《2026年一本密卷高考英语》

C(2025·湖北宜昌·高三检测)
The experience of touch is key to babies beginning to recognize themselves in a mirror, new research shows, which usually happens when babies are about a year and a half old. "Babies pulling on their toes (脚趾) or hitting lightly their fingers are not just playing," says Jeffrey Lockman, senior author of the research paper. "They are trying to recognize themselves."
The researchers began by placing small vibrating (震动的) discs on the foreheads of babies around 14 months old, before the usual age at which self - recognition occurs. In response to the vibration, they would reach up and touch the discs. Next, researchers turned the children to face a mirror and watched as they reached up to touch the discs. The researchers then had the children perform the standard mirror - mark test for self - recognition in which a small mark of paint or makeup was placed on each child's face. If the child looked in the mirror and touched the mark on their own face or said words like their name or "me", they demonstrated self - recognition.
The researchers also observed a control group of children exposed to the laboratory experience with mirrors but not the vibrating discs. The children who touched their face more frequently recognized themselves in the mirror about two months earlier, on average, than those who typically first begin to recognize themselves in a mirror. This indicates a possible mechanism that self - awareness can develop based on engaged experiences that human babies naturally generate.
The study challenges a long - standing assumption that self - recognition in early childhood is somehow hardwired. For a long time, scientists believed early recognition in the mirror was a built - in function of human brains and those of our closest primate (灵长类) relatives, rather than linked to sensory or motor experiences.
"Interventions for babies who have issues related to motor skills are typically focused on reaching for objects in the external world and controlling them," Lockman says. "According to our findings, reaching to the body is equally important and exploring the body is the gateway to self - knowledge."
8. Why do babies hit their fingers lightly at an early age?
A. To explore their surroundings.
B. To build up self - identification.
C. To signal their self - recognition.
D. To engage in playful activities.
9. How did the babies in the experiment form self - recognition?
A. Through active exploration.
B. By seeing vibration in mirrors.
C. Through word - related response.
D. By copying others' movements.
10. What is a common misunderstanding of early - childhood self - recognition?
A. It is an inborn capability.
B. It develops through learning.
C. It is related to experiences.
D. It exists in men and animals.
11. What do the findings suggest about treating children's motor delays?
A. Staring at themselves in the mirror.
B. Intervening as early as possible.
C. Enhancing external motor activities.
D. Having interactions with their bodies.

答案： 8.B 9.A 10.A 11.D