, the results showed that people were twice as likely to learn a new language as they are today, even after the age of 50. It is quite clear that being proficient in another language other than one's native tongue is not as fascinating as it once was.

The author's conclusion relies on which of the following assumptions?

A) Becoming proficient in another language is not as useful as it once was.
B) Due to low health standards, the retirement age 40 years ago was lower than it is today leaving people over 45 with more spare time to learn languages.
C) Today, people have focused careers and do not need to acquire the knowledge of another language.
D) Because 40 years ago international travel was less accessible, learning languages had more appeal than it does today.
E) Despite the far-reaching economical and social changes that may have occurred in the past forty years, learning a second language still provides all the advantages it once did.

OA E

Source: Economist Gmat