第二篇 Baby Talk
Babies normally start to talk when they are 13 to 15 months old. Ryan Jones is only eight months old, but he is already “talking” with his parents. When lie is hungry, he opens and closes his hand. This means milk. He also knows the signs for his favorite toy and the word more.
Ryan is not deaf, and his parents are not deaf, but his mother and father are teaching him to sign. They say a word and make a sign at the same time. They repeat this again and again. When 1 Ryan’s parents think that he will be a happier baby because he can communicate with them.
Ryan s parents are teaching Ryan to sign because of a man named Joseph Garcia. Although Garcia was not from a deaf family, he decided to learn American Sign Language (ASL). First, he took courses in ASL. Then he got a job helping deaf people communicate with hearing people. In his work, he saw many deaf parents sign to their infants. He noticed that these babies were able to communicate much earlier than hearing children. 2 When they were one year old, they could use as many as 50 signs.
Garcia decided to try something new. He taught ASL to parents who were not deaf. The families started to teach signs to their infants when they were six or seven months old. 3 More and more parents took Garcia’s ASL classes. Like Ryan’s family, they were excited about signing with their babies. They wanted to give their babies a way to communicate before they could use spoken words.
Some people worry about signing to babies. They are afraid that these babies won’t feel a need to talk. Maybe they will develop spoken language later than other babies. 4 In fact, one study found just the opposite. Signing babies actually learned to speak earlier than other children. As they grow older, these children are more interested in books. They also score higher on intelligence tests1.
There is still a big question for parents: Which are the best signs to teach their babies? Some parents make their own signs. Other parents want to teach ASL. 5 There，s no clear answer, but we do know this: All signing babies and their families are talking quite a lot!
詞匯：
normally Aid:m(a)li/adv.正常地;通常地，一般地 infant /'infant / n.嬰兒;幼兒;未成年人 communicate /kafmju:nikeit/ 通信;交流;感染 opposite /bpazit/ adj.相反的;n.對立面，反義詞
注釋：
1 intelligence test：智力測試
練習：
A However, research does not show this.
B All parents want to teach babies to sign.
C Ryan learns a new sign, his family is very excited.
D These babies started using signs about two months later.
E It can be useful because many people understand it.
F They talked with signs by the time they were eight months old.
答案與題解：
1. C第二段主要是討論Ryan學習手語的過程，當他學會一種新的手勢時，父母非常高興。
2. F這一段講的是嬰兒在學習手語過程中的共同規(guī)律。題目前一句講Garcia注意到學習手 語的嬰兒比普通嬰兒更早開始交流，后一句講嬰兒1歲時能使用的手勢多達50種，因此, 此處應填“這些嬰兒從8個月起就開始用手語交流”。
3. D這一段講有些家庭在嬰兒六七個月的時候開始教他們手語。D選項中的these babies 指代這些嬰兒，符合題意。
4. A前文講有些人擔心嬰兒學習手語會導致其會話能力發(fā)展緩慢，后文講的是研究表明并 不是這樣，因此空格處應填表示轉(zhuǎn)折的句子。
5. E E選項是對前文中ASL的解釋，ASL是通用手語，因此能被更多的人理解。選項中的 it即指代ASL。
第二篇 嬰兒語
嬰兒通常在1 ~15個月的時候開始說話。Ryan Jones剛剛8個月，但他已經(jīng)開始和父母“說 話” 了。他餓的時候，就會把手一張一合，這個動作表示牛奶。他還懂得表示他喜歡的玩 具以及“更多”這個詞。
Ryan不是聾啞人，他的父母也不是，但他們正在教他手語。他們在說話的同時做出相應 的手語姿勢，并不斷重復。當Ryan學會一個新的手勢時，家人都非常高興。Ryan的父母認為， 因為能和父母交流，Ryan會成為一個更快樂的嬰兒。
Ryan的父母之所以教Ryan手語，是因為一名叫Joseph Garcia的人。Garcia也不是聾啞人, 但他決定學習美國手語(ASL)。開始的時候，他參加了一門相關課程的學習。之后，他得到 了一份幫助聾啞人和正常人交流的工作，在工作中，他看到很多聾啞人父母用手語與他們的 幼子交流。他注意到，這些孩子能比正常孩子更早地與他人交流。他們8個月大的時候就能 通過手語進行交流，而到了 1歲的時候，他們能使用多達50種手勢。
Garcia決定進行一些新的嘗試，他向非聾啞人父母教授美國手語。這些家庭在孩子六七個 月的時候就教孩子手語，而孩子們在大約兩個月之后就開始使用這些手語了。越來越多的父 母前去參加的美國手語課程。和Ryan的家人一樣，他們對于能和孩子通過手語交流感到非常 興奮。他們想讓孩子在會說話之前學會一種交流的方式。
有些人對此很擔憂，他們擔心這些小孩會覺得開口說話沒有必要，這樣他們的語言能力發(fā) 展可能比其他孩子慢。然而，研究表明，事實并非如此。實際上，有一項研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，事實正 好相反，掌握手語的孩子實際上比其他孩子更早開口說話。隨著年齡的增長，他們對閱讀的 興趣更強，在智力測試中獲得的分數(shù)更高。
對于父母來說，還有一個大問題：哪種手語對孩子來說是好的?有的父母使用自己創(chuàng)造 的手勢，還有些父母使用美國手語，這種手語懂的人多，因此更有用。目前對于這個問題還 沒有明確的答案，但是我們確切地知道：會用手語的嬰兒和他們的家人會“說”很多話!
Babies normally start to talk when they are 13 to 15 months old. Ryan Jones is only eight months old, but he is already “talking” with his parents. When lie is hungry, he opens and closes his hand. This means milk. He also knows the signs for his favorite toy and the word more.
Ryan is not deaf, and his parents are not deaf, but his mother and father are teaching him to sign. They say a word and make a sign at the same time. They repeat this again and again. When 1 Ryan’s parents think that he will be a happier baby because he can communicate with them.
Ryan s parents are teaching Ryan to sign because of a man named Joseph Garcia. Although Garcia was not from a deaf family, he decided to learn American Sign Language (ASL). First, he took courses in ASL. Then he got a job helping deaf people communicate with hearing people. In his work, he saw many deaf parents sign to their infants. He noticed that these babies were able to communicate much earlier than hearing children. 2 When they were one year old, they could use as many as 50 signs.
Garcia decided to try something new. He taught ASL to parents who were not deaf. The families started to teach signs to their infants when they were six or seven months old. 3 More and more parents took Garcia’s ASL classes. Like Ryan’s family, they were excited about signing with their babies. They wanted to give their babies a way to communicate before they could use spoken words.
Some people worry about signing to babies. They are afraid that these babies won’t feel a need to talk. Maybe they will develop spoken language later than other babies. 4 In fact, one study found just the opposite. Signing babies actually learned to speak earlier than other children. As they grow older, these children are more interested in books. They also score higher on intelligence tests1.
There is still a big question for parents: Which are the best signs to teach their babies? Some parents make their own signs. Other parents want to teach ASL. 5 There，s no clear answer, but we do know this: All signing babies and their families are talking quite a lot!
詞匯：
normally Aid:m(a)li/adv.正常地;通常地，一般地 infant /'infant / n.嬰兒;幼兒;未成年人 communicate /kafmju:nikeit/ 通信;交流;感染 opposite /bpazit/ adj.相反的;n.對立面，反義詞
注釋：
1 intelligence test：智力測試
練習：
A However, research does not show this.
B All parents want to teach babies to sign.
C Ryan learns a new sign, his family is very excited.
D These babies started using signs about two months later.
E It can be useful because many people understand it.
F They talked with signs by the time they were eight months old.
答案與題解：
1. C第二段主要是討論Ryan學習手語的過程，當他學會一種新的手勢時，父母非常高興。
2. F這一段講的是嬰兒在學習手語過程中的共同規(guī)律。題目前一句講Garcia注意到學習手 語的嬰兒比普通嬰兒更早開始交流，后一句講嬰兒1歲時能使用的手勢多達50種，因此, 此處應填“這些嬰兒從8個月起就開始用手語交流”。
3. D這一段講有些家庭在嬰兒六七個月的時候開始教他們手語。D選項中的these babies 指代這些嬰兒，符合題意。
4. A前文講有些人擔心嬰兒學習手語會導致其會話能力發(fā)展緩慢，后文講的是研究表明并 不是這樣，因此空格處應填表示轉(zhuǎn)折的句子。
5. E E選項是對前文中ASL的解釋，ASL是通用手語，因此能被更多的人理解。選項中的 it即指代ASL。
第二篇 嬰兒語
嬰兒通常在1 ~15個月的時候開始說話。Ryan Jones剛剛8個月，但他已經(jīng)開始和父母“說 話” 了。他餓的時候，就會把手一張一合，這個動作表示牛奶。他還懂得表示他喜歡的玩 具以及“更多”這個詞。
Ryan不是聾啞人，他的父母也不是，但他們正在教他手語。他們在說話的同時做出相應 的手語姿勢，并不斷重復。當Ryan學會一個新的手勢時，家人都非常高興。Ryan的父母認為， 因為能和父母交流，Ryan會成為一個更快樂的嬰兒。
Ryan的父母之所以教Ryan手語，是因為一名叫Joseph Garcia的人。Garcia也不是聾啞人, 但他決定學習美國手語(ASL)。開始的時候，他參加了一門相關課程的學習。之后，他得到 了一份幫助聾啞人和正常人交流的工作，在工作中，他看到很多聾啞人父母用手語與他們的 幼子交流。他注意到，這些孩子能比正常孩子更早地與他人交流。他們8個月大的時候就能 通過手語進行交流，而到了 1歲的時候，他們能使用多達50種手勢。
Garcia決定進行一些新的嘗試，他向非聾啞人父母教授美國手語。這些家庭在孩子六七個 月的時候就教孩子手語，而孩子們在大約兩個月之后就開始使用這些手語了。越來越多的父 母前去參加的美國手語課程。和Ryan的家人一樣，他們對于能和孩子通過手語交流感到非常 興奮。他們想讓孩子在會說話之前學會一種交流的方式。
有些人對此很擔憂，他們擔心這些小孩會覺得開口說話沒有必要，這樣他們的語言能力發(fā) 展可能比其他孩子慢。然而，研究表明，事實并非如此。實際上，有一項研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，事實正 好相反，掌握手語的孩子實際上比其他孩子更早開口說話。隨著年齡的增長，他們對閱讀的 興趣更強，在智力測試中獲得的分數(shù)更高。
對于父母來說，還有一個大問題：哪種手語對孩子來說是好的?有的父母使用自己創(chuàng)造 的手勢，還有些父母使用美國手語，這種手語懂的人多，因此更有用。目前對于這個問題還 沒有明確的答案，但是我們確切地知道：會用手語的嬰兒和他們的家人會“說”很多話!