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There is a popular saying in the English language: “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” Well, that is not true. Unkind words, name-calling or even the so-called “the silent treatment” can hurt children as much as being physically hit, sometimes even more so.
A recent study of middle school children showed that verbal (言语的) abuse by other children can harm development in the brain. The study was a project of researchers at Harvard Medical School in Massachusetts. Researcher Martin Teicher and his team studied young adults, aged 18 to 25. These young men and women had not ever been treated in a cruel or violent way by their parents. The researchers asked the young people to rate their childhood exposure to verbal abuse from both parents and other children. Then the researchers performed imaging tests on the brains of the subjects.
The images showed that the people who reported suffering verbal abuse from peers in middle school had underdeveloped connections between the left and right side of the brain. The two sides of the brain are connected by a large bundle of connecting fibers called the corpus callosum. This was the area that was underdeveloped.
The middle school years are a time when these brain connections are developing. So, unkind, hurtful comments from children or adults during this period have the greatest effect. The researchers tested the mental and emotional condition of all the young people in the study. The tests showed that this same group of people had higher levels of fear, depression, anger and drug abuse than others in the study.
The researchers published their findings online on the AmericanJournalofPsychiatry's website.
Parents cannot control what other people say to their children, but they can prepare their children.
People from Great Britain brought the English language to North America in the 16th and 17th centuries. And in the 1 300 years, there have been so many 2 in both places that now people can easily 3 an English person from an American in the 4 he or she talks.
Many old words 5 in England but were kept in America. For example, 300 years ago people in Great Britain got their water from something they 6 either a "aucet", "spigot", or a "tap". All these words are 7 heard in different parts of America, but only "tap" is still 8 in England. Americans often make 9 new words or change old ones. "Corn" is one kind of plant in America and 10 in England.
Also, over the last three centuries the English language has 11 thousands of new words for things that weren't 12 before. And often, American and English people used two 13 names for them. A tin can is called "tin" for short in English, but a "can"in America. The word "radio" is 14 all over the world, including America. But many English people call it a "wireless". And almost anything 15 something to do with cars, railroads, etc. has different 16 in British and American English.
But now American and British English may be 17 closer together. One thing is that 18 people can hear a large amount of American speech daily in 19, on television, or from travelers. Because of this, Americans 20 to be influencing the British more and more. So some day, English may even be the same on both sides of the Atlantic.
