2024年3月15日发(作者：)

【雅思真题】剑7Test4阅读Passage3真题及解析

READING PASSAGE 3

You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 27-40, which are based on Reading

Passage 3 below.

EFFECTS OF NOISE

In general, it is plausible to suppose that we should prefer peace and quiet to noise. And

yet most of us have had the experience of having to adjust to sleeping in the mountains

or the countryside because it was initially ‘too quiet', an experience that suggests that

humans are capable of adapting to a wide range of noise levels. Research supports this

view. For example, Glass and Singer (1972) exposed people to short bursts of very loud

noise and then measured their ability to work out problems and their physiological

reactions to the noise. The noise was quite disruptive at first, but after about four minutes

the subjects were doing just as well on their tasks as control subjects who were not

exposed to noise. Their physiological arousal also declined quickly to the same levels as

those of the control subjects.

But there are limits to adaptation and loud noise becomes more troublesome if the

person is required to concentrate on more than one task. For example, high noise levels

interfered with the performance of subjects who were required to monitor three dials at a

time, a task not unlike that of an aeroplane pilot or an air-traffic controller (Broadbent,

1957). Similarly, noise did not affect a subject's ability to track a moving line with a

steering wheel, but it did interfere with the subject's ability to repeat numbers while

tracking (Finkelman and Glass, 1970).

Probably the most significant finding from research on noise is that its predictability is

more important than how loud it is. We are much more able to ‘tune out' chronic

background noise, even if it is quite loud, than to work under circumstances with

unexpected intrusions of noise. In the Glass and Singer study, in which subjects were

exposed to bursts of noise as they worked on a task, some subjects heard loud bursts

and others heard soft bursts. For some subjects, the bursts were spaced exactly one

minute apart (predictable noise); others heard the same amount of noise overall, but the

bursts occurred at random intervals (unpredictable noise). Subjects reported finding the

predictable and unpredictable noise equally annoying, and all subjects performed at

about the same level during the noise portion of the experiment. But the different noise

conditions had quite different after-effects when the subjects were required to proofread

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written material under conditions of no noise. As shown in Table 1 the unpredictable

noise produced more errors in the later proofreading task than predictable noise; and soft,

unpredictable noise actually produced slightly more errors on this task than the loud,

predictable noise.

Table 1: Proofreading Errors and Noise

Apparently, unpredictable noise produces more fatigue than predictable noise, but it

takes a while for this fatigue to take its toll on performance.

Predictability is not the only variable that reduces or eliminates the negative effects of

noise. Another is control. If the individual knows that he or she can control the noise, this

seems to eliminate both its negative effects at the time and its after-effects. This is true

even if the individual never actually exercises his or her option to turn the noise off (Glass

and Singer, 1972). Just the knowledge that one has control is sufficient.

The studies discussed so far exposed people to noise for only short periods and only

transient effects were studied. But the major worry about noisy environments is that living

day after day with chronic noise may produce serious, lasting effects. One study,

suggesting that this worry is a realistic one, compared elementary school pupils who

attended schools near Los Angeles's busiest airport with students who attended schools

in quiet neighbourhoods (Cohen et al., 1980). It was found that children from the noisy

schools had higher blood pressure and were more easily distracted than those who

attended the quiet schools. Moreover, there was no evidence of adaptability to the noise.

In fact, the longer the children had attended the noisy schools, the more distractible they

became. The effects also seem to be long lasting. A follow-up study showed that children

who were moved to less noisy classrooms still showed greater distractibility one year

later than students who had always been in the quiet schools (Cohen et al, 1981). It

should be noted that the two groups of children had been carefully matched by the

investigators so that they were comparable in age, ethnicity, race, and social class.

Questions 27-29

Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.

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Write the correct letter in boxes 27-29 on your answer sheet.

27 The writer suggests that people may have difficulty sleeping in the mountains because

A humans do not prefer peace and quiet to noise.

B they may be exposed to short bursts of very strange sounds.

C humans prefer to hear a certain amount of noise while they sleep.

D they may have adapted to a higher noise level in the city.

28 In noise experiments, Glass and Singer found that

A problem-solving is much easier under quiet conditions.

B physiological arousal prevents the ability to work.

C bursts of noise do not seriously disrupt problem-solving in the long term.

D the physiological arousal of control subjects declined quickly.

29 Researchers discovered that high noise levels are not likely to interfere with the

A successful performance of a single task.

B tasks of pilots or air traffic controllers.

C ability to repeat numbers while tracking moving lines.

D ability to monitor three dials at once.

Questions 30-34

Complete the summary using the list of words and phrases, A-J, below.

Write the correct letter, A-J, in boxes 30-34 on your answer sheet.

NB You may use any letter more than once.

Glass and Singer (1972) showed that situations in which there is intense noise have less

effect on performance than circumstances in which 30 ………… noise occurs. Subjects

were divided into groups to perform a task. Some heard loud bursts of noise, others soft.

For some subjects, the noise was predictable, while for others its occurrence was

random. All groups were exposed to 31 ………… noise. The predictable noise group

32 ………… the unpredictable noise group on this task.

In the second part of the experiment, the four groups were given a proofreading task to

complete under conditions of no noise. They were required to check written material for

errors. The group which had been exposed to unpredictable noise 33 ………… the group

which had been exposed to predictable noise. The group which had been exposed to

loud predictable noise performed better than those who had heard soft, unpredictable

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bursts. The results suggest that 34 ………… noise produces fatigue but that this

manifests itself later.

A no control over

B unexpected

C intense

D the same amount of

E performed better than

F performed at about the same level as

G no

H showed more irritation than

I made more mistakes than

J different types of

Questions 35-40

Look at the following statements (Questions 35-40) and the list of researchers below.

Match each statement with the correct researcher(s),A-E.

Write the correct letter, 4-E, in boxes 35-40 on your answer sheet.

NB You may use any letter more than once.

35 Subjects exposed to noise find it difficult at first to concentrate on problem-solving

tasks.

36 Long-term exposure to noise can produce changes in behaviour which can still be

observed a year later.

37 The problems associated with exposure to noise do not arise if the subject knows they

can make it stop.

38 Exposure to high-pitched noise results in more errors than exposure to low-pitched

noise.

39 Subjects find it difficult to perform three tasks at the same time when exposed to noise.

40 Noise affects a subject's capacity to repeat numbers while carrying out another task.

List of Researchers

A Glass and Singer

B Broadbent

C Finkelman and Glass

D Cohen et al.

E None of the above

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READING PASSAGE 3 真题解析

篇章结构

体裁：说明文

主题：噪声影响

结构

第一段：人对噪音有自我调节能力。

第二段：调节能力的局限性。

第三段：噪音可预测性对人的影响的实验。

第四段：实验结论：不可预测性噪音更易让人疲惫。

第五段：人对控制噪音能力的认知可以减少噪音影响。

第六段：长期生活于高噪音环境的危害。

必背词汇

第一段

plausible adj. 貌似真实的，貌似有理的 work out v. 解决；设计出；计算

adjust v. 调整，使……适于 physiological adj. 生理的，生理学的

countryside n. 乡村，农村 reaction n. 反应

initially adv. 最初 disruptive adj. 捣乱的，破坏性的，制造混乱的

capable adj. 有能力的

adapt v. 使……适应；改编 subject n. 科目，主题

expose v. 使暴露于，使接触到 control v. & n. 克制，控制

burst n. 破裂，突然出现 arousal n. 激励，鼓励

第二段

adaptation n. 改编；适应 pilot n. 飞行员，领航员，引航员

troublesome adj. 令人烦恼的，讨厌的 air-traffic n. 空中交通

concentrate v. 集中，专心；浓缩 track v. 跟踪，追踪

interfere v. 妨碍；冲突；干涉 steer v. 引导；驾驶；航行

monitor v. 监视，监听，监督

第三段

significant adj. 有意义的，意味深长的；重要的，重大的

overall adj. 全部的，总体的

random adj. 任意的，随便的，胡乱的

predictability n. 可预测性 interval n. 间隔

tune out 关掉，不理会 annoying adj. 恼人的，讨厌的

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chronic adj. 长期的；慢性的 portion n. 部分，份；命运

circumstance n. 环境；状况；事件 after-effect n. 后果；余波

intrusion n. 闯入，侵扰 proofread v. 校对，校勘

space v. 隔开，分隔 error n. 错误，过失

第四段

apparently adv. 显然 toll n. 代价

fatigue n. 疲乏，疲劳

第五段

variable n. 变量 individual n. 个人，个体

eliminate v. 除去，排除，剔除 exercise v. 锻炼；操练；练习；运用；行使

negative adj. 否定的；消极的；负面的 sufficient adj. 足够的，充分的

第六段

so far 迄今为止 adaptability n. 适应性

transient adj. 短暂的 distractible adj. 易于分心的，不专心的

lasting adj. 永久的，永恒的 follow-up adj. 继续的

realistic adj. 现实的，现实主义的 investigator n. 研究者，调查者，审查者

elementary adj. 初级的，基本的 comparable adj. 可比较的，比得上的

blood pressure 血压 ethnicity n. 种族划分；种族特性

distract v. 转移，分心 social class 社会地位

难句解析

1. In general, it is plausible to suppose that we should prefer peace and quiet to

noise.

参考译文：总体来说，人们应该更喜欢和平宁静而不喜欢噪音——这种想法貌似有些道

理。

语言点：

(1) in general: usually or in most situations

In general, about 10% of the candidates are eventually offered positions.

(2) plausible: adj. reasonable and likely to be true or successful

His story certainly sounds plausible.

a plausible explanation

2. But there are limits to adaptation and loud noise becomes more troublesome if

the person is required to concentrate on more than one task.

参考译文：但如果要求试验对象同时专注几项任务时，他对噪音的适应能力就会达到极

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限，噪音也会变得更加让人心烦意乱。

语言点：

(1) concentrate on: to give most of your attention or effort to one thing

Doctors are aiming to concentrate more on prevention than cure.

3. Apparently, unpredictable noise produces more fatigue than predictable noise,

but it takes a while for this fatigue to take its toll on performance.

参考译文：显然，非可预测性噪音会让人更疲劳，不过疲劳导致工作上的错误还是需要一

段时间。

语言点：

(1) toll: n. a very bad effect that something has on something or someone over a long

period of time

Years of smoking have taken their toll on his health.

a heavy toll on the environment

(2) take some time to do sth.

It took a few minutes for his eyes to adjust to the dark.

Repairs take time to carry out.

4. The studies discussed so far exposed people to noise for only short periods and

only transient effects were studied.

参考译文：到目前为止，所讨论的研究都是将人们短时间置于噪音环境中，也只是研究了

由此带来的瞬间影响。

语言点：

(l) so far: until now

So far we have not had to borrow any money.

They're delighted with the replies they've received from the public so far.

(2) expose sb. to sth.

The report revealed that workers had been exposed to high levels of radiation.

试题解析

Questions 27-29

题目类型：Multiple Choices

题目解析：

27题

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