Question

Traveling makes us feel sick because modern transport tricks the brain into thinking we have been poisoned, a scientist has said.

Being in a car, train, boat or plane makes conflicting signals in the brain which causes an action similar to something that happens when someone is poisoned. Dr Dean Burnett, from Cardiff University, said the feeling of sickness is caused because the brain thinks the body needs to remove a toxin through vomiting . But in fact, the “poisoning”effect is caused by the mixed messages-- for the muscles , they tell the brain the body is motionless, but for the ears, they got the feeling that the body has some movement.

Dr Dean Burnett explained that reading in a car made the feeling of travel sickness worse, because the eyes were focused on a small, motionless space and gave the brain no information to explain that the body was moving.

The feeling of sickness could be weakened by looking out of a car window because this showed the brain that movement was taking place. “You can see the passage and movement itself, and that balances the system,” he said. “The brain’s going: ‘Oh, look, things are moving--I must be moving’--and then it calms down the sickness.”

Dr Burnett said there was no clear reason why some people suffered from car sickness more than others. But he said there were several other aspects of modern life with which the brain had not yet recognized or understood.

1.Tom often feels sick when traveling in a bus, because ________ according to the writer.

A. buses make his brain into thinking he has been poisoned

B. buses make him feel very excited

C. he doesn’t like taking a bus to anywhere at all

D. His body needs to remove a toxin through vomiting

2.The meaning of the underlined word “motionless” is close to “ ________”.

A. active B. noise C. quiet D. clever

3.Which of the following can NOT weaken the feeling of sickness in a bus?

A. Looking out of the window

B. Looking at the passage of the bus.

C. Looking at the movement itself.

D. Looking at something quiet.

4.What’s the best title of the passage?

A. What a Terrible Travel! B. Why Do We Get Car Sick?

C. The Danger of Modern Transport D. How to Keep Balance.

Answer 1