Not long ago, people thought babies were notable to learn things until they were five or six months old．Yet doctors in the United States say babies begin learning on their first day of life．
Scientists note that babies are strongly influenced by their environment．They say a baby will smile if her mother does something the baby likes．A baby learns to get the best care possible by smiling to please her mother or other caregiver．This is how babies learn to connect and municate with other human beings．
One study shows that babies can learn before they are born．The researchers placed a tape recorder on the stomach of a pregnant woman．Then, they played a recording of a short story．On the day the baby was born, the researchers attempted to find if he knew the sounds of the story repeated while in his mother．They did this by placing a device in the mouth of the newborn baby．
The baby would hear the story if he moved his mouth one way．If the baby moved his mouth the other way, he would hear a different story．The researchers say the baby clearly liked the story he heard before he was born．They say the baby would move his mouth so he could hear the story again and again．
Another study shows how mothers can strongly influence social development and language skills in their children．
Researchers studied the children from the age of one month to three years．The researchers attempted to measure the sensitivity of the mothers．The women were considered sensitive if they supported their children’s activities and did not interfere unnecessarily．They tested the children for thinking and language development when they were three years old．Also, the researchers observed the women for signs of depression．
The children of depressed women did not do as well in tests as the children of women who did not suffer from depression．The children of depressed women did poorly in tests of language skills and understanding what they hear．
These children also were less cooperative and had more problems dealing with other people．The researchers noted that the sensitivity of the mothers was important to the intelligence development of their children．Children did better when their mothers were caring, even when they suffered from depression．
【小题1】What does the experiment in which newborn babies heard the stories prove?
（no more than 5 words）
【小题2】In the passage, what factors are mentioned that influence intelligence development in babies?
（no more than 8 words）
【小题3】Which group of children did the worst in tests of language skills?
（no more than 11 words）
【小题4】What is the main idea of the passage?
（no more than 8 words）Babies can learn before born．
网友回答
(答案→)Babies can learn before born．
解析：本文主要讲述了婴幼儿的智力发育情况，通过两个实验表明：婴儿在生命的第一天就可以开始学习，母亲的情感能强烈地影响孩子的社会发展和语言技巧。影响婴幼儿智力发育的因素有：the environment，education before birth，mother’s sensitivity三个方面。
【小题1】第三段开头提到One study shows that babies can learn before they are born。然后开始描述讲实验的过程一直到第四段结束。放一个设备在刚出生第一天的婴儿嘴边，嘴朝向一个方向是播放在妈妈肚子时听过的故事，朝向另一面时放不同的故事。结果婴儿会动嘴以便一遍又一遍地听听过的故事。由此判断：新生儿听故事的实验就证明了婴儿在出生之前就会学习。
【小题2】通读全文可以看到影响婴儿智力发育的三个因素依次提到并详细描述实验的经过。
1. The environment；2. education before birth；3. mother’s sensitivity
【小题3】从文章的最后两段可以看出，如果母亲意志消沉，对自己的孩子关心甚少，那么孩子在智力和语言方面的发育就会比其他孩子差。所以：The children of depressed mothers who cared little for their children did the worst in tests of language skills．
【小题4】文章第一段提到：人们认为婴儿直到五到六个月时才能学东西。但是美国的医生们说婴儿在它生命的第一天就开始学习了。然后通过实验研究来证明关于婴儿智力发育的情况。