Question

    Not long ago, people thought babies were not able to learn things until they were five or six months old.

Yet doctors in the United States say babies begin learning on their first day of life.

Scientists note that babies are strongly influenced by their environment. They say a baby will smile if her mother does something the baby likes. A baby learns to get the best care possible by smiling to please her mother or other caregiver. This is how babies learn to connect and communicate with other human beings.

One study shows that babies can learn before they are born. The researchers placed a tape recorder on the stomach of a pregnant(怀孕的) woman. Then, they played a recording of a short story. On the day the baby was born, the researchers attempted(试图) to find if he knew the sounds of the story repeated while in his mother. They did this by placing a device(装置) in the mouth of the newborn baby.

The baby would hear the story if he moved his mouth one way. If the baby moved his mouth the other way, he would hear a different story. The researchers say the baby clearly liked the story he heard before he was born. They say the baby would move his mouth so he could hear the story again and again.

Another study shows how mothers can strongly influence social development and language skills in their children.

Researchers studied the children from the age of one month to three years. The researchers attempted to measure(测量) the sensitivity(敏感) of the mothers. The women were considered sensitive if they supported their children’s activities and did not interfere unnecessarily. They tested the children for thinking and language development when they were three years old. Also, the researchers observed the women for signs of depression(沮丧).

The children of depressed women did not do as well in tests as the children of women who did not suffer from depression. The children of depressed women did poorly in tests of language skills and understanding what they hear.

These children also were less cooperative(合作的) and had more problems dealing with other people. The researchers noted that the sensitivity of the mothers was important to the intelligence(智力) development of their children. Children did better when their mothers were caring, even when they suffered from depression.

1.According to the passage, which of the following is NOT the factor(因素) that influences intelligence development in babies?

A.The environment. B.Mother’s sensitivity.

C.Their peers(同龄人). D.Education before birth.

2.What is the purpose of the experiment in which newborn babies heard the stories?

A.To prove that babies can learn on the first day they are born.

B.To prove that babies can learn before they are born.

C.To show mothers can strongly affect intelligence development in their babies.

D.To indicate early education has a deep effect on the babies’ language skills.

3.Which group of children did the worst in tests of language skills?

A.The children of women who did not suffer from depression.

B.The children of depressed mothers who cared little for their children.

C.The children of depressed but caring mothers.

D.Children with high communication abilities.

4.What is the main idea of the passage?

A.Scientific findings about how babies develop before birth.

B.Scientific findings about how the environment has an effect on babies’ intelligence.

C.A study shows babies are not able to learn things until they are five or six months old.

D.Scientific findings about how intelligence develops in babies.

Answer

1.C

2.B

3.B

4.D

【解析】

文章大意：本文主要讲述了关于婴幼儿的智力发育情况的科学发现，通过两个实验表明：婴儿出生前就可以学习，母亲的情感能强烈地影响孩子的社会发展和语言技巧。影响婴幼儿智力发育的因素有环境、出生前教育、母亲的敏感性三个方面。

1.细节理解题。根据第3段中“Scientists note that babies are strongly influenced by their environment.”可知婴儿受环境影响很大，A项正确；根据最后一段中“The researchers noted that the sensitivity of the mothers was important to the intelligence development of their children.”可知妈妈的敏感性对孩子的智力发育很重要，B项正确；文中未提到孩子们的同龄人，C项错误；根据第4段中“One study shows that babies can learn before they are born.”可知婴儿出生前也能学习，结合第4、5段内容可知出生前教育对婴儿的发展有影响，D项正确。故选C。

2.细节理解题。根据第4段中“One study shows that babies can learn before they are born.”及第4、5段的描述，可知研究人员在婴儿出生前为其播放故事，出生后又播放不同的故事来观察婴儿的反应，目的是为了证明婴儿们在出生之前就能学习。故选B。

3.推理判断题。根据倒数第二段中“The children of depressed women did poorly in tests of language skills and understanding what they hear.”可知抑郁女人的孩子在语言测试中做得很差，排除AD；再结合最后一段中“Children did better when their mothers were caring, even when they suffered from depression.”可知即使妈妈很抑郁，如果妈妈是体贴的，孩子们在测试中会做得更好，排除C；由此可知极少关心孩子的抑郁女人的孩子会做得最差。故选B。

4.主旨大意题。本文结合科学实验来指出影响婴儿智力发育的一些因素，是关于婴儿智力发展的几个科学发现。故选D。