Question

【题目】

Art, as we know, is subjective. What one person considers a priceless masterpiece others might see as nothing more than a giant black square. But there’s one very specific kind of painting that almost everyone sees the same way — the kind with the “strange” eyes that seem to follow you around the room. So what causes this optical illusion (视觉错觉) and how do artists achieve this effect?

It turns out, for even a moderately skilled artist, this effect isn’t a difficult thing to achieve. In fact, the artists need to use a little illusion of depth, making the person depicted on the canvas appears somewhat 3D on a 2D canvas, and to adjust the gaze (凝视) of the eyes so that they would be looking at someone standing right in front of the picture.

So what exactly is going on here in our brains that then makes it seem like the eyes follow you even if you move away from being front and center? As demonstrated by a team of researchers from Ohio State University, as you move to the side, the “near” and “far” points of the 2D image don’t really change. These near and far points are defined as visible points that, if the image was 3D, would appear nearest and furthest away from the viewer at a given angle.

The idea is simple. No matter what angle you look at a painting from, the painting itself doesn’t change. You’re looking at a flat surface. The key is that the near points and far points of the picture remained the same no matter the angle the picture was viewed from. When observing real surfaces in the natural environment, the near and far points vary when we change viewing direction. When we observe a picture on the wall, the visual information that defines near and far points is unaffected by viewing direction. Still, we willingly accept and interpret the thing in the painting as if it were a real object.

Thus, because the perspective, shadows, and light on the painting don’t change as you move around, if the eyes in the painting would be staring directly at the observer who is standing in front of the painting, it creates something of an optical illusion in your brain so that the eyes will continue to seem to stare at you as you move to the side.

In contrast to the eyes following you trick, if the artist tweaks the painting a bit, for example the artist adjusts the gaze of the eyes so that the eyes are looking off somewhere else instead of directly looking at a potential observer, no matter where you stand, the eyes will never seem to be looking at you.

The technique first began popularly showing up in art around the 14th century when the artist and architect Fillipo Brunelleshi introduced the art world to the idea of “linear perspective”, being painting with the idea of everything in the picture converging (聚集) on a specific point on the horizon, creating the illusion of depth. Linear perspective, combined with skilled use of light and shadow allows artists to create masterfully realistic paintings, including sometimes of people that stare at you creepily no matter where you stand.

【1】What’s the writer’s purpose of writing Paragraph 1?

A.To lead in the question why staring eyes seem to follow us in a painting.

B.To make a comparison between a priceless masterpiece and a black square.

C.To introduce the topic that the optical illusion can make the painting look real.

D.To prove that people can think alike when they admire a certain kind of painting.

【2】What can't we learn from the passage?

A.The visible points of the image won’t change in the natural environment.

B.The near and far points of a painting are affected by our viewing direction.

C.The viewing direction of viewers can make the image in the painting look real.

D.The optical illusion in our brain makes us feel the eyes in the painting staring at us.

【3】The 3rd paragraph is mainly about ________.

A.who took part in the research.

B.how long the research lasted.

C.what was found in the research.

D.how the research was performed.

【4】What’s the meaning of the underlined word “tweek” in the passage?

A.changeB.decorateC.moveD.turn

Answer 1

【答案】

【1】C

【2】B

【3】C

【4】A

【解析】

文章大意：本文主要介绍有一种非常特别的绘画，几乎每个人都有同样的看法——那种有着“奇怪”的眼睛，好像在房间里跟着你，引出视觉错觉从而描述艺术家如何达到这种效果的。

【1】主旨大意题。A. To lead in the question why staring eyes seem to follow us in a painting.意为“引出一个问题：为什么在一幅画里，凝视的眼睛似乎跟着我们。”；B. To make a comparison between a priceless masterpiece and a black square.意为“把一件无价之宝和一块黑色正方形做个比较。”；C. To introduce the topic that the optical illusion can make the painting look real.意为“介绍视觉错觉能使画看起来真实的主题。”；D. To prove that people can think alike when they admire a certain kind of painting.意为“证明当人们欣赏某种绘画时，他们的思维方式是一样的。”根据第一段最后一句So what causes this optical illusion (视觉错觉) and how do artists achieve this effect?可知下面开始介绍视觉错觉，这里只是一个导入，其他都是举例，所以中心是视觉错觉，故答案选C。

【2】细节理解题，根据第四段第五、六行When we observe a picture on the wall, the visual information that defines near and far points is unaffected by viewing direction可知，“近点和远点不受观察方向的影响”，故答案选B。

【3】主旨大意题。A. who took part in the research.意为“谁参加了研究”；B. how long the research lasted.意为“这项研究持续多长时间”；C. what was found in the research.意为“研究发现了什么”；D. how the research was performed.意为“研究是如何进行的”，根据第三段These near and far points are defined as visible points that, if the image was 3D, would appear nearest and furthest away from the viewer at a given angle可知第三段主要介绍研究发现了什么，故答案选C。

【4】词义猜测题。根据后面的举例，for example the artist adjusts the gaze of the eyes中的adjusts“调整”可知，这里说艺术家调整一点绘画，故答案选A。