Question

It’s official. Denmark—as well as being the world’s best country to live in for women with the second-happiest people and one of the best healthcare systems in Europe—has the most contented babies. Or, at least, the ones who cry the least. According to research published in the Journal of Pediatrics, Danish, German and Japanese babies cry the least, while British, Canadian and Italian babies cry the most.

“I’m not surprised,” Danish parenting expert and co-author of The Danish Way of Parenting Jessica Alexander tells me. “The first year of a child’s life is considered so important in Denmark. Danish parents are much less stressed because they get good maternity and paternity leave (孕产假). The atmosphere is much calmer and, if mothers are getting more time off, that goes hand in hand with less stress, more contact, more routines and less crying.” She pauses before throwing in a final tip: “Oh, and Danish babies sleep outdoors a lot.”

In Denmark, a woman is given four weeks pregnancy leave followed by 52 weeks of paid leave that can be shared between parents. And Alexander thinks there is another important reason why Danish babies cry less: breastfeeding. “It’s just the done thing in Denmark,” she says of a country that has the world’s highest breastfeeding rates. “In other countries, there are continual discussions about whether you should or shouldn’t breastfeed. In Denmark, breastfeeding has never gone out of style. And everyone does it for a year.”

For Iben Sandahl, Alexander’s co-author, it comes down to the Danish attitude to life in general. “We are an honest and pure people,” she tells me. “We are surrounded by social support and are less likely to become angry, sad or annoyed when our babies are crying. And we are good at embracing (拥抱) all kinds of feelings, so we aren’t scared. Instead, we try to connect with the babies when they cry. It’s how babies communicate and it’s about trying to understand it.”

1.Which of the following can make a baby cry less?

A. An effective healthcare system.

B. More company from a parent.

C. An energetic busy mother.

D. More chances to meet fellow babies.

2.It can be learned from the text that ________.

A. something in the milk from breastfeeding can keep babies happy

B. Demark is second to none in protecting its females’ rights

C. Danish parents’ attitudes to a baby’s first year vary considerably

D. breastfeeding is a common and accepted practice in Denmark

3.When babies cry, Danish parents will probably ________.

A. try to figure out what they want

B. put them outdoors for a good sleep

C. seek social support for guidance

D. wait a moment for them to calm down

Answer

1.B

2.D

3.A

【解析】根据官方数据，丹麦是世界上最适合人们居住的国家，妇女第二幸福的人和在欧洲有最好的医疗保健系统和最知足的孩子。根据发表在《儿科学杂志》上的研究，丹麦、德国和日本的婴儿哭得最少，而英国、加拿大和意大利的婴儿哭得最多。本文向我们讲述了丹麦孩子哭得少的原因。

1.细节理解题。由第二段“Danish parents are much less stressed because they get good maternity and paternity leave (孕产假). The atmosphere is much calmer and, if mothers are getting more time off, that goes hand in hand with less stress, more contact, more routines and less crying.”（丹麦的家长更强调因为他们得到好的产假和陪产假（孕产假）。气氛平静多了，如果妈妈们有更多的休息时间，那会伴随着更少的压力、更多的接触、更多的习惯和更少的哭泣。）可知，丹麦的孩子哭得少是因为有母亲更多的陪伴时间。故选B。

2.细节理解题。由第三段“And Alexander thinks there is another important reason why Danish babies cry less: breastfeeding. “It’s just the done thing in Denmark,” she says of a country that has the world’s highest breastfeeding rates. “In other countries, there are continual discussions about whether you should or shouldn’t breastfeed. In Denmark, breastfeeding has never gone out of style.”（亚力山大认为丹麦婴儿少哭的另一个重要原因是：母乳喂养。“这只是在丹麦做的事情，”她说，一个拥有世界上最高的母乳喂养率的国家。“在其他国家，有关于是否应该或不应该母乳喂养的持续讨论。在丹麦，母乳喂养是永不过时的风格。）可知，母乳喂养是丹麦常见的和接受的做法。故选D。

3.细节理解题。由最后一段“we try to connect with the babies when they cry. It’s how babies communicate and it’s about trying to understand it.”（当婴儿哭的时候，我们试图将自己和孩子连接起来。这是婴儿的交流方式并且尝试理解它。）可知，当孩子哭得时候，丹麦的父母会试着了解孩子想要什么，故选A。

【名师点睛】

细节事实理解题主要考查考生对文章中某一些特定细节或文章的重要事实的理解能力。它一般包括直接理解题和语义理解题两种。直接理解题的答案与原文直接挂钩，从阅读材料中可以找到。此外，在阅读中可以使用定位法与跳读法解决细节理解题。定位法即根据题干和选项所提供的信息直接从原文中找到相应的句子(即定位)，然后进行比较和分析(尤其要注意一些同义转换)，从而找出正确答案。跳读法即根据题干和选项所提供的信息跳读原文，并找到相关的句子(有时可能是几个句子)或段落，然后进行分析和推理等，从而找出正确答案。

以第3小题为例，本题运用定位法：我们根据题干中When babies cry, Danish parents will probably ________.其关键词是When babies cry，从而直接定位到最后一段含有When babies cry的句子we try to connect with the babies when they cry. It’s how babies communicate and it’s about trying to understand it.（当婴儿哭的时候，我们试图将自己和孩子连接起来。这是婴儿的交流方式并且尝试理解它。）可知，当孩子哭得时候，丹麦的父母会试着了解孩子想要什么，因为哭是孩子交流的一种方式，故选A。