Motherhood may make women smarter and may help pr dementia（痴呆） in old age by bathing the brain in pr

Motherhood may make women smarter and may help pr dementia（痴呆） in old age by bathing the brain in protective hormones（荷尔蒙） , U．S．researchers reported on Thursday． Tests on rats show that those who raise two or more litters of pups do considerably better in tests of memory and skills than rats who have no babies, and their brains show changes that suggest they may be protected against diseases such as Alzheimer’s（早老痴呆症）．University of Richmond psychology professor Craig Kinsley believes his findings will translate into humans．“Our research shows that the hormones of pregnancy（怀孕） are protecting the brain, including estrogen（雌激素）, which we know has many neuroprotective （保护神经的） effects,” Kinsley said． “It’s rat data but humans are mammals just like these animals are mammals,” he added in a telephone interview．“They go through pregnancy and hormonal changes．” Kinsley said he hoped public health officials and researchers will look to see if having had children protects a woman from Alzheimer’s and other forms of age-related brain decline． “When people think about pregnancy, they think about what happens to babies and the mother from the neck down,” said Kinsley, who presented his findings to the annual meeting of the Society of Neuroscience in Orlando, Florida． “They do not realize that hormones are washing on the brain．If you look at female animals that have never gone through pregnancy, they act differently toward young．But if she goes through pregnancy, she will sacrifice her life for her infant—that is a great change in her behavior that showed in genetic alterations（改变） to the brain．” 小题1:How do scientists know “Motherhood may make women smarter”? A．Some researchers have told them． B．Many women say so． C．They know it by experimenting on rats． D．They know it through their own experience． 小题2:What does the phrase “litters of pups” mean in the second paragraph? A．Baby rats． B．Animals． C．Old rats． D．Grown-up rats． 小题3:What can protect the brain of a woman according to the passage? A．Estrogen． B．The hormones of pregnancy． C．More exercise． D．Taking care of children． 小题4:“It’s rat data but humans are mammals just like these animals are mammals．” What does the sentence suggest? A．The experiments on the rats have nothing to do with humans． B．The experiments on the rats are very important for animals． C．The experiments on the rats are much the same on humans． D．The experiments on the rats are much the same on other animals． 小题5:Which title is the best for this passage? A．Do You Want to Be Smarter? B．Motherhood Makes Women Smarter C．Mysterious Hormones D．An Important Study

小题1:答案及解析

C．They know it by experimenting on rats．
文章明确指出研究结论基于对大鼠的实验：“Tests on rats show that those who raise two or more litters of pups do considerably better in tests of memory and skills than rats who have no babies...”（对大鼠的测试显示，养育两窝或更多幼鼠的大鼠在记忆力和技能测试中表现显著优于未生育的大鼠）。因此，科学家通过动物实验得出结论，而非传闻或个人经验。

小题2:答案及解析

A．Baby rats．
“litters of pups”中，“litter”指“一窝幼崽”，“pups”通常指幼小动物（如小狗、小老鼠）。结合上下文，实验对比的是“养育幼鼠的大鼠”与“未生育的大鼠”，因此“litters of pups”意为“幼鼠”。

小题3:答案及解析

B．The hormones of pregnancy．
文章第三段提到：“Our research shows that the hormones of pregnancy are protecting the brain, including estrogen...”（研究表明，怀孕期间的荷尔蒙，包括雌激素，正在保护大脑）。虽然雌激素（estrogen）是其中一种荷尔蒙，但题干问的是“什么能保护女性大脑”，怀孕期间的荷尔蒙是更全面的答案，雌激素只是其中的一部分。

小题4:答案及解析

C．The experiments on the rats are much the same on humans．
句子意为“这是大鼠的数据，但人类和这些动物一样都是哺乳动物”。结合上下文，研究者强调人类与大鼠同为哺乳动物，经历怀孕和荷尔蒙变化，因此大鼠实验的结论可能适用于人类。A选项与原意相反，B、D选项未提及“人类”这一核心关联。

小题5:答案及解析

B．Motherhood Makes Women Smarter
文章开篇即点明主旨：“Motherhood may make women smarter...”，后续内容均围绕这一结论展开，包括实验过程、荷尔蒙作用及对人类的启示。A选项偏离主题，C、D选项过于宽泛，未能概括“母亲身份与女性智力提升”的核心关系。

总结

本文通过大鼠实验揭示“母亲身份可能使女性更聪明”，并推测怀孕期间的荷尔蒙可能是关键因素。题目设置围绕实验方法、术语理解、细节定位及主旨归纳，需结合原文具体信息逐一分析。最终结论强调，尽管实验对象是大鼠，但哺乳动物的共性为人类研究提供了参考。