We hear with our ears, right? Yes, but scientists have known for years that we also hear with our eyes. In a study published in 1976, researchers found that people combined both auditory cues(听力提示) and visual ones,like mouth and face movements, when they heard speech.

A new study that looks at a different set of sensory cues adds to a growing body of evidence that suggests such combination is natural. In a paper, Bryan Gick and Donald Derrick report that people can hear with their skin.

The researchers had volunteers listen to spoken syllables. Meanwhile, they connected the volunteers to a device that would blow a tiny puff (气流) of air onto the skin of their hands or necks. The syllables included “ba” and “pa”, which produce brief puffs from the mouth when spoken, and “da” and “ta,” which do not produce puffs. They found that when listeners heard “da” or “ta” while a puff of air was blown onto their skin, they considered the sounds as “ba” or “pa”.

Dr. Gick said the findings were similar to those from the 1976 study, in which visual cues defeated auditory ones — volunteers listened to one syllable but thought it another because they were watching a video of mouth movements corresponding to the second syllable. In his study,he said,cues from sensory receivers on the skin defeated the ears as well. “Our skin is doing the hearing for us,” he said.

Dr. Gick noted that it would normally be rare that someone actually sensed a puff of air produced by another, although people might occasionally sense their own puffs. “What’s so persuasive about this particular effect,” he added. “is that people are picking up on this information that they don’t know they are using.” That supports the idea that combining different sensory cues is natural.

Dr. Gick said the finding also suggested that other sensory cues might be at work in speech perception(知觉) — that, as he put it, “we are these fantastic perception machines that take in all the information available to us and combine it faultlessly.”

“Da” or “ta” were considered as “ba” or “pa” when __________.

A. they were spoken quickly

B. puffs of air were blown onto the listener’s skin

C. they were pronounced using a special device

D. they were made with face movements

Which of the following statements is TRUE?

A. Humans combine different sensory cues through experience.

B. Dr. Gick’s new study is more important than the one in 1976.

C. People sometimes can sense their own puffs when speaking

D. Only auditory and visual cues are at work in speech perception.

What is the best title of the text?

A. We Can Hear with Our Skin

B. Our Visual Cues Is Doing the Hearing for Us

C. Facial Expressions Are Important

D. We Are Fantastic Machines


B
A powerful earthquake measuring 7.0 on the Richter scale shook Haiti on Tuesday, causing several buildings to collapse in the Western hemisphere's poorest nation and leading to an unknown number of fatalities(死亡), officials and witnesses said.
The earthquake was centered just 10 miles southwest of the crowded and impoverished(贫困的)capital of Port-au-Prince(太子港).Making matters worse, the earthquake was relatively shallow, at a depth of five miles, the U.S. Geological Survey said Shallow earthquakes can cause more damage.
“I think it's really a huge catastrophe,” Haiti's ambassador to the U.S., Raymond Alcide Joseph, told Cable News Network.
An Associated Press(美联社)videographer saw the ruins of a hospital in Petionville, near Port-au-Prince. Reuters(路透社)news agency said several buildings had crumbled in the capital and that there were dead and injured trapped in the rubble.
At least 1.8 million people live within the area where the earthquake had its highest intensity, John Bellini, a geophysicist at the USGS, told The Wall Street Journal. “With a strong and shallow earthquake like this in such a populated area, it could really cause substantial damage.” he said.
“The quake was the most powerful to hit Haiti since at least 1770. This isn't normally an earthquake-prone(地震频发)area.” Mr. Bellini added.
Within minutes of the original quake, two aftershocks rolled through the area, measuring 5.9 and 5.5 on the Richter scale.
60.   The main purpose of this passage is to ________.
A. tell people some disasters are very dangerous.
B. introduce some common sense of natural disasters.
C. appeal to readers for help, love and support.
D. present some information of Haiti’s earthquake this year.
61.What can we learn from John Bellini’s words?
A. The earthquake which took place in Port-au-Prince was strong and shallow.
B. Thanks to the shallow earthquake, it did little damage to Port-au-Prince.
C. Earthquakes occur frequently in the area of Port-au-Prince,capital of Haiti.
D. At least 1770 people lost their lives in the earthquake.
62.   The underlined word catastrophe is closest in meaning to __________.
A. problem                   B. disaster                    C. phenomenon             D. news
63.   How many earthquakes of Haiti are mentioned in this article?
A. None.                      B. One                         C. Two.                        D. At least three.


B
A new study suggests that the more teenagers watch television , the more likely they are to develop depression (抑郁)as young adults. But the extent to which TV may or may not be to blame is a question that the study leaves unanswered.
The researchers used a national long-term survey of adolescent health to investigate the relationship between media use and depression . They based their findings on more than four thousand adolescents who were not depressed when the survey began in 1995.
As part of the survey, the young people were asked how many hours of television or videos they watched daily. They were also asked how often they played computer games and listened to the radio.
Media use totaled an average of five and one-half hours a day. More than two hours of that was spent watching TV.
Seven years later, in 2002, more than seven percent of the young people had signs of depression. Their average age at that time was twenty-one.
Brian Primack at the Universtiy of Pittsburgh Medical School was the leading author of the new study . He said every extra hour of television meant an eight percent increase in the chances of developing signs of depression.
The researchers say they did not find any such relationship with the use of other media such as movies, video games or radio. But the study did find that young men were more likely than young women to develop depression given the same amount of media use.
Doctor Primack says the study did not explore if watching TV causes depression . But one possibility, like sports and socializing. It might also interfere with sleep, he says, and that could have an influence.
The study was just published in the Archives of General Psychiatry. In December, the journal Social Indicators Research published a study of activities that help lead to happy lives. Sociologists from the University of Maryland found that people who describe themselves as happy spend less time watching television than unhappy people. The study found that happy people are more likely to be socially active, to read, to attend religious services and to vote.
60.The average age of the depressed young people should be_______when they began to receive the survey.
A.21           B.15              C.14                D.20
61.According to the passage, which of the following can possibly lead to depression?
A.Swimming                           B.Attending a party
C.Attending religious services             D.Watching TV for a long time.
62.We can learn from the passage_______.
A.the survey lasted a short time
B.over 280 teenagers who received the survey became more or less depressed in 2002
C.men are more likely to become depressed than women
D.the study about the relationship between media use and depression was published in the journal Social Indicators Research
63.What is the best title for the passage?
A.Teens, television, depression
B.Depression—the common problem of teens
C.Problems of watching TV
D.Teens—a group enjoying watching TV

B类题

第四部分单词拼写(共20小题, 每小题1分,满分20分)

76. In the accident, ten passengers were injured in all, two children i___________.

77. We live o_______ the school, so we often go to school on foot.

78. The famous actress c___________ suicide in 1985 at the age of 26, making her fans very sad.

79. His o_________ intention was to become a pilot, but now he is a car driver.

80. With the mid-term exam a____________, all the students are busy with their studies.

81. Many parents intend to have their children _________ (教育) in American colleges so that they can have a better future.

82. The wedding ______________(仪式)will be held on Feb.14th, which is Valentine’s Day.

83. Ba Jin has made great ____________(贡献)to Chinese literature.

84. The old government was _____________(推翻)and a new one replaced it.

85. With the climate becoming worse and worse, people ___________(逐渐地)realize the importance of protecting forests.

86. Apparently s__________ to criticism, the bull forgot all about the matador and charged at the drunk.

87. When the bull got close to him, he c__________ stepped aside to let it pass.

88. As there were strange marks on the X-ray p__________ taken of the mummy, doctors have been trying to find out whether the woman died of a rare disease.

89. I had all the usual s__________ of someone giving up smoking: a bad temper and an enormous appetite.

90. Children who play t__________ from school are unimaginative.

91. I smoked with __________(集中,专心) and pleasure as I was sure that this would be my last cigarette.

92. Dressed in dark glasses and old clothes, they had taken special __________(预防措施) so that no one should recognize them.

93. “Oh, is it?” said the sheriff with a __________(冷笑).

94. She __________(跺,踩) out the letters “SOS” in the snow.

95. It was not long before a helicopter arrived on the scene to rescue the __________(幸存者) of the plane crash.

 

We hear with our ears, right? Yes, but scientists have known for years that we also hear with our eyes. In a study published in 1976, researchers found that people combined both auditory cues(听力提示) and visual ones,like mouth and face movements, when they heard speech.

A new study that looks at a different set of sensory cues adds to a growing body of evidence that suggests such combination is natural. In a paper, Bryan Gick and Donald Derrick report that people can hear with their skin.

The researchers had volunteers listen to spoken syllables. Meanwhile, they connected the volunteers to a device that would blow a tiny puff (气流) of air onto the skin of their hands or necks. The syllables included “ba” and “pa”, which produce brief puffs from the mouth when spoken, and “da” and “ta,” which do not produce puffs. They found that when listeners heard “da” or “ta” while a puff of air was blown onto their skin, they considered the sounds as “ba” or “pa”.

Dr. Gick said the findings were similar to those from the 1976 study, in which visual cues defeated auditory ones — volunteers listened to one syllable but thought it another because they were watching a video of mouth movements corresponding to the second syllable. In his study,he said,cues from sensory receivers on the skin defeated the ears as well. “Our skin is doing the hearing for us,” he said.

Dr. Gick noted that it would normally be rare that someone actually sensed a puff of air produced by another, although people might occasionally sense their own puffs. “What’s so persuasive about this particular effect,” he added. “is that people are picking up on this information that they don’t know they are using.” That supports the idea that combining different sensory cues is natural.

Dr. Gick said the finding also suggested that other sensory cues might be at work in speech perception(知觉) — that, as he put it, “we are these fantastic perception machines that take in all the information available to us and combine it faultlessly.”

1.“Da” or “ta” were considered as “ba” or “pa” when __________.

A. they were spoken quickly

B. puffs of air were blown onto the listener’s skin

C. they were pronounced using a special device

D. they were made with face movements

2.Which of the following statements is TRUE?

A. Humans combine different sensory cues through experience.

B. Dr. Gick’s new study is more important than the one in 1976.

C. People sometimes can sense their own puffs when speaking

D. Only auditory and visual cues are at work in speech perception.

3.What is the best title of the text?

A. We Can Hear with Our Skin

B. Our Visual Cues Is Doing the Hearing for Us

C. Facial Expressions Are Important

D. We Are Fantastic Machines

 

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