英语美文：如何让孩子更聪明？

 早期教育对宝宝的健康成长至关重要。从宝宝出生起，爸爸妈妈面临的一大课题就是怎样才能让自己的宝宝更聪明。要知道，宝宝首先是用自己的五官感觉认识和发现这个世界的，所以从最初，家长们就要让宝宝多动脑、多动手。那么具体怎么做才能让宝宝更聪明呢？来看看专家给我们支的七个绝招吧。

　　From birth, your child is a sensory¹ sponge, taking in the world with the five senses of vision, hearing, smell, touch, and taste. And the quality of these experiences has a deep effect on the development of a baby's brain. But while you may feel obligated to constantly entertain your child or buy complicated toys that seemingly guarantee rich sensory experiences, experts say that simple, thoughtful, consistent interaction is all a child needs to develop his senses and mind.

　　Joshua Sparrow, MD, a psychiatry² professor at Harvard Medical School and co-author, with parenting authority T. Berry Brazelton, of Touchpoints—Birth to Three, recommends that parents help their child discover the world through his senses "not by necessarily doing a whole lot but by following their lead. [With a] four-month old who is looking to reach, you might move the object a little closer to [him] when [he] looks like [he's] going to give up." You can also go easy on buying electronic toys with a lot of bells and whistles (and expensive price tags to boot). Experts say this kind of toy tends to be one-way interactive³, with the toy "talking" at the child.

　　Instead, take advantage of natural opportunities to sharpen your child's senses and brain:

　　1. Go for a walk.

　　For many moms, walks are a great way to soothe⁴ a baby and a gentle way to get in shape after delivery. But they're also an excellent opportunity to help your child engage her senses. For instance, if you stop to smell the roses on your stroll, your baby will not only understand that flower's scent⁵, but she can also touch the petals⁶ (look for thorns!), see the pretty colors, and hear your description of what you're doing.

　　2. Do the laundry.

　　It may be monotonous⁷ for you, but for your child, the laundry is a sensory adventure. "A toddler helping⁸ fold laundry fresh from the dryer⁹ is using her senses to process information, and we help them understand that information when we talk about the experiences. ‘Aren't these towels warm? Don't your PJs smell good? Feel how soft this sweater is!’" suggests Jeff Johnson, founder¹⁰ of the Iowa-based Explorations Early Learning, LLC and author of Babies in The Rain: Promoting Play, Exploration, and Discovery with Infants and Toddlers.

　　3. Make morning routines more meaningful.

　　Clothing or feeding your child (or having them do it on their own, depending on his age) clearly involves senses like touch, seeing, taste, and smell. But you can add a conversation to involve the sense of hearing in these everyday rituals. For instance, serve a crispy rice cereal. Have your child listen to the crackling, taste the cereal, learn the word "Pop!" and allow him to add any other comments (through expressions, sounds, or words, again, depending on his age). Ask him what color shirt he wants to wear, if he wants apple juice or milk and why, how different fabrics¹¹ feel against his skin or how creamed corn tastes. Says Johnson, "That running commentary while eating, dressing¹², grocery shopping, driving, and doing all the mundane¹³ things that are part of daily life is the best way to help kids make sense of their senses. It also builds language skills and interpersonal bonds."

　　4. Put on a show.

　　While you don't have to entertain kids nonstop, engaging them in some parent-child musical theatre can be fun—and beneficial. Says Sparrow, "The idea is [to focus on] activities that involve this relationship with another human being as the source of the stimulation¹⁴." Your voice can be more interesting to your baby than, say, the robotic tones of a mobile. "Babies' hearing is set up so they attend preferentially to sounds within the human range," says Sparrow. Plus, the visual of your improve acting¹⁵ just may cause them to join in. Think of your yourself as the best mobile toy ever—you can be funny, soothing¹⁶, fast, slow, loud, quiet, depending on what your child's face and body language is telling you.

　　5. Take your time.

　　Even following these ideas isn't going to make your kid into a "super kid". Every child will develop at an individual rate, as long as she's not severely¹⁷ neglected. "The goal is not to move the kid to the next developmental stage," says Sparrow. "For sensory or motor development, don't be in a rush." (That's not to say kids can't have difficulties: Johnson says signs of possible problems include an infant's failure to track objects with his eyes by the time he's four months old, a reluctance¹⁸ to be cuddled, or a lack of response to your voice or to loud noises. In cases like these, see your pediatrician right away.)

　　6. Allow TV once in a while.

　　If you need some time to yourself, you won't be guilty of neglecting your child or doing any long-term harm if you sit them in front of the boob tube for half an hour. "I think it's important for parents to know that it's okay if they get a break to take care of themselves," says Sparrow. But he also urges moderation: the more time your child spends in front of Big Bird, the less time she's spending interacting with you and the rest of the world.

　　7. Don't overdo¹⁹ it.

　　When helping your child explore the environment, whether through walks, conversation, or the occasional toy, you'll want to avoid overwhelming him (you'll be able to tell if you are by his reactions). In order to avoid one-sided sensory overload²⁰ or overstimulation, focus on natural interaction and simple toys like wooden blocks, says Johnson. "I would not waste money on a mobile. The truth is that most infant rooms are probably visually over-stimulating. We cram²¹ our homes with so much visual clutter²² that babies have a hard time picking out a place to focus."

1 sensory   

adj.知觉的，感觉的，知觉器官的

参考例句：

• Human powers of sensory discrimination are limited.人类感官分辨能力有限。
• The sensory system may undergo long-term adaptation in alien environments.感觉系统对陌生的环境可能经过长时期才能适应。

2 psychiatry   

n.精神病学，精神病疗法

参考例句：

• The study appeared in the Amercian science Journal of Psychiatry.这个研究发表在美国精神病学的杂志上。
• A physician is someone who specializes in psychiatry.精神病专家是专门从事精神病治疗的人。

3 interactive   

adj.相互作用的，互相影响的，（电脑）交互的

参考例句：

• The psychotherapy is carried out in small interactive groups.这种心理治疗是在互动的小组之间进行的。
• This will make videogames more interactive than ever.这将使电子游戏的互动性更胜以往。

4 soothe   

v.安慰；使平静；使减轻；缓和；奉承

参考例句：

• I've managed to soothe him down a bit.我想方设法使他平静了一点。
• This medicine should soothe your sore throat.这种药会减轻你的喉痛。

5 scent   

n.气味，香味，香水，线索，嗅觉；v.嗅，发觉

参考例句：

• The air was filled with the scent of lilac.空气中弥漫着丁香花的芬芳。
• The flowers give off a heady scent at night.这些花晚上散发出醉人的芳香。

6 petals   

n.花瓣( petal的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• white petals tinged with blue 略带蓝色的白花瓣
• The petals of many flowers expand in the sunshine. 许多花瓣在阳光下开放。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

7 monotonous   

adj.单调的，一成不变的，使人厌倦的

参考例句：

• She thought life in the small town was monotonous.她觉得小镇上的生活单调而乏味。
• His articles are fixed in form and monotonous in content.他的文章千篇一律，一个调调儿。

8 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

9 dryer   

n.干衣机，干燥剂

参考例句：

• He bought a dryer yesterday.他昨天买了一台干燥机。
• There is a washer and a dryer in the basement.地下室里有洗衣机和烘干机。

10 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

11 fabrics   

织物( fabric的名词复数 )； 布； 构造； （建筑物的）结构（如墙、地面、屋顶）：质地

参考例句：

• cotton fabrics and synthetics 棉织物与合成织物
• The fabrics are merchandised through a network of dealers. 通过经销网点销售纺织品。

12 dressing   

n.(食物)调料；包扎伤口的用品，敷料

参考例句：

• Don't spend such a lot of time in dressing yourself.别花那么多时间来打扮自己。
• The children enjoy dressing up in mother's old clothes.孩子们喜欢穿上妈妈旧时的衣服玩。

13 mundane   

adj.平凡的；尘世的；宇宙的

参考例句：

• I hope I can get an interesting job and not something mundane.我希望我可以得到的是一份有趣的工作，而不是一份平凡无奇的。
• I find it humorous sometimes that even the most mundane occurrences can have an impact on our awareness.我发现生活有时挺诙谐的，即使是最平凡的事情也能影响我们的感知。

14 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。

15 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

16 soothing   

adj.慰藉的；使人宽心的；镇静的

参考例句：

• Put on some nice soothing music.播放一些柔和舒缓的音乐。
• His casual, relaxed manner was very soothing.他随意而放松的举动让人很快便平静下来。

17 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

18 reluctance   

n.厌恶，讨厌，勉强，不情愿

参考例句：

• The police released Andrew with reluctance.警方勉强把安德鲁放走了。
• He showed the greatest reluctance to make a reply.他表示很不愿意答复。

19 overdo   

vt.把...做得过头，演得过火

参考例句：

• Do not overdo your privilege of reproving me.不要过分使用责备我的特权。
• The taxi drivers' association is urging its members,who can work as many hours as they want,not to overdo it.出租车司机协会劝告那些工作时长不受限制的会员不要疲劳驾驶。

20 overload   

vt.使超载；n.超载

参考例句：

• Don't overload the boat or it will sink.别超载，否则船会沉。
• Large meals overload the digestive system.吃得太饱会加重消化系统的负担。

21 cram   

v.填塞，塞满，临时抱佛脚，为考试而学习

参考例句：

• There was such a cram in the church.教堂里拥挤得要命。
• The room's full,we can't cram any more people in.屋里满满的，再也挤不进去人了。

22 clutter   

n.零乱，杂乱；vt.弄乱，把…弄得杂乱

参考例句：

• The garage is in such a clutter that we can't find anything.车库如此凌乱，我们什么也找不到。
• We'll have to clear up all this clutter.我们得把这一切凌乱的东西整理清楚。