Mothers can still offer comfort, even from a distance, a new study has found. The results show that simply hearing their mothers’ voice over the phone works just as well at calming the nerves of stressed children as a real-life pat on the shoulder.
The soothing（撫慰的）effect is most likely due to the release of the hormone（荷爾蒙）, oxytocin（催生素）, in the brain, the researchers say. This “love hormone” is known to quell stress and is likely to be involved in social connections, including those between a mother and a child.
Previous work has revealed that this hormone is released during physical contact with a mother. “But it’s clear from these results that a mother’s voice can have the same effect as a hug, even if she isn’t actually standing there,” said the researcher, Leslie Seltzer, a biological scientist.
Seltzer tested a group of 61 girls, aged 7 to 12, by having them make an unprepared speech and solve a series of maths problems in front of a group of strangers, sending their hearts racing and levels of cortisol—a hormone associated with stress—soaring.
Facing a challenge like that raises stress levels of a lot of people. Once stressed, a third of the girls were comforted in person by their mothers with hugs. A third of the girls watched an emotionally neutral 75-minute video. The rest were handed a telephone with their mothers on the line.
For the girls who interacted in person or over the phone with their mothers, the levels of the “love hormone” rose significantly, and the stress-marking hormone was washed away. This effect didn’t show up for participants who watched the video.
Seltzer is now testing the amount of oxytocin released with other communication methods—like text messaging—and hopes to see the research spread out from human subjects. “It’s not just us, of course. Lots of very social species have voices,” she said. “on the one hand, we are curious to see if this effect is unique to humans. On the other, we’re hoping researchers who study vocal communication will consider looking at oxytocin release in other animals and apply it to broader questions of social behavior and evolutionary biology.
1.Mothers’ voice over the phone can reduce children’s nerves according to the study, because .
|
A．children can imagine their mothers’ hugs on the line |
|
B．children enjoy their mothers’ voice and forget their worries |
|
C．mothers are good at comforting their children, even on the phone |
|
D．mothers’ voice can promote the release of the love hormone |
2.The underlined word “quell” in the second paragraph probably means “ ”.
|
A．cause or bring |
B．delay or direct |
|
C．stop or reduce |
D．develop or train |
3. From the study, we know that .
|
A．the level of cortisol determines how stressed a person is |
|
B．the 61 girls were divided into two groups in the research |
|
C．the recent study had the same results as the previous one |
|
D．watching a video is the best way to reduce one’s stress |
4.From the last paragraph, we can conclude that .
|
A．text messaging has the same effect on oxytocin release as telephoning |
|
B．the effect of a mother's voice on oxytocin in animals is still not known |
|
C．the effect of communication on stress is unique to humans |
|
D．the research has been applied to social behavior and evolutionary biology |
1.D
2.C
3.A
4.B
【解析】
試題分析：
1.D 細節題。根據第二段1,2行The soothing（撫慰的）effect is most likely due to the release of the hormone（荷爾蒙）, oxytocin（催生素）, in the brain, the researchers say.說明原因是在于一種荷爾蒙的分泌，故D正確。
2.C 推理題。根據本句This “love hormone” is known to quell stress and is likely to be involved in social connections說明這種荷爾蒙能分解壓力，也有可能與人與人之間的聯系有關，故C正確。
3.A 推理題。根據文章第四段2,3行sending their hearts racing and levels of cortisol—a hormone associated with stress—soaring.和第六段內容For the girls who interacted in person or over the phone with their mothers, the levels of the “love hormone” rose significantly, and the stress-marking hormone was washed away. This effect didn’t show up for participants who watched the video.說明cortisol 的水平決定了人的壓力情況，故A正確。
4.B 細節題。根據文章最后4行. On the other, we’re hoping researchers who study vocal communication will consider looking at oxytocin release in other animals and apply it to broader questions of social behavior and evolutionary biology.說明這樣的研究將在動物生身上進行，故結果還不清楚，故B正確。
考點：考查科普類短文閱讀
點評：文章介紹了媽媽的聲音能讓孩子鎮定，分析了原因，原來是大腦中催生素的釋放。本文要求考生有較好的耐心，因為文章中有部分生詞可能會影響閱讀，要求考生有較好的上下文猜測詞義的能力。
科目：高中英語 來源：湖南省保靖縣民族中學2011-2012學年高一上學期期中考試英語試題 題型：053
閱讀填空，沒空不超過3個單詞
Working women with young children often face a dilemma(進退兩難的困境)of whether to keep working or to quit to take care of their children．Though the fact that married women work outside the homes has become a social trend, many people still expect mothers to stay home until their children are two or three years old．In my opinion, it’s unfair to deprive(剝奪)mothers of their right to keep working only for the reason of childcare．
Women also need a sense of achievement just like men．Working women often find it difficult to give up the chance of self-fulfillment(自我實現)and go back home to play the traditional role．The times that women should stay at home passed and we should not neglect(忽視)mother’s desire to seek further goals outside the home．
Besides, taking care of children is both parents’ responsibility(責任)rather than only mothers’．Children belong to both the father and the mother．So it is unreasonable to ask mothers to give up their jobs for childcare because it is also fathers’ duty．
Practically speaking, working mothers can help improve family finances．Though there’ll be extra expense for childcare service, working mothers have a steady income to help the family．Therefore, mothers’ working outside is good for the family, especially to those low-income ones．
In a word, to expect mothers to put childcare before everything is not practical in today’s society．Only if fathers and mothers cooperate can the problem of childcare be solved．
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科目：高中英語 來源：2011浙江金華一中高三模擬考試英語試卷 題型：閱讀理解
Being a mother is apparently not like it was in the good old days.
Today’s parents yearn for the golden age that their own mothers enjoyed in the 1970s and 1980s, researchers found. Mothers have less time to themselves and feel under greater pressure to handle work and family life than the previous generation. As a result, 88 per cent said they felt guilty about the lack of time they spent with their children.
The survey of 1,000 mothers also found that more than a third said they had less time to themselves than their mothers did – just three hours a week or 26 minutes a day. And 64 per cent said this was because they felt they ‘had’ to go out to work, while nearly a third (29 per cent) said they were under constant pressure to be the ‘perfect mother’, the report found.
Other findings showed social networking and parenting websites, as well as technology such as Skype, were important in providing help and support among female communities. Kate Fox, a member of the Social Issues Rese
arch Centre, which conducted the survey for Procter & Gamble, said: ‘With increasing pressure on 
mothers to work a “double shift” — to be the perfect mother as well as a wage-earner — support networks are more important than ever.
It comes as a separate report examining childcare in the leading industrialised nations found that working mothers in Britain spend just 81 minutes a day caring for their children as a ‘primary activity’. Mothers who stay at home, on the other hand, manage twice as much time – more than two and a half hours – looking after their offspring, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
Critics say the pressure on women to work long hours, and leave their offspring in the hands of nurseries or childminders, is putting the well-being of their children at risk.
The study also reveals that, despite the fact that more and more modern mothers go out to work, the burden of childcare still falls on them - even if their husband is not in work. A father who is not in work tends to spend just 63 minutes a day looking after his child - 18 minutes less than a mother who goes out to work. Working fathers spare less than three quarters of an hour with their children.
【小題1】. What does the passage mainly talk about?
| A．The good old days of mothers in the 1970s and 1980s. |
| B．The great sufferings of today’s children. |
| C．The statistics of working mothers and full-time mothers. |
| D．The big problems that today’s working mothers face. |
| A．hate | B．miss | C．abandon | D．control |
| A．Today’s mothers have less time left for their children and themselves. |
| B．The working mothers can hardly strike the balance between work and family. |
| C．Most of the mothers can not control their husbands nowadays. |
| D．Modern fathers do not spend enough time with their children. |
| A．working mothers can seek help on line |
| B．Skype is a very famous expert in studying social issues |
| C．working mothers’ double shift is to be a wife and a mother |
| D．Kate Fox has opened a website offering help to working mothers |
| A．it is wise for working mothers to put their kids in nurseries or childminders |
| B．too much time in nurseries or childminders is bad for kids’ mental and physical health |
| C．nurseries or childminders are dangerous places for children |
| D．children do not like nurseries or childminders at all |
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科目：高中英語 來源：2013-2014學年高考二輪復習訓練：專題3 動詞與動詞短語英語試卷（解析版） 題型：閱讀理解
Should you stay at home to look after your child，or return to work?
Maybe you don’t have the option.Combining work and motherhood is an issue faced by increasing numbers of women every day.
New research for the Institute for Economic and Social Research could solve this quandary once and for all.In short，it concludes that going back to work after the birth of a child can have a negative impact on the child’s development—unless you have lots of money.
“Growing up in a family in which the mother chooses to work appears to have some adverse consequences for children’s welfare，” the research says.However，it adds that extra money brought in by both parents can reduce the negative effect.The negative effect is also less apparent in children of better?educated mothers.
The research by John Ermisch and Marco Francesconi is especially downbeat about welfare to work programmes，and especially，the prospects for the children of some single parents.
“It is hard to see anything but gloomy (陰暗的) prospects for the children of single parents (who are generally poor)，” the researchers said.This is because in a common family where both parents work，extra money brought in by the mother’s working would compensate for less time spent with the children.
In contrast，the researchers said the effects of paternal (父親的) employment were far more modest，but this did not mean that fathers had no role in shaping their children’s welfare.Money brought in by the father would be a major resource for helping children develop.
The research says，however，that before parents get too carried away by worrying about working，there are more important issues facing a child’s development.Parents’ personalities and emotional stability，parenting practices，and the friends and networks that children experience while growing up will be much bigger factors than whether their mothers work.
1.The extra money brought in by both parents________.
A．plays different roles in shaping a child’s welfare
B．can reduce the negative effect on a child
C．has negative effect on a child’s development
D．may damage the life of children
2.The researchers would agree that________.
A．mothers should keep a balance between work and family life
B．the more money mothers make，the worse their children will be
C．mothers should make as much money as they can
D．it would be better for mothers to be with children at home
3.We can conclude from the passage that________.
A．it doesn’t matter how? much money a father brings home
B．education is the only factor in shaping a child’s welfare
C．money made by mothers can also contribute to a child’s well?being
D．mothers’ income can have a deeper effect on a child’s development
4.What can we learn from the last paragraph?
A．Whether mothers work is not worth considering.
B．The research shows family stability is important.
C．Parents should stop worrying about working.
D．More important factors are involved in a child’s development.
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科目：高中英語 來源：2014屆湖南耒陽二中高三第一次月考英語卷（解析版） 題型：其他題
Not long ago, people thought babies were notable 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．
Scientists 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 human beings．
One study shows that babies can learn before they are born．The researchers placed a tape recorder on the stomach of a pregnant woman．Then, they played a recording of a short story．On the day the baby was born, the researchers attempted to find if he knew the sounds of the story repeated while in 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．
Another study shows how mothers can strongly influence social development and language skills in their children．
Researchers studied the children from the age of one month to three years．The researchers attempted to measure the sensitivity of the mothers．The women were considered sensitive if they supported their children’s activities and did not interfere 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 women did not do as well in tests as the children of women who did not suffer from depression．The children of depressed women did poorly in tests of language skills and understanding what they hear．
These children also were less cooperative and had more problems dealing with other people．The researchers noted that the sensitivity of the mothers was important to the intelligence development of their children．Children did better when their mothers were caring, even when they suffered from depression．
1.What does the experiment in which newborn babies heard the stories prove?
（no more than 5 words）
2.In the passage, what factors are mentioned that influence intelligence development in babies?
（no more than 8 words）
3.Which group of children did the worst in tests of language skills?
（no more than 11 words）
4.What is the main idea of the passage?
（no more than 8 words）
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科目：高中英語 來源：2010-2011學年河南省五市畢業班第二次聯合考試英語試題 題型：閱讀理解
How Many Lies Do the Children Tell You?
Mothers who feel their children don’t appreciate them can add another complaint to the list: half the time, their children are lying to them. A study designed to expose the truth about lying shows that undergraduates lie to their mothers in 46% of their conversations. Still, mums should feel better than-total strangers, who are told lies an astonishing 77% of the time.
Bella DePaulo and a team of psychologists from the University of Virginia, Charlottesville, asked 77 undergraduates to keep a record of all their conversations for a week, and write down whether they lied at any time. DePaulo named lying broadly, as “when you intentionally try to mislead someone”, so she would catch the smallest of lies.
The students told an average of two lies a day. They said they had been studying when they had been out drinking. One told his parents that a textbook cost $50 rather than $20 so that they would send him extra money. Female students constantly told their plain-looking roommates that they were pretty. “They are everyday lies,” says DePaulo.
DePaulo and her colleagues conclude that people tend to tell fewer lies to those they feel closest to. College students lied to their best friends 28% of the time but lied to acquaintances 48% of the time. In close relationships, people were more likely to tell “kind-hearted” lies, designed to protect feelings, rather than self-serving lies.
DePaulo finds that unmarried lovers can expect less honesty than best friends because of the insecurity that comes with romance.
Mothers can take heart from one other finding. They may have been lied to, but at least their children talked to them. The students were recorded telling few lies to their fathers because they had little interaction with them.
1. Female students lied to their roommates to ________.
A. get money from them B. offer them the services
C. gain more security D. make them happy
2. According to the passage, college students told fewer lies to ________.
A. mothers B. best friends
C. acquaintances D. romantic partners
3. Which of the following statements is correct ?
A. Undergraduates lie to their mothers in 77% of their conversations.
B. Strangers become very annoyed when children tell lies to them.
C. Compared with mothers, students’ fathers are told fewer lies.
D. Best friends can expect more insecurity than unmarried lovers.
4.What is the purpose of this article ?
A. To present a fact. B. To argue an idea.
C. To tell a story. D. To explain a theory.
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