Easy Learning

    Sudents should be jealous. Not only do babies get to doze their days away, but they’ve also mastered the fine art of learning in their sleep.

    By the time babies are a year old they can recognize a lot of sounds and even simple words. Marie Cheour at the UniversityofTurkuinFinlandsuspected that they might progress this fast because they learn language while they sleep as well as when they are awake.

    To test the theory, Cheour and her colleagues studied 45 newborn babies in the first few days of their lives. They exposed all the infants to an hour of Finnish vowel sounds—one that sounds like “oo”, another like “ee” and a third boundary vowel peculiar to Finnish and similar languages that sounds like something in between. EEG ¹recordings of the infant’s brains before and after the session showed that the newborns could not distinguish the sounds.

    Fifteen of the babies then went back with their mothers, while the rest were split into two sleep-study groups ². One group was exposed throughout their night-time sleeping hours to the same three vowels, while the others listened to other, easier-to-distinguish vowel sounds³.

    When tested in the morning, and again in the evening, the babies who’d heard the tricky boundary vowel all night showed brainwave activity indicating that they could now recognise this new sound. They could identify the sound even when its pitch was changed, while none of the other babies could pick up the boundary vowel at all.

    Cheour doesn’t know how babies accomplish this night-time learning, bunt she suspects that the special ability might indicate that unlike adults, babies don’t “turn off” their cerebral cortex while they sleep. The skill probably fades in the course of the first year of life, she adds—so forget the idea that you can pick up tricky French vowels as an adult just by slipping a language tape under your pillow. But while it may not help grown-ups, Cheour is hoping to use the sleeping hours to give remedial help to babies who are genetically at risk of language disorders.

词汇：

vowel /"vauəl/ n．元音

Finland /"finlənd/ n．芬兰

Finnish /"finiʃ/ adj．芬兰的；芬兰人的；芬兰语的

Newborn /"nju:bɔ:n/ n新生儿；adj新生儿的

cerebral /" seribrul/ adj．大脑的

remedial /ri"midiəl/adj．补救的

cortex /"kɔ: teksf n．皮层

注释：

1.    EEG = electroencephalogram /"i,lektrəuen"sefələgræm/：脑电图

2.    two sleep-study groups：两个睡觉时的学习小组

3.    easier-to-distinguish vowel sounds较容易区分的元音 

An infant can recognize a lot of vowels by the time he or she is a year old.

A:Right B:Wrong C:Not mentioned

Starting a New Tradition

    Shantelle Davis is a nine-year-old girl in New York. On a cold night in December, her family is standing around the kitchen table while she lights a candle. The table is decorated with baskets of fruits and vegetables and ears of com for Shantelle and her two brothers.

    “This candle represents umoja, an African word that means being together,” Shantelle says. “That"s the most important thing for a family.”

    Tonight is the first night of Kwanzaa, and Shantelle is spending the holiday with her family. More than 5 million African Americans celebrate Kwanzaa every year from December 26 until January I. It"s a time when they get together with their families to think about their history and their ancestors in Africa 1.

    Kwanzaa is very unusual because it was started by one man. In 1966, an American named Maulana Karenga wanted a holiday for African-Americans to honor their culture and traditions. So he used words and customs fromAfricato create a new celebration. He took the name Kwanzaa from the words for “first fruits” in Swahili, an African language. At first, a few American families had small celebrations at home. Now there are also Kwanzaa events in schools and public places，and Kwanzaa has spread to other countries like Canada and Jamaica.

    The main symbol of Kwanzaa is a candleholder with seven candles, one for each of the principles of Kwanzaa. Each night, a family member lights one of the candles and talks about the idea it represents：being together, being yourself, helping each other, sharing, having a goal，creating, and believing. The candles are red, black, and green, the colors of Kwanzaa. The parents also pour drinks to honor family members who have died. On the last night of Kwanzaa, there is a big dinner with African food, and children receive small presents.

    Today people can buy Kwanzaa greeting cards and special Kwanzaa clothes. Stores sell Kwanzaa candles and candleholders. Some people don"t believe that Kwanzaa is a real holiday，because it"s so new. But other people say that customs and celebrations are always changing and that Kwanzaa shows what is important in people"s lives 2.

    Shantelle Davis says she likes Kwanzaa because it"s fun. “But I also learn new things every year," she says.

词汇：

ancestor  n.祖宗，祖先

be decorated with 由……所装饰

honor/ "ɒnə(r) / vt. 尊敬,使荣幸; n.荣誉,尊敬

ears of com玉米穗

candleholder/ "kændlˌhəʊldə / n.烛台

注释：

1.    It"s a time when they get together with their families to think about their history and their ancestors in Africa.这段时间里他们和家人待在一起缅怀他们的历史和非洲的祖先。

2.    ... shows what is important in people"s lives. ……展现了人们生活中重要的东西。

People spend a lot of time with their families during Kwanzaa.

A:Right B:Wrong C:Not mentioned

LOT（）

A:大囟在3点，小囟在9点  B:大囟在9点，小囟在3点  C:大囟在7点，小囟在1点  D:大囟在11点，小囟在5点  E:大囟在4点，小囟在10点

He used a lot of examples to make himself ______.

A:understood B:understand C:understanding D:was understand

Why ______ such a lot of money

A:you spend B:to spending C:spend D:spending

He used a lot of examples to make himself ______.

A:understood B:understand C:understanding D:was understand

The programme helps a lot in ______.

A:helping the police find the criminals and giving the things back to the owners B:exciting ordinary people C:making the police popular D:frightening the thieves