Question

【题目】We are naturally drawn to friends and colleagues with familiar voices, scientists have found. People prefer those who have a similar accent, intonation and tone of voice to themselves, they discovered.

Previous research has focused on how a male or female voice sounds. Men with deeper voices and women with slightly higher voices were thought to sound more attractive, because they suggest a bigger or a smaller body.

But the new study, published by a linguistics expert in Canada, suggests there is a more complex mechanism(机制)at play. Dr Molly Babel, from the University of British Columbia in Canada, said, “The voice is an amazingly flexible tool that we use to construct our identity. Very few things in our voices are changeless, so we felt that our preferences had to be about more than a person’ s shape and size.’’

She recorded 30 volunteers’ voices and asked each to rate the others’ attractiveness on a scale of one to nine. Each participant was from western America, with similar accents. The people we assessed were all in the same dialect group, but they showed that dialect to different degrees.

“We seem to like people who sound like we sound, we like people who fit within what we know, ”Dr Babel said. She also found that breathy voices in women－typified by the famous American actress Marilyn Monroe－were seen as more attractive.

The breathy tone, caused by younger and thinner vocal cords(声带), implied youthfulness and health. A creaky (咯吱作响的)voice, suggesting a person has a cold, is tired or smokes, was seen as unattractive. The participants preferred men who spoke with a shorter average word length and deeper voices.

【1】The main purpose of the text is to ___________.

A. inform readers of the new findings of voices

B. compare male voices with female voices

C. argue against women’s voices of speaking

D. encourage men to use deeper voices to speak

【2】Dr. Molly Babel mentions Marilyn Monroe in order to________.

A. introduce a creaky voice B. explain a breathy voice

C. challenge previous research D. promote her reputation

【3】In terms of voice preferences, the new findings stress ________.

A. body size and shape

B. shorter word length

C. thicker vocal cords

D. the same social groups

【4】Whose voice may be unattractive according to the text?

A. A young lady with a thin voice

B. An old lady with a silvery voice

C. A deep-voiced man with a dry throat

D. A little man with a quiet and gentle voice

Answer 1

【答案】

【1】A

【2】B

【3】D

【4】C

【解析】本文只要介绍了对声音的研究。发现相比于以前的主要集中于男性或女性的声音怎样的研究外，人们更喜欢那些有着相似口音、语调和语调的人。

【1】A主旨题。本文主要介绍了对于声音的研究的一些新的发现，故选A。

【2】B细节理解题。根据文章第五段最后She also found that breathy voices in women—typified by the famous American actress Marilyn Monroe —were seen as more attractive.作者以Marilyn Monroe的声音为例解释了什么样的声音是breathy voice。故选B。

【3】D推理判断题。根据文章第一段的内容可知人们很自然地会被那些熟悉的声音所吸引。所以可以推测出新的研究强调人们更喜欢那些有着相似口音、语调和语调的人。故选D。

【4】C细节理解题。根据文章最后一段A creaky (咯吱作响的）voice, suggesting a person has a cold, is tired or smokes, was seen as unattractive.可知破旧的声音，声音低沉，喉咙干燥被视为缺乏吸引力。故选C。