Parenting tips obtained from hunter-gatherers in Africa may be the key to bringing up more contented children, researchers have suggested. The idea is based on studies of communities such as the Kung of Botswana, where each child is cared for by many adults. Kung children as young as four will help to look after younger ones and “baby-wearing”, in which infants are carried in slings, is considered the norm.
According to Dr. Nikhil Chaudhary, an evolutionary anthropologist at Cambridge University, these practices, known as alloparenting, could lead to less anxiety for children and parents.
Dr. Annie Swanepoel, a child psychiatrist, believes that there are ways to incorporate them into western life. In Germany, one scheme has paired an old people’s home with a nursery. The residents help to look after the children, an arrangement akin to alloparenting. Another measure could be encouraging friendships between children in different school years, to mirror the unsupervised mixed-age playgroups in hunter-gatherer communities.
In a paper published in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, researchers said that the western nuclear family was a recent invention that broke with evolutionary history. This abrupt shift to an “intensive mothering narrative”, which suggests that mothers should manage childcare alone, was likely to have been harmful. “Such narratives can lead to maternal exhaustion and have dangerous consequences,” they wrote.
By contrast, in hunter-gatherer societies adults other than the parents can provide almost half of a child’s care. One previous study looked at the Efé people of the Democratic Republic of Congo. It found that infants had an average of 14 alloparents a day by the time they were 18 weeks old, and were passed between caregivers eight times an hour.
Chaudhary said that parents now have less childcare support from family and social networks than during most of our evolutionary history, but introducing additional caregivers could reduce stress and maternal depression, which could have a “knock-on” benefit to a child’s wellbeing. An infant born to a hunter-gatherer society could have more than ten caregivers—this contrasts starkly to nursery settings in the UK where regulations call for a ratio of one carer to four children aged two to three.
While hunter-gatherer children learnt from observation and imitation in mixed-age playgroups, researchers said that western “instructive teaching”, where pupils are asked to sit still, may contribute to conditions such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Chaudhary said that Britain should explore the possibility that older siblings helping their parents “might also enhance their own social development”.
1. According to the first two paragraphs, alloparenting refers to the practice of ________.
2. The scheme in Germany is mentioned to illustrate ________.
3. According to Paragraph 4, the “intensive mothering narrative” ________.
4. According to Paragraph 6, what can we learn about the nurseries in the UK?
5. Which of the following would be the best title for the text?
问题1选项
A.sharing childcare among community members
B.assigning babies to specific adult caregivers
C.teaching parenting skills to older children
D.carrying infants around by their parents
问题2选项
A.an attempt to facilitate intergenerational communication
B.an approach to integrating alloparenting into western society
C.the conventional parenting style in western culture
D.the differences between western and African ways of living
问题3选项
A.alleviates parenting pressure
B.consolidates family relationships
C.results in the child-centered family
D.departs from the course of evolution
问题4选项
A.They tend to fall short of official requirements.
B.They have difficulty finding enough caregivers.
C.They ought to improve their carer-to-child ratio.
D.They should try to prevent parental depression.
问题5选项
A.Instructive Teaching: A Dilemma for Anxious Parents
B.For a Happier Family, Learn from the Hunter-gatherers
C.Mixed-age Playgroup, a Better Choice for Lonely Children
D.Tracing the History of Parenting: from Africa to Europe
第1题:A
第2题:B
第3题:D
第4题:C
第5题:B
第1题:
【整体分析】
来源：Time《时代周刊》于2023年3月8日刊登的文章Hunter Gatherers Show Us How to Bring Up Happier Children（狩猎采集者告诉我们如何培养更快乐的孩子）。
主题：本文主要讨论了非洲狩猎采集者的育儿技巧，如异亲养育和混龄游戏小组，如何对儿童的福祉产生积极影响，并提出了将这些做法融入西方社会以减轻父母压力和提高孩子满意度的建议。
结构：
【试题解析】
【选项释义】
According to the first two paragraphs, alloparenting refers to the practice of ________. 根据前两段，异亲养育指的是________。
A. sharing childcare among community members A. 社区成员共同照顾孩子
B. assigning babies to specific adult caregivers B. 将婴儿分配给特定的成人照顾者
C. teaching parenting skills to older children C. 向年长儿童传授育儿技巧
D. carrying infants around by their parents D. 父母背着婴儿到处走
【考查点】事实细节题。
【解题思路】根据题干关键词alloparenting可以定位到文章第一段第二句The idea is based on studies of communities such as the Kung of Botswana, where each child is cared for by many adults.（这一想法基于对博茨瓦纳昆族等社区的研究，在这些社区中，每个孩子都由许多成年人照顾。）和第一段第三句Kung children as young as four will help to look after younger ones（昆族四岁的孩子就会帮忙照看更小的孩子），说明异亲养育指的是在社区成员之间共同承担育儿工作。因此A选项“社区成员共同照顾孩子”正确。
【干扰项排除】
B选项“将婴儿分配给特定的成人照顾者”，由each child is cared for by many adults（每个孩子都由许多成年人照顾）可知，文中说的是由多个成年人共同照顾，而不是特定的成年人，属于反向干扰；
C选项“向年长儿童传授育儿技巧”在文中没有提及，属于无中生有；
D选项“父母抱着婴儿到处走”，由Kung children as young as four will help to look after younger ones and “baby-wearing”, in which infants are carried in slings, is considered the norm.（昆族四岁的孩子就会帮忙照看更小的孩子，而“背婴儿”，即把婴儿用吊带背在身上，则被视为常态。）可知，是年长的孩子背着婴儿，而不是父母，属于曲解原文。
第2题:
【选项释义】
The scheme in Germany is mentioned to illustrate ________. 提到德国的计划是为了说明________。
A. an attempt to facilitate intergenerational communication A. 促进代际沟通的尝试
B. an approach to integrating alloparenting into western society B. 将异亲养育融入西方社会的一种方法
C. the conventional parenting style in western culture C. 西方文化中传统的养育方式
D. the differences between western and African ways of living D. 西方和非洲生活方式的差异
【考查点】事实细节题。
【解题思路】根据题干关键词scheme in Germany可以定位到文章第三段第一、二句Dr. Annie Swanepoel, a child psychiatrist, believes that there are ways to incorporate them into western life. In Germany, one scheme has paired an old people’s home with a nursery.（儿童精神病学家安妮·斯瓦内普尔博士认为，有一些方法可以将这些做法融入西方生活。在德国，有一项计划将养老院与托儿所结合起来。），说明德国的计划是将异亲养育融入到西方社会的一种方法。因此B选项“将异亲养育融入西方社会的一种方法”正确。
【干扰项排除】
A选项“促进代际沟通的尝试”，虽然这种安排确实涉及不同代际之间的互动，但文章并没有强调这项计划的目的是促进代际交流，属于曲解原文；
C选项“西方文化中传统的养育方式”，文章中提到的是西方文化中的一种新尝试，而不是传统的育儿方式，属于反向干扰；
D选项“西方和非洲生活方式的差异”在文中没有提及，属于无中生有。
第3题:
【选项释义】
According to Paragraph 4, the “intensive mothering narrative” ________. 根据第四段，“密集型育儿叙事”________。
A. alleviates parenting pressure A. 减轻了养育压力
B. consolidates family relationships B. 巩固了家庭关系
C. results in the child-centered family C. 形成了以儿童为中心的家庭
D. departs from the course of evolution D. 背离了进化过程
【考查点】事实细节题。
【解题思路】根据题干关键词intensive mothering narrative可以定位到文章第四段第一、二句In a paper published in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, researchers said that the western nuclear family was a recent invention that broke with evolutionary history. This abrupt shift to an “intensive mothering narrative”, which suggests that mothers should manage childcare alone, was likely to have been harmful.（研究人员在《儿童心理学和精神病学杂志》上发表的一篇论文中指出，西方核心家庭是打破进化史的最新发明。这种突然转向“密集型育儿叙事”的转变很可能是有害的，因为这种叙事认为母亲应该独自照顾孩子。），说明“密集型育儿叙事”打破了进化史，可能会带来危害。因此D选项“背离了进化过程”正确。
【干扰项排除】
A选项“减轻了养育压力”，文章提到这种叙事会导致母亲疲惫，而不是减轻育儿压力，属于反向干扰；
B选项“巩固了家庭关系”和C选项“形成了以儿童为中心的家庭”在文中没有提及，属于无中生有。
第4题:
【选项释义】
According to Paragraph 6, what can we learn about the nurseries in the UK? 根据第六段，我们可以了解到英国托儿所的哪些情况？
A. They tend to fall short of official requirements. A. 它们往往达不到官方的要求。
B. They have difficulty finding enough caregivers. B. 它们很难找到足够的保育员。
C. They ought to improve their carer-to-child ratio. C. 它们应该提高保育员与儿童的比例。
D. They should try to prevent parental depression. D. 它们应该努力防止父母抑郁。
【考查点】推理判断题。
【解题思路】根据题干关键词nurseries in the UK可以定位到文章第六段最后一句An infant born to a hunter-gatherer society could have more than ten caregivers—this contrasts starkly to nursery settings in the UK where regulations call for a ratio of one carer to four children aged two to three.（在狩猎采集社会中出生的婴儿可能会有十多个照顾者，这与英国托儿所的规定形成了鲜明对比，在英国，规定要求一个照顾者对应4个2到3岁的孩子。），说明英国托儿所保育员与儿童的比例和狩猎采集社会差距很大，可能需要提高这种比例。因此C选项“它们应该提高保育员与儿童的比例。”正确。
【干扰项排除】
A选项“它们往往达不到官方的要求。”，文中没有提到托儿所不符合官方要求，只是提到了官方规定的比例，属于曲解原文；
B选项“它们很难找到足够的保育员。”在文中没有提及，属于无中生有；
D选项“它们应该努力防止父母抑郁。”，文章讨论的是增加额外的保育员可以减轻父母的压力，而不是托儿所应采取的措施，属于曲解原文。
第5题:
【选项释义】
Which of the following would be the best title for the text? 以下哪项是文章的最佳标题？
A. Instructive Teaching: A Dilemma for Anxious Parents A. 指导性教学：焦虑父母的两难选择
B. For a Happier Family, Learn from the Hunter-gatherers B. 向狩猎采集者学习，让家庭更幸福
C. Mixed-age Playgroup, a Better Choice for Lonely Children C. 混龄游戏小组，孤独儿童的更好选择
D. Tracing the History of Parenting: from Africa to Europe D. 追溯育儿史：从非洲到欧洲
【考查点】主旨大意题。
【解题思路】文章首先介绍了一项研究，研究表明，在狩猎采集者社区，如博茨瓦纳的昆族，每个孩子由多个成年人共同照顾，称为“异亲养育”。这种方法可以减少父母和孩子的焦虑。接着提出，在西方社会，可以通过类似的方式引入异亲养育，如让老年人帮助照顾儿童，或者鼓励不同年龄段孩子之间的友谊。文章指出，西方的核心家庭和“密集型育儿叙事”与人类的进化历史背道而驰，可能对家庭造成负面影响，引入更多的照顾者和混龄游戏小组有助于改善当前的育儿模式。由此可知，本文主要讨论了从非洲狩猎采集者的育儿方法中获得的启示，这些方法可能有助于提高儿童和父母的幸福感。因此B选项“向狩猎采集者学习，让家庭更幸福”正确。
【干扰项排除】
A选项“指导性教学：焦虑父母的两难选择”和C选项“混龄游戏小组，孤独儿童的更好选择”只在文章的某部分提及，不能概括全文的主旨大意，属于以偏概全；
D选项“追溯育儿史：从非洲到欧洲”在文中没有提及，属于无中生有。
【重点词汇】
【长难句分析】
1. This abrupt shift to an “intensive mothering narrative”, which suggests that mothers should manage childcare alone, was likely to have been harmful.
【结构分析】
【补充分析】
① which引导定语从句修饰intensive mothering narrative，表达了这种叙事所包含的内容或意义；
② that引导宾语从句，描述了这种叙事的核心观点，即母亲应该独自照顾孩子。
【参考译文】这种突然转向“密集型育儿叙事”的转变很可能是有害的，因为这种叙事认为母亲应该独自照顾孩子。
2. Chaudhary said that Britain should explore the possibility that older siblings helping their parents “might also enhance their own social development”.
【结构分析】
【补充分析】
① that引导宾语从句，充当动词said的宾语，用于说明乔杜里说了什么内容；
② that引导同位语从句，用来解释说明前面的名词possibility，即这种可能性是指哥哥姐姐帮助父母“也可能促进自身社会发展”。
【参考译文】乔杜里说，英国应探讨哥哥姐姐帮助父母“也可能促进自身社会发展”的可能性。
【全文翻译】
研究人员提出，从非洲狩猎采集者那里获得的育儿技巧可能是培养出满意度更高的孩子的关键。这一想法基于对博茨瓦纳昆族等社区的研究，在这些社区中，每个孩子都由许多成年人照顾。昆族四岁的孩子就会帮忙照看更小的孩子，而“背婴儿”，即把婴儿用吊带背在身上，则被视为常态。
剑桥大学的进化人类学家尼基尔·乔杜里博士认为，这些被称为异亲养育的做法可以减少儿童和父母的焦虑。
儿童精神病学家安妮·斯瓦内普尔博士认为，有一些方法可以将这些做法融入西方生活。在德国，有一项计划将养老院与托儿所结合起来。老人帮助照顾孩子，这种安排类似于异亲养育。另一项措施是鼓励不同学龄儿童之间建立友谊，以模仿狩猎采集者社区中无人监管的混龄游戏小组。
研究人员在《儿童心理学和精神病学杂志》上发表的一篇论文中指出，西方核心家庭是打破进化史的最新发明。这种突然转向“密集型育儿叙事”的转变很可能是有害的，因为这种叙事认为母亲应该独自照顾孩子。他们写道：“这种叙事可能会导致母亲精疲力竭，并产生危险的后果。”
相比之下，在狩猎采集社会中，父母以外的成年人几乎可以提供孩子一半的照顾。之前的一项研究考察了刚果民主共和国的埃菲人。研究发现，婴儿在18周大时，平均每天有14个异亲父母，每小时要在不同的照顾者之间传递8次。
乔杜里说，与人类进化史上的大部分时期相比，现在的父母从家庭和社会网络中获得的育儿支持要少得多，但引入额外的照顾者可以减轻压力和产后抑郁，这可能会对儿童的福祉产生“连锁”效益。在狩猎采集社会中出生的婴儿可能会有十多个照顾者，这与英国托儿所的规定形成了鲜明对比，在英国，规定要求一个照顾者对应4个2到3岁的孩子。
研究人员说，狩猎采集儿童在混龄游戏小组中通过观察和模仿来学习，而西方的“指令性教学”（要求学生坐着不动）可能会导致注意力缺陷多动障碍等疾病。乔杜里说，英国应探讨哥哥姐姐帮助父母“也可能促进自身社会发展”的可能性。
