A few years ago a young mother watched her husband diaper（给……换尿布）their firstborn son, “You do not have to be unhappy about it,” she protested. “You can talk to him and smile a little.” The father, who happened to be a psychologist, answered firmly, “He has nothing to say to me, and I have nothing to say to him.”
Psychologist now know how wrong that father was. From the moment of birth, a baby has a great deal to say to his parents, and they to him. But a decade or so ago, these experts were describing the newborn as a primitive creature who reacted only by reflex, a helpless victim of its environment without capacity to influence it. And mothers accepted the truth. Most thought (and some still do) that a new infant could see only blurry（模糊的）shadows, that his other senses were undeveloped, and that all he required was nourishment, clean diapers, and a warm bassinet.
Today university laboratories across the country are studying newborns in their first month of life. As a result, psychologists now describe the new baby as perceptive, with remarkable learning abilities and an even more remarkable capacity to shape his or her environment including the attitudes and actions of his parents. Some researchers believe that the neonatal period may even be the most significant four weeks in an entire lifetime.
Far from being helpless, the newborn knows what he likes and rejects what he doesn’t. He shut out unpleasant sensations by closing his eyes or averting his face. He is a glutton for novelty. He prefers animate things over inanimate and likes people more than anything.
When a more nine minutes out, an infant prefers a human face to a head-shaped outline. He makes the choice despite the fact that, with delivery room attendants masked and gowned, he has never seen a human face before. By the time he’s twelve hours old, his entire body moves in precise synchronic（同时发生）to the sound of a human voice, as if he were dancing. A non-human sound, such as a tapping noise, brings no such response.
1. The author points out that the father diapering his first-born son was wrong because（ ）.
2. According to the passage, which of the following is TRUE?
3. What does the sentence “He is a glutton for novelty” probably mean?
4. According to the passage, it’s groundless to think that newborns prefer（ ）.
5. What is the passage mainly discussing about?
问题1选项
A.he believed the baby was not able to hear him
B.he thought the baby didn’t have the power of speech
C.he was a psychologist unworthy of his profession
D.he thought the baby was not capable of any response
问题2选项
A.A new infant can see only blurry shadows.
B.A new infant’s senses are undeveloped.
C.All a new infant requires is nourishment, clean diapers, and a warm bassinet.
D.A new infant is actually able to influence his or her environment.
问题3选项
A.The newborn is greedy for new food.
B.The newborn tends to overeat.
C.The newborn always loves things that are new to him.
D.The newborn’s appetite is a constant topic in novels.
问题4选项
A.a human face to a head-shaped outline
B.animate things to inanimate ones
C.human voice to non-human sounds
D.nourishment to a warm bassinet
问题5选项
A.What people know about newborns.
B.How wrong parents are when they handle their babies.
C.How much newborns have progressed in about a decade’s time.
D.Why the first month of life is the most significant four weeks in a lifetime.
第1题:D
第2题:D
第3题:C
第4题:D
第5题:A
第1题:
推理判断题。联系上下文可知这位父亲是个心理学家，而大约十年前，心理学家认为新生儿只是a primitive creature who reacted only by reflex, a helpless victim of its environment without capacity to influence it（一种仅凭反射做出反应的原始生物，是无力影响其生存环境的无助受害者），而如今他们已经认识到了这种观点是错误的，结合这位父亲的话“他没什么对我说的”可知他当时也是坚持这种错误观点，因此D选项“他认为婴儿没有能力做出任何回应”符合题意。
第2题:
事实细节题。由第三段第二句中的psychologists now describe the new baby as perceptive, with remarkable learning abilities and an even more remarkable capacity to shape his or her environment including the attitudes and actions of his parents（心理学家现在把新生婴儿的形象描述为有洞察力，有非凡的学习能力，甚至有卓越的塑造其生活环境的能力，包括他父母的态度和行为）可知D选项“一个新生婴儿实际上能够影响其生活环境”符合题意。
第3题:
语义推测题。由下文He prefers animate things over inanimate and likes people more than anything（他喜欢有生命的东西胜过无生命的东西，喜欢人胜过一切）可推测He is a glutton for novelty表达的并非仅仅与“吃”有关，而是新生儿对新鲜事物的浓厚兴趣，因此C选项“新生儿总是喜欢新鲜的事物”符合题意。
第4题:
事实细节题。需注意题干中的groundless（无理由的），因此要找出不符合文意的选项。由第四段最后一句He prefers animate things over inanimate and likes people more than anything（他喜欢有生命的东西胜过无生命的东西，喜欢人胜过一切）可排除B选项；由第五段第一句中的an infant prefers a human face to a head-shaped outline（婴儿更喜欢人的脸，而不是头型的轮廓）可排除A选项；由第五段第三句中的his entire body moves in precise synchronic to the sound of a human voice, as if he were dancing（他的整个身体精确地随着人类的声音同步移动，就好像他在跳舞）和第四句A non-human sound, such as a tapping noise, brings no such response（而非人类的声音，比如敲打声，则不会产生这种反应）可推断出婴儿更喜欢人类的声音，因此C选项可以排除，所以D选项为正确答案。
第5题:
主旨大意题。本文介绍了过去心理学家对婴儿的错误认识，以及现在的正确认识，因此A选项“人们对新生儿的了解”符合题意。
