阅读理解
The
next time you need to get somewhere, you may be able to follow your nose. A
study has found that a strong sense of smell is associated with a strong sense
of direction.
Researchers
conducted an experiment at McGill University in Canada. Fifty-seven adults were
invited to participate in a virtual "way-finding task" in which they
had to make their way around a virtual environment. They were given 20 minutes
to learn about the virtual city. After having passed by each of eight landmarks
at least twice, the participants were placed in front of one of the landmarks
and asked to find the most direct route to one assigned by the researchers.
The
participants also smelled 40 scented (有香气的)
pens one at a time. After a brief sniff, the participants chose one word that
best identified the smell from four words on a screen.
An
additional exercise used a virtual maze (迷宫)
to determine if the participants were more likely to rely on landmarks to find
the way or if they used a more habit-based method built over time as people
traveled the same route over and over again.
What
the researchers found was that those with the ability to correctly identify the
smells of the pens also had the easiest time performing the way-finding task by
way of landmarks. A strong sense of smell was not identified in the
participants who used the more habit-based method.
The
connection between the sense of smell and way-finding likely came about as a
result of the evolution of the nervous system. The original function of the
sense of smell in humans may have been intended to support our spatial memory.
Keep
that in mind the next time you get lost going to the dentist. It won't prevent
you from getting horribly lost, but it's good food for thought along the way.
(1)
How does the author support his argument?
A . By examining differences.
B . By doing virtual experiment.
C . By providing examples.
D . By analyzing cause.
(2)
What were the participants asked to do after smelling a scented pen?
A . Decide whether they liked the smell.
B . Use a sentence to describe the smell.
C . Choose a suitable word for the smell.
D . Find the landmark that featured the smell.
(3)
Which of the following factors is related to a strong sense of direction?
A . The way of using landmarks.
B . More experience in describing things.
C . Quick adjustment to the virtual world.
D . A more habit-based way-finding method.
答案: C
C
A