Question

【题目】 Fear may be in the heart as well as in the head, according to a study that has found a link between the cycles of a beating heart and the chance of someone feeling fear.

Tests on healthy volunteers found that they were more likely to feel a sense of fear at the moment when their hearts are contracting (收缩) and pumping blood around their bodies, compared with the point when the heartbeat is relaxed. Scientists say the results suggest that the heart is able to influence how the brain reacts to a fearful event, depending on which point it is at in its regular cycle of contraction and relaxation.

Sarah Garfinkel at the Brighton and Sussex Medical School said: "Our study shows for the first time that the way in which we deal with fear is different depending on when we see fearful pictures in relation to our heart."

The study tested 20 healthy volunteers on their reactions to fear as they were shown pictures of fearful faces. Dr. Garfinkel said, "The study showed that fearful faces are better noticed when the heart is pumping than when it is relaxed. Thus our hearts can also affect what we see and what we don't see-and guide whether we see fear."

To further understand this relationship, the scientists also used a brain scanner (扫描仪) to show how the brain influences the way the heart changes a person's feeling of fear.

"We have found an important mechanism by which the heart and brain 'speak' to each other to change our feelings and reduce fear, "Dr. Garfinkel said.

"We hope that by increasing our understanding about how fear is dealt with and ways that it could be reduced, we may be able to develop more successful treatments for anxiety (焦虑) disorders, and also for those who may be suffering from serious stress disorder."

【1】What is the finding of the study?

A.One's heart influences how he feels fear.

B.Fear is a result of one's heartbeat.

C.Fear can't be felt because of one's relaxed heartbeat.

D.One's fast heartbeats are likely to cause fear.

【2】The study was carried out by studying________.

A.volunteers' heartbeats when they saw terrible pictures

B.the time volunteers saw fearful pictures and their health conditions

C.volunteers' reactions to horrible pictures and results from their brain scans

D.different pictures shown to volunteers and their heartbrain communication

【3】Which of the following is closest in meaning to "mechanism" in Paragraph 6?

A.Order.B.System.C.Machine.D.Treatment.

【4】This study may contribute to________.

A.treating anxiety and stress better

B.explaining the cycle of fear and anxiety

C.finding the key to the heartbrain communication

D.understanding different fears in our hearts and heads

Answer 1

【答案】

【1】A

【2】C

【3】B

【4】A

【解析】

这是一篇说明文。介绍了对20名健康的志愿者进行的恐惧反应试验，告诉读者大脑与心脏都能感知到恐惧，而且心脏跳动的周期与人们感知恐惧的机会有关联。这份研究成果未来有望更成功地用于治疗忧虑症以及应激障碍疾病。

【1】细节理解题。根据第一段第一句“according to a study that has found a link between the cycles of a beating heart and the chance of someone feeling fear”可知依据研究发现：心跳循环与人感知恐惧是有关联的。故选A。

【2】细节理解题。文章对实验的介绍在3-6段。找到“Para.4.The study tested 20 healthy volunteers on their reactions to fear as they were shown pictures of fearful faces.”可知这项研究对20名健康的志愿者试验了当他们看到恐惧面孔图片时的反应，以及Para.5.“the scientists also used a brain scanner（扫描仪）to show how the brain influences the way the heart changes a person's feeling of fear.”可知为了演示大脑是如何影响心脏改变人对恐惧的感知方式，科学家们还使用扫描仪，可推测出是志愿者们对恐惧图片的反应以及来自大脑扫描仪的数据。故选C。

【3】词义猜测题。Order顺序；System.体系统；Machine.机械Treatment.治疗；根据“by which the heart and brain 'speak' to each other to change our feelings and reduce fear”可知通过这种机制，心脏和大脑可以相互‘沟通’，从而改变我们的感觉，减少恐惧，mechanism是心脏与大脑交流的一个完整系统，可推测出该单词的意思是“系统”，故选B。

【4】推理判断题。根据“we may be able to develop more successful treatments for anxiety (焦虑) disorders, and also for those who may be suffering from serious stress disorder”可知我们可以开发更多的成功治疗焦虑障碍，也为那些可能患有严重的应激障碍，故选A。