托福听力荟萃 12

In our lab today, we'll be testing the______that babies can count as early as five months of age. The six babies here areall less than six months old. You'll be watching them on______________and measuring theirresponses. The experiment is based on the_________observation that babies stare longer ifthey don't see what they expect to see. First, we're going to let two dollsmove slowly in front of the babies. The babies will see the two dolls disappearbehind a screen. Your job is to record, in seconds, how long the babies stareat the dolls when the screen is removed. In the next stage, two dolls willagain move in front of the babies and disappear. But then a third doll willfollow. When the screen is removed, the babies will only see two dolls. Ifwe're right, the babies will now stare longer because they expect three dollsbut only see two. It seems remarkable² to think that such young children cancount. My own research has convinced³ me that they have this ability from birth.But whether they do or not, perhaps we should raise another question. Should wetake advantage of this ability by teaching⁴ children mathematics⁵ at such a youngage? They have great________potential, but is it good for parents topressure young children?

 

 

【填空答案】

hypothesis⁶: n.pluralhypotheses,［C］an idea that is suggestedas a possible way of explaining a situation, proving an idea etc, which has notyet been shown to be true 假设，假说

closedcircuittelevision (TV): a system in which cameras send pictures totelevision sets that is used in many public buildings to protect them fromcrime 闭路电视

well-established: adj.established for a long time and respected 历史悠久且享有盛誉的

untapped: adj. anuntapped resource⁷, market etc has not yet been used （资源、市场等）未开发的；未利用的

【听力原文】

In our lab today, we'll be testing the hypothesis that babied can count asearly as five months of age. The six babies here are all less than six monthsold. You'll be watching them on closed-circuit TV and measuring theirresponses.

The experiment is based on the well-established observation¹ that babies starelonger if they don't see what they expect to see. First, we're going to let twodolls move slowly in front of the babies. The babies will see the two dollsdisappear behind a screen. Your job is to record, in seconds, how long thebabies stare at the dolls when the screen is removed.

In the next stage, two dolls will again move in front of the babies anddisappear. But then a third doll will follow. When the screen is removed, thebabies will only see two dolls. If we're right, the babies will now starelonger because they expect three dolls but only see two.

It seems remarkable to think that such young children can count. My ownresearch has convinced me that they have this ability from birth. But whetherthey do or not, perhaps we should raise another question --- should we takeadvantage of this ability by teaching children mathematics at such a young age?They have great untapped potential, but is it good for parents to pressureyoung children?

1 observation   

n.观察， 观测， 观察资料（或报告）

参考例句：

• The new breed is under observation.新品种正在观察中。
• Did you keep him under observation?你对他进行监视了吗？

2 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

3 convinced   

adj.确信的；深信的；有坚定信仰的v.使确信(convince的过去分词)；说服

参考例句：

• I am convinced of her innocence. 我坚信她是清白无辜的。
• I'm convinced there's a jinx on this car. 我看这辆汽车是灾星。

4 teaching   

n.教学，执教，任教，讲授；(复数)教诲

参考例句：

• We all agree in adopting the new teaching method. 我们一致同意采取新的教学方法。
• He created a new system of teaching foreign languages.他创造了一种新的外语教学体系。

5 mathematics   

n.（用作单）数学；（用作单或复）计算(能力）

参考例句：

• He has come out in front in the study of mathematics.他在数学方面已名列前茅。
• She is working at a difficult problem in mathematics.她在做一道数学难题。

6 hypothesis   

n.假说，假设，(无根据的)猜测，揣测

参考例句：

• We have proved the hypothesis.我们已经证明了这种假设。
• The results confirmed his hypothesis on the use of modal verbs.结果证实了他的关于情态动词用法的假设。

7 resource   

n.资源，财力

参考例句：

• All pollution is simply an unused resource.所有的污染只不过是一种未被利用的资源。
• He is full of resource in any emergency.他富有随机应变的才能。