Question

We are often told to pay attention to what our mothers tell us. Most of us enjoy listening to our mothers speak. Scientists have found that compared to other people’s voices, our brains greatly prefer（更喜歡） the voices of our own mothers.

Scientists at Stanford University, US, recently studied this. They scanned (掃描) children’s brains while they were listening to different sounds, including their mothers’ voices. They found that 97 percent of the time, children could recognize their mothers’ voices at once.

Hearing their mothers’ voices makes children’s brains more active. We usually just use one part of our brain to deal with sounds when we hear something. But when we hear our mothers’ voices, many parts of the brain, including those in charge of (負責(zé)) reward (獎賞) and emotion (情感), start to work as well.

Why do we respond so strongly to our mothers’ voices? It starts even before we’re born. When children are still in the womb (子宮) or have just been born, they hear their mothers talking. This makes babies feel comfortable and teaches them language and social skills, even though they are still very young. The babies learn to recognize（辨別） their mothers’ voices as a rewarding (獎勵性的，有益的) sound. Later, when this sound is heard again, more attention is paid to it.

Some sounds are necessary for our survival (生存) or bring us pleasure. These sounds are recognized by our brains as rewarding sounds. Most human voices are not recognized in this way, since we hear them so often. But mothers’ voices are different. They bring us a lot of comfort.

1.What is the story mainly about?

A.Why we should listen carefully to our mothers. B.Why we prefer to hear our mothers’ voices.

C.How we recognize our mothers’ voices. D.How we respond to different kinds of sounds.

2.What will happen when children hear their mothers’ voices?

A.Many parts of their brains become active. B.They will need time to recognize the voices.

C.Their language skills start to improve. D.They will remember some bedtime stories.

3.According to Paragraph 4, why do children pay more attention to their mothers’ voices?

A.Because they can recognize their voices quickly.

B.Because their voices make them more comfortable.

C.Because they can get a reward for doing so.

D.Because they can get love from their mothers.

4.“Rewarding sounds” refers to sounds that _____.

A.we can recognize B.we often hear C.we hear as babies D.make us happy

5.What do you think it is about?

A.Medicine B.Lifestyle C.Education D.Science

Answer 1