时间:2019-01-26 作者:英语课 分类:英语听力文摘 English Digest


英语课

  Ya?l: [In a "baby talk" cooing voice] Ready for a moment of science?

D: Sure, Ya?l, but why are you talking to me like I'm a baby?

Y: [Regular voice] Just making a point Don. Why did you think I was talking as if you were a baby?

D: Hmmm. Because of the high, cooing tone you used?

Y: You're not the only one who recognizes those features as "baby talk." Two studies, one in humans and one in rhesus monkeys, suggest that the tones mothers use to address babies are more universal than previously 1 thought.

A group of researchers recorded English-speaking mothers saying the same sentences to babies and to adults. The recordings 2 were then played to indigenous 3 villagers in remote Ecuador.

Even though the villagers did not understand English, they could correctly identify whether the speaker was addressing a child or an adult seventy-three-percent of the time.

A different team of scientists studied the role of certain high-pitched, melodic 4 sounds called "girneys" and grunts 5 in wild rhesus monkeys. Even though these calls were rarely produced before the birth season, once the first infants were born, the calls were used in abundance.

When infants wandered away from their mothers, other females kept a close eye on them and called with grunts and girneys as they watched them. In response, the infants looked back at the callers. The observations suggest that these particular calls are directed at, and attractive to infants rather than to other mothers. In that way, the grunts and girneys are similar to human "baby talk."

D: So "baby talk" may be closer to animal communication than to language?

Y: There is still much to learn, but it is something to consider next time you're cooing at a baby.



adv.以前,先前(地)
  • The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
  • Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿,解释原先发生了什么。
n.记录( recording的名词复数 );录音;录像;唱片
  • a boxed set of original recordings 一套盒装原声录音带
  • old jazz recordings reissued on CD 以激光唱片重新发行的老爵士乐
adj.土产的,土生土长的,本地的
  • Each country has its own indigenous cultural tradition.每个国家都有自己本土的文化传统。
  • Indians were the indigenous inhabitants of America.印第安人是美洲的土著居民。
adj.有旋律的,调子美妙的
  • His voice had a rich melodic quality.他的音色浑厚而优美。
  • He spoke with a soft husky voice in a melodic accent.他微微沙哑的声音带着一种悠扬的口音。
(猪等)作呼噜声( grunt的第三人称单数 ); (指人)发出类似的哼声; 咕哝着说; 石鲈
  • With grunts of anguish Ogilvie eased his bulk to a sitting position. 奥格尔维苦恼地哼着,伸个懒腰坐了起来。
  • Linda fired twice A trio of Grunts assembling one mortar fell. 琳达击发两次。三个正在组装迫击炮的咕噜人倒下了。
学英语单词
acute injury of intervertebral facet joints
after flight inspection
agricultural meteorology
allergic pannus
arabler
armature copper loss
baker's wrap
batfowler
bead-plane
benedictuss
brown oil of vitriol (B.O.V.)
C4ISR
capacitive saw-tooth generator
certificate of entry
cleavage egg
comparative advantage of a region
comprehensive technology research institute
constant humidity line
Cotoneaster turbinatus
d'hote
electric hot tray
equal-appearing
external iliac artery
fiat justitia, ruat caelum
fullymounted
galcs
gunilla
handset telephone
hardening
He who runs may read.
heterochronic mutation
highly flexible clutch coupling
Home tab
hutch
hydrargyrosis
hypercryesthesia
hyperthyropinemia
increment strain theory
inkings
interior measure
international protection of intellectual property
intersex
Italianicity
jack welch
junkyards
Kagoro
Knyazhepogost
laborers
light maintenance and installation truck
lumen second
marbler
medical centrifuge
Meleb
merge input file
methyl iodide
mono-amino-mono-carboxylic acid
NRI
off-again on-again
officialate
oscillatory viscometer
oxiding flame
page overflow condition
pc/tv
plainerest
plantigenous
plasma colloid osmotic pressure
ple
pointer fire
polyclinids
put a veto on
Pyrafat
remote imaging
right hand turnout
S galaxy
saint georges
scanner disc
Selkirkshire
semi-dock building berth
shuwaikh
signal code book
skorilite (scorilite)
slummage
snowplane
spamazonian
stand height
step stanchion
Strimasund
sulfinamidine
sulphurised
tapered- bore
test ratio
Tianding
titfer
touchsensitive
towndwellers
two-point conversion
upper clamp
VH3
waterproof gage
weak currencies
write broadcast
xylanase