The semicolons in this case substitute the need for a coordinating conjunction, and thus, connects two ideas. The ideas that they won't learn English even though they are capable of learning so many other things is put in a concise and energetic way. Which brings us to the other thing that the writer achieves: momentum. By adding semicolons, he creates a pause that doesn't end the line of thought. There's more to come and it makes the reader interested.
The correct answers are:
closely connecting the different ideas
creating energy and momentum