Question

What if our babies could somehow tell us what they’re thinking about, what they want, and what makes them unhappy? Robyn Holt, researcher for Baby Talk New Zealand, says they can. Holt heard about baby sign language through an advertisement and decided to go along to a workshop (研讨会).

“Sign language is something that’s always interested me, and I thought, it could be really cool to try this with a baby because we are always guessing all the time what they actually want.”

Holt started using baby sign language with her baby son Benjamin, now 12, and within two weeks he started to sign the sign for milk. She has since used it with her two younger sons Dominic, 8, and Matthew, 3.

Baby sign language is nothing new: the practice (which is based on adult sign language) has been out in America for more than 30 years. But it is enjoying a rebirth in New Zealand.

The idea behind baby sign language is that babies do have the ability to communicate their needs if they are given the right tools to do so. Although many mothers develop an intuition (直觉) about whether their baby’s crying is from hunger, tiredness, or pain, baby sign language creates a direct form of communication that unlocks the mystery.

When babies are between 6-months and 12 to 13-months, parents can begin to teach them sign language: use the sign for milk while feeding, and also talk about milk, so that the child begins to make the link (关联) in their brain. Then they can begin to add other signs, i.e. food, sick or pain.

“I know of one parent. Her child was signing the sign for hurt by his mouth, and she realised his first teeth were growing. It makes life so much easier,” said Holt.

1.Why did Holt go to the baby sign language workshop?

A. To entertain her own children.

B. To better understand babies’ needs.

C. To help babies with language problems.

D. To develop a new system of sign language.

2.According to the text, baby sign language _____.

A. has been used in New Zealand for 30 years

B. can easily make the parents understood

C. has developed from adult sign language

D. was designed by Robyn Holt

3.What does the underlined part “the mystery” in Paragraph 5 refer to?

A. The ability to communicate.

B. Mothers’ intuitions.

C. The cause of the baby’s crying.

D. Baby sign language.

4.Holt mentioned a parent and her child to show baby sign language is _____.

A. helpful                                    B. difficult

C. interesting                                 D. special

Answer

1.B

2.C

3.C

4.A

【解析】

试题分析：本文是一篇说明文。文章是对婴儿手势语的相关报道。

1. 细节理解题。根据第二段的“Sign language is something that’s always interested me, and I thought, it could be really cool to try this with a baby because we are always guessing all the time what they actually want.”可知，Holt参加婴儿手势语研讨会是为了了解婴儿的需要。故选B。

2. 细节理解题。根据第四段的the practice (which is based on adult sign language)可知，婴儿手势语由成人手势语发展而来。故选C。

3. 猜测词义题。根据第五段Holt的解释可知，婴儿手势语可形成一种直接的交流方式来使家长明白孩子为什么哭。故此处的the mystery指上文所说婴儿哭泣的原因。故选C。

4. 推理判断题。根据最后一段的It makes life so much easier可知，Holt提到这位家长和她的孩子是为了说明婴儿手势语在交流方面给家长和孩子带来的好处。故选A。

【学法指导】

篇章结构题解题技巧

考生要学会把握文章的脉络，理解段落层次之间的关系，弄清作者的写作方法。英语的文章讲究使用主题段和主题句。主题段通常在文章的开头，简要概括文章的中心思想，主题句根据段落的写作手法的不同可能在段落的开头，也可能出现在段落的中间或末尾。段与段之间常用词语连接，承上启下，使文章行文连贯，逻辑严密。为突出主题作者可能采用不同的写作手法来组织文章，通过举例、比较、类比等手法来透彻阐明主题观点。高考对这类题型的考查主要体现在以下几个方面：

1. 确定指代关系。最常见的提问方式是：The underlined word they/it/ in paragraph refers to.30.5.

2. 对句子意义或作用的理解。最常见的提问方式是：The sentence in paragraph means .; The example of in para.is used to illustrate/show .

3. 对段落大意或段落作用的理解。最常见的提问方式是：The last paragraph mainly tell us that ; The purpose of writing Paragraph is . .

4. 对文章组织结构的理解。最常见的提问方式是：How is the passage organized?;Which of the following best shows the structure of the passage?

考点：考查说明文阅读