Question

【题目】 What’s in the scream? It is thought that the sound of a scream has an acoustic(听觉的) signature - an acoustic DNA that tells the listener’s ear that they are hearing a scream, even if it is not. “The scream may initially run to scare the attacking predator(捕食者). The study of screaming has the potential to help us understand the evolution of emotional communication,” says Jay Schwartz of Emory university.

Jay Schwartz and his colleagues asked 181 volunteers to listen to 75 sounds that included laughter, crying, moans, groans, and yells from acted origins, like television or movies, and more natural sources, such as a YouTube video of a child opening a present and screaming in delight. The listeners indicated whether or not each sound was something they considered a scream. “We did not provide any type of definition for a scream because we were trying to get at what is it in people’s minds that distinguishes a scream,” says Schwartz, who presented his work at a meeting of the Acoustical Society of America on 14 May.

When they analyzed the sound files, they found that the ones listed as screams had acoustic similarities. People were more likely to consider a sound a scream if it was higher in pitch(音高), and had a varied change in pitch, first moving up and then down at the end.

Rapid changes in amplitude - perceived as a rough, gravelly quality - also tended to be classified as screams more than sounds with a smoother tone. This sound was classified as a scream by 64 percent of the listeners. Surprisingly, a recording of a whistle was categorized as a scream by 70 percent of the participants. “It was because the whistle exhibited a lot of the acoustic qualities that we found to be associated with a scream, including high pitch and roughness,” says Schwartz.

【1】What was the scream used for in the beginning?

A.Frightening the enemies.B.Sharing the different acoustic DNA.

C.Attracting the volunteersD.Understanding the emotional evolution.

【2】What does Jay Schwartz’s research aim to understand?

A.Where people would scream.B.How people judged the scream.

C.Why people would scream.D.What was the best scream.

【3】What did the screams have in common?

A.Higher pitch.B.A peaceful mind.

C.Natural origins.D.Different functions.

【4】Why was the whistle considered a scream by most listeners?

A.It had the smoother tone.B.It showed some roughness.

C.It made listeners satisfied.D.It did great harm to people.

Answer 1

【答案】

【1】A

【2】B

【3】A

【4】B

【解析】

这是一篇说明文。文章主要科学揭示了尖叫声的本质。人们认为，尖叫声具有声学特征——一种声学DNA，它告诉听者的耳朵，他们听到了尖叫声，即使没有。文章说明了这项发现人们评判噪音的标准是什么的研究，以及研究结果。

【1】细节理解题。根据第一段中The scream may initially run to scare the attacking predator(捕食者).可知尖叫一开始可能是为了吓唬攻击的捕食者。由此可知，尖叫声最初是用来吓跑敌人的。故选A。

【2】推里判断题。根据第二段中“We did not provide any type of definition for a scream because we were trying to get at what is it in people’s minds that distinguishes a scream,” says Schwartz, who presented his work at a meeting of the Acoustical Society of America on 14 May.可知5月14日，Schwartz在《美国声学学会》的一次会议上介绍了他的研究成果。他说:“我们没有为尖叫提供任何类型的定义，因为我们试图弄清楚人们是如何区分尖叫的。”由此判断出，Jay Schwartz的研究目的是发现人们评判噪音的标准是什么。故选B。

【3】细节理解题。 根据第三段中People were more likely to consider a sound a scream if it was higher in pitch(音高), and had a varied change in pitch, first moving up and then down at the end.可知如果一个声音的音高更高，而且音高变化多样，人们更有可能认为这是一种尖叫。由此可知，这些尖叫声共同之处是音调更高。故选A。

【4】细节理解题。根据最后一段中“It was because the whistle exhibited a lot of the acoustic qualities that we found to be associated with a scream, including high pitch and roughness,” says Schwartz.可知“这是因为哨子表现出了许多与尖叫相关的声学特性，包括高音和粗糙度，”Schwartz说。由此可知，口哨中的粗糙的声音让听者认为成尖叫声。故选B。