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VOA慢速英语2011--Inside the Minds of Babies

时间:2011-11-02 05:31:19

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(单词翻译)

SCIENCE IN THE NEWS - Inside the Minds of Babies

 

JUNE SIMMS: This is SCIENCE IN THE NEWS, in VOA Special English. I’m June Simms.

MARIO RITTER: And I’m Mario Ritter. This week, we examine scientific findings1 about how intelligence develops in babies.

(MUSIC)

JUNE SIMMS: Not long ago, many people believed that babies only wanted food and to be kept warm and dry. Some people thought babies were not able to learn things until they were five or six months old.

Yet doctors in the United States say babies begin learning2 on their first day of life. The Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development is a federal3 government agency4. Its goal is to identify which experiences can influence healthy development in people.

Researchers at the institute note that babies are strongly influenced by their environment. They say a baby will smile if her mother does something the baby likes. A baby learns to get the best care possible by smiling to please her mother or other caregiver. This is how babies learn to connect and communicate with other people.

Nurses hold newborn babies in Sidon, Lebanon, on Monday, the day the United Nations Population Fund5 estimated6 that the world reached 7 billion people

The 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.

MARIO RITTER: Another study has suggested that low birth weight babies with no evidence of disability may be more likely than other children to have physical and mental problems.

American researchers studied almost five hundred boys and girls. They were born in, or admitted to, one of three hospitals in New Jersey7 between nineteen eighty-four and nineteen eighty-seven. At birth, each child weighed fewer than two thousand grams.

The boys and girls had an average age of sixteen at the time of the study. They were asked to complete intelligence and motor skill tests in their homes. Their test results were compared with those of other children their age.

The study found that the young people with low birth weight often had more problems with motion8 skills than others. These problems were more common among males, those with injured nerve9 tissue10 in the brain and those who had been given oxygen supplies for days as a baby.

(MUSIC)

JUNE SIMMS: Experts say the first three years of a child's life is the most intensive11 period of language and speech development. This is the time when the brain is developing. Language and communication skills are believed to develop best in an environment that is rich with sounds and sights. Also, the child should repeatedly12 hear the speech and language of other people.

The National Institutes of Health says evidence suggests there are important periods of speech and language development in children. This means the brain is best able to learn a language during this period. Officials say the ability to learn a language will be more difficult if these periods pass without early contact with a language.

MARIO RITTER: The first signs of communication happen during the first few days of life when a baby learns that crying will bring food and attention. Research shows that most children recognize the general sounds of their native language by six months of age. By that time, a baby usually begins to make sounds. These sounds become a kind of nonsense13 speech over time.

By the end of the first year, most children are able to say a few simple words. But they may not understand the meaning of their words. By eighteen months of age, most children can say eight to ten words. By two years, most children are able to make simple statements, or sentences. By ages three, four and five, the number of words a child can understand quickly increases. It is at this age that children begin to understand the rules of language.

(MUSIC)

JUNE SIMMS: Many children grow up in homes where more than one language is spoken. It is clear that understanding two languages can help children as they grow older. However, new studies are showing the more immediate14 effects of bilingualism on babies’ brains.

Researchers at the University of Washington organized one of the studies. They measured brain activity to compare babies in bilingual families to those in monolingual homes, where one language was spoken. The information they gathered is helping15 to explain how the early brain listens to language and how listening can influence the brain.

MARIO RITTER:

The researchers studied babies who were between six and twelve months old. The babies were not yet saying words in any language. The youngest monolingual babies were able to recognize a difference between a language used at home and another language. But by ten to twelve months of age, the monolingual babies were not identifying the sounds of the second language, only the main language spoken in their home.

In comparison16, the bilingual babies did not differentiate17 sounds of different languages spoken to them between the ages of six and nine months. But between ten and twelve months, they could identify the different sounds of both languages.

JUNE SIMMS: Another report suggests that the effects languages have on a young brain are a result of people speaking, and not from video or audio18 recordings19. In fact, the American Academy20 of Pediatrics says parents of young children should limit the time youngsters21 spend watching television or videos. The group says that spending time in front of the television offers no educational benefit or help to children younger than two years old.

Many videos are created especially for young children. They are advertised as learning aides. But the American Academy of Pediatrics says there is little evidence that such videos have any beneficial effect on babies. In fact, the group is warning that too much time in front of the television can in fact slow language development in children. Instead it suggests that parents limit the time babies spend watching video screens, including televisions and computers.

MARIO RITTER: The report was released22 last month at a meeting of the American Academy of Pediatrics. The warning is not as severe as one the Academy made in nineteen ninety-nine. At that time, parents were advised to completely avoid television viewing for children under two years old.

The group says it now recognizes that banning all screen time is probably unrealistic in an age where video technology is everywhere. What is more helpful for the development of young children, it says, is communication and activities with people. The AAP says having the television on, even if it is not being watched directly by young children, can cause a problem.

(MUSIC)

JUNE SIMMS: Another American study has shown the effect of early education on future learning abilities. The study followed more than one thousand three hundred children from birth through the ages of ten or eleven. It found that children who received higher quality care before starting school had better language skills by those ages than children who had lower quality care.

The study is called the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development. It is said to be the largest, longest lasting23 and most complete study of child care in the United States.

MARIO RITTER: The children included in the study were born around nineteen ninety-one in ten areas of the country. Researchers examined the quality and amount of child care the children received until they were four and one-half years old. Child care included any care provided24 by people other than the child’s mother that lasted at least ten hours a week. This included any care given by fathers or other family members.

The researchers then examined each child’s performance in school and social development. They also measured other influences, such as the quality of classroom education and parenting.

JUNE SIMMS: The researchers examined whether the developmental qualities that had been observed in young children were still present a few years later. They found that the older children who had received higher quality child care continued to show better ability in tests of language skills.

Researchers tested the children’s ability to name objects shown in a series of pictures. The study confirmed that a link between high quality child care and better test results continued as the children grew older. It also found that the children’s ability was not dependent25 on the amount of time they had spent in child care.

(MUSIC)

MARIO RITTER: This SCIENCE IN THE NEWS was written by Brianna Blake. I’m Mario Ritter with June Simms, who was also our producer.

JUNE SIMMS: And I'm June Simms. You can find transcripts26, MP3s, and podcasts of our programs at voanews.cn. Join us again next week for more news about science in Special English on the Voice of America.


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点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 findings 4tYzV9     
n.发现物( finding的名词复数 );调查(或研究)的结果;(陪审团的)裁决
参考例句:
  • It behoves us to study these findings carefully. 我们理应认真研究这些发现。
  • Their findings have been widely disseminated . 他们的研究成果已经广为传播。
2 learning wpSzFe     
n.学问,学识,学习;动词learn的现在分词
参考例句:
  • When you are learning to ride a bicycle,you often fall off.初学骑自行车时,常会从车上掉下来。
  • Learning languages isn't just a matter of remembering words.学习语言不仅仅是记些单词的事。
3 federal RkSxm     
adj.联盟的;联邦的;(美国)联邦政府的
参考例句:
  • Switzerland is a federal republic.瑞士是一个联邦共和国。
  • The schools are screaming for federal aid.那些学校强烈要求联邦政府的援助。
4 agency iKcy0     
n.经办;代理;代理处
参考例句:
  • This disease is spread through the agency of insects.这种疾病是通过昆虫媒介传播的。
  • He spoke in the person of Xinhua News Agency.他代表新华社讲话。
5 fund vhUx8     
n.基金,资金,存款,财源,贮藏;vt.提供资金,积累
参考例句:
  • They decided to set up a fund for this purpose.他们决定为此专立一项基金。
  • This fund may not be drawn on without permission.这笔钱非经批准不得动用。
6 estimated CtGzc2     
adj.根据估计的
参考例句:
  • She estimated the breadth of the lake to be 500 metres. 她估计湖面大约有500米宽。
  • The man estimated for the repair of the car. 那人估算了修理汽车的费用。
7 jersey Lp5zzo     
n.运动衫
参考例句:
  • He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
  • They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致,都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。
8 motion nEzxY     
n.打手势,示意,移动,动作,提议,大便;v.运动,向...打手势,示意
参考例句:
  • She could feel the rolling motion of the ship under her feet.她能感觉到脚下船在晃动。
  • Don't open the door while the train is in motion.列车运行时,请勿打开车门。
9 nerve Q1lyX     
n.神经;勇气,胆量,沉着,果断
参考例句:
  • Did he have the nerve to say that?他竟有脸说这话吗?
  • He never got up enough nerve to meet me.他从没有足够的胆量来见我。
10 tissue bJmzs     
n.组织;薄纱,薄纸,手巾纸
参考例句:
  • As we age we lose muscle tissue.肌肉组织会随着我们日趋衰老而萎缩。
  • Athletes have hardly any fatty tissue.运动员几乎没有什么脂肪组织。
11 intensive z5oxc     
adj.加强的,密集的;精工细作的,集约的
参考例句:
  • I'll make an intensive study of a subject.我将集中学一门课程。
  • There we received several weeks of intensive training.在那里我们受了几星期的集中训练.
12 repeatedly RkAzVA     
adv.重复地,再三地
参考例句:
  • The loudspeakers blared the speech repeatedly.扬声器里反复大声地播送那篇演讲。
  • He repeatedly beat his foot upon the floor.他反复用脚敲着地板。
13 nonsense 2vEyn     
n.胡说,废话
参考例句:
  • Go along with you! What you say is all nonsense!去你的!你说的全是废话!
  • "Don't talk nonsense",she said sharply.“别胡扯”,她严厉地说。
14 immediate aapxh     
adj.立即的;直接的,最接近的;紧靠的
参考例句:
  • His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
  • We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。
15 helping 2rGzDc     
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。
16 comparison TqEzY     
n.比较,对照;比拟,比喻
参考例句:
  • They make a comparison of New York to a beehive.他们把纽约比作一个蜂巢。
  • This dress is really cheaper by comparison.比较起来,这件衣服确实便宜。
17 differentiate cm3yc     
vi.(between)区分;vt.区别;使不同
参考例句:
  • You can differentiate between the houses by the shape of their chimneys.你可以凭借烟囱形状的不同来区分这两幢房子。
  • He never learned to differentiate between good and evil.他从未学会分辨善恶。
18 audio 9yOziJ     
n./adj.音频(响)(的);声音(的),听觉(的)
参考例句:
  • Often,the meeting is recorded on audio or video media for later reference.通常这种会议会以视频或者音频形式记录下来,供以后查阅。
  • You don't even have to pay for audio programs.你大可不必为自己听这些节目付费。
19 recordings 22f9946cd05973582e73e4e3c0239bb7     
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
20 academy FIxyW     
n.(高等)专科院校;学术社团,协会,研究院
参考例句:
  • This is an academy of music.这是一所音乐专科学院。
  • I visited Chinese Academy of Sciences yesterday.我昨天去访问了中国科学院。
21 youngsters 9d413e799253048dc5ebe7d07ff8dd5f     
n.孩子( youngster的名词复数 );少年;青年;年轻人
参考例句:
  • We followed the youngsters at a more sedate pace. 我们跟在年轻人后面,步子稍慢一点。
  • The camp is for youngsters aged 8 to 14. 这次夏令营是为8至14岁的少年儿童安排的。
22 released 23690fd759f17135ec9879b56ff2600c     
v.释放( release的过去式和过去分词 );放开;发布;发行
参考例句:
  • He was released on bail pending committal proceedings. 他交保获释正在候审。
  • With hindsight it is easy to say they should not have released him. 事后才说他们本不应该释放他,这倒容易。
23 lasting IpCz02     
adj.永久的,永恒的;vbl.持续,维持
参考例句:
  • The lasting war debased the value of the dollar.持久的战争使美元贬值。
  • We hope for a lasting settlement of all these troubles.我们希望这些纠纷能获得永久的解决。
24 provided PkNzng     
conj.假如,若是;adj.预备好的,由...供给的
参考例句:
  • Provided it's fine we will have a pleasant holiday.如果天气良好,我们的假日将过得非常愉快。
  • I will come provided that it's not raining tomorrow.如果明天不下雨,我就来。
25 dependent gm6z5     
adj.依靠的,依赖的,依赖他人生活者
参考例句:
  • He has a mother completely dependent on him.他有一个完全靠他赡养的母亲。
  • The country is dependent on foreign aid.这个国家靠外援生存。
26 transcripts 525c0b10bb61e5ddfdd47d7faa92db26     
n.抄本( transcript的名词复数 );转写本;文字本;副本
参考例句:
  • Like mRNA, both tRNA and rRNA are transcripts of chromosomal DNA. tRNA及rRNA同mRNA一样,都是染色体DNA的转录产物。 来自辞典例句
  • You can't take the transfer students'exam without your transcripts. 没有成绩证明书,你就不能参加转学考试。 来自辞典例句

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