三岁看老? 大脑测试可预测孩子的未来!

 　　Brain tests at the age of three appear to predict a child's future chance of success in life, say researchers.

　　研究人员于日前表示，三岁时的大脑测试似乎预示着一个孩子未来在生活中获得成功的机会。

　　Low cognitive¹ test scores for skills like language indicate less developed brains, possibly caused by too little stimulation² in early life, they say.

　　他们还表示，低语言能力的认知测试分数意味着大脑不太发达，可能是由于早期生活中的刺激太少。

　　The US researchers from Duke University say the findings highlight the importance of early life experiences and interventions³ to support vulnerable youngsters.

　　来自杜克大学的美国研究人员称，这些发现突出了早期生活经验和干预措施对支持弱势青少年的重要性。

　　三岁看老? 大脑测试可预测孩子的未来!

　　Although the study followed people in New Zealand, the investigators⁴ believe that the results could apply to other countries.

　　此次研究的对象是新西兰的孩子，但是研究人员认为结果可能也适用于其他国家。

　　They followed the lives of more than 1,000 children. Those who had low test scores for language, behavioural, movement and cognitive skills at three years old went on to account for more than 80% of crimes, and received 66% of social welfare payments in adulthood⁵.

　　在研究人员追踪的1000多个孩子的生活中，那些在三岁时语言能力、行为能力、运动能力和认知能力的测试成绩低的人，占犯罪的80％，并且在成年后获得了66％的社会福利金。

　　The researchers found that a similar proportion of middle class children who scored low in tests when they were three also went on to experience difficulties when they were older.

　　研究人员还发现，相当比例的中产阶级的孩子在三岁时的测试得分较低，在年龄较大时也会遇到困难。

　　The researchers stress that the outcomes are not set at the age of three. The course of their lives could potentially be changed if they receive support later in life.

　　研究人员强调，结果不是在三岁时设定的。如果他们在生命后期得到支持，他们的生活过程可能会有所改变。

1 cognitive   

adj.认知的，认识的，有感知的

参考例句：

• As children grow older,their cognitive processes become sharper.孩子们越长越大，他们的认知过程变得更为敏锐。
• The cognitive psychologist is like the tinker who wants to know how a clock works.认知心理学者倒很像一个需要通晓钟表如何运转的钟表修理匠。

2 stimulation   

n.刺激，激励，鼓舞

参考例句：

• The playgroup provides plenty of stimulation for the children.幼儿游戏组给孩子很多启发。
• You don't get any intellectual stimulation in this job.你不能从这份工作中获得任何智力启发。

3 interventions   

n.介入，干涉，干预( intervention的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Economic analysis of government interventions deserves detailed discussion. 政府对经济的干预应该给予充分的论述。 来自辞典例句
• The judge's frequent interventions made a mockery of justice. 法官的屡屡干预是对正义的践踏。 来自互联网

4 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 adulthood   

n.成年，成人期

参考例句：

• Some infantile actions survive into adulthood.某些婴儿期的行为一直保持到成年期。
• Few people nowadays are able to maintain friendships into adulthood.如今很少有人能将友谊维持到成年。