Growing up in a city has a lifelong negative impact on a person's ability to navigate，according to a vast global survey.
In a new study，scientists led by Antonine Coutrot at Nantes University in France and Hugo Spiers at University College London describe how they used a dataset（數(shù)據(jù)集）gathered from 4 millions players of a computer game called "Sea Hero Quest"，which tests way-finding skills by asking players to memorise a map showing the location of checkpoints and then measuring how well players can steer a boat to find them.
Dr.Spiers found that the strongest indicator of a high score was a player's age-older people performed relatively poorly.But the benefit of rural living was strong enough to offset（抵消）some of that.Data from American players showed that a 70-year-old who grew up in the countryside had the navigational abilities of an average 60-year-old across the dataset.
The gap between the navigation skills of rural and city people was largest in America，and the researchers think they know why.They found that countries dominated by simple layouts of grid-based（網(wǎng)格式的）cities dragged down navigation skills more than growing up in a city based around more complicated networks of streets，such as Prague.
Dr.Spiers says that the brain's navigational abilities probably weaken in the city environment because they are not being used as much.Although cities may appear more complicated，they also feature more clues to help residents find their way，such as numbered streets.As many city-dwellers on a visit to the countryside can prove，one field tends to look much the same as another，so there are fewer external（外部的）landmarks to help guide the way.
While people who live in cities should not be alarmed，the study does raise some interesting ideas for urban planners：keep their city designs not so simple perhaps.And for everyone else，it might be an idea to turn off Google Maps.
（1）Why did the researchers use the dataset from a computer game？ DD
A．To study the players' memory.
B．To measure how well people control boats.
C．To improve the players' skill to find way out.
D．To see what influences people's way-finding skills.
（2）What does the underlined word "that" in paragraph 3 refer to？ BB
A．Strong indicator.
B．Poor performance.
C．Old age.
D．High score.
（3）What weakens the brain's navigational abilities according to Dr.Spiers？ AA
A．Lack of practice.
B．Few external landmarks.
C．Living in the countryside.
D．Complicated city environment.
（4）What is the best title of the passage？ CC
A．Ways to Improve Navigational Skills
B．Reasons to Design Complicated Cities
C．Urban Living Weakens Navigational Skills
D．Turn off Google Maps while Exploring City
【答案】D；B；A；C
【解答】
【點(diǎn)評(píng)】
聲明：本試題解析著作權(quán)屬菁優(yōu)網(wǎng)所有，未經(jīng)書面同意，不得復(fù)制發(fā)布。
發(fā)布：2024/4/20 14:35:0組卷：7引用：1難度：0.5
相似題
-
1．Rainforests provide much of the world's oxygen.People have been trying to protect them for years.But another type of forest，the cloud forest，is just as important to humans.
These forests are at the tops of mountains，generally near the equator （赤道）.These wet，wooded mountaintops are mainly in African and Central and South American countries.They are called "cloud forests" because their height allows for the formation of clouds among the trees.The trees in these forests pull water out of the clouds.The water gathers on the leaves and falls into small rivers below，which flow into towns at the bottom of the mountain.The yearly rainfall in these areas is about 180 centimetres.Cloud forests can pull in up to 60 percent of that.The water is important to the plants and the people in the area.It helps them survive.
Cloud forests are also home to countless species of plants that can't be found anywhere else.One small cloud forest has as many types of plants as there are in all of Europe.In fact，there are so many that scientists haven't made a complete list of them yet.
These forests are being destroyed at increasing speed.Trees are being cut down，and roads are being built in their place.Some people have a goal to get government money to protect the forests.But they have had little success so far.Another way is to take the place of the destroyed plants with new ones.That，too，has been difficult because the plants are so special.There's plenty of work to be done，but saving the cloud forests is still possible with creative solutions.
（1）Where can you probably find cloud forests？
A．In North America.
B．Far from the equator.
C．In an African country.
D．At the foot of mountains.
（2）How much rainfall is pulled in by the cloud forests in those areas every year？
A．About 60 cm.
B．About 108 cm.
C．About 180 cm.
D．About 300 cm.
（3）What is the main idea of paragraph 3？
A．Europe is short of plant types.
B．Scientists are working on a list.
C．Cloud forests are getting smaller.
D．Cloud forests house many plants.
（4）What will be discussed in the following part of the text？
A．Ways to protect cloud forests.
B．Goals of cloud forest protectors.
C．Difficulties in planting new trees.
D．Successes of getting wide support.
（5）Where can we probably find the text？
A．In a storybook.
B．In a travel guide.
C．In a chemistry textbook.
D．In a geography magazine.發(fā)布：2025/1/1 18:0:1組卷：7引用：3難度：0.5 -
2．Photo Research "If you want to be a better photographer，stand in front of better stuff." Photographer Jim Richardson shared it with otjye.airs.He spends a great deal of time doing photo research，looking for great locations to shoot.
Seeing a wonderful place is bread-and-butter photography-it's just part of the job.Getting there is only half of any great photograph's story.The other half is how the photographer prepares to capture the subject once in front of jye.ai.It is believed that groundwork is part of photography，as essential as knowing exposure and lighting or recognizing the decisive moment to take the shot.Research sounds like a boring task for many photographers，while for others digging into a subject in advance is part of the pleasure.
Philosophically，photographers seem to divide along that line.On one side are those who desire only to be in the moment.On the other side are the planners.They would never dream of going out the door without a full list of how they're going to approach the shoot.Actually，there is a third group nowadays.They just take photos of the whole scene and do all the creative work in Photoshop after the event.Most photographers do both：research carefully to prepare their schedule and then act in the moment once on site.
Photographers should do a lot of research in order to get ready for a photographic trip.This includes creating a file for each location they are due to visit.They start a file for each place and begin to make a list of the pieces of information.Knowing what the place looks like in advance is invaluable，so it is good to hit several Internet photo sites.Besides clueing them into the photographic possibilities of the location，this can also show what angles have already become overused and which they should therefore avoid.But photographers will also find angles they didn't expect from locations they hadn't imagined.Armed with these they will be better prepared to push the boundaries of what they expect.
"Above all，I'll look for places and events that are seasonal and timeless.I open my mind to what might make a great subject for a picture，" Jim said. "Most travelers tend to think only of places they're visiting，without looking deeper into culture，history or meaning.I try to get in time with the rhythm of the place and in tune with its melody.But most of all I just want to be ready.If I'm ready，I can just about count on being lucky."
（1）What does the underlined word "capture" in Paragraph 2 probably mean？
A．Identify.
B．Record.
C．Arrange.
D．Explore.
（2）What point does the author make about photographers in Paragraph 3？
A．They are unable to decide on the best plan of action.
B．It is possible for them to adopt flexible ways of working.
C．The third group is not as imaginative as some of the others.
D．Some of them refuse to try to understand the way others work.
（3）What is the main idea of Paragraph 4？
A．Sound preparation is a must for a satisfactory photo.
B．One should create photo sites in a photographic trip.
C．Taking photos requires vivid imagination in advance.
D．It is essential to do photo research in central locations.
（4）In the last paragraph，Jim states that.
A．he feels good to visit those historical places
B．he refuses to spend too much time in one place
C．he is careful about choosing the right place to visit
D．he likes to go to places that few people bother to visit發(fā)布：2025/1/1 18:0:1組卷：22引用：3難度：0.7 -
3．The baby is just one day old and has not yet left hospital．She is quiet but alert（警覺）．Twenty centimeters from her face researchers have placed a white card with two black spots on it．She stares at it carefully．A researcher removes the card and replaces it by another，this time with the spots differently spaced．As the cards change from one to the other，her gaze（凝視） starts to lose its focus - until a third，with three black spots，is presented．Her gaze returns；she looks at it for twice as long as she did at the previous card．Can she tell that the number two is different from three，just 24 hours after coming into the world？
Or do newborns simply prefer more to fewer？The same experiment，but with three spots shown before two，shows the same return of interest when the number of spots changes．Perhaps it is just the newness？When slightly older babies were shown cards with pictures of objects（a comb，a key，an orange and so on），changing the number of objects had an effect separate from changing the objects themselves．Could it be the pattern that two things make，as opposed to three？No again．Babies paid more attention to squares moving randomly on a screen when their number changed from two to three，or three to two．The effect even crosses between senses．Babies who were repeatedly shown two spots became more excited when they then heard three drumbeats than when they heard just two；likewise（同樣地） when the researchers started with drumbeats and moved to spots．
（1）The experiment described in Paragraph 1 is related to the baby's．
A．sense of hearing
B．sense of sight
C．sense of touch
D．sense of smell
（2）Babies are sensitive to the change in．
A．the size of cards
B．the colour of pictures
C．the shape of patterns
D．the number of objects
（3）Why did the researchers test the babies with drumbeats？
A．To reduce the difficulty of the experiment．
B．To see how babies recognize sounds．
C．To carry their experiment further．
D．To keep the babies' interest．
（4）Where does this text probably come from？
A．Science fiction．
B．Children's literature．
C．An advertisement．
D．A science report．發(fā)布：2025/1/1 17:0:1組卷：3引用：4難度：0.5
相關(guān)試卷