Long before they can actually speak, babies p...

Long before they can actually speak, babies pay special attention to the speech they hear around them. Within the first month of their lives, babies’ responses to the sound of the human voice will be different from their responses to other sorts of hearing stimulation. They will stop crying when they hear a person talking, but not if they hear a bell or the sound of a rattle. At first, the sounds that a baby notices might be only those words that receive the heaviest emphasis and that often occur at the ends of utterances(讲话，说话). By the time they are six or seven weeks old, babies can detect the difference between syllables pronounced with rising and falling tones. Very soon, these differences in adult stress and intonation can influence babies’ emotional states and behavior. Long before they develop actual language comprehension, babies can sense when an adult is happy or angry, attempting to begin or end new behavior, and so on, merely on the basis of clues such as the rate, volume, and melody of adult speech.

Adults make it as easy as they can for babies to pick up a language by exaggerating(夸张) such clues. One researcher observed babies and their mothers in six diverse cultures and found that, in all six languages, the mothers used simplified utterances and nonsense sounds, and transformed certain sounds into baby talk. Other researchers have noted that when mothers talk to babies who are only a few months old, they exaggerate the pitch, loudness, and intensity of their words. They also exaggerate their facial expressions, hold vowels(元音) longer, and emphasize certain words.

More significant for language development than their response to general intonation is observation that tiny babies can make relatively fine distinctions between speech sounds. In other words, babies enter the world with the ability to make those precisely perceptual（知觉的，感性的） recognition that are necessary if they are to acquire listening language.

Babies obviously obtain pleasure from sound input, too: even as young as nine months they will listen to songs or stories, although the words themselves are beyond their understanding. For babies, language is a sensory-motor delight rather than the route to boring meaning that it often is for adults.

1.The author mentions syllables with rising and falling tones to 　　　　　　 .

A. show how difficult it is for babies to interpret emotions

B. provide an example of ways adults speak to babies

C. give a reason for babies’ difficulty in telling one adult from another

D. show a six-week-old baby can already tell some language differences

2.What can be inferred about the findings described in Paragraph 2?

A. Mothers from different cultures speak to their babies in similar ways.

B. Babies ignore facial expressions in understanding listening language.

C. The mothers were unconsciously teaching their babies to speak.

D. Mothers only exaggerate their tones when talking to babies.

3.Why do babies listen to songs and stories, even if they can’t understand?

A. They understand the rhythm.　　 B. They enjoy the sound.

C. They can remember them easily.　　 D. They focus on the meaning.

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

A. Babies can detect sounds other than the human voice.

B. Babies’ ways to learn a language differ from adults’.

C. Babies can respond to the speech before they can speak.

D. Babies can tell the sound of the human voice from other sounds.

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

Before birth, babies can tell the difference between loud sounds and voices. They can even distinguish their mother’s voice from that of a female stranger. But when it comes to embryonic learning (胎教), birds could rule the roost. As recently reported in The Auk: Ornithological Advances, some mother birds may teach their young to sing even before they hatch (孵化). New-born chicks can then imitate their mom’s call within a few days of entering the world.

This educational method was first observed in 2012 by Sonia Kleindorfer, a biologist at Flinders University in South Australia, and her colleagues. Female Australian superb fairy wrens were found to repeat one sound over and over again while hatching their eggs. When the eggs were hatched, the baby birds made the similar chirp to their mothers—a sound that served as their regular ＂feed me!＂ call.

To find out if the special quality was more widespread in birds, the researchers sought the red-backed fairy wren, another species of Australian songbird. First they collected sound data from 67 nests in four sites in Queensland before and after hatching. Then they identified begging calls by analyzing the order and number of notes. A computer analysis blindly compared calls produced by mothers and chicks, ranking them by similarity.

It turns out that baby red-backed fairy wrens also emerge chirping like their moms. And the more frequently mothers had called to their eggs, the more similar were the babies’ begging calls. In addition, the team set up a separate experiment that suggested that the baby birds that most closely imitated their mom’s voice were rewarded with the most food.

This observation hints that effective embryonic learning could signal neurological (神经系统的) strengths of children to parents. An evolutionary inference can then be drawn. ＂As a parent, do you invest in quality children, or do you invest in children that are in need?＂ Kleindorfer asks. ＂Our results suggest that they might be going for quality.＂

1.The underlined phrase in Paragraph 1 means＂____________＂.

A.be the worst B.be the best

C.be the as bad D.be just as good

2.What are Kleindorfer’s findings based on?

A.Similarities between the calls of moms and chicks.

B.The observation of fairy wrens across Australia.

C.The data collected from Queensland’s locals.

D.Controlled experiments on wrens and other birds.

3.Embryonic learning helps mother birds to identify the baby birds which ____________.

A.can receive quality signals

B.are in need of training

C.fit the environment better

D.make the loudest call

高三英语阅读理解困难题查看答案及解析

Before birth,babies can tell the difference between loud sounds and voices.They can even distinguish their mother’s voice from that of a female stranger.But when it comes to embryonic learning（胎教），birds could rule the roost.As recently reported in TheAuk:Ornithological Adrances,some mother birds may teach their young to sing even before they hatch(孵化)。New-born chicks can then imitate their mom’s call within a few days of enering the world.

This educational method was first observed in 2012 by Sonia Kieindorfer,a biologist at Flinders University in South Australia,and her collcagues.Femake Australian superb fairy wrens were found to repeat one sound over and over again while hatching their eggs,When the eggs were hatched,the baby birds made the similar chirp to their mothers—asound that served as their regular “feed me!”call.

To find out if the special quality was more widespread in birds,the researchers sought the red-backed fairy wren,another species of Australian songbird.Firstthey collected sound datd from 67 nests in four sites in Queenslang before and after hatching,Then they identified begging calls by analyzing the order and numberof notes.A computer analysis blindly compared calls produced by mothers and chicks,ranking them by similarity.

It turns out that baby red-backed fairy wrens also emerge chirping like their moms. And the more frequently mothers had called to their eggs,the more similar were the babies’ begging calls. In addition,the team set up a separate experiment that suggested that the baby birds that most closely imitated their mom’s voice were rewarded with the most food.

This observation hints that effective embryonic learning could signal neurological(神经系统的)strengths of children toparents.An evolutionary inference can then be drawn.”As a parent,do you investin quality children,or do you invest in children that are in need?”Kleindorfer asks.”Our results suggest that they might be going for quality.”

Before birth,babies can tell the difference between loud sounds and voices.They can even distinguish their mother’s voice from that of a female stranger.But when it comes to embryonic learning（胎教），birds could rule the roost.As recently reported in TheAuk:Ornithological Adrances,some mother birds may teach their young to sing even before they hatch(孵化)。New-born chicks can then imitate their mom’s call within a few days of enering the world.

This educational method was first observed in 2012 by Sonia Kieindorfer,a biologist at Flinders University in South Australia,and her collcagues.Female Australian superb fairy wrens were found to repeat one sound over and over again while hatching their eggs,When the eggs were hatched,the baby birds made the similar chirp to their mothers—a sound that served as their regular “feed me!”call.

To find out if the special quality was more widespread in birds,the researchers sought the red-backed fairy wren,another species of Australian songbird.First they collected sound data from 67 nests in four sites in Queenslang before and after hatching,Then they identified begging calls by analyzing the order and number of notes.A computer analysis blindly compared calls produced by mothers and chicks,ranking them by similarity.

It turns out that baby red-backed fairy wrens also emerge chirping like their moms. And the more frequently mothers had called to their eggs,the more similar were the babies’ begging calls. In addition,the team set up a separate experiment that suggested that the babybirds that most closely imitated their mom’s voice were rewarded with the most food.

This observation hints that effective embryonic learning could signal neurological(神经系统的)strengths of children to parents.An evolutionary inference can then be drawn.”As a parent,do you investin quality children,or do you invest in children that are in need?”Kleindorferasks.”Our results suggest that they might be going for quality.”Before birth,babies can tell the difference between loud sounds and voices.They can even distinguish their mother’s voice from that of a female stranger.But when it comes to embryonic learning（胎教），birds could rule the roost.As recently reported in TheAuk:Ornithological Adrances,some mother birds may teach their young to sing even before they hatch(孵化)。New-born chicks can then imitate their mom’s call within a few days of enering the world.

This educational method was first observed in 2012 by Sonia Kieindorfer,a biologist at Flinders University in South Australia,and her collcagues.Female Australian superb fairy wrens were found to repeat one sound over and over again while hatching their eggs,When the eggs were hatched,the baby birds made the similar chirp to their mothers—a sound that served as their regular “feed me!”call.

To find out if the special quality was more widespread in birds,the researchers sought the red-backed fairy wren,another species of Australian songbird.First they collected sound data from 67 nests in four sites in Queenslang before and after hatching,Then they identified begging calls by analyzing the order and number of notes.A computer analysis blindly compared calls produced by mothers and chicks,ranking them by similarity.

It turns out that baby red-backed fairy wrens also emerge chirping like their moms. And the more frequently mothers had called to their eggs,the more similar were the babies’ begging calls. In addition,the team set up a separate experiment that suggested that the babybirds that most closely imitated their mom’s voice were rewarded with the most food.

This observation hints that effective embryonic learning could signal neurological(神经系统的)strengths of children to parents.An evolutionary inference can then be drawn.”As a parent,do you investin quality children,or do you invest in children that are in need?”Kleindorferasks.”Our results suggest that they might be going for quality.”

Before birth,babies can tell the difference between loud sounds and voices.They can even distinguish their mother’s voice from that of a female stranger.But when it comes to embryonic learning（胎教），birds could rule the roost.As recently reported in TheAuk:Ornithological Adrances,some mother birds may teach their young to sing even before they hatch(孵化)。New-born chicks can then imitate their mom’s call within a few days of enering the world.

This educational method was first observed in 2012 by Sonia Kieindorfer,a biologist at Flinders University in South Australia,and her collcagues.Female Australian superb fairy wrens were found to repeat one sound over and over again while hatching their eggs,When the eggs were hatched,the baby birds made the similar chirp to their mothers—a sound that served as their regular “feed me!”call.

To find out if the special quality was more widespread in birds,the researchers sought the red-backed fairy wren,another species of Australian songbird.First they collected sound data from 67 nests in four sites in Queenslang before and after hatching,Then they identified begging calls by analyzing the order and number of notes.A computer analysis blindly compared calls produced by mothers and chicks,ranking them by similarity.

It turns out that baby red-backed fairy wrens also emerge chirping like their moms. And the more frequently mothers had called to their eggs,the more similar were the babies’ begging calls. In addition,the team set up a separate experiment that suggested that the babybirds that most closely imitated their mom’s voice were rewarded with the most food.

This observation hints that effective embryonic learning could signal neurological(神经系统的)strengths of children to parents.An evolutionary inference can then be drawn.”As a parent,do you investin quality children,or do you invest in children that are in need?”Kleindorferasks.”Our results suggest that they might be going for quality.”

1.The underlined phrase in Paragraph 1 means“ ”.

A.be the worst B.be the best

C.be the as bad D.be just as good

2.What are Kleindorfer’s findings based on?

A.Similarities between the calls moms and chicks.

B.The observation of fairywrens across Australia.

C.The data collected fromQueensland’slocals.

D.Controlled experiments on wrens and other birds.

3.Embryonic learning helps mother birds to identify the baby birds which

A.can receive quality signals B.are in need of training

C.fit the environment better D.make the loudest call

高三英语阅读理解困难题查看答案及解析

B

Before birth,babies can tell the difference between loud sounds and voices.They can even distinguish their mother’s voice from that of a female stranger.But when it comes to embryonic learning（胎教），birds could rule the roost.As recently reported in The Auk:Ornithological Advances,some mother birds may teach their young to sing even before they hatch(孵化).New-born chicks can then imitate their mom’s call within a few days of entering the world.

This educational method was first observed in 2012 by Sonia KIeindorfer,a biologist at Flinders University in South Australia,and her colleagues.Female Australian superb fairy wrens were found to repeat one sound over and over again while hatching their eggs,When the eggs were hatched,the baby birds made the similar chirp to their mothers—a sound that served as their regular “feed me!”call.

To find out if the special quality was more widespread in birds,the researchers sought the redbacked fairy wren,another species of Australian songbird.First they collected sound data from 67 nests in four sites in Queensland before and after hatching.Then they identified begging calls by analyzing the order and number of notes.A computer analysis blindly compared calls produced by mothers and chicks,ranking them by similarity.

It turns out that baby red-backed fairy wrens also emerge chirping like their moms. And the more frequently mothers had called to their eggs,the more similar were the babies’ begging calls. In addition,the team set up a separate experiment that suggested that the baby birds that most closely imitated their mom’s voice were rewarded with the most food.

This observation hints that effective embryonic learning could signal neurological(神经系统的)strengths of children to parents.An evolutionary inference can then be drawn.”As a parent,do you invest in quality children,or do you invest in children that are in need?”KIeindorfer asks.”Our results suggest that they might be going for quality.”

1.The underlined phrase in Paragraph 1 means“　　　 ”.

A.be the worst　　　　　　　　　　 B.be the best

C.be the as bad　　　　　　　　　　　 D.be just as good

2.What are Kleindorfer’s findings based on?

A.Similarities between the calls of moms and chicks.

B.The observation of fairy wrens across Australia.

C.The data collected from Queensland’s locals.

D.Controlled experiments on wrens and other birds.

3.Embryonic learning helps mother birds to identify the baby birds which 　　　　 .

A.can receive quality signals　　　　　　　 B.are in need of training

C.fit the environment better　　　　　　　　 D.make the loudest call

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

Studies suggest that babies learn to _________ voices before birth． They can recognize their mother's voice among a group of women．

A. suspect B. compromise

C. discriminate D. inspect

高三英语单项填空困难题查看答案及解析

— I will go to the bank to pay for the electricity bill.

— _______? Actually, you can use Alipay.

A.Why bother B.So what C.Why not D.What for

高三英语单项填空简单题查看答案及解析

Speaking two languages can actually help reduce some effects of aging on the brain, a new study has found.

Researchers tested how long participants needed to _______ from one cognitive (认知) task to another, something that’s known to _______ longer for older adults, said lead researcher, Brain Gold, an expert at the University of Kentucky, “It has great effects these days because our population is _______ gradually,” Gold said. “Seniors are _______ longer, and that’s a good thing, but it’s only a good thing _______ a certain degree that their brains are _______.”

Gold’s team compared task-switching of younger and older _______, knowing they would find slower speeds in the _______ population because of previous studies. _______, they found that older adults who spoke two languages were able to switch mental gear (齿轮) ________ than those who didn’t.

First, Gold and his team ________ 30 people, who were either bilingual (双语的) ________ monolingual (单语的), to look at a series of colored shapes and ________ with the name of each shape by pushing a button. Then, they ________ the participants with a similar series of colored shapes and asked them to respond with what ________ the shapes were by pushing a button. The bilingual people had the ________ to respond faster to the shifting prompts (提示).

Researchers then gathered 80 more people for a second ________; 40 bilinguals and 40 monolinguals. This time, researchers used FMRI machines to ________ brain activity during the same shape-and color-identifying ________. Gold and his team found that bilingual people had different brain activity than their monolingual peers.

“Learning a second language in childhood was thought of as ________,” Gold said. “Actually, it’s beneficial.”

1.A. switch　　 B. perform　　 C. jump　　 D. transport

2.A. hold　　 B. spend　　 C. last　　 D. take

3.A. increasing　　 B. aging　　 C. growing　　 D. exploding

4.A. surviving　　 B. staying　　 C. living　　 D. expecting

5.A. with　　 B. in　　 C. at　　 D. to

6.A. powerful　　 B. healthy　　 C. sensitive　　 D. special

7.A. adults　　 B. researchers　　 C. leaders　　 D. seniors

8.A. random　　 B. ordinary　　 C. older　　 D. younger

9.A. Thus　　 B. Otherwise　　 C. Besides　　 D. However

10.A. faster　　 B. slower　　 C. longer　　 D. better

11.A. paid　　 B. asked　　 C. promised　　 D. forced

12.A. yet　　 B. nor　　 C. or　　 D. and

13.A. remember　　 B. realize　　 C. recall　　 D. reply

14.A. presented　　 B. rewarded　　 C. assisted　　 D. treated

15.A. forms　　 B. types　　 C. colors　　 D. sizes

16.A. right　　 B. ability　　 C. opportunity　　 D. determination

17.A. experiment　　 B. conclusion　　 C. lesson　　 D. task

18.A. recognize　　 B. improve　　 C. make　　 D. record

19.A. tools　　 B. scores　　 C. tasks　　 D. games

20.A. useless　　 B. reasonable　　 C. simple　　 D. interesting

高三英语完形填空困难题查看答案及解析

Babies understand what their mothers say, even when they speak a language their children have never heard before, scientists claim.

The researchers found that one-year-olds reacted in exactly same way to their mothers’ voices regardless of whether they were speaking English or Greek, showing what mothers have long known – that babies pick up on tone of voice rather than the words themselves.

The researchers, from Cardiff University’s School of Psychology, observed babies as they watched their mothers perform actions with toys using the English words “whoops” and “there”. The scientists studied reactions from one-year-old babies to their mums’ voices even when they were speaking both English and Greek, and keeping the same tone of voice. The academics found that babies reproduced the same reactions regardless of whether they knew the language.

Study leader Dr Merideth Gattis of Cardiff University’s School of Psychology says, “What this work showed was that children could have access to understanding simply through tone of voice. We did ‘whoops’ and ‘there’ in two languages and got exactly the same results.” The research, published in the journal Cognitive Development, was conducted on 84 babies aged between 14 and 18 months, over the course of a year, with none of the babies having any previous exposure to Greek.

Dr Gattis says that children respond to tone clues in their parents’ voices from an early age.

She says, “Tone of voice is a really useful signal of what someone is thinking. We never have direct access to other people’s minds, except the signals in language that they give out.” She says the study shows that it is less important what parents say than how they say it.

Dr Gattis adds, “A child may ask if you like his / her drawing, for example. You might say yes, but if you don’t sound enthusiastic, the meaning may not get across.” Before children begin to speak, parents should use exaggerated tone when speaking to them.

1.According to the text, what have mothers long-known?

A．Babies have a better understanding of English.

B．Babies pick up on tone of voice.

C．Babies like their mothers’ performances.

D．Babies like drawing from an early age.

2.Which of the following is TRUE, according to the study?

A．Tone of voice is the most useful sign of what someone is thinking.

B．After children begin to speak, tone becomes unimportant.

C．The babies acted the same way regardless of the language.

D．The research was conducted on 48 babies.

3.According to the text, Dr. Gattis believes that _________.

A．we have no access to other people’s minds

B．babies can’t understand what “yes” means

C．parents should always sound enthusiastic

D．how a parent speaks is more important than what he or she says

4.What’s the text mainly about?

A．The content of the journal Cognitive Development.

B．The famous works of Dr. Gattis.

C．Babies understanding their mothers through tone.

D．Babies having the potential to learn language well.

5.The text can be classified as _________.

A．a report          B．an advertisement    C．a handbook        D．a guide

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

(2014·陕西宝鸡质量检测二)Evidence came up________special speech sounds can be recognized by babies as young as 6 months old.

A．what　    B．which

C．that　    D．whose

高三英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析

They may be small and not able to speak, but babies are proving their amazing cleverness. Scientists began finding infants’ skills are more than they are supposed to be.

_________

Speaking of music, babies can’t seem to resist it. Not only are their ears turned to the beats, babies can actually dance to the music.

To test babies’ dancing ability, the researchers played recordings of classical music, rhythmic beats and speech to infants, and recorded the results. They also invited professional dancers to analyze how well the babies matched their movements to the music. The babies moved their arms, hands, legs feet and heads in response to the music, much more than to the speech. The finding suggests this dancing ability is innate(与生俱来的) in humans, though the researchers aren’t sure why it becomes weaker later in their life.

Learning Quickly while Sleeping

Babies can learn even while asleep, according to a 2011 study. In experiments with 26 sleeping infants, each just 1 to 2 days old, scientists played a musical tone followed by a puff of air to their eyes 200 times over the course of a half-hour. 124 electrodes(电极) stuck on the head and face of each baby recorded brain activity during the experiments. The babies rapidly learned to foretell a puff of air upon hearing the tone, showing a four-time increase on average in the chances of tightening their eyelids in response to the sound by the end of the experiments.

As newborns spend most of their time asleep, this newfound ability might be crucial to rapidly adapting to the world around them and help to ensure their survival, researchers said.

Judging Characters Well

Judging another person helpful or harmful is crucial when choosing friends. And that ability starts early. Kiley Hamlin of Yale University showed both 6-and 10-month-olds a puppet(木偶) show, in which one character helped another climb a hill. In another scene a third character pushed the climber down. The little ones then got to choose which character they preferred. For both age groups, most babies chose the helper character. This character-judging ability could be baby’s first step in the formation of morals, Hamlin thought.

1.Which of the following subtitles can fill in the underlined blank?

2.The underlined word “it” in the third paragraph refers to______.

3.The experiment with 26 sleeping infants prove that_______.

4.In the last experiment, most babies chose the helper character, showing that________.

高三英语阅读理解困难题查看答案及解析