1.If you could be anybody in the world,who would it be?Your neighbour or a super star?A few people have experienced what it might be like to step into the skin of another person,thanks to an unusual virtual reality device.Rikke Wahl,an actress,model and artist,was one of the participants in a body swapping experiment at the Be Another lab,a project developed by a group of artists based in Barcelona.She swapped with her partner,an actor,using a machine called The Machine to Be Another and temporarily became a man."As I looked down,I saw my whole body as a man,dressed in my partner's pants,"she said."That's the picture I remember best."
The set-up is relatively simple.Both users wear a virtual reality headset with a camera on the top.The video from each camera is sent to the other person,so what you see is the exact view of your partner.If she moves her arm,you see it.If you move your arm,she sees it.
To get used to seeing another person's body without actually having control of it,participants start by raising their arms and legs very slowly,so that the other can follow along.Eventually,this kind of slow synchronised(同步的)movement becomes comfortable,and participants really start to feel as though they are living in another person's body.
Using such technology promises to alter people's behaviour afterwards-potentially for the better.Studies have shown that virtual reality can be effective in fighting racism-the bias(偏見)that humans have against those who don't look or sound like them.Researchers at the University of Barcelona gave people a questionnaire called the Implicit Association Test,which measures the strength of people's associations between,for instance,black people and adjectives such as good,bad,athletic or awkward.Then they asked them to control the body of a dark skinned digital character using virtual reality glasses,before taking the test again.This time,the participants'bias scores were lower.The idea is that once you've"put yourself in another's shoes"you're less likely to think ill of them,because your brain has internalised the feeling of being that person.
The creators of The Machine to Be Another hope to achieve a similar result."At the end of body swapping,people feel like holding each other in their arms,"says Arthur Pointeau,a programmer with the project."It's a really nice way to have this kind of experience.I would really,really recommend it to everyone."
49.The word"swapping"(paragraph 1)is closest in meaning toB.
A.building
B.exchanging
C.controlling
D.transplanting
50.We can infer from the experiment at the Be Another lab thatA.
A.our feelings are related to our bodily experience
B.we can learn to take control of other people's bodies
C.participants will live more passionately after the experiment
D.The Machine to Be Another can help people change their sexes
51.In the Implicit Association Test,before the participants used virtual reality glasses to control a dark skinned digital character,D.
A.they fought strongly against racism
B.they scored lower on the test for racism
C.they changed their behaviour dramatically
D.they were more biased against those unlike them
52.It can be concluded from the passage thatC.
A.technology helps people realize their dreams
B.our biases could be eliminated through experiments
C.virtual reality helps promote understanding among people
D.our points of view about others need changing constantly.
分析 文章介紹了一種Be another lab的體驗,可以讓人們互換角色,這樣可以一定程度上消除人們的偏見,也可以促進人與人的相互理解.
解答 49.B.猜詞題:根據(jù)第一段的最后的描寫:She swapped with her partner,an actor,using a machine called The Machine to Be Another and temporarily became a man."As I looked down,I saw my whole body as a man,dressed in my partner's pants,"she said."That's the picture I remember best."可知女演員和男演員互換角色,所以swapping的意思是"交換",所以選B.
50.A.推理題:根據(jù)文章第三段的最后一句話:Eventually,this kind of slow synchronised(同步的)movement becomes comfortable,and participants really start to feel as though they are living in another person's body.可知從Be another lab的體驗可以推斷出我們的感覺和身體的經(jīng)驗有關(guān),所以選A
51.D.細節(jié)題:根據(jù)文章第四段的句子:Studies have shown that virtual reality can be effective in fighting racism-the bias(偏見)that humans have against those who don't look or sound like them.可知在the Implicit Association test中,在參與者使用虛擬現(xiàn)實的眼鏡控制一個深色皮膚的人物之前,他們對不像他們的人物更有偏見,選D
52.C.推理題:根據(jù)文章最后一段的句子:"At the end of body swapping,people feel like holding each other in their arms,"says Arthur Pointeau,a programmer with the project可知虛擬現(xiàn)實幫助促進人們之間的理解,所以選C
點評 本篇文章多是細節(jié)、推理題,答題的已給選項也一般不會和短文相關(guān)詞語完全相同,需要考生自己理解句子,延伸推理出題目答案.