Question

    How people read facial expressions of others says a lot about their cultural practices, a new study suggests.

In the study, about 80 Japanese and American student participants viewed a series of images (图像), each of which consisted of one center model and four background models. The researchers manipulated (操纵) the facial expression (happy, angry, sad) of the center or background models and asked the participants to determine the emotion (情绪) of the center figure.

The majority of Japanese participants (72%) reported that their judgments of the center persons emotions were influenced by the emotions of the background figures, while the same percentage of western participants reported they were not influenced by the background figures.

“What we found is quite interesting,” says Takahiko Masuda, a psychology professor from the University of Alberta. “Our results show that when Americans are trying to figure out how a person is feeling, they selectively focus on that particular person’s facial expression, while Japanese consider the emotions of the other people in the situation.”

“This may be because Japanese attention is not concentrated on the individual, but includes everyone in the group,” says Masuda.

In another round of image-viewing, researchers monitored the eye movements of the participants and again the results indicated that the Japanese looked at the surrounding people more than the westerners when judging the situation.

While both the Japanese and westerners looked to the central figure during the first second of viewing the photo, the Japanese looked to the background figures at the very next second, while westerners continued to focus on the central figure.

“East Asians seem to see people in terms of the relationships to others,” says Masuda. People raised in the western culture tend to separate a person from their surroundings, while East Asians are accustomed to “kuuki wo yomu”, which literally translates to “reading the air” of a situation. “As a result, they think that even surrounding people’s facial expressions are an informative source to understand the particular person’s emotion,” says Masuda.

1.Why were there background models in the study?

A.To show the participants various facial expressions.

B.To let the participants figure out their emotions.

C.To see whether they would influence the center model.

D.To see whether they would influence the participants’ judgments.

2.In the image-viewing process, the westerners ________ than the Japanese.

A.spent more time looking at the background models

B.spent less time looking at the background models

C.determined the emotion of the center model more quickly

D.determined the emotion of the background models more slowly

3.“Kuuki wo yomu” in the last paragraph indicates ________.

A.dealing with a situation

B.reading facial expressions

C.looking at the surroundings

D.knowing the surrounding people

4.Which of the following can be the best title for the text?

A.Facial Expressions Show Emotions

B.Culture Affects How We Read Faces

C.Team Work Strengthens Relationship

D.Cultural Differences Determine How We Feel

Answer

1.D

2.B

3.C

4.B

【解析】

这是一篇说明文。一项新的研究表明，人们如何解读他人的面部表情，很大程度上反映了他们的文化习俗。

1.推理判断题。由第三段“The majority of Japanese participants (72%) reported that their judgments of the center persons emotions were influenced by the emotions of the background figures, while the same percentage of western participants reported they were not influenced by the background figures.”可知，大多数日本参与者报告他们对中心人物情感的判断受背景人物情感的影响，而同样比例的西方参与者报告他们不受背景人物情感的影响。所以从报告的内容可以判断出，研究中有背景图是为了看看它们是否会影响参与者的判断。故选D项。

2.细节理解题。由第四段“the Japanese looked at the surrounding people more than the westerners when judging the situation”可知，结果再次表明日本人在判断周围情况时比西方人更关注周围的情况。也就是西方人比日本人花更少的时间看背景图。故选B项。

3.词句猜测题。由最后段“ People raised in the western culture tend to separate a person from their surroundings, while East Asians are accustomed to “kuuki wo yomu”, which literally translates to “reading the air” of a situation.”可知，在西方文化中长大的人往往把一个人和周围的环境分开，而东亚人则习惯于“kuuki wo yomu”，字面意思是“看待”周围的情况。所以通过上下文的语境可以判断出，最后一段“Kuuki wo yomu”表示“看待周围的环境”。故选C项。

4.主旨大意题。通过读全文尤其是本文首段中“How people read facial expressions of others says a lot about their cultural practices”可知，一项新的研究表明，人们如何解读他人的面部表情，很大程度上反映了他们的文化习俗。所以本段的最佳标题是“文化影响如何解读他人的面部表情”。故选B项。