听力文摘：胎教是真的吗？

Fetus¹ Learning

胎教是真的吗？

Did you know that infants prefer their mothers' voices to that of other females? And that they will change their behavior in order to solicit² her voice?

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。

Sounds reasonable to me.

听起来很有道理。

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

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。

I'm not sure. How could anyone possible detect that?

这个我不确定，但是，这怎么可能？

By listening to the heart, fetuses³ at term were played recordings⁴ 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.

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。

That's pretty interesting! But so what?

很有趣！但是那又怎样？

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 innate⁵ ability hardwired into the brain. And may be due to information the fetus began accumulating in-utero.

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。

1 fetus   

n.胎，胎儿

参考例句：

• In the fetus,blood cells are formed in different sites at different ages.胎儿的血细胞在不同时期生成在不同的部位。
• No one knows why a fetus is not automatically rejected by the mother's immune system. 没有人知道为什么母亲的免疫系统不会自动排斥胎儿。

2 solicit   

vi.勾引；乞求；vt.请求，乞求；招揽(生意)

参考例句：

• Beggars are not allowed to solicit in public places.乞丐不得在公共场所乞讨。
• We should often solicit opinions from the masses.我们应该经常征求群众意见。

3 fetuses   

n.胎，胎儿( fetus的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• DNA was extracted from fetuses at mid-gestation, about 10 days past conception. DNA从受孕大约10天后的中期妊娠胚胎中提取。 来自互联网
• Brucellosis is a disease that causes fetuses to abort in cattle. 普鲁士菌病是一种可以导致牲畜胎儿夭折的疾病。 来自互联网

4 recordings   

n.记录( recording的名词复数 )；录音；录像；唱片

参考例句：

• a boxed set of original recordings 一套盒装原声录音带
• old jazz recordings reissued on CD 以激光唱片重新发行的老爵士乐

5 innate   

adj.天生的，固有的，天赋的

参考例句：

• You obviously have an innate talent for music.你显然有天生的音乐才能。
• Correct ideas are not innate in the mind.人的正确思想不是自己头脑中固有的。