英语听力文摘 English Digest 378、胎教是真的吗？（在线收听）

Y:Did you know that infants prefer their mothers’ voices to that of other females? And that they will change their behavior in order to solicit her voice?

D: Sounds reasonable to me.

Y: Ok, but did you know that a fetus can distinguish its mother’s voice from that of other females before it is even born.

D: I’m not sure. How could anyone possible detect that?

Y: By listening to the heart, fetuses at term were played recordings of their mothers reading a poem, as well as recordings of a female stranger reading the same poem. The fetuses’ hearts accelerated when they heard their own mothers’ voices, but actually decelerated when they heard the voice of the female stranger. The recordings lasted two minutes, but the effects on the fetuses’ hearts went on for several minutes beyond the recordings.

       D: That’s pretty interesting! But so what?

       Y: What is the experience in the womb seems to affect newborn preferences and behavior. Not only that, but fetuses’ recognition of their mothers’ voices proves that fetuses are capable of learning. This all leads scientists to believe that the process of learning language may begin before birth. Perhaps that infants are so quick to pick up on language shouldn’t be surprising. They’ve had some experience with language before they were born. In fact, their speedy grasping of language may not be due to some innate ability hardwired into the brain. And may be due to information the fetus began accumulating in-utero.

Y：你知道吗？比起其他女性的声音，胎儿更喜欢自己妈妈的声音。他们还会为了听到妈妈的声音而改变自己的行为。

D:听起来很有道理。

Y:那你知道吗？婴儿在娘胎里，就能分辨自己妈妈和其他女性的声音了。

D:这个我不确定，但是，这怎么可能？

Y:用心听。给足月胎儿放自己妈妈读诗的录音和陌生阿姨读同首诗的录音。当听到自己妈妈录音时，胎儿的心跳加速；而事实上，当听到陌生阿姨的录音时，胎儿心跳减速。此外，录音时间只有两分钟，但是胎儿心跳对此的反应却远不止两分钟。

D:很有趣！但是那又怎样？

Y:这说明，胎儿在母体中的生活会影响婴儿的选择和行为。另外，胎儿对妈妈声音的识别还证明胎儿有学习的能力。这说明科学家有理由相信胎教对语言的学习有帮助。这也难怪婴儿学习语言那么快了，因为在娘胎里已经有语言基础了。事实上，婴儿超强的学习语言的能力并非归因于大脑天赋；而正是在母亲子宫中累积的信息。

 solicit:征求，招揽