中文导读 BBC 10月18日报道了英国华威大学与挪威公共卫生研究所 PsychGen 中心牵头的一项研究，论文发表在《美国妇产科杂志》（American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology）。研究使用挪威母亲、父亲与儿童队列（MoBa）中92551名足月出生（孕37—41周）儿童的数据，把父母报告的6个月至5岁语言与运动发育情况，与10—11岁、13—14岁和14—15岁时的全国数学、阅读和英语考试成绩相联系。结果显示，出生体重低于同性别、同孕周婴儿第10百分位的“小于胎龄儿”，数学成绩在三个年龄段都偏低，部分年龄段阅读成绩也偏低；而在37—38周出生的孩子，早期语言和运动能力略弱，但到5岁时差异已很小。研究者强调并非每个体型偏小的婴儿都会遇到困难，持续监测生长、给予家庭和学校支持很重要。文章最后说明研究的边界：它显示的是关联而非因果，早期能力也来自父母报告。
正文 Parents often worry about when a baby will arrive . A large new study suggests that , for babies born at full term , size at birth may matter more for later school results than the exact week of birth . The research led by the University of Warwick and the Norwegian Institute of Public Health , was reported by the BBC on October 18.
本段译文 父母常常担心宝宝什么时候出生。一项大型新研究表明，对于足月出生的婴儿来说，出生时的体型对日后学业成绩的影响，可能比具体在哪一周出生更大。这项研究由英国华威大学和挪威公共卫生研究所牵头，英国广播公司（BBC）于10月18日对其进行了报道。
The team used data on 92,551 children in Norway . All of them were born at term , between 37 and 41 weeks of pregnancy . Parents reported the children’s language and movement skills from six months to five years old . The researchers then linked this information with national school tests in math , reading and English , taken between the ages of 10 and 15.
本段译文 研究团队使用了挪威92551名儿童的数据。他们都是足月出生的，即在怀孕37至41周之间出生。父母报告了孩子从6个月到5岁期间的语言能力和运动能力。研究人员随后把这些信息与全国学校考试的成绩联系起来，考试科目包括数学、阅读和英语，考试年龄在10岁到15岁之间。
A baby was called small if it weighed less than 90 percent of babies of the same sex born at the same stage of pregnancy . These children tended to get lower math scores at all three test ages , and lower reading scores at some of them . In other words , the gap did not simply disappear as they grew older .
本段译文 如果一个婴儿的体重低于同性别、同孕周出生婴儿中90%的人，就被归为“小”婴儿。这些孩子在三个考试年龄段的数学成绩往往都较低，在其中部分年龄段的阅读成绩也较低。换句话说，随着他们长大，这种差距并没有简单地消失。
The timing of birth showed a different pattern . Babies born at 37 or 38 weeks had slightly weaker language and movement skills in early childhood than those born at 39 to 41 weeks . But these differences shrank quickly and were very small by the time the children started school . “What surprised us was the contrast between the two patterns ,” said Xuan Zhao , a researcher at Warwick .
本段译文 出生时间则呈现出不同的规律。在37或38周出生的婴儿，童年早期的语言和运动能力比39至41周出生的婴儿稍弱。但这些差异很快缩小，到孩子们上学时已经非常小了。“让我们感到意外的是这两种规律之间的反差，”华威大学研究员 Xuan Zhao 说。
For many families , this is good news . Professor Siobhan Quenby said that if a baby is normal size or large , being delivered a few weeks before the due date has no long-term effects . This may help doctors and parents when they discuss the best time for a birth
本段译文 对许多家庭来说，这是个好消息。西沃恩·昆比教授说，如果婴儿体型正常或偏大，比预产期早几周分娩并不会产生长期影响。这或许能帮助医生和父母商量最合适的分娩时间。
The study does not mean that every small baby will struggle , and Quenby made this point herself . She said the results show the value of checking a baby’s growth and giving children support as they develop Professor Dieter Wolke said being small may point to effects on the brain that affect learning . However , he added that care at home and help at school may change these long-term effects
本段译文 这项研究并不意味着每个体型偏小的婴儿都会遇到困难，昆比本人也特别指出了这一点。她说，研究结果表明了监测婴儿生长、并在孩子成长过程中给予支持的价值。迪特尔·沃尔克教授说，体型偏小可能意味着大脑受到了影响学习的作用。不过他补充说，家庭中的照料和学校里的帮助可能会改变这些长期影响。
The study shows a link between birth size and test scores , but it does not prove why the link exists . The early skills were also reported by parents rather than measured by experts . Even so , the message is fairly clear : the week of birth matters less over time , while early growth deserves close attention
本段译文 这项研究显示了出生体型与考试成绩之间存在关联，但并不能证明这种关联为何存在。此外，早期能力是由父母报告的，而不是由专家测量的。即便如此，传达的信息还是相当清楚的：出生在哪一周的影响会随时间减弱，而早期的生长发育值得密切关注。
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