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03 婴孩的早期智力开发
DATE=2-20-01 TITLE=SCIENCE IN THE NEWS #2112 - Babies and (1)Intelligence BYLINE=George Grow
VOICE ONE: This is Bob Doughty.
VOICE TWO:
And this is Steve Ember with SCIENCE IN THE NEWS, a VOA Special English program about recent developments in science. Today, we discuss some recent findings about how intelligence develops in babies.
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VOICE ONE:
Not long ago, many people believed that babies only wanted food and to be kept warm and (2)dry. Some people thought babies were not able to learn things until they were five or six months old.
But doctors in the United States say babies begin learning on their first day of life. The National (3)Institute of Child Health and Development is an American government (4)agency. Its goal is to discover which experiences can (5)influence healthy development in humans.
Researchers at the Institute note that babies are strongly influenced by their (6)environment. They say a baby will smile if his mother says or does something the baby likes. A baby learns to get the best care possible by smiling to please his mother or other caregiver. This is how babies learn to connect and (7)communicate with other humans.
VOICE TWO:
The American researchers say this ability to learn exists in a baby even before birth. They say newborn babies can recognize and understand sounds they heard while they were still developing inside their mothers.
One study shows that babies can learn before they are born. The researchers placed a tape recorder on the (8)stomach of a (9)pregnant woman. Then, they played a recording of a short story. On the day the baby was born, the scientists tested to find out if the baby knew the sounds of the story he had heard while inside his mother.
The researchers did this by placing a device in the mouth of the (10)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 the story again and again.
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VOICE ONE:
A few years ago, researchers in Britain showed one way a mother may influence the intelligence of her baby. They found that babies who are fed milk produced by their mothers might develop greater intelligence than those who are fed other kinds of milk.
The British study involved three-hundred babies born early, before the end of the normal nine-month development period. Two-hundred-ten babies were fed breast milk produced by their mothers. The other ninety babies were given a liquid called formula. (11) Formula is commonly used in place of mother's milk.
The babies were too small to take the milk directly from their mothers' breasts or from bottles. So, they were fed through tubes. That means the way the babies were fed did not affect the study.
VOICE TWO:
The babies involved in the study were given intelligence tests when they were eight years old. Those who were given breast milk did better on the tests than those who received formula.
The British researchers said their study should not be considered (12)final proof that children who are breast-fed are more intelligent. But they said the study did produce strong evidence that human milk contains fats and (13)hormones needed for development.
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VOICE ONE:
Many experts say the first years of a child's life are important for all later development. One American expert believes intelligence is built on (14)emotional exchanges during the first three years of life. Stanley Greenspan is a professor at the George Washington University Medical School in Washington, D-C. He has written several books about child development.
Doctor Greenspan agrees with experts who say babies learn and develop better if they are actively involved. For example, he says playing with an eight-month-old baby is better than showing pictures to the baby. He says playing teaches the baby how to communicate.
VOICE TWO:
A few years ago, Doctor Greenspan published a book called “The Growth of the Mind.” He wrote that six experiences are necessary for a child to develop a healthy mind. These necessary experiences for children are the ability to be (15)calm and under control. Being involved with other people and forming trusting relationships. Communicating with smiles and other body movement. Seeing systems or (16)common ways to do things. Learning to create ideas. And building a link between ideas and thinking.
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VOICE ONE:
A recent study shows how mothers can strongly influence(17) social development and language skills in their children. The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (18)supervised the study. The agency worked with researchers at fourteen universities across the United States.
The study involved more than one-thousand-two-hundred mothers and children. Researchers studied the children from the age of one month to three years. They observed the mothers playing with their children four times during this period.The researchers(19) attempted to measure the(20) sensitivity of the mothers. The women were considered sensitive if they supported their children's activities and did not (21)interfere 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 the mental condition called (22)depression.
VOICE TWO:
The study found that the children of depressed women did not do as well on tests as the children of women who did not (23)suffer from depression. The children of depressed women did poorly on 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 also noted that the sensitivity of the mothers was important to the general health of their children. Children did better when their mothers were caring, even when the women suffered from depression.
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VOICE ONE:
A long-term American study shows the importance of early education for poor children. The study is known as the Abecedarian Project. It involved more than one-hundred young children from poor families in the state of North Carolina.
Half of the children attended an all-day program at a high-quality childcare center. The center offered educational, health and social programs. Children took part in games and activities to increase their thinking and language skills and social and (24)emotional development. The children attended the program from when they were a few weeks old until the age of five years. The other group of children did not attend the childcare center. After the age of five, both groups attended public school.
VOICE TWO:
Researchers compared the two groups of children. When they were babies, both groups had similar results in tests for mental and physical skills. However, from the age of eighteen months, the children in the educational child care program did much better in tests.
The researchers tested the children again when they were twelve and fifteen years old. The tests found that the children who had been in the child care center continued to have higher (25)average test results. These children did much better on tests of reading and (26)mathematics.
VOICE ONE:
Recently, organizers of the (27)Abecedarian Project completed yet another examination of the students who are now twenty-one years old. They were tested for thinking and educational ability, employment, parenting and social skills.
The researchers found that the young (28)adults who had the early education still did better in reading and mathematics tests. They were more than two times as likely to be attending college or to have(29) graduated from college.
Experts say the Abecedarian Project is the longest and most carefully controlled study of the effects of early education. The study shows that early childhood education improves the educational success of poor children. The study is more evidence that learning during the first months and years of life is important for all later development.
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VOICE TWO:
This VOA Special English program, SCIENCE IN THE NEWS, was written and produced by George Grow. This is Steve Ember.
VOICE ONE:
And this is Bob Doughty. Join us again next week for more news about science in Special English on the Voice of America.
(1) intelligence[ in5telidVEns ]n.智力, 聪明, 智能
(2) dry[ drai ]adj.干的, 干燥的, 口渴的vt.(使)干燥, (使)变干v.干燥
(3) institute[ 5institju:t ]n.学会, 学院, 协会vt.创立, 开始, 制定, 开始(调查), 提起(诉讼)
(4) agency[ 5eidVEnsi ]n.代理处, 行销处, 代理, 中介
(5) influence[ 5influEns ]n.影响, 感化, 势力, 有影响的人(或事), (电磁)感应vt.影响, 改变
(6) environment[ in5vaiErEnmEnt ]n.环境, 外界
(7) communicate[ kE5mju:nikeit ]v.沟通, 通信, (房间、道路、花园等)相通, 传达, 感染
(8) stomach[ 5stQmEk ]n.胃, 胃口, 胃部v.容忍
(9) pregnant[ 5pre^nEnt ]adj.怀孕的, 重要的, 富有意义的, 孕育的
(10) newborn[nju:5bC:n, 5nju:bC:n]n.婴儿adj.新生的, 再生的
(11) formula[ 5fC:mjulE ]n.公式, 规则, 客套语,代乳品
(12) final[ 5fainEl ]n.结局, 决赛, 期末考试, < adj.最后的, 最终的, 决定性的
(13) hormone[ 5hC:mEun ]n.荷尔蒙, 激素
(14) emotional[ i5mEuFEnl ]adj.情绪的, 情感的
(15) calm[ kB:m ]adj.(天气、海洋等)静的, 平静的, 沉着的v.(使)平静, (使)镇定, 平息
(16) common[ 5kCmEn ]adj.共同的, 公共的, 公有的, 普通的, n.[复][总]平民, 公有,
(17) social[ 5sEuFEl ]adj.社会的, 爱交际的, 社交的, 群居的
(18) supervise [ 5sju:pEvaiz ]v.监督, 管理, 指导
(19) attempt[ E5tempt ]n.努力, 尝试, 企图vt.尝试, 企图
(20) sensitivity[ 5sensi5tiviti ]n.敏感, 灵敏(度), 灵敏性
(21) interfere[ 7intE5fiE ]vi.干涉, 干预, 妨碍, 打扰
(22) depression[ di5preFEn ]n.沮丧, 消沉, 低气压, 低压
(23) suffer[ 5sQfE ]vt.遭受, 经历, 忍受vi.受痛苦, 受损害
(24) emotional[ i5mEuFEnl ]adj.情绪的, 情感的
(25) average[ 5AvEridV ]n.平均, 平均水平, 平均数, 海损adj.一般的, 通常的, 平均的
(26) mathematics[ 7mAWi5mAtiks ]n.数学
(27) abecedarian[ 7eibi(:)si(:)5dZEriEn ]n.初学者, 学字母者adj.字母的, 初步的
(28) adult[ E5dQlt, 5AdQlt ]n.成人, 成年人adj.成人的, 成熟的
(29) graduate[ 5^rAdjueit, -dVueit ]n.(大学)毕业生, 研究生v.(使)(大学)毕业
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