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：C

科学家通过对大鼠的实验得出“母亲身份可能使女性更聪明”的结论。第二段明确提到“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”，即实验数据来源于对大鼠的研究。

小题2：A

“litters of pups”指“幼鼠”。结合上下文，此处对比了“抚养幼鼠的大鼠”与“未生育的大鼠”在记忆和技能测试中的表现，因此“pups”应指幼鼠。

小题3：B

根据第三段“the hormones of pregnancy are protecting the brain, including estrogen”，可知怀孕相关的荷尔蒙（包括雌激素）能保护大脑。雌激素（A选项）是其中的一种，而B选项“怀孕荷尔蒙”更全面，是原文明确强调的保护因素。

小题4：C

这句话表明“虽然数据来自大鼠，但人类和这些动物一样都是哺乳动物”，暗示大鼠实验的结论可能适用于人类。Kinsley补充说“他们（人类）也经历怀孕和荷尔蒙变化”，进一步说明人与大鼠在这一过程中的相似性，因此实验结论具有一定的参考价值。

小题5：B

文章核心观点是“母亲身份可能使女性更聪明”，通过大鼠实验说明怀孕荷尔蒙对大脑的保护作用，以及这种效应可能适用于人类。B选项“Motherhood Makes Women Smarter”直接点明主旨，而其他选项（如A、C、D）未能准确概括核心内容。

总结：本文通过大鼠实验揭示怀孕荷尔蒙对大脑的保护作用，推测母亲身份可能提升女性认知能力并降低老年痴呆风险。实验数据为后续人类研究提供了方向，强调了怀孕不仅影响生理，还可能对大脑功能产生积极影响。