Can you believe your eyes? A recent experiment suggests that the answer to that question may depend on your age.

Martin Doherty, a psychologist at the University of Stirling in Scotland, led the team of scientists. In this experiment, Doherty and his team tested the perception(观察力) of some people, using pictures of some orange circles. The researchers showed the same pictures to two groups of people. The first group included 151 children aged 4 to 10, and the second group included 24 adults aged 18 to 25.

The first group of pictures showed two circles alone on a white background. One of the circles was larger than the other, and these people were asked to identify the larger one. Four-year-olds identified the correct circle 79 percent of the time. Adults identified the correct circle 95 percent of the time.

Next, both groups were shown a picture where the orange circles, again of different sizes, were surrounded by gray circles. Here’s where the trick lies in. In some of the pictures, the smaller orange circle was surrounded by even smaller gray circles — making the orange circle appear larger than the other orange circle, which was the real larger one. And the larger orange circle was surrounded by even bigger gray circles — so it appeared to be smaller than the real smaller orange circle.

When young children aged 4 to 6 looked at these tricky pictures, they weren’t fooled — they were still able to find the bigger circle with roughly the same accuracy as before. Older children and adults, on the other hand, did not do as well. Older children often identified the smaller circle as the larger one, and adults got it wrong most of the time.

As children get older, Doherty said, their brains may develop the ability to identify visual context. In other words, they will begin to process the whole picture at once: the tricky gray circles, as well as the orange circle in the middle. As a result, they’re more likely to fall for this kind of visual trick.

55．Doherty and his team of scientists did an experiment to evaluate________.

A．children’s and adults’ eye-sight

B．people’s ability to see accurately

C．children’s and adults’ brains

D．the influence of people’s age

56．When asked to find the larger circle,___________.

A．children at 6 got it wrong 79 % of the time with no gray ones around

B．only adults over 18 got it right 95% of the time with gray ones around

C．children at 4 got it right about 79 % of the time with gray ones around

D．adults got it right most of the time with gray ones around

57．Visual context may work when children get older than________.

A．4                                     B．6                                     C．10                                   D．18

58．Why are younger children not fooled ?

A．Because they are smarter than older children and adults.

B．Because older people are influenced by their experience.

C．Because people’s eyes become weaker as they grow older.

D．Because their brain can hardly notice related things together.

 

 

Dogs wag(摇摆) their tails in different directions depending on whether they are excited and wanting to move forward or threatened and thinking of moving back,a study has found.

Researchers in Italy examined the tail wagging behaviour of 30 dogs,catching their responses to a range of stimuli(刺激物) with video cameras.To conduct the study they chose 15 male dogs and 15 female ones aged between one and six years.The dogs were all family pets whose owners had allowed them to take part in the experiment at Ban University.The dogs were placed in a large wooden box with an opening at the front to allow for them to view various stimuli.They were tested one at a time.

The researchers led by Professor Giorgio Vallortigara of the University of Trieste found that when the dogs were shown their owners—a positive experience—their tails wagged energetically to the right side.When they were shown an unfamiliar human they wagged to the right,but with somewhat less enthusiasm.The appearance of a cat again caused a right-hand side wag,although with less intensity again.The appearance of a large unfamiliar dog,similar to a German shepherd,changed the direction of tail wagging to the left.Reseachers supposed the dog was thinking of moving back.When the dogs were not shown any stimuli they tended to wag their tails to the left,suggesting they preferred company.While the changes in the tail wagging were not easily noticed without the aid of video,it was thought that the findings could help people judge the mood(心情) of dogs.Computer and video systems,for example,could be used by professional dog trainers to determine the mood of dogs that they were required to approach.

1.The video cameras were used to catch the dogs’ responses because _______.

A.it was easier to catch the dogs’ response changes in the tail wagging

B.the dogs were put in the wooden boxes and tested one at a time

C.they enabled the dogs’ owners to know about their dogs’ habit

D.the dogs wagged their tails in different directions when they were in different moods

2.The underlined word “intensity” in the passage means _______.

A.surprise                              B.worry

C.excitement                                D.interest

3.When there are no stimuli,a dog will _______.

A.wag to the left                           B.wag to the right

C.not wag at all                            D.wag to the left and then to the right

4.The underlined word “they” refers to _______.

A.the dogs                              B.the trainers

C.the systems                               D.the researchers

5.The purpose of doing the experiment is _______.

A.to train dogs for their owners

B.to help people judge the mood of dogs

C.to help dogs find company

D.to help people choose their pet dogs

 

Any foreigner who has tried to learn Chinese can tell how hard it is to master the tones required to speak and understand. And anyone who has tried to learn to play the violin or other instruments can report similar challenges.
Now researchers have found that people with musical training have an easier time learning Chinese. Writing in the online edition of Nature Neuroscience，researchers from Northwestern University say that both skills draw on the same parts of the brain that help people discover changes in pitch(音调)．
One of the study’s authors，Nina Kraus，said the findings suggested that studying music “actually tunes our sensory system”．This means that schools that want children to do well in languages should hesitate before cutting music programs，Dr.Kraus said. She said music training might also help children with language problems.
Mandarin(普通话)speakers have been shown to have a more complex encoding(编码) of pitch patterns in their brains than English speakers do. This is because in Mandarin and other Asian languages，pitch plays a central role. A single­syllable word can have several meanings depending on how it is intoned.
For this study，the researchers looked at 20 non­Chinese speaking volunteers，half with no musical background and half who have studied an instrument for at least six years.
As they were shown a movie，the volunteers also heard an audio tape of the Mandarin word “mi” in three of its meanings：squint，bewilder and rice. The researchers recorded activities in their brain stems to see how well they were processing the sounds. Those with a music background showed much more brain activities in response to the Chinese sounds.
The lead author of the study，Patrick C．M.Wong，said it might work both ways. It appears that native speakers of tonal languages may do better at learning instruments.
【小题1】When learning Chinese，a foreigner will find ________.

A．he has a difficult time learning music at the same time

B．he has an easier time learning music at the same time

C．it is hard to master the tones required to speak and understand

D．it is easy to use the brain to help him discover changes in pitch

【小题2】Why does Chinese learning have something to do with music training?

A．Because there is the same difficulty in learning Chinese and music.

B．Because skills to learn the two make use of the same parts of the brain.

C．Because music training might help people with language study.

D．Because people who do well in Chinese study do well in music.

【小题3】The underlined word “intoned” in the fourth paragraph can be replaced by the word “____”．

A．created	B．spelled
C．seemed	D．pronounced

【小题4】What would be the best title for this passage?

A．Mandarin Speakers Are Smarter than English Speakers

B．Skilled Ear for Music May Help Language Study

C．Pitch Plays a Central Role in Chinese Learning

D．Schools Need to Develop Music Programs

Face masks are commonly used in ceremonies and performances. They not only hide the real face of the mask wearer but they often evoke powerful emotions in the audience—danger, fear, sadness, joy. You might think, because so many things vary cross-culturally, that the ways in which emotions are displayed and recognized in the face vary too. Apparently they do not. Recent research on masks from different cultures supports the conclusion that masks, like faces, tend to represent certain emotions in the same ways. We now have some evidence that the symbolism used in masks is often universal.

The research on masks builds on work done by anthropologists, who used photographs of individuals experiencing various emotions. These photographs were shown to members of different cultural groups who were asked to identify the emotions displayed in the photographs. Emotions were identified correctly by most viewers, whatever the viewer’s native culture.

Coding schemes were developed to enable researchers to compare the detailed facial positions of individual portions of die face (eyebrows, mouth, etc.) for different emotions. What exactly do we do when we scowl? We contract the eyebrows and lower the corners of the mouth; in geometric terms, we make angles and diagonals (斜线) on our faces. When we smile, we raise the corners of the mouth; we make it curved.

Psychologist Joel Arnoff and his colleagues compared two types of wooden face masks from many different societies—masks described as threatening versus masks associated with nonthreatening functions. As suspected, the two sets of masks had significant differences in certain facial elements. The threatening masks had eyebrows and eyes facing inward and downward and a downward-facing mouth. In more abstract or geometrical terms, threatening features generally tend to be angular or diagonal and nonthreatening features tend to be curved or rounded, a face with a pointed beard is threatening; a baby's face is not. The theory is that humans express and recognize basic emotions in uniform (一致的) ways because all human faces are quite similar, skeletally and muscularly.

1.What does the passage mainly discuss?

A. The techniques for comparing facial expressions across cultures.

B. The photography of faces.

C. Cultural variations in mask.

D. The uniformity of facial expressions in revealing emotions.

2.According to the passage, masks are used in performances to _______.

A. disguise the real emotions of the performers

B. cause members of the audience to have strong emotions

C. remind the audience that an illusion is being created

D. identify the cultural background of the performers

3.What does the author mean by stating, "the symbolism used in masks is often universal"?

A. Masks are sometimes used to hide emotions.

B. Performers often need help conveying emotions to an audience.

C. Not all societies use masks in their rituals.

D. People from different cultures generally express certain emotions in similar ways.

4.The passage mentions "baby’s face" in the last paragraph as an example of a _______.

A. typical human face

B. source of inspiration in the creation of masks

C. nonthreatening face

D. face that expresses few emotions

 

Any foreigner who has tried to learn Chinese can tell how hard it is to master the tones required to speak and understand. And anyone who has tried to learn to play the violin or other instruments can report similar challenges.

Now researchers have found that people with musical training have an easier time learning Chinese. Writing in the online edition of Nature Neuroscience，researchers from Northwestern University say that both skills draw on the same parts of the brain that help people discover changes in pitch(音调)．

One of the study’s authors，Nina Kraus，said the findings suggested that studying music “actually tunes our sensory system”．This means that schools that want children to do well in languages should hesitate before cutting music programs，Dr.Kraus said. She said music training might also help children with language problems.

Mandarin(普通话)speakers have been shown to have a more complex encoding(编码) of pitch patterns in their brains than English speakers do. This is because in Mandarin and other Asian languages，pitch plays a central role. A single­syllable word can have several meanings depending on how it is intoned.

For this study，the researchers looked at 20 non­Chinese speaking volunteers，half with no musical background and half who have studied an instrument for at least six years.

As they were shown a movie，the volunteers also heard an audio tape of the Mandarin word “mi” in three of its meanings：squint，bewilder and rice. The researchers recorded activities in their brain stems to see how well they were processing the sounds. Those with a music background showed much more brain activities in response to the Chinese sounds.

The lead author of the study，Patrick C．M.Wong，said it might work both ways. It appears that native speakers of tonal languages may do better at learning instruments.

1. When learning Chinese，a foreigner will find ________.

A．he has a difficult time learning music at the same time

B．he has an easier time learning music at the same time

C．it is hard to master the tones required to speak and understand

D．it is easy to use the brain to help him discover changes in pitch

2.Why does Chinese learning have something to do with music training?

A．Because there is the same difficulty in learning Chinese and music.

B．Because skills to learn the two make use of the same parts of the brain.

C．Because music training might help people with language study.

D．Because people who do well in Chinese study do well in music.

3.The underlined word “intoned” in the fourth paragraph can be replaced by the word “____”．

A．created                           B．spelled      

C．seemed                           D．pronounced

4.What would be the best title for this passage?

A．Mandarin Speakers Are Smarter than English Speakers

B．Skilled Ear for Music May Help Language Study

C．Pitch Plays a Central Role in Chinese Learning

D．Schools Need to Develop Music Programs