中考英語閱讀理解專項(xiàng)練習(xí)

閱讀理解

話題1現(xiàn)代科技

Passage1

科技課堂

Thesedays,teachersandstudentshavemoreaccess*tousingtechnologyinschools.Many

schoolsprovidecomputerlabsinwhichstudentscangoonlineoruseprogramspurchased*by

schools.Itisveryconvenientandit'spopularwithteachersandstudentsintheschool.

Thebiggestadvantageoftechnologyintheclassroomtodayisthatinformationisavailable.

Before,studentscouldonlyasktheirteachersforhelpwhentheyhavequestionsinschools.They

hadnootherwaytogelmorethanwhattheteachertoldthem.Butnow,thestudentscansimply

typeaquestionintoasearchengineandreceivealistofsiteswithinformationaboutthequestion.

▲Itcanmakestudentsunderstandtheknowledgeinamoreinterestingway.Butitwas

difficult20yearsago.

Anotheradvantageistheamountofresourcesthatcansupportstudents*learninginthe

classroom.Nolongerisinformationonlyavailablethroughateacher'sinstructionorclassroom

books.Now,thereareapps,videos,games,andonlineresourcesthatmakelessonsmorefunand

effective.Theyalsoencouragestudentstoexplorenewknowledgeactively.

Withallthebenefits,therearealsosomedisadvantages.Thebiggestdisadvantagetotheuse

oftechnologymaybelowerqualityofresearchandstudents*work.Becausetherearesomany

resourcesavailableonline,tiseasiertoturntotheInternetforresearch.Often,itisdifficultfora

studenttoknowandchoosewhichmaterials*totrust.Moreandmorepeoplechoose(heInternet.

Buttheyforgetthevalueofbooksinthelibrary.Astudentnaynotevenknowhowtofinduseful

materialsinthelibrary.

Anotherdisadvantageisthattechnologycanseparatethelearnersfromactuallearning.The

teachermightintendtousetechnologyin(heclassroomtomakealessonmoreinteresting,butthe

technologyitselfcanbecomethethingstudentsfocusonratherthanthecontentofthelesson.

Howmuchtechnologyshouldbeusedintheclassroomisuptothedebate*.Thebestway

maybeabalanceoftechnologyandtraditionallearningmethods.

I.Whichof(hefollowingcanbeputinto▲inParagraph2?

A.Thesedays,teacherscansimplyfindavideoonawebsite.

B.Nowadays,teachersdon-tneedtodotoomuchforstudents.

C.Nowteacherscanhelpstudentsmastermorecomputerskills.

D.Teachersmayhavepreparedallthethingsneededforstudents.

2.Theunderlinedword"benefits"probablymeans.

A.situationsB.advantagesC.choicesD.skills

3.Accordingtothepassage,oneofthedisadvantagesoftechnologyintheclassroomisthat

A.studentsdon'tgotothelibrariesatall

B.studentspaylessattentiontotheclass

C.studentsaremoreinterestedinthenewknowledge

D.studentscanonlylearnnewknowledgeontheInternet

4.Inwhichpartof(hemagazinecanweseethisarticle?

A.Science.B.Sports.C.Education.D.Medicine.

小詞典

access〃.機(jī)會(huì)debate〃.辯論material〃.材料purchase乂購買

Passage2

Facialrecognition*camerasarceverywhere,includinginoursmartphones.Manypeople

dependonfacialrecognitiontounlocktheirphones,opendoorsormakequickpayments.But

thereisaproblem:Everyoneiswearingamasknow.Whatahassle!Todealwithit,tech

companieshavedeveloped(heirsoftware.Facialrecognitiontechnologycannowrecognize

peopleeveniftheyarewearingmasks.

TechcompanyHanvvang,whichliesinBeijing,hassetasoftwarethatcancorrectly

recognize95percentofpeoplewearingmasks.Whal'sthesecret?It'sallabouteyes.Marios

Savvides,aprofessoratCarnegieMellonUniversity,explainsthataswegetolder,ourfaces

2

changeshape,buttheareaaroundoureyesdoesn't.Itstaysthesameevenifweputonweight.As

longasthereareenoughdatafromtheareaofoureyes,thecamerascanrecognizeus.

Othercompaniesarcstudyingaboutthesoftwareaswell.Forexample,Geneva-basedTech5

hasbeenworkingononekindofsoftware,whichcanrecognizeapersonthrough(heshapeof

facesandthecoloredpartofeyes.Andil'smorelikelytorecognizepeoplecorrectly.

Nowadays,facialrecognitionsoftwareisaboutmorethanjustunlockingyourphone.It'salso

aboutpublicsafety.Forexample,youdon'tneedtopresentanIDcard,whichcanbelostorstolen.

Italsomeansthatvinisaren'tspreadbytouchingthings.BecauseofCOVID-19,touchless

verificationhasbecomeveryimportant.Ithelpswithsafetyandpeaceofmind.Morethanthat,

facialrecognitioncanbeusedtofightcrime.Andthemostcommonisthatil'susedin

governments,banks,schoolsandotherplaces.SimilartechnologyisusedbytheUnitedStatesAir

Forceandothergovernment.

Butthereisonebigweaknessofthistechnology：Itfailswhenpeoplewearbothamaskand

sunglasses.Inthissituation,allofthekeyfacialinformationislost.Soexpertsarestillworkingon

it.Withthedevelopmentoftechnology,webelievetherewillbemuchsaferandbetterplaces

everywhere.Andourlifewillbemoreconvenient.

1.Whatpeoplecandowithfacialrecognitionisto.

①unlock(heirphones②lumonaTV③openthedoors

④payforthingsquickly⑤keepthemsafe

A.①②③B.①③④

C.①③⑤D.③④⑤

2.Theunderlinedword“hassle“probablymeans.

A.habitB.mistakeC.ruleD.trouble

3.WhichofthefollowingisTRUEaboutthe"Facialrecognition”?

A.Facialrecognitionareusedlessforfightingcrime.

B.Itisnecessarytomakeimprovementsinthenewtechnology.

C.Theareaaroundoureyeschangesaswegetolder.

D.Expertshaveanpositiveattitudetowardthenewtechnology.

3

4.Whichofthefollowingisthebesttitlefor(hepassage?

A.AUsefulTechnologyB.TechnologyandPhones

C.DevelopmentsinCompaniesD.TheHistoryofTechnology

小詞典

facialrecognitionn.人臉識(shí)別

Passage3

TwomonthshavepassedsinceRichardWatsonwore200specialtransmitters*forhiscows.

Thesedevices*arcpartofanartificial-intelligence(AI)systemnamedIda.Thesystemcansend

messagestoWatson'sphonewhenhiscowsarenothealthyorwhentheyarenotfeelingweL,and

itcantellhowmanyanimalsaresick(othedairyfarmers*andhelp(hempickout(hesick

animals.

Farmersareincreasinglyusinghigh-techproductstolowertheircosts,increasetheamount

ofrequiresandhelpthemtogetmoremoney.Buttheyarcnotjustusinghigh-techmachines.They

alsonowemployservicesthatgatherinformationabouttheirfarmstoimprovetheirbusinesses.

AItechnologiesarechangingourdailylifeandhowpeoplework.Withthetechnology,

farmerscangettheinformationtheyneedfromtheirphonesinsteadofgoingtothefarmtocheck

animalseveryday.So,thisAIsystemcanhelppeoplesparetheirtimetodootherthings.Many

dairyfarmersarcinterestedintheIdasystem.Watsonisoneofthem.Onacommonmorningin

March,hepulledouthisphonetocheckhisIdaApp.ItshowedthatCows#978(X)and#97782

wereeatingless.Thismightmean(hattherewassomethingwrongwiththem.

Ilowever,somefarmerssaid,"Icanfindoutthecowthatisn'tfeelinggreatjustbylookingat

itseyes”.MarkRodgersisaneighborofWatson's.Hesaid,"ThisiswhatIcandobymyself.My

experiencecanhelpmelookafterthembetter.Technologyisn'talwaysuseful.

▲YasirKhokhar,thecompany'sfounder,saidhecameupwiththeideawhile

hewaslivingonafarminHolland.Thesystemcanrecordcows'behaviorbystudyingvideosof

them.Itnowcantracksevencows'behavior.Thecompanyisstilltryingtoimprovethis

technologytoprovidemuchmoreconvenienceforfanners.Forexample,tohelpfarmersdecide

whattoplant,andwhentousechemicalsthatimprovegrowthandkillinsects.Iheprogramwill

4

eventellthemhowmuchmoney(heymightmake.

I.WhatcantheAIsystemIdahelpfarmersdo?

@Helpthemfeedtheiranimals.

@Tellthemthenumberoftheirsickanimals.

③Remindthemtogotothefarm.

?Separatethehealthyanimalsfromsickones.

A.①@B,②?

C.②④D.?@

2.WhichpictureshowsthetimechangeoffarmersdoingotherthingswiththehelpofIda?(x=

timey=withthehelpofIda)

3.WhichofthefollowingcanbethebesttopicsentenceofParagraph5?

A.TheAIsystemcanhelppeopleinmanyways.

B.FarmersneedthenewAIwithmorepower.

C.IdawasdevelopedbythecompanyConnecterra.

D.WeallbelievefarmerswillownmoreusefulAI.

4.Whatisthebesttitleforthepassage?

A.Farmers'usefulhelperB.Anunusualdiscovery

C.Farmers'needtodayD.Aspecialfarm

5

小詞典

dairyrfarmer奶農(nóng)device〃.設(shè)備transmittern.信號(hào)發(fā)射機(jī)

Passage4

Drones*canflybythemselves.Peoplejustneedtousecomputerstocontrolthem,whichcan

doalotoftilingsontheirownwithoutpeopletouchingthem.It'sbelievedthatdronescardate

backto1849inItaly.Thefirstpilotlessradio-controlledaircraftwereusedthen.Areportsays

wideuseofdronesintheworldbeganin2006.Atthattitre,peoplestartedtousedronesinthe

war.

Dronesnowcanbeusedinmanyfieldsinourlife.Theycancarrythingstogosomewhereon

theirownortakepictures.Expertssaydroneswillchangehumanlifeinamazingways.Some

peoplesaythisspecialmachinewillchangehumanlifeasmuchasthecar,oreventhecomputer

does.

▲Thesedronescanhelphumanssolvesomedifficultproblems.Forexample,the

directorsusedronestomakedifficultpartsoffilms.Dronescanalsosavelives.Theycanhelpto

findpeoplewhenanearthquakehappens.Ifpeoplearelost,farfromhome,policecanusedrones

tofindthem.Oncea92-year-oldmanwaslostinthewoods.Thepolicesearchedforallnightbut

couldn'tfindhim.However,thedronefoundhimin20minutes.OnecompanyinAfricause

dronestodelivermedicineandbloodtosavemanypeople'slives.Thedronesareabletoflyata

speedofupto60milesperhour.Dronesalsohelpedfirefightersknowabout(hefireinwildfire

fighting.

Nowadays,fannersalsousedronestowatchtheircrops.Therearcmanylargefarmsaround

theworld.Andsomepeoplefindithardtolookafterallthecropsinacertaintime.Sodroneswill

helpfarmerstodothat.Theyalsohelpfarmersgivefarmchemicals*to(hecrops.Thiscannot

onlyhelptheenvironmentbutalsosavemuchmoney.Peoplethinkthattheywillbeveryusefulin

farminginthefuture.

Inthenearfuture,droneswillbewidelyusedinourlives.Theywillmakeourlivesmoreand

moreconvenient.

1.Droneswerewidelyusedtoearliest.

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A.controlcomputersB.fightenemies

C.travelinItalyD.connectwithradio

2.Whichofthefollowingcanbeputinto▲inParagraph3?

A.It'snotdifficultfbrpeopletocontroldrones.

B.Dronesmaybethemostimportantinvention.

C.Manyofthemovies5scenesaremadebydrones.

D.Manypeoplearoundtheworldareusingdronestoday.

3.Accordingtothepassage,dronesfailto.

A.takepicturesB.carrythingsC.growcropsD.helpfindpeople

4.Whatisthebesttitleforthepassage?

A.WherearethepilotsB.Whatamazingplanes

C.CommontobedriverlessD.Isyourlifemoreconvenient

小詞典

drone〃.無人機(jī)farmchemical農(nóng)藥

Passage5

Youmayseenewsofsatellites*sentintospace.OnFeb.21,forexample,UScompany

SpaceXtook46satellitesintospace.OnFeb.27,Chinasent22satellitesintospace.Thefollowing

explainswhyweneedsatellitesandwhattheycando.

Satellitescomeinmanyshapesandsizes.Butmosthavea(leasttwopartsincommon-an

antenna*andapowersource.Nowover3,000activesatellitesmovearoundtheEarth.Satellites

sendTVsignalsandhelpscientistsdoresearch.Forexample,the22satellitesChinajustsentup

arepartoftheBeiDouSystem.SharedbikesthatuseBeiDouSystemcanbefoundwheretheyare

moreexactlyandeasily.PlanescanalsouseBeiDoutofly.

Thebird's-eyeviewthatsatelliteshaveallowedthemtoseelargeareasofEarthatonetime.

Thisabilitymeanssatellitescancollectmoredata,morequickly.Satellitesalsocanseeintospace

betterthantelescopesatEarth'ssurface.That'sbecausesatellitesflyabovetheclouds,dustand

molecules*intheatmosphere.

7

Beforesatellites,TVsi-nalsdidn'tgoveryfar.Mountainsor(allbuildingswouldstopthem.

Phonecallstofarawayplaceswerealsoaproblem.Settinguptelephoneantennaoverlong

distancesisdifficult.

Withsatellites,TVsignalscanbesentdirectlytoasatelliteandbackdowntodifferentplaces

onEarth.SpaceX'sStarlinkprojecthasgotmanyachievements.Butitstilltriestogofurther.It

planstousesatellitestoprovideInternetin(hefuture.Sosatellitesthatfacetowardspacehavea

varietyofjobs.▲Othersexploreasteroids*,comets*andthehistoryofstarsand

planets.Somesatellitesflynearotherplanets.TheymaylookforwateronMarsortakepictures

ofSaturn'srings*.In2020,avideowebsitesentasatelliteintospace.Itsjobistosharethe

picturesandvideoswithitsusers.

Satellitescanalsoprovideinformationaboutclouds,oceansandice.Theyhelpscientists

predictchangesinweather.Farmerscanusethemtodecidethebesttimetowatertheirfields.

Therewillbemoresatellitestohelphumans.

1.Whathavebeenusedinthe22satellitesthatChinahasjustsentup?

A.GPSSystem.B.TianwenSystem.

C.DiliSystem.D.BeiDouSystem.

2.Theunderlineword"signals''probablymeans.

A.helpnumbersB.safetyadviceC.calllettersD.sciencerules

3.Whichofthefollowingisthebestfor▲inParagraph5?

A.Satellitesareinthekindsofshapesandsizes.

B.Allthesatelliteshavethesamecoloranduse.

C.Satellitesarethesymbolofscienceandtechnology.

D.Somewatchfordangerousrayscomingfromthesun.

4,Whydoestheauthorwritethispassage?

A.lbintroducedifferentwaystosendupsatellites.

B.Toshowhowmanysatellitesinthetoday'sspace.

C.Toexplainwhyweneedsatellitesandwhattheydo.

D.Toteachtheimportanceofmakingdifferentsatellites.

8

小詞典

antennan.天線asteroidn.小行星cometn.彗星

moleculen.微粒satelliten.衛(wèi)星Saturn'srings土星環(huán)

Passage6

Atpresentourlifeisrecordedonlinethroughallkindsofsmartproducts.Wesetupemail

andonlineshoppingaccounts*;wecreatemusic,films,games,shortvideos,e-booksandsoon;

wepostandrepostphotosonSinaWeiboandWeChat;wewriteourthoughtsonreviewwebsites

likeDoubanandZhihu.Allofthesethingstogethermakeupourdigitallegacy*.

Infact,therearetwotypesofdigitallegacy.Oneiswhatwecanbuywithmoney,suchas

virtualcoinsandgameequipments.Astheyarcworthsonicmoney,theycanbepasseddown.The

otherkindisthingsthatcarryemotionalvalue,suchassocialmediaaccounts.Theyarelike

footprints*thatweleaveonline.Sincetheyaresuchabigpartofourlives,haveyoueverthought

aboulwhatthesethingsmeantoyou?Whenyouleave(hisworld,whatwillhappentothem?

Firstofall,althoughyoumayhavecreatedyourdigitallegacy,youdon'treallyownit.You

onlyhavetherighttouseit—andtheInternetcompaniesowntheaccountsyouuse.Forexample,

yourTaobaoaccountmightbetakenbackbythecompanyifyouhaven'tloggedin*formorethan

sixmonths.

Doesthismakeyouupset?Itdoesn'thaveto.Youcanpassonyourdigitallegacytoyour

familymembersorfriendsbyallowingthemtoenteryouraccounts.Inaddition,therearcdigital

legacymanagementservicesinsomecountries.Japanhasservicesthathelppeoplefindorclean

theirdeadfamily'sinformationonline,andmanagetheironlinepaymentservices.

Rutofcourse,thesekindsofservicesaremoreforthelivingthanthedead.Theinfonration

weleaveonlinecanbefoundbackbyourlovedones.Basedonthisinformation,theycancreate

connectionsandcarryoutourwishes.

Somepeoplethinkdigitallegacyissomethingthatcanbegiventoourlovedonestokeep

beautifulmemories.Maybeinthisway,wecanstayconnectedwithlovedones.Thatmightbethe

mostimportantmeaningofthedigitallegacy.

9

小詞典

account〃.賬號(hào)digitallegacy數(shù)字遺產(chǎn)

footprintn.足跡loggedin登錄

1.Whichofthefollowingisincludedindigitallegacy?

A.Thethoughtsyouwroteonyourdiary.

B.ShortvideosyoupostedontheInternet.

C.Smartproductsyouboughtfromsomewebsites.

D.Thephotosyoulookwithyourfamilyandfriends.

2.willneedthedigitallegacymanagementservicemost.

A.AnoldmanwhosuddenlypassedawayB.Arichpersonwithmuchdigitallegacy

C.AgirlwholikesgettinginformationonlineD.Amanmissinghisdeadmotherverymuch

3.Themostimportantpartofdigitallegacymaybethat.

A.itisthelegacythatwebuywithmoney

B.itisthefootprintthatpeopleleaveonline

C.itistosetupe-mailandonlineshoppingaccounts

D.itdescribesthelifeofsomeoneandhelpscarryoutthewishes

4.What,sthethemeofthepassage?

A.Culture.B.Education.C.Society.D.History.

Passage7

Howdoyoufeelonthelastdayofaterm?Perhapsyouarcexcitedaboutacomingholiday,

orenjoyitbecauseyouneedn'tgetupearly.Nomatterhowyoufeel,youprobablyaren'tbored.

Whetheryougetitdoneornot,youprobablyhavealotofthingsplannedforyourself.However,

youmayalsofeelboredastheweekspassby.Thisfeelingmaymakeyoufeelupset,butitcan

actuallybegoodforyou.

Whenyoufeelbored,yourbrainissimplytryingtofindsomethingtomakeyournerves*

active(scientistscallitstimulation*),ifitcan'tfindstimulation,fbrexample,bywatching

television,yourmindwilllookinside.That'swhenyoudaydreamoryoufindyourmind

10

“wandering”.Scientistshavefoundthatdaydreaminggivesyourbrainthespacetosolveproblems

andworkthroughthingsthatareonyourmind.Itcanalsostimulateimagination,ideasand

creativity.Sofromthispoint,daydreamingmaynotbeasbadasmanypeoplethink.

SandiMann,apsychologyteacherwhohaswrittenabookcalledTheScienceofBoredom,

believesthateveryoneshouldacceptfeelingbored.Accordingtoherresearch,44Pcoplewhoare

boredaremorecreative.Mannalsosaysthatacceptingboredommeansyou'relesslikelyto

becomebored,“becausethemorenewandexcitingthingsweexperience,themorewewant,so

webecomelessacceptingoftheboringthings."Knowingthethoughtsinthebook,ifaperson

saysheisbored,hemaybecreatingsomethingoutofaboredmood.Whoknows?

Learninghowtoacceptanddealwithboredomisimportantbutitcanalsobehard.Many

peoplefindboredomtobeanuncomfortablefeeling.That'sOK-withpractice,youcanlearnto

“sitwith“thatfeelingandtouseittofindfunandmeaningfulactivitiestodo.There'salsoa

differencebetweenfeelingboredfromtimetotimeandfeelinguninterestedinthingsoveralong

period.Ifthathappens,talktoatrustedpersonwhowillbeabletohelpyou.

I.Howmayyoufeelasweekspassbyinyourholiday?

A.Excited.B.Bored.C.Relaxed.D.Lonely.

2.Whichisthecorrectorderofyourbrain'sactivity?

@Youwilldaydream.

@Youhavenothingtodoandfeelbored.

@Yourbrainwantstofindsomestimulation.

@Thebrainnervescan'tbeactiveandyourmindwilllookinside.

A.②@③①B.①④②③

C.④①D.@@@①

3.AccordingtoParagraph3,whatwouldSandiMannagreewith?

A.Creativepeoplewillneverbecomebored.

B.Peoplewhoareactivewilltrymorenewandinterestingthings.

C.Acceptingboredommeanssomeoneismorelikelytobecomebored.

D.Amanwhohasmanywonderfulexperienceshardlyacceptsboringthings.

II

4.Thispassageintroduces.

A.Thewaytohaveanexcitingholiday

B.AbookcalledTheScienceofBoredom

C.Thewaytoimprovecreativity

D.Theadvantagesofboredom

小詞典

nerve〃.神經(jīng)stimulation幾刺激

Passage8

Inrecentyears,withthedevelopmentofscienceandtechnology,therobotindustryhasbeen

greatlydeveloped.Ithasbroughtmanybenefitsandconvenienceforhumanbeings.Robotscan

notonlyreducelaborcosts,butalsoimprovetheproductionefficiencyoffactoriesandcompanies,

whicharcgoingafterthehigh-qualitydevelopmentandtransformation*inallwalksoflife.

Nowadays,robotproductsaremoreintelligent,andgraduallyexpand*inthefieldsofservice,

medicaltreatment,health,education,etc.,showingafantasticdevelopingtrend.Let'shavealook

atanexample.

OnafieldinEngland,threelittlerobotshavebeengivsnagreatjob:tofindandkilluseless

grasswithelectricitybefbreplantingseedsin(hesoil*.

ThenamesoftherobotsareTom,DickandHarry.Tonisthefirstofthethreecleverrobots

tostartworking.Hewatchesthecropscarefullyandcollectstheinformationabouteachplant.He

cancreateashortintroductiontoeachplant,andevenmakedecisionsonwhichchemicalsis

neededforyourcrops.Dickdoes(hedirtywork.Hecangotoeachplantthatisdoingbadtothe

cropsandlakeitout.Plantsthataregoodforthecropsareleft.Hecanspreadthingslike

chemicalsinordertokeepplantshealthy.Harryisaplanter.Hedigsintothegroundandputs

seeds*intotheground,andrecordswhereheputsthem.Ifaseeddoesn'tgrow,hecaneasily

travelthereandplantsanewseed.

ThesmartrobotsaremadebySmallRobot.Thecompanysaysfarmerscouldreducecostsby

40%andtheuseofchemicalsbyupto95%.Thelittlerobotsallowfarmerstofree(heirpolluted

12

landfromchemicals.Usinglesschemicalsisgoingtosavemuchmoneyandisgoodforthe

environment.Aswellasreducingtheuseofchemicals,robotswillalsobringusbettersoilquality

andmoreplantsandanimals.

“Wehavetochangefarmingnow,orelsetherewon'tbeanythingtofarm/*saysSmall

Robot.

1.Whatdoestheunderlinedword''efficiency''probablymean?

A.Whatkindofgoodscanbeproduced.B.Howmuchv/orkisdoneinaperiodoftime.

C.Whatthespeedofreducingcostsis.D.Howmuchheproductionwillcost.

2.WhyworkmakesDickdirty?

A.Becauseitwilltouchchemicals.B.Becauseitwilldosomecleaning.

C.Becauseitwillputseedsintotheground.D.Becauseitwillmoveinthesoil.

3.SmallRobotisacompanywhich.

A.makesmoremoneythanthoseofthesametype

B.succeedsindealingwiththeproblemofcropsafety

C.isreadytocompleteagreattransformationinitsproducts

D.isplanningtoplayanimportantroleinprotectingtheenvironment

4.Whydoes(heauthorwritethispassage?

A.lbintroducethreerobots.

B.Toexplainthewaytodofarming.

C.Toteachustheimportanceoffarming.

D.Tbtellustochangefarmingfromnowon.

小詞典

expandR擴(kuò)展seedn.種子soiln.土壤transformationn.轉(zhuǎn)型

話題2科普知識(shí)

Passage9

13

大腦如何“聽懂”音樂?

Peoplealwayssaymusicisgoodfbrourbody.Butmodernscienceshowsthatitisourbrain

thatmakesusfeelthebeautifulmusic.Ourbrainisonly1kiloweightbutitincludeshundredsof

millionsofneurons*.Scientistshavemadesureagroupofbraincellsthatanswertothesoundof

singingandnothingelse.

Inordertomaketheproblemaboveclear,ateamledbySamNorman-Haignere,at

MassachusettsInstituteofTechnology(MIT)intheUSbeganastudyfully.Theywatchedthe

brainactivityof15peopleastheylistenedto165sounds,suchaspiecesofmusic,peopletalking

anddogsbarking.Allthepeoplehadalreadyhadmetalputelectrodes*insidetheirskulls*to

watchbrainactivity.Thiswasduringotheroperationsthathadnothingtodowiththestudy.

Electrodesallowscientistsiomakesureareasofelectricalactivitymorecarefullythantraditional

brainscansfromoutsidetheskull,sopatientswhohaveelectrodesputinfbrsomethingelsearc

oftenaskedifIhey'dbewillingtohelpinotherresearch.Inthiscase,theMITteamwere

followingupastudythathadtestedthesamesoundsusingbrainscansfromoutsidetheskull.The

studywasconductedbyprofessionalresearcherswithnoharmtothehumanbrain.Thatstudy

suggestedadifferencebctv/ccnareasofthebrainthatanswertomusicandtospeak.Theresult

immediatelydrewpeople'sattentiontothestudy.

Thenewtestshowedthoseresultsarerightandalsoshowedaspecialareathatanswersonly

tosinging.Thatmeansthisareaisparticularlysensitivetosongs.Scientistsaren'tcertainwhythis

is,butSophieScott,fromUniversityCollegeLondon(whodidn,ttakepartinthestudy)toldThe

Guardiannewspaperthatthesingingvoiceisthemusicalinstrumentthatalmosteveryoneisborn

with,soit'sperhapsnotsurprisingthatweresponddifterentlytohumansongs