Question

    For most people today, their GPS (Global Positioning System) has become a lifeline, giving directions to the nearest bathroom or restaurant. But the price we pay for the convenience could be our sense of direction.

“I do think GPS devices cause our navigational skills atrophy.” said Nora Newcombe, a psychologist at Temple University in the US who studies how the human brain navigates. “The problem is that you don’t see an overview of the area and where you are in relation to other things.”

To understand the risk, you first need to understand how our brain keeps us from getting lost. Through experiments, researchers have found that our navigational strategies usually fall into two groups. The first involves a spatial map inside your brain. As you explore an area, you think about how the streets fit together and the best way to get between different places. Eventually, the map lets you navigate between any two points in the area. The second involves a series of landmarks and steps: turn right at the gas station, and your school is on the left. It’s quick and reliable, but less flexible—it doesn’t help you get from your school to a totally new place, even if it’s nearby.

These two methods might not sound all that different, but according to Nora Newcombe, a psychologist at Temple University in the US, people who are bad at navigation have trouble with the first strategy – creating spatial maps. What’s more, people’s ability to create maps is decided by how often we use the skill.

That helps explain what happens when people trust themselves with GPS devices. According to Professor Veronique Bohbot of McGill University, people depending on GPS show more activity in the part of the brain that is good at following directions—but less activity in the part which creates the spatial maps.

It turns out that our sense of direction isn’t the only thing we could lose. One more thing that could go is our connection to the environment we travel through. Researchers have found that when people rely on GPS while driving, their memory of their trip is of a route on a screen, rather than the landscape they traveled through. Moreover, researchers believe that active navigation improves the type of thinking used in all kinds of spatial processes. “It’s things like urban planning, and looking at a map to see where resources are. That’s not replaceable by your phone.” Newcombe said.

1.______is what we may lose for the convenience of using GPS.

A.The ability to read maps B.The sense of feeling the sun

C.The chance to do urban planning D.The connection to where we travel

2.The underlined word “atrophy” in Paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to______.

A.become weaker B.become stronger

C.become more useful D.become less important

3.What may be Veronique Bohbot’s purpose in his research?

A.To explain why people use navigation

B.To prove what happens when we use GPS devices.

C.To find out people’s ability to create the spatial maps.

D.To tell the differences between the first strategy and the second direction.

4.What may be the writer’s attitude towards people relying on GPS devices?

A.Objective B.Ambiguous C.Negative D.Indifferent

Answer

1.D

2.A

3.B

4.C

【解析】

这是一篇新闻报道。文章主要介绍了人们使用GPS带给自己方便的同时，也在一定程度上削弱了自己的方向感。

1.

推理判断题。根据文章第一段第2句内容“But the price we pay for the convenience could be our sense of direction.”可知，我们可能会因为使用GPS的便利而失去方向感。由此判断出由于GPS的便利，我们可能会失去与旅行目的地的联系。故选D项。

2.

词义猜测题。分析可知，划线单词所在句应是Nora Newcombe对于上一段提出的观点“But the price we pay for the convenience could be our sense of direction.( 但我们为这种便利付出的代价可能是我们的方向感。)”的个人看法，根据后文他的进一步解释“The problem is that you don’t see an overview of the area and where you are in relation to other things.( 问题是你看不到这个领域的概况以及你与其他事物的关系。)”可知，在他看来，GPS对人产生了不利影响，因此可推知划线单词所在句“I do think GPS devices cause our navigational skills atrophy.”应是表达他对这个观点的支持，即：GPS的确使人们失去了与周围事物的联系，弱化了方向感。“atrophy”可理解为“衰退；削弱”含义，与选项A“become weaker”表达含义一致。故选A项。

3.

推理判断题。根据文章第五段内容“According to Professor Veronique Bohbot of McGill University, people depending on GPS show more activity in the part of the brain that is good at following directions—but less activity in the part which creates the spatial maps.”可知Veronique Bohbot教授研究说明了依赖GPS的人大脑中擅长跟随方向的部分表现出更多的活动，但创建空间地图的部分活动较少。由此可推知，他研究的目的应是展示人们在使用GPS时，人们的大脑里发生了什么。故选B项。

4.

推理判断题。根据文章的主题句为“But the price we pay for the convenience could be our sense of direction.”可知，作者主要讲述了使用GPS在一定程度上会是我们失去方向感，同时作者引用了其他人的观点作为支持，比如文章末尾：“It’s things like urban planning, and looking at a map to see where resources are. That’s not replaceable by your phone.” Newcombe said.( “这就像城市规划，看看地图，看看资源在哪里。这是手机无法替代的。” Newcombe说。)，由此可推知，对于依赖GPS，作者的态度是反对的。故选C项。