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 influnced 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)woman .Then ,they played a recording of a short story .On the day the baby was born ,the researchers tried 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 story again and again .

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

Researchers studied the children from the age of one mouth to three years .The researchers tried to measure the sensitivity (敏感度)of the mothers .The women were considered sensitive if they supported their children’s activities and did not interfere (干涉)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(抑郁).

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 and had more problems dealing with other people .The researchers noted that the sensitivity of the mothers was important to the intelligent 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 fator that influences intelligence development in babies ?

A. Their peers (同龄人)    B. The environment

C. Mother’s sensitivity    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 before they are born

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

C. To show that early education has a deep effect on the babies’ language skills

D. To show mothers can strongly influence intelligence development in their babies

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

A. Children with high communication abilities

B. The children of depressed but caring mothers

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

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

4.What is the main idea of the passage ?

A. Scientific findings about how babies develop before birth

B. Scientific findings about how intelligence develops in babies

C. Scientific findings about how the stories have effects on babies’ intelligence

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

Answer

1. A

2. A

3. D

4. B

【解析】

过去人们认为婴儿直到五、六个月的时候才能学会东西，而美国的医生说婴儿从出生的第一天就开始学习了，有的科学家认为甚至更早。这篇短文中给我们介绍了关于婴儿智力发展的一些科学发现。

1.细节理解题。根据短文中Scientists note that babies are strongly influenced by their environment、one study shows that babies can learn before they are born、Another study shows how mothers can strongly influence social development and language skills in their children可知，环境、出生前的教育以及母亲对婴儿智力的发展有影响，故B、C和D都符合文意，应选A。

2.细节理解题。短文第二段的中心句是one study shows that babies can learn before they are born，一项研究表明婴儿在出生之前就会学习。接下来在这一段中详细介绍了这个新生儿听故事的实验，目的就是证明这个主题，故应选A。

3.细节理解题。根据短文中The children of depressed women did poorly in tests of language skills and understanding what they hear以及Children did better when their mothers were caring ,even when they suffered from depression可知，抑郁且又不关心孩子，这样的女性的孩子在语言技能上表现不佳。由此可知应选D。

4.主旨大意题。根据短文中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…one study shows that babies can learn before they are born…Another study shows how mothers can strongly influnce social development and language skills in their children可知，这篇短文介绍的是有关婴儿智力发展的一些科学发现。故应选B。