Question

Teenagers around the world can be happy with the news that the brain will ignore parents’ order when they tap on their smartphones. A new scientific study from the University College London has shown that humans may temporarily go deaf when they’re focusing on something visual at the same time.

The researchers played the normal-volume sounds in the background. And 13 volunteers experienced inattentional deafness as their visual tasks became increasingly difficult. “We found that when volunteers were performing the demanding visual task, they were unable to hear sounds that they would normally hear,” Maria Chait said in a statement. “The brain scans showed that people didn’t filter out the sounds on purpose. They were not actually hearing them in the first place.”

The findings, published in the Journal of Neuroscience, suggest that the centre of sights and the center of sounds share limited resources. Inattentional deafness is a common everyday experience and the study explains why, according to UCL Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience Professor Nili Lavie.

If you try to talk to someone focusing on a book, game, or television program and don’t receive a response, they aren’t necessarily ignoring you. They simply might not hear you at all. This could also explain why you might not hear your bus or train stop being announced if you’re absorbed in your phone, book or newspaper. However, some loud sounds will still be able to break through.

Some situations could become potentially dangerous when the quieter ones go unheard. As you can imagine, in the operating room, when a doctor concentrates on his work, he might not hear the equipment beeping. It also applies to drivers who concentrate on complex directions. Fortunately, experts have given us some useful tips on preventing such situations.

1.What has the University College London found?

A. Teenagers like to play visual games.

B. Smartphones have a good effect on ears.

C. Teachers don’t allow students to use phones.

D. People can’t hear well while using their eyes..

2.What’s the attitude of Nili Lavie to the study?

A. Doubtful.    B. Negative.    C. Approving    D. Critical

3.What will you most probably hear if you are concentrating on a book?

A. Fire alarms.    B. Words from the TV.

C. What your parents say to you.    D. Announcement in the station.

4.What will the author probably talk about in the next paragraph?

A. How to become a good driver.

B. How to help improve hearing.

C. Situations related to deafness.

D. Advice for people with visual tasks.

Answer

1. D

2. C

3. A

4. D

【解析】

本文是一篇说明文。世界各地的青少年都乐于听到这样的消息:当他们敲击智能手机时，大脑会忽略父母的指令。伦敦大学学院的一项新的科学研究表明，当人们同时关注视觉事物时，他们可能会暂时失聪。

1.细节理解题。根据第二段中“We found that when volunteers were performing the demanding visual task, they were unable to hear sounds that they would normally hear,”可知，伦敦大学学院发现了“当人们使用眼睛时听不清东西。”故选D。

2.推理判断题。根据第三段中Inattentional deafness is a common everyday experience and the study explains why, according to UCL Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience Professor Nili Lavie.（伦敦大学学院认知神经科学研究所的尼利·拉维教授说，无意性耳聋是一种常见的日常经历，这项研究解释了其中的原因。）可知，Nili Lavie对这项研究的态度是“赞成的”。故选C。

3.推理判断题。根据第四段最后一句However, some loud sounds will still be able to break through.可知，如果你专心读书，你最可能听到“火灾报警”。故选A。

4.推理判断题。根据最后一段中Some situations could become potentially dangerous when the quieter ones go unheard. --- Fortunately, experts have given us some useful tips on preventing such situations.（有些情况在安静的人听不到的情况下会变得潜在的危险。幸运的是，专家们给了我们一些有用的建议来防止这种情况的发生。）可知，作者在下一段可能会谈论“给有视觉任务的人的建议。”故选D。