VOA慢速英语 2007 0130b
时间：2018-12-07 作者：英语课 分类：VOA慢速英语2007年（一）月
英语课
VOICE ONE:
This is SCIENCE IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English. I'm Bob Doughty 1.
VOICE TWO:
Scientists find that babies can learn even before they are born
And I'm Faith Lapidus. On our program this week, we discuss recent findings about how intelligence develops in babies.
(MUSIC)
VOICE ONE:
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 learning on their first day of life. The National Institute of Child Health and Development is a federal government agency. Its goal is to indentify which experiences can influence healthy development in human beings.
Research scientists 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 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 stomach of a pregnant 2 woman. Then, they played a recording 3 of a short story.
On the day the baby was born, the researchers tested to find out if he knew the sounds of the story repeated while inside his mother. They did this by placing a device in the mouth of the 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.
VOICE ONE:
Many experts say the first years of a child's life are important for all later development. An American study shows how mothers can strongly influence social development and language skills in their children.
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.
VOICE TWO:
The researchers attempted to measure the sensitivity 4 of the mothers. The women were considered sensitive if they supported their children's activities and did not interfere 5 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 depression.
The children of depressed 6 women did not do as well on tests as the children of women who did not suffer from depression. The children of depressed women did poorly on tests of language skills and understanding what they hear.
These children also were less cooperative 7 and had more problems dealing 8 with other people. The researchers noted 9 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.
(MUSIC)
VOICE ONE:
Another study suggests that low-birth weight babies with no evidence of disability may be more likely than other children to have physical and mental problems. The study results were published last October in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine.
American researchers studied nearly five hundred boys and girls. They were born in, or admitted to, one of three hospitals in New Jersey 10 between nineteen eighty-four and nineteen eighty-seven. At birth, each child weighed less than two thousand grams.
The boys and girls had an average age of sixteen years 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 motor skills than others. A motor skill is a skill that requires a living thing to use its skeletal muscles effectively. Motor problems were more common among males, those with injured nerve tissue in the brain, and those who had been connected to oxygen supplies for days as a baby.
(MUSIC)
VOICE TWO:
The most intensive period of language and speech development is during the first three years of a child's life. 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 repeatedly hear the speech and language of other people.
America's 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.
VOICE ONE:
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. At that time, a baby also usually begins to make sounds. These sounds become a kind of nonsense 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 form 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)
VOICE TWO:
A long-term American study shows the importance of early education for poor children. The study is known as the Abecedarian 11 Project. It involved more than one-hundred young children from poor families in 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 emotional development. The program also included health foods for the children.
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 ONE:
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 childcare center continued to have higher average test results. These children did much better on tests of reading and mathematics.
VOICE TWO:
A few years ago, organizers of the Abecedarian Project tested the students again. At the time, each student was twenty-one years old. They were tested for thinking and educational ability, employment, parenting and social skills.
The researchers found that the young 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 completed college.
In addition, the children who received early education were older on average, when their first child was born.
The study offers more evidence that learning during the first months and years of life is important for all later development.
The researchers of the Abecedarian Project believe their study shows a need for lawmakers to spend money on public early education. They believe these kinds of programs could reduce the number of children who do not complete school and are unemployed 12.
(MUSIC)
VOICE ONE:
SCIENCE IN THE NEWS was written and produced by Brianna Blake. I'm Bob Doughty.
VOICE TWO:
And I'm Faith Lapidus. Join us again next week for more news about science in Special English on the Voice of America.
This is SCIENCE IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English. I'm Bob Doughty 1.
VOICE TWO:
Scientists find that babies can learn even before they are born
And I'm Faith Lapidus. On our program this week, we discuss recent findings about how intelligence develops in babies.
(MUSIC)
VOICE ONE:
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 learning on their first day of life. The National Institute of Child Health and Development is a federal government agency. Its goal is to indentify which experiences can influence healthy development in human beings.
Research scientists 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 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 stomach of a pregnant 2 woman. Then, they played a recording 3 of a short story.
On the day the baby was born, the researchers tested to find out if he knew the sounds of the story repeated while inside his mother. They did this by placing a device in the mouth of the 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.
VOICE ONE:
Many experts say the first years of a child's life are important for all later development. An American study shows how mothers can strongly influence social development and language skills in their children.
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.
VOICE TWO:
The researchers attempted to measure the sensitivity 4 of the mothers. The women were considered sensitive if they supported their children's activities and did not interfere 5 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 depression.
The children of depressed 6 women did not do as well on tests as the children of women who did not suffer from depression. The children of depressed women did poorly on tests of language skills and understanding what they hear.
These children also were less cooperative 7 and had more problems dealing 8 with other people. The researchers noted 9 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.
(MUSIC)
VOICE ONE:
Another study suggests that low-birth weight babies with no evidence of disability may be more likely than other children to have physical and mental problems. The study results were published last October in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine.
American researchers studied nearly five hundred boys and girls. They were born in, or admitted to, one of three hospitals in New Jersey 10 between nineteen eighty-four and nineteen eighty-seven. At birth, each child weighed less than two thousand grams.
The boys and girls had an average age of sixteen years 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 motor skills than others. A motor skill is a skill that requires a living thing to use its skeletal muscles effectively. Motor problems were more common among males, those with injured nerve tissue in the brain, and those who had been connected to oxygen supplies for days as a baby.
(MUSIC)
VOICE TWO:
The most intensive period of language and speech development is during the first three years of a child's life. 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 repeatedly hear the speech and language of other people.
America's 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.
VOICE ONE:
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. At that time, a baby also usually begins to make sounds. These sounds become a kind of nonsense 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 form 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)
VOICE TWO:
A long-term American study shows the importance of early education for poor children. The study is known as the Abecedarian 11 Project. It involved more than one-hundred young children from poor families in 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 emotional development. The program also included health foods for the children.
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 ONE:
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 childcare center continued to have higher average test results. These children did much better on tests of reading and mathematics.
VOICE TWO:
A few years ago, organizers of the Abecedarian Project tested the students again. At the time, each student was twenty-one years old. They were tested for thinking and educational ability, employment, parenting and social skills.
The researchers found that the young 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 completed college.
In addition, the children who received early education were older on average, when their first child was born.
The study offers more evidence that learning during the first months and years of life is important for all later development.
The researchers of the Abecedarian Project believe their study shows a need for lawmakers to spend money on public early education. They believe these kinds of programs could reduce the number of children who do not complete school and are unemployed 12.
(MUSIC)
VOICE ONE:
SCIENCE IN THE NEWS was written and produced by Brianna Blake. I'm Bob Doughty.
VOICE TWO:
And I'm Faith Lapidus. Join us again next week for more news about science in Special English on the Voice of America.
1 doughty
adj.勇猛的，坚强的
- Most of successful men have the characteristics of contumacy and doughty.绝大多数成功人士都有共同的特质：脾气倔强，性格刚强。
- The doughty old man battled his illness with fierce determination.坚强的老人用巨大毅力与疾病作斗争。
3 recording
n.录音，记录
- How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
- I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。
4 sensitivity
n.敏感（性），灵敏（度）
- Hearing sensitivity declines with age.听觉因年老而衰退。
- Such is the sensitivity of the information that only two people are allowed to know it.这信息极为敏感，只允许两个人知道。
5 interfere
v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰
- If we interfere, it may do more harm than good.如果我们干预的话，可能弊多利少。
- When others interfere in the affair,it always makes troubles. 别人一卷入这一事件，棘手的事情就来了。
6 depressed
adj.沮丧的，抑郁的，不景气的，萧条的
- When he was depressed,he felt utterly divorced from reality.他心情沮丧时就感到完全脱离了现实。
- His mother was depressed by the sad news.这个坏消息使他的母亲意志消沉。
7 cooperative
adj.有合作意向的，合作的；n.合作社（企业）等
- The workmen are very cooperative,so the work goes on smoothly.工人们十分合作，所以工作进展顺利。
- We decided to set up a cooperative.我们决定开办一家合作社。
8 dealing
n.经商方法，待人态度
- This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
- His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。
9 noted
adj.著名的，知名的
- The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
- Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。
10 jersey
n.运动衫
- 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。
11 abecedarian
n.初学者；adj.字母的，初步的
- The article does an abecedarian analysis with respect to this one problem.本文就这一问题做一个初步的分析。
- What fund has very big development perspective,help,I am abecedarian.哪些基金有很大的发展前景，帮帮忙，我是初学者。
12 unemployed
adj.失业的，没有工作的；未动用的，闲置的
- There are now over four million unemployed workers in this country.这个国家现有四百万失业人员。
- The unemployed hunger for jobs.失业者渴望得到工作。