Question

    The next time you need to get somewhere, you may be able to follow your nose. A study has found that a strong sense of smell is associated with a strong sense of direction.

Researchers conducted an experiment at McGill University in Canada. Fifty-seven adults were invited to participate in a virtual"way-finding task"in which they had to make their way around a virtual environment. They were given 20 minutes to learn about the virtual city. After having passed by each of eight landmarks at least twice, the participants were placed in front of one of the landmarks and asked to find the most direct route to one assigned by the researchers.

The participants also smelled 40 scented（有香气的）pens one at a time. After a brief sniff, the participants chose one word that best identified the smell from four words on a screen.

An additional exercise used a virtual maze（迷宫）to determine if the participants were more likely to rely on landmarks to find the way or if they used a more habit-based method built over time as people travelled the same route over and over again.

What the researchers found was that those with the ability to correctly identify the smells of the pens also had the easiest time performing the way-finding task by way of landmarks. A strong sense of smell was not identified in the participants who used the more habit-based method.

The connection between the sense of smell and way-finding likely came about as a result of the evolution of the nervous system. The original function of the sense of smell in humans may have been intended to support our spatial memory.

Keep that in mind the next time you get lost going to the dentist. It won't prevent you from getting horribly lost, but it's good food for thought along the way.

1.How did the researchers carry out the study?

A.By using typical landmarks in a real city.

B.By combining virtual tests with real-life tests.

C.By testing different senses in a virtual environment.

D.By collecting routine observation data from the participants.

2.What were the participants asked to do after they smelled a scented pen?

A.Decide whether they liked the smell.

B.Use a sentence to describe the smell.

C.Choose a suitable word for the smell.

D.Find the landmark that featured the smell.

3.Which of the following factors is better related to a strong sense of direction according to paragraph 5?

A.The way of using landmarks.

B.More experience in describing things.

C.Quick adjustment to the virtual world.

D.A more habit-based way-finding method.

4.The meaning of the word "spatial" underlined in Paragraph 6 relates to _____.

A.the situation B.the position

C.the spirit D.the time

Answer

1.B

2.C

3.A

4.B

【解析】

这是一篇说明文。文章主要讲述了关于强烈的嗅觉与强烈的方向感有关的研究。

1.细节理解题。根据文章第二段第2句：Fifty-seven adults were invited to participate in a virtual"way-finding task"in which they had to make their way around a virtual environment（57名成年人被邀请参加一个虚拟的“寻路任务”，在这个任务中，他们必须在一个虚拟的环境中找到路）以及文章第三段：The participants also smelled 40 scented pens one at a time. After a brief sniff, the participants chose one word that best identified the smell from four words on a screen.（参与者还一次闻40支有香味的钢笔。在短暂的嗅闻之后，参与者从屏幕上的四个单词中选择一个最能识别气味的单词。）可知，参与者既进行了虚拟寻路任务，又参与了气味测试。故选B项。

2.细节理解题。根据文章第三段第2句：After a brief sniff, the participants chose one word that best identified the smell from four words on a screen.（在短暂的嗅闻之后，参与者从屏幕上的四个单词中选择一个最能识别气味的单词。）可知，参与者在嗅闻之后被要求用单词描述气味。故选C项。

3.细节理解题。根据文章第五段第1句：What the researchers found was that those with the ability to correctly identify the smells of the pens also had the easiest time performing the way-finding task by way of landmarks.（研究人员发现，那些能够正确识别钢笔气味的人，也最容易通过地标来完成寻路任务。）可知，较强的方向感与地标识别联系较为密切。故选A项。

4.词义猜测题。根据划线单词所在句的前一句：The connection between the sense of smell and way-finding likely came about as a result of the evolution of the nervous system.（嗅觉和寻路之间的联系可能是神经系统进化的结果。）可知，本段是在对使用嗅觉寻路进行解释。那么划线单词所在句：The original function of the sense of smell in humans may have been intended to support our spatial memory.提到的记忆应是与寻路有关的记忆，可以理解为空间记忆。B项position（位置）表达较为接近。故选B项。