题目内容
What parents do and say will have great ______(影响) on children.
influence/effect
Babies understand what their mothers say, even when they speak a language their children have never heard before, scientists claim.
The researchers found that one-year-olds reacted in exactly same way to their mothers’ voices regardless of whether they were speaking English or Greek, showing what mothers have long known – that babies pick up on tone of voice rather than the words themselves.
The researchers, from Cardiff University’s School of Psychology, observed babies as they watched their mothers perform actions with toys using the English words “whoops” and “there”. The scientists studied reactions from one-year-old babies to their mums’ voices even when they were speaking both English and Greek, and keeping the same tone of voice. The academics found that babies reproduced the same reactions regardless of whether they knew the language.
Study leader Dr Merideth Gattis of Cardiff University’s School of Psychology says, “What this work showed was that children could have access to understanding simply through tone of voice. We did ‘whoops’ and ‘there’ in two languages and got exactly the same results.” The research, published in the journal Cognitive Development, was conducted on 84 babies aged between 14 and 18 months, over the course of a year, with none of the babies having any previous exposure to Greek.
Dr Gattis says that children respond to tone clues in their parents’ voices from an early age.
She says, “Tone of voice is a really useful signal of what someone is thinking. We never have direct access to other people’s minds, except the signals in language that they give out.” She says the study shows that it is less important what parents say than how they say it.
Dr Gattis adds, “A child may ask if you like his / her drawing, for example. You might say yes, but if you don’t sound enthusiastic, the meaning may not get across.” Before children begin to speak, parents should use exaggerated tone when speaking to them.
【小题1】According to the text, what have mothers long-known?
| A．Babies have a better understanding of English. |
| B．Babies pick up on tone of voice. |
| C．Babies like their mothers’ performances. |
| D．Babies like drawing from an early age. |
| A．Tone of voice is the most useful sign of what someone is thinking. |
| B．After children begin to speak, tone becomes unimportant. |
| C．The babies acted the same way regardless of the language. |
| D．The research was conducted on 48 babies. |
| A．we have no access to other people’s minds |
| B．babies can’t understand what “yes” means |
| C．parents should always sound enthusiastic |
| D．how a parent speaks is more important than what he or she says |
| A．The content of the journal Cognitive Development. |
| B．The famous works of Dr. Gattis. |
| C．Babies understanding their mothers through tone. |
| D．Babies having the potential to learn language well. |
| A．a report | B．an advertisement | C．a handbook | D．a guide |
Even a small reduction in salt in the diet can be a big help to the heart. A new study used a computer model to predict how just three grams less a day would affect heart disease in the United States.
The result：10％ fewer heart attacks. 8％ fewer strokes. 4％ fewer deaths. 11％ fewer new cases of heart disease. And 240 billion dollars in health care savings.
Researchers found it could prevent 10，000 heart attacks and 9。200 deaths every year.
The study is in the New England Journal of Medicine. Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo at the University of California San Francisco was the lead author. She says people would not even notice a difference in taste with three grams， or one-half teaspoon，less salt per day. The team also included researchers at Stanford and Columbia Uni versity.
Each gram of salt contains four hundred milligrams of sodium（钠），which is how foods may list their salt content.
The government says the average American man eats ten grams of salt a day. The American Heart Association advises no more than three grams for healthy people. It says salt in the American diet has increased fifty percent since the nineteen seventies， while blood pressures have also risen. Less salt can mean a lower blood pressure.
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is leading an effort called the National Salt Reduction Initiative. The idea is to put pressure on food companies and restaurants. Critics call it government interference.
Mayor Bloomberg has already succeeded in other areas， like requiring fast food places in the city to list calorie information. Now a study by the Seattle Children’s Research Institute shows that the calorie information on the menu can influence what parents order for their children.
【小题1】We can tell from the passage that now heart attacks occur in the US every year.
| A．240，000 | B．900，000 | C．100，000 | D．92，000 |
| A．all the heart diseases result from eating too much salt |
| B．the American Heart Association suggests less than 3 grams of salt a day for everyone |
| C．Americans ate no more than 5 grams of salt per day in the 1970s |
| D．the less salt one eats， the healthier he will be |
| A．Bloomberg has made some other efforts to improve people’s health |
| B．Bloomberg is very successful in his career |
| C．parents must pay great attention to calorie information |
| D．a new study is being done about calorie information |
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When it comes to the prevention of heart disease, women need to pay attention to their own special risks. And so do men. Surprisingly, even children and teens need to be aware- or at least the parents who want to keep them safe do. Thankfully, scientists have also made great leaps in figuring out the specific prevention strategies that work best for all. So now, knowledge is your best protection.
What Men Need to Know
According to the American Heart Association (AHA), at least half of the people who die suddenly from heart disease each year had no clue they were sick. Some think that half of all heart attacks strike out of the blue. Not true, insists Jennifer Mieres, a spokeswoman for the AHA. A 2004 study found that at least 90 percent of first heart attacks are caused by well-known problems like high cholesterol(胆固醇) or diabetes. “If you look closely,” says she, “you’ll almost always find a risk factor that was undiscovered, ignored, or not adequately treated.”
Lifestyle changes like adopting a healthy diet, getting out for regular exercise, avoiding tobacco, losing weight are the first line of defense.
What Women Need to Know
There are some special considerations for the women who are healthy and want to make sure they stay that way. First, they shouldn’t smoke-no one should, but the habit is even harder on women’s heart than it is on men’s.
Women who find that they are at risk should talk to their doctor about taking a statin(他汀,药物名). Indeed, statins reduce the risk of heart disease, but there has been not enough evidence that they help high-risk women and it can’t guarantee the long-term safety. So it’s worth noting that a healthy diet and exercise also reduce cholesterol.
What Parents Need to Know
Last year, a study showed that overweight children and teens have arteries(动脉)that look like those of an average 45-year-old. New guidelines say these children should get a cholesterol test by age ten -- and even urge doctors to consider statins for those most at risk if nothing else works. The recommendations caused oppositions. Lifestyle changes such as diet and exercise are the best strategy, says Dr. Greer, a professor at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine. Statins should be considered only for kids in danger.
| Title: The Family Guide to a Healthy Heart | |
| Theme | All people, regardless of their gender(性别) and 1._____, should pay attention to their own special risks and keep some basic knowledge in mind to 2______ heart disease. |
| Things Men Need to Know | Such problems as high cholesterol or diabetes3____ to most of first heart attacks. They should make changes in their lifestyle, like adopting a healthy diet, exercise4____ , avoiding tobacco and losing weight. |
| Things Women Need to Know | 5____ should be avoided, which will do more6_____ to a woman’s heart than to a man’s. Statins may not work on high-risk women and can’t guarantee safety in the long 7_______ With a healthy diet and exercise, one’s cholesterol can be 8.________. |
| Things Parents Need to Know | Research showed that overweight children and teens’ arteries are 9._____ to those of an average 45-year-old. Children should change the way they live without taking statins unless in 10_______. |