Babies cry in their mother tongue
Read Babies cry in their mother tongue and check the IELTS Reading answers. It is already known that human foetuses become attentive listeners in the final trimester of pregnancy. ‘The mother's voice in particular is sensed early on,’ explains Professor Amelia Finlayson of the Institute for Human C…
Passage preview
It is already known that human foetuses become attentive listeners in the final trimester of pregnancy. ‘The mother's voice in particular is sensed early on,’ explains Professor Amelia Finlayson of the Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences in Leipzig. ‘Human foetuses perceive information filtered at around 400 hertz, but they cannot hear the actual words. It is a bit like holding your head under water when someone is talking next to the bath.’
Vocabulary from this passage
10 words worth learning before you sit the test, each with the sentence it appears in.
- acoustic adjective
Relating to sound or the sense of hearing, including the physical properties of how sound travels
The concert hall was designed to provide the best possible acoustic experience for the audience.
- foster verb
To encourage or promote the development of something, typically something regarded as positive
Mentorship programmes are designed to foster professional growth and confidence among new employees.
- innate adjective
Inborn or natural; existing in an individual from birth rather than being acquired through learning
Some researchers argue that the capacity for grammar is an innate human characteristic.
- intonation noun
The rise and fall of the voice in speaking, which carries meaning beyond the individual words used
Mastery of intonation is crucial for conveying the correct emotional nuance in a second language.
- linguistic development noun
The process by which individuals acquire the ability to understand and communicate using language
Reading to children daily is known to significantly accelerate their linguistic development.
- melody contour noun
The sequence of rises and falls in pitch that gives a phrase or cry its characteristic shape
Infants are surprisingly sensitive to the melody contour of their mother's speech.
- physiological adjective
Relating to the normal functions of living organisms and their parts, as studied in biology
Sleep deprivation can lead to various negative physiological effects on the human body.
- pronounced adjective
Very noticeable or marked; conspicuous in a way that is easily identified by observers
There has been a pronounced shift in consumer behaviour towards eco-friendly products in recent years.
- repertoire noun
The full range of skills, techniques or types of behaviour that a person or group habitually uses
The experienced diplomat had a vast repertoire of strategies for resolving international conflicts.
- trimester noun
A period of three months, especially one of the three stages into which a pregnancy is divided
Health professionals recommend increased folic acid intake during the first trimester of pregnancy.
Answers with explanations
- 14. E
The statement needs a **description of the method** of an experiment run by **several research institutes**. Paragraph E explains that **three research groups** compared recordings of 60 newborns, 30 French and 30 German, who were recorded whenever they cried, and that more than 20 hours of crying were fed into a computer. This is the procedure itself. Paragraph D only introduces the collaboration and the reason for the design. Answer: E.
- 15. D
The statement asks for the **rationale** for choosing the **participants**, so look for a stated reason. Paragraph D says German and French babies were **selected for the comparison because** the intonation differences between the two mother tongues are **particularly pronounced**. Paragraph E gives the number and age of the newborns but no reason for choosing them. The word because signals the explanation. Answer: D.
- 16. F
The statement suggests babies **copy their mothers** to get food. Paragraph F quotes the researchers: newborns are probably highly motivated to **imitate their mother's behaviour** in order to attract her and foster bonding, and therefore **physical nourishment**. Imitate paraphrases copy, and physical nourishment paraphrases food. The researchers present this as a likely explanation rather than a proven fact, which is exactly what a suggestion is. Answer: F.
- 17. B
The statement asks for the **method** of a **past experiment** by the **Leipzig researchers**. Paragraph B refers to an **earlier experiment** in which babies of three to four months wore hoods with electrodes and heard recordings of different intonation patterns. That is a past study with its procedure described. The experiment in paragraph E is the new joint study, not the earlier one, so it does not fit. Answer: B.
- 18. A
The statement asks for an **illustration** of how little foetuses can **hear in the womb**. Paragraph A first says foetuses perceive information filtered at around 400 hertz but **cannot hear the actual words**, then illustrates this with an **analogy**: it is like holding your head **under water** while someone is talking next to the bath. The comparison is the illustration, and the loss of the words is the limitation. Answer: A.
- 19. F
The statement is an **assertion** that babies of **different nationalities** cry with **different intonation**. Paragraph F states that German babies' screams usually follow a **downward curve** while French babies more often use a **rising melody contour**, so they reproduce the intonation of their mother tongues. Paragraph D only poses the question, and paragraph B concerns what babies hear, not how they cry. Answer: F.
- 20. B
The statement says important **everyday sounds** must **stay consistent** to be understood. Doctor Katya Williams makes this point in paragraph C: if a **fire siren sounded different every day**, we would not even recognise it. She uses it to argue that a baby's cry, which changes from week to week, cannot be just an alarm. Finlayson and Meade never make a point about consistency. Answer: B.
- 21. C
The statement says the **different tones** in crying help babies **learn language later**. Mr Walter Meade is reported as finding that babies' early sensitivity to the **melodic features of language** helps them learn their mother tongue, and he says the **melodic patterns practised in crying are building blocks** for later sounds and words. Williams only says that language development starts right away, without linking tones to later learning. Answer: C.
- 22. B
The statement says the tune of **young primates'** cries comes from **breathing**, **not the brain**. According to Williams, in baby chimpanzees the crying melody is closely associated with the **build-up and reduction of pressure in the lungs** and is **not generated by a mental process**. The researcher making this claim is Williams, not Finlayson or Meade. Answer: B.
- 23. A
The statement says **unborn babies** are focused on the voice of **one specific person**. In paragraph A, Professor Amelia Finlayson says that human foetuses are **attentive listeners** in the final trimester and that **the mother's voice in particular is sensed early on**. Foetuses paraphrases unborn babies, and the mother's voice is the one specific person. Answer: A.
- 24. words
The sentence is about what **unborn babies** cannot recognise, which points to the foetus passage in the first paragraph. Professor Finlayson says that foetuses perceive filtered sound but **cannot hear the actual words**, so the noun words fits the gap and the one-word limit. The tempting word **accents** belongs to the next paragraph, which describes **newborn** babies, not unborn ones. Answer: words.
- 25. brainwaves
The sentence describes the **first Leipzig experiment**, so look for the earlier study with babies of three to four months. The passage says that **the children's brainwaves reacted to the differences** in the intonation patterns, even when they were asleep. Reacted paraphrases **changed**, and brainwaves is a single word copied exactly from the text, so it meets the one-word limit. Answer: brainwaves.
- 26. signal
The sentence says that **early scientists** believed babies cried only as a ____ that they wanted their parents. Doctor Williams reports that **it used to be thought** that a baby's cry was just a **signal** of alarm to call its mother. Used to be thought paraphrases early scientists believed, and signal is a noun that fits after a and meets the one-word limit. Answer: signal.