阅读试题

Do you know how it is when you see someone yawn and you start yawning too? Or how hard it is to be among people laughing and not laugh yourself? Well, apparently it's because we have mirror neurons (神经元）in our brains.

Put simply, the existence of mirror neurons suggests that every time we see someone else do something, our brains imitate (模仿)it, whether or not we actually perform the same action. This explains a great deal about how we learn to smile, talk, walk, dance or play sports. But the idea goes further: mirror neurons not only appear to explain physical actions，they also tell us that there is a biological basis for the way we understand other people.

Mirror neurons can undoubtedly be found all over our brains, but especially in the areas which relate to our ability to use languages, and to understand how other people feel. Researchers have found that mirror neurons relate strongly to language. A group of researchers discovered that if they gave people sentences to listen to (for example: "The hand took hold of the ball"), the same mirror neurons were triggered as when the action was actually performed (in this example, actually taking hold of a ball).

Any problems with mirror neurons may well result in problems with behavior. Much research suggests that people with social and behavioral problems have mirror neurons which are not fully functioning. However, it is not yet known exactly how these discoveries might help find treatments for social disorders.

Research into mirror neurons seems to provide us with ever more information concerning how humans behave and interact(互动). Indeed, it may turn out to be the equivalent (相等物) for neuroscience of what Einstein's theory of relativity was for physics. And the next time you feel the urge to cough in the cinema when someone else does—well, perhaps you'll understand why.

阅读试题

67. Mirror neurons can explain _____.

A. why we cry when we are hurt

B. why we cough when we suffer from a cold

C. why we smile when we see someone else smile

D. why we yawn when we see someone else stay up late

68. The underlined word "triggered"in the third paragraph probably means "____".

A. set off 　　

B. cut off 　　

C. built up 　　

D. broken up

69. We can learn from the passage that mirror neurons _____.

A. relate to human behavior and interaction

B. control human physical actions and feelings

C. result in bad behavior and social disorders

D. determine our knowledge and language abilities

70. What is the passage mainly about?

A. Ways to find mirror neurons.

B. Problems of mirror neurons.

C. Existence of mirror neurons.

D. Functions of mirror neurons.

参考译文

你知道为什么当你看到别人打哈欠你可开始打哈欠吗？你知道身在欢笑的人群中而自己却不笑有多难么？但很明显，这是因为我们大脑中有镜像神经元。

简单来说，镜像神经元的存在表明每次我们看见其他人做某事时，我们的大脑就会去模仿它，不管我们是否做出相同的动作。这很好地解释了我们是怎样学会微笑、交谈、走路、跳舞或做运动的。但意义更深远的是，镜像神经元看起来不仅解释了我们的身理活动，而且它们也解释了我们理解他人的生物学基础。

毫无疑问，镜像神经元分布在我们的大脑各处，特别是与我们使用语言及理解他人感觉的部分。研究者发现镜像神经元与语言有很强的联系。一组研究者发现如果他们让人们听句子，（例如，“以手控球”），当这一行动确确实实被付诸时，就会刺激相同的镜像神经元，（在这个例子中，就是控球）。

任何与镜像神经元有关的问题都可能会导致行为上的问题。许多研究表明，有社交和行为问题的人都有不正常的镜像神经元。然而，我们仍不清楚这些发现怎样才能帮我们找到社交疾病的治疗方案。

镜像神经元的研究似乎给我们提供了更多关于人们怎样行动及互动的信息。而实际上，它也证明了神经科学是与物理上的爱因斯坦相对论相对等的。下一次在电影院里，当别人咳嗽时，你也感受到了强烈的欲望，那么，你也许就知道是为什么了。

答案解析

67. C 考查推理判断。根据第一段和第二段的第一句可知，我们的大脑里面的镜像神经元可以使我们模仿别人的动作，因此C项正确。

68. A 考查词义猜测。根据第三段的最后一句可知，当听到这句话的时候我们的镜像神经元会受到”刺激”，开始实施动作，故triggered与set off同义。

69. A 考查细节理解。根据文章最后一段的第一句知，镜像神经元与人类的行为和互动有关，故A项正确。

70. D 考查主旨大意。通读全文可可知，本文主要讲述了镜像神经元的功能和作用，因此D项最能概括文章大意。