Question

    It’s not just adults who have a thing or two to discuss with other people, babies too have their own social lives and enjoy group interaction, according to a world-first study.

The breakthrough study conducted by psychologist Professor Ben Bradley, at Charles Sturt University, could completely transform the way child-care centres are set up. In their study, the researchers examined groups of nine-month-old babies in New South Wales and Britain.

And they came across astounding(令人吃惊的) results. It was found that infants had “social brains” and focused not just on their mothers but on social life in groups as well.

“They communicate with more than one baby at once, and show jealousy and generousness,” said Professor Bradley.

He added, “They develop their own meanings through group interaction, they notice if a group member is behaving differently and they take on roles, such as leaders and followers.”

“A baby who has a depressed mother tends to be withdrawn ( 内 向 的 ), but put that same baby in a group of its peers (同龄人) and they behave and interact like any other baby.”

It was the first all-baby group study ever to be conducted. “Most studies of babies concentrate on the infant-mother relationship, assuming that is the single foundation for mental health, but babies are constantly involved with groups of people other than their mothers, fathers, siblings, grandparents and those taking care. Therefore, the mother-baby approach needs to be combined with a group approach,” said Bradley.

Phoebe Christison, a child-care worker at Camperdown Sunshine Bubs in Sydney’s inner west, said she often noticed what appeared to be emotional attachments developed between toddlers.

She said, “Joel （____） months ) and Isabella （____） months ) always like to hold hands when they sit in their high chairs and eat. And babies definitely show jealousy. They push and touch each other, and copy what the other is doing.”

1.Which of the following statements about the study is TRUE?

A. It’s the first study to look at all-baby groups.

B. It divides babies according to their personalities.

C. Its aim is to change the way of child care.

D. Its results are hard to believe.

2.A baby who has a depressed mother  _____.

A. tends to be a follower B. also enjoys group interaction

C. has poor social ability D. pays more attention to its mother

3.What can be inferred from the result of this study?

A. There’s no need of child-care centers at all.

B. Babies are affected by groups more than by their mothers.

C. Adults should include babies when having social activities.

D. The normal infant-mother bond alone isn’t enough for the good mental health for babies.

4.The underlined word “toddlers” in Paragraph 8 can be replaced by “____”.

A. adults B. infants

C. peers D. groups

Answer

1.A

2.B

3.D

4.B

【解析】

本文是一篇说明文，介绍了研究发现母婴关系并不是婴儿心理健康的唯一基础，单单有正常的母婴关系对婴儿的心理健康是不够的。

1.细节理解题。根据倒数第三段中的“It was the first all-baby group study ever to be conducted.”可知，这是第一个针对全婴群体的研究，故A项正确。

2.推理判断题。根据第六段“A baby who has a depressed mother tends to be withdrawn ( 内 向 的 ), but put that same baby in a group of its peers (同龄人) and they behave and interact like any other baby”可知，母亲有抑郁症的婴儿也会像其他儿童一样喜欢群体互动，故B项正确。

3.推理判断题。根据倒数第三段中的“Most studies of babies concentrate on the infant-mother relationship, assuming that is the single foundation for mental health, but babies are constantly involved with groups of people other than their mothers, fathers, siblings, grandparents and those taking care. Therefore, the mother-baby approach needs to be combined with a group approach,”可知，大多数对婴儿的研究都集中在婴儿与母亲的关系上，认为这是心理健康的唯一基础，但是婴儿还经常与其他人接触，母婴接触应该与群体接触相结合，由此可知，单单有正常的母婴关系对婴儿的心理健康是不够的，故D项正确。

4.词义猜测题。根据画线词前的“Phoebe Christison, a child-care worker at Camperdown Sunshine Bubs in Sydney’s inner west, said she often noticed what appeared to be emotional attachments developed between”可知，Phoebe Christison是一名保育员，自然是经常与婴儿接触，所以她说她经常注意到婴儿之间似乎产生了情感依恋，由此可知画线词词义为“婴儿”，故B项正确。