Mama and Baba
媽媽與爸爸
語音播放：

In many of the world’s languages, the words for ‘mother’ and ‘father’ are strangely similar. For ‘mother’, speakers of most languages say something along the lines of ‘mama’ or ‘nana’. For ‘father’, the words are usually ‘baba’ or ‘papa’. What’s more, these words are often the first words that babies all over the world utter. And for parents the world over, nothing is sweeter than when their child says ‘mama’ or ‘baba’ as their first word. But how can we explain this? Is there just some kind of natural human trait shared by all babies that goes beyond language and culture and makes babies know that their mother should be called ‘mama’ and father should be called ‘baba’?
在許多世界語言中，表示「母親」和「父親」的用語很不可思議地都相似。以「母親」來說，大多語言都有類似「媽媽」或「娜娜」這樣的用詞。以「父親」來說，這些話通常是「爸爸」或「帕帕」。還有，這些通常是世界各地的嬰兒發出的第一句話。對於世界各地的家長來說，沒有什麼比他們的孩子第一次說出「媽媽」或「爸爸」時更甜蜜了。但是我們如何解釋這個現象呢？是否有某種超越語言和文化、所有寶寶都有的自然人類特質，讓他們知道母親應該被稱為「媽媽」，父親應該被稱為「爸爸」呢？

語音播放：

Not really. According to the research of one linguist, these are just the easiest words for babies to say. Babies usually start by making sounds like ‘ah’. Next they learn how to close their mouth while making the ‘ah’ sound, which produces an ‘m’ sound. The result is that they usually say ‘ma’ first. After that, they usually go on to learn that blowing out a little puff of air makes a ‘p’ sound, so then we get ‘pa’. And the sad truth (for parents) is that usually when babies say these words for the first time, they have no idea what they mean. But over time, the reactions from parents teach the babies to associate ‘mama’ with their mother and ‘baba’ with their father.
其實不是這樣的。根據一位語言學家的研究，這些只是嬰兒能說出最簡單的話。嬰兒通常會以發出「啊」的聲音開始。接下來，他們會學習如何閉著嘴巴同時發出「啊」聲，而這則會產生「ㄇ」聲。這樣的結果是他們通常會先說出「媽」。之後，他們通常會繼續學著呼出一點點空氣，發出「ㄆ」聲，所以我們會聽到「帕」。而令人難過的真相（對父母來說）是通常當嬰兒第一次說這些話時，他們不知道其中的意思。但隨著時間的推移，父母的反應教導孩子們將母親和「媽媽」，父親和「爸爸」連結在一起。

Vocabulary 好字精選

1. strangely (adj) in a strange way 奇怪地
Horton fell strangely in love with his computer.
Horton奇怪地愛上了他的電腦。

2. utter (v) make a sound 發出聲音
Kyle couldn’t even utter a sound when he saw the horrifying ghost.
當Kyle看到可怕的鬼時，他甚至發不出聲音。

3. linguist (n) a language expert 語言學家
Linguists point out that the two languages use very different words but have similar grammar and sentence patterns.
語言學家指出，這兩種語言使用非常不同的字詞，但具有類似的語法和句型。

4. puff (n) a small burst of breath or wind 喘氣；吹
Marissa blew out a puff of smoke from the cigarette.
Marissa從香菸吹出一屢煙。

5. reaction (n) something said/done in response to something else 反應
The father’s reaction to the son’s mistake was too dramatic and mean; he got really mad at him and called him stupid.
父親對兒子犯的錯反應太誇張又刻薄， 他很生氣然後罵他笨。

Phrases and Sentence Patterns 句型解析

1. along the lines of (phr) something similar to 類似
Jessie wants to buy a pair of brand name sports shoes along the lines of Nike or Adidas.
Jessie想要買一雙類似Nike或Adidas這種有牌子的運動鞋。

2. the world over (phr) around the world 世界各地
Teenagers the world over seem to be in love with that artist.
世界各地的青少年似乎都愛上了那位藝術家。

3.go beyond (phr) to be more than 超越
This romance movie goes beyond what is normal for the genre; it includes aspects of action, comedy, and horror all in one.
這部浪漫電影超越了這類影片的一般形式；它結合了動作、喜劇和恐怖片。

4. S + go on to + V (sentence pattern) S does something next/later 接著
After graduating, Kim went on to inherit her father’s company.
畢業後，Kim接著繼承了父親的公司。

Exercise 課後練習題

1. The weird noise made by the bird sounded _______________ familiar to Brandon, like maybe he had heard it before.
這隻鳥發出的聲音很不可思議地讓Brandon感到熟悉，就像以前聽過一樣。

2. The only word that the boy could _______________ when he got in trouble was ‘sorry’.
當這位男孩惹出麻煩時，唯一能說出的話就是「對不起」。

3. A _______________ learns to analyze similarities and differences between languages.
語言學家學習如何分析語言之間的異同。

4. Corinne blew out all the candles with one ______________.
Corinne用一口氣吹熄所有的蠟燭。

5. Nobody showed any _______________ when Bruce told his joke. Apparently none of them thought it was funny.
當Bruce講笑話時沒有人反應，很顯然的沒有人認為笑話好笑。

6. Paul wanted his hair cut _______________ the hairstyle in the picture that he showed to the hairstylist.
Paul希望他的頭髮剪成類似他給髮型師看的照片中的髮型。

7. Politeness will get you farther ______________.
禮貌能讓你在世界各地走得更遠。

8. Craig always _______________ what he is expected to do at work because he is trying to impress his boss.
Craig在工作上總是表現超出預期，因為他正在努力讓他的老闆印象深刻。

9. After getting promoted at his job, Mr. Chen _______________ become the most respected manager in the company.
陳先生晉升職位後，接著變成公司最受尊敬的經理。

解答:
1. strangely
2. utter
3. linguist
4. puff
5. reaction
6. along the lines of
7. the world over
8. goes beyond
9. went on to

Comprehension Questions 閱讀理解

1. What could be a subtitle for the article? 
a. How to teach your baby to talk.
b. When babies start to talk.
c. Why babies usually say these two words first.
d. How babies learn to rely on their mother and father.

2. What might some parents be disappointed to read in this article?
a. Their babies don’t know who they are when they are really young.
b. Their babies don’t actually know what mama and papa mean at first.  
c. Their babies don’t really know how to make a puff of air until they are taught.
d. Their babies associate mama and papa with the wrong thing at first.

解答:

1. 以下選項何者可能是這篇文章的副標題？
a. 如何教寶寶說話。
b. 寶寶何時開始說話。
c. 為什麼寶寶通常會先說這兩個字。
d. 寶寶如何學會仰賴他們的母親和父親。

2. 有些父母讀到這篇文章哪一點內容後，可能會感到失望？
a. 他們的寶寶在他們的寶寶在很小的時候並不知道他們是誰。
b. 他們的寶寶一開始並不知道媽媽和爸爸的意思。
c. 他們的寶寶在被教導之前，真的不知道如何吹出一口氣。
d. 他們的寶寶一開始將媽媽和爸爸跟錯的東西結合在一起。

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