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 influenced 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 by smiling to please her mother or other caregivers.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 woman.Then,they played a recording of a short story.On the day the baby was born,the researchers attempted to find if he knew the sounds of the story repeated while in his mother.They did this by placing a device 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 said the baby clearly liked the story he heard before he was born.They said the baby would move his mouth so he could hear the story again and again.

　　Another study shows how mothers can strongly influence social development and language skills of their children.Researchers studied the children from the age of one month to three years.The researchers attempted to measure the sensitivity of the mothers.The women were considered sensitive if they supported their children’s activities and did not interfere(干预) 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.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 heard.

　　These children also were less cooperative and had more problems dealing with other people.The researchers noted that the sensitivity of mothers was important to the intelligence development of their children.Children did better when their mothers were caring,even when they suffered from depression.

　　【语篇导读】如何才能开发婴儿的智力,科学家的研究给出了答案。

　　1.According to the passage,which of the following is NOT the factor that influences intelligence development in babies?

　　A.The environment.

　　B.Their peers.

　　C.Mother’s sensitivity.

　　D.Education before birth.

　　答案　B

　　解析　细节理解题。根据第一段中的“Scientists note that babies are strongly influenced by their environment.”可知,婴儿的成长是受环境的影响的;由第一段中的“One study shows that babies can learn before they are born.”可知D项正确;由第三、四段可知C项正确。故选B项。

　　2.What is the purpose of the experiment in which newborn babies heard the stories?

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

　　B.To show mothers can strongly influence intelligence development of their babies.

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

　　D.To prove that babies can learn before they are born.

　　答案　D

　　解析　细节理解题。根据第二段中的“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 said the baby clearly liked the story he heard before he was born.”可知选D项。

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

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

　　B.The children of depressed but caring mothers.

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

　　D.The children with high communication abilities.

　　答案　C

　　解析　细节理解题。根据第三段中的“The children of depressed women did poorly in tests of language skills and understanding what they heard.”以及文章最后一句“Children did better when their mothers were caring,even when they suffered from depression.”可知,患抑郁症且冷漠的母亲的孩子语言能力是最差的。

　　4.What is the main idea of the passage?

　　A.Scientific findings about how intelligence develops in babies.

　　B.Scientific findings about how babies develop before birth.

　　C.Scientific findings about how time has an effect on babies’ intelligence.

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

　　答案　A

　　解析　主旨大意题。通读全文可知这篇文章主要是讲述科学家对于婴儿的智力发展的发现成果。故选A项。

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