儿童早期大脑发育与自乐阅读

Good brain health in early childhood is directly linked to better mental health, cognition, and educational attainment(成就) in adolescence and adulthood. It can also provide the ability to feel better quickly in times of stress. Unfortunately, brain development can be hampered by poverty. Studies have shown that early childhood poverty is a risk factor for lower educational attainment. It is also associated with differences in brain structure, poorer cognition, behavioral problems, and mental health symptoms.

This shows just how important it is to give all children an equal chance in life. But until sufficient measures are taken to reduce inequality and improve outcomes, our new study, published in Psychological Medicine, shows one low-cost activity that may at least counteract (抵消) some of the negative effects of poverty on the brain: reading for pleasure. Our observational study shows a dramatic and positive link between the fun and simple activity and better cognition, mental health, and educational attainment.

Our new study discovered that reading for pleasure in early childhood had a connection with better scores on comprehensive cognition assessments and better educational attainment in young adolescence. It was also associated with fewer mental health problems and less time spent on electronic devices. We also found reading for pleasure can be beneficial regardless of social and economic status. It may also be helpful regardless of the children’s initial intelligence level. That’s because the effect didn’t depend on how many years of education the children’s parents had had — which is our best measure for very young children’s intelligence (IQ is partially heritable (可继承的)).

Because there are many different reasons why poverty may negatively affect brain development, we need a comprehensive and holistic (整体的) approach to improving outcomes. While reading for pleasure is unlikely, on its own, to fully address the challenging effects of poverty on the brain, it provides a simple method for improving children’s development and attainment.

1.What does the underlined word “hampered” probably mean?

A Promoted.

B Prevented.

C Protected.

D Predicted.

解析：选B。B 词义猜测题。结合后一句“Studies have shown that early childhood poverty is a risk factor for lower educational attainment.”研究表明，儿童早期的（家庭）贫困是受教育程度较低的一个风险因素，即贫困可能会阻碍大脑发育。故选B。

2.What does the author think of reading for pleasure?

A It’s not sufficient.

B It reduces poverty.

C It’s affordable.

D It’s impressive.

解析：选C。C 推理判断题。根据第二段的“one low-cost activity that may at least counteract some of the negative effects of poverty on the brain: reading for pleasure.”可知，作者认为自乐阅读（reading for pleasure）是低成本的，即多数人支付得起的。故选C。

3.What’s the third paragraph mainly about?

A What problems appeared in the study.

B What measure was taken in the study.

C What the results of the study are.

D What affected children’s intelligence.

解析：选C。C段落大意题。结合本段中的“Our new study discovered...”“It was also associated with...”“We also found ...”以及“It may also be helpful...”可知，本段主要描述了这项研究的结果。故选C。

4.What can we infer about the author from the text?

A He/She’s a news reporter.

B He/She’s a health expert.

C He/She’s a children’s author.

D He/She’s a scientific researcher.

解析：选D。D 推理判断题。根据文章中的“our new study, published in Psychological Medicine...”“Our observational study...”“Our new study”“We also found”“which is our best measure for”以及“we need a comprehensive and holistic approach”等可知，本文作者参与了这项研究，由此推断作者可能是一名科研人员。故选D。