Question

If you're ever apart from your children， a new study says just talking on the phone will help just as much as a hug (拥抱).

If you're a parent who spends long hours on the job， you probably feel sorry for spending so much time away from your kids. But the results of a new study show that a mother's voice alone can be just as comforting to an anxious child as physical contact (接触).

In an experiment， researchers from the University of Wisconsin Madison asked a group of girls between the ages of 7 and 12 to solve math problems in front of judges — a stressful situation for anyone. Before the girls were set to give their answers， the researchers measured their levels of two hormones(荷尔蒙)：cortisol，which goes up during stressful periods， and oxytocin， the “love” hormone， which goes down at the same time.

After the girls finished the problems， some of them got to meet up with their mothers right away. The moms came in and hugged the girls. Another group of the girls didn't see their mothers， but received phone calls from them， in which their mothers told them how well they'd done. The final group had no contact with their mothers， but instead watched an animal movie， March of the Penguins.

Finally， the girls' hormone levels were measured again. Although the movie was interesting， it did nothing to reduce the children's anxiety—but， surprisingly， both the physical contact and phone calls from their mothers had the same effect on reducing the girls' stress levels.

So， no matter how old you are， if you're feeling stressed about something in your life， a phone call to Mom might be just the key to help you feel better.

1.If a girl is under stress， _______.

A. she can’t solve math problems

B. she will have high levels of hormone

C. oxytocin will remain at a high level

D. cortisol will go up with oxytocin down

2.Which of the following is the right order in which the study was carried out?

a. The girls' levels of hormones were measured again.

b. The girls solved math problems.

c. The girls' levels of hormones were measured.

d. The girls were divided into three groups.

A. b-c-d-a      B. d-b-c-a      C. c-b-d-a     D. d-c-b-a

3.From the passage， we can infer that _______.

A. it is easy for girls to solve math problems

B. the girls who had watched the movie remained anxious

C. mothers should hug their kids as often as possible

D. older girls have higher cortisol than younger ones

4.What’s the main idea of the passage?

A. A mother’s voice can comfort her anxious kids.

B. Mothers should often hug their kids.

C. Mothers should spend enough time caring about their kids.

D. Scientists discovered why kids become stressed when having tests.

Answer

1.D

2.C

3.B

4.A

【解析】

试题分析：研究表明：妈妈的声音会像拥抱一样安慰孩子的心灵，减少他们忧虑的情绪。所以，无论你多大年纪，如果你在生活中感到有些压力，打电话给妈妈也许能帮助你感觉更好些，减少你的压力。

1.D细节理解题。根据短文中的句子“cortisol，which goes up during stressful periods， and oxytocin， the “love” hormone， which goes down at the same time.”可知，皮质醇激素升高表明压力增加，而“爱”的激素“oxytocin”相应下降，故答案为D。

2.C细节理解题。根据第三，四，五段的内容可知，研究的顺序是先测荷尔蒙，再做题，再分组（见妈妈，接电话，看电影），最后再测荷尔蒙。故答案为C。

3.B推理判断题。根据第五段中的句子“Although the movie was interesting， it did nothing to reduce the children's anxiety—but， surprisingly，”可知，看电影并没有减少孩子们的焦虑情绪。故答案为B。

4.A主旨大意题。根据短文最后一段“no matter how old you are， if you're feeling stressed about something in your life， a phone call to Mom might be just the key to help you feel better.可知，作者认同实验结论，妈妈的声音会像拥抱一样安慰孩子的心灵。故答案为A。

考点：科普类短文阅读。