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  3. What new research reveals about the adolescent brain. We ’re learning that the teen years are a period of crucial brain developm

What new research reveals about the adolescent brain. We ’re learning that the teen years are a period of crucial brain developm

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问题    What new research reveals about the adolescent brain. We ’re learning that the teen years are a period of crucial brain development subject to a host of environmental and genetic factors. This emerging research shed light on a discovery that our brains are not finished maturing by adolescence, brains are only about 80 percent of the way to maturity, it takes until the mid-20s, and possibly later, for a brain to become fully developed.
   An excess of gray matter (the stuff that does the processing) at the beginning of adolescence makes us particularly brilliant at learning, but also particularly sensitive to the influences of our environment. Our brains’ processing centers haven’t been fully linked yet, particularly the parts responsible for helping to check our impulses and considering the long-term repercussions of our actions.
   It’ s partially because of this developmental timeline that a teen can be so quick to think a harsh remark, or a biting insult, and so uninhibited in firing it off at the nearest unfortunate target. Instead, the full developed brain regions of an adult might stop himself from saying something cruel.
   In a paper published last year, Dr. Jay Giedd, wrote that, gray-matter (the stuff that does the processing) volume peaks around or just before the beginning of puberty, and then continuously declines. In contrast, white matter (the stuff that helps connect areas of the brain) increases right up to, and beyond, the end of puberty.
   These adolescent brain developments don’t happen to all parts of the brain at the same time. "The order in which this maturation of connection goes, is from the back of the brain to the front of the brain," says Jensen. And one of the last parts to mature is the frontal lobe, a large area responsible for moderating reward, planning, impulsiveness, attention, acceptable social behavior, and other roles that are known as executive functions. Unfortunately, it’ s just these sorts of behaviors that teenage brains are not fully endowed to deal with—and the consequences are potentially fatal when it comes to high-risk behavior like drinking and driving.
   This blast of teen-brain change is compounded by profound social and psychological shifts. Of particular importance is that adolescence is the time when we develop stronger social connections with our peers. Healthy social relationships have a positive effect on how an adolescent navigates through a tumultuous period of life. But at the same time, this reliance on friends makes young people susceptible to the influence of peer pressure, even when it is indirect.
Teenagers are more likely to______.
选项 A、hurt the people closest to them
B、keep themselves from saying something cruel
C、be indifferent to their environment
D、bewilder their parents
答案A
解析 根据题干关键词定位到文章第二、三段。文章第三段指出a teen can be so quick to think a harsh remark，or a biting insult，and so uninhibited in firing it off at the nearest unfortunate target，即“青少年容易向最亲近的人发火，不能像成年人那样控制自己的情绪”，故A项“伤害最亲近的人”正确。B项“避免说一些残忍的话”与原文意思相反。C项“对他们的环境漠不关心”和D项“迷惑他们的父母”在原文中并未提及，故选A。
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