Question

    About 1.5 billion people speak English around the world. But for more than 1.1 billion of them, English is their second language－often with a noticeable accent (口音).

“Someone’s accent really reveals a lot about who they are and their identity. It will tell people what their native language is and probably where they come from.” says Marc Pell, a communication professor at McGill University in Montreal. And according to Pell, one reaction to it can be a bias (偏见) against that person.

Previous research that has been done elsewhere showed that people who have an accent tend to be trusted less, simply because they have an accent. But accents aren’t the only thing we listen for when we have to decide if we trust another person. Tone of voice also plays a role. Pell and his team wanted to know if people would trust a confident tone, even if it came from someone with an accent.

The researchers had Canadian English speakers listen to different versions of people saying neutral (无明显特性的) statements like “she has access to the building” while they were getting a brain scan in an MRI (磁共振成像) machine. Subjects heard someone say it with a confident tone with a Canadian English accent, an Australian accent or a French accent. Participants also heard the sentence with the three accents spoken in a doubtful or neutral tone.

The MRI scans showed that the participants had to use more brain power to decide if they could trust the statements said with the non-native accents. When the study participants heard the Australian or French accents, blood flow increased to the part of the brain that we use to process sound. They seemed to have to analyze that perhaps more carefully, or for a longer period of time to make this decision about whether they truly believed the speaker, especially when the speaker sounded doubtful. When asked, the participants reported not trusting either Australian or French accents－except when the statements were said confidently. It seems that confidence speaks for itself.

1.What does the underlined word “it” in paragraph 2 refer to?

A.A person’s identity. B.A person’s accent.

C.A person’s hometown. D.A person’s native language.

2.What did Pell’s team want to know?

A.Why some people trust others less.

B.Which parts of the brain deal with sound.

C.What can cause a bias against non-natives.

D.Whether a non-native’s confident tone can gain trust.

3.For the study participants, which of the following might demand the most brain power?

A.A Canadian speaking English in a friendly way.

B.A French person speaking English neutrally.

C.An American speaking English confidently.

D.An Australian speaking English doubtfully.

Answer

1.B

2.D

3.D

【解析】

本文是一篇说明文。主要讲述了说英语的口音以及能否得到信任的有关研究。

1.词句猜测题。根据划线词前文内容Someone's accent really reveals a lot about who they are and their identity. It will tell people what their native language is and probably where they come from...(一个人的口音可以透露出他的身份。它会告诉人们他们的母语是什么，可能还会告诉他们来自哪里。)由此可知according to Pell, one reaction to it can be a bias (偏见) against that person.（根据佩尔的说法，对它的一种反应可能是对那个人的偏见），因此推断句中的it指的是一个人的口音。故选B。

2.细节理解题。根据第三段最后一句Pell and his team wanted to know if people would trust a confident tone, even if it came from someone with an accent.(佩尔和他的团队想知道人们是否会相信一个自信的语气，即使它来自一个有口音的人。)由此可知，佩尔的团队想知道非本地人的口音是否能获得信任。故选D。

3.细节理解题。根据最后一段的When the study participants heard the Australian or French accents, blood flow increased to the part of the brain that we use to process sound. They seemed to have to analyze that perhaps more carefully, or for a longer period of time to make this decision about whether they truly believed the speaker, especially when the speaker sounded doubtful. （当研究参与者听到澳大利亚或法国口音时，我们用来处理声音的大脑区域的血流量增加了。他们似乎需要更仔细地分析，或者花更长的时间来决定他们是否真的相信说话者，尤其是当说话者听起来很不明确的时候）由此可知，一个含糊地说英语的澳大利亚人最需要脑力。故选D。