2018年12月英语六级阅读试题解析-第二套 Part C

　　Passage Two

　　On Jan. 9, 2007, 10 years ago today, Steve Jobs formally announced Apple's "revolutionary mobile phone" — a device that combined the functionality of an iPod, phone and Internet communication into a single unit, navigated by touch.

　　It was a huge milestone in the development of smartphones, which are now owned by a majority of American adults and are increasingly common across the globe.

　　As smartphones have proliferated, so have questions about their impact on how we live and how we work. Often the advantages of convenient, mobile technology are both obvious and taken for granted, leaving more subtle topics for concerned discussion: Are smartphones disturbing children's sleep? Is an inability to get away from work having a negative impact on health? And what are the implications for privacy?

　　But today, on the 10th anniversary of the iPhone, let's take a moment to consider a less obvious advantage: the potential for smartphone technology to revolutionize behavioral science. That's because, for the first time in human history, a large proportion of the species is in continuous contact with technology that can record key features of an individual's behavior and environment. To quote a recent article published in Perspectives in Psychological Science: "Psychology has a great deal of data on what people believe they do... but little data on what people actually do."

　　Researchers have already begun to use smartphones in social scientific research, either to query people regularly as they engage in their normal lives or to record activity using the device's built-in sensors. These studies are confirming, challenging and extending what's been found using more traditional approaches, in which people report how they behaved in real life or participate in relatively short and artificial laboratory-based tasks.

　　To illustrate the use of smartphone-based data collection, consider a forthcoming study that combined queries embedded in everyday life with sensor data to paint a more accurate picture of how mood is affected by a person's location. The data for the study came from more than 12,000 members of the general public who downloaded a free Android app to participate in the research. Twice during the day, they were prompted to report their mood and location, with location information additionally collected from the phone's location sensors. Using both kinds of location data, the study found that people reported significantly more positive moods in locations that typically involve social interactions (such as a café or friend's house) than at home, and more positive moods at home than at work.

　　Other studies have used sensor data to draw more subtle kinds of inferences. For instance, a study published in 2015 followed 48 students over the course of a 10-week school term. Using a combination of location, activity and audio sensors, the researchers could infer students' patterns of class attendance, study time, physical activity and socializing. These variables, in turn, predicted student GPA with surprisingly high accuracy. Another 2015 study used mobile phones to track 40 adult participants over a two-week period. Using patterns of movement and phone usage, the researchers were able to identify behaviors that predicted symptoms of depression.

　　These studies are just first steps. As more data are collected and methods for analysis improve, researchers will be in a better position to identify how different experiences, behaviors and environments relate to each other and evolve over time, with the potential to improve people's productivity and wellbeing in a variety of domains. Beyond revealing population-wide patterns, the right combination of data and analysis can also help individuals identify unique characteristics of their own behavior, including conditions that could indicate the need for some form of intervention — such as an uptick in behaviors that signal a period of depression.

　　Smartphone-based data collection comes at an opportune time in the evolution of psychological science. Today, the field is in transition, moving away from a focus on laboratory studies with undergraduate participants towards more complex, real-world situations studied with more diverse groups of people. Smartphones offer new tools for achieving these ambitions, offering rich data about everyday behaviors in a variety of contexts.

　　So here's another way in which smartphones might transform the way we live and work: by offering insights into human psychology and behavior and, thus, supporting smarter social science.

　　51. What does the author say about the negative impact of smartphones?

　　【答案】 It is not so obvious but has caused some concern.

　　【解析】作者观点题。根据题干信息“negative impact，smartphones”定位到第3段第1，2句。“随着智能手机的激增，人们对它们对我们的生活方式和工作方式的影响也存在疑问。通常，便捷的移动技术的优势既明显又被视为理所当然，为相关讨论留下了更微妙的话题：智能手机是否会扰乱孩子的睡眠?是否无法摆脱对健康产生负面影响的工作?隐私的含义是什么?”其中，subtle (adj,不易觉察的)对应not so obvious，topics for concerned discussion对应some concern，故C为答案。

　　52.What is considered a less obvious advantaged of smartphone technology?

　　【答案】D. It greatly improves research on human behavior.

　　【解析】细节题。根据题干信息“less obvious advantaged，smartphone technology”定位到第4段第1句。“但今天，在iPhone诞生10周年之际，让我们花一点时间考虑一个不那么明显的优势：智能手机技术可以改变行为科学。”其中，revolutionize对应greatly improves，behavioral 对应human behavior，故D为答案。

　　53. What characterizes traditional psychological research?

　　【答案】B. It relies on lab observations and participants’ reports.

　　【解析】细节题。根据题干信息characterizes traditional psychological research，定位到第5段第2句。“这些研究正在确认，挑战和扩展使用更传统方法所发现，在这些方法中，人们报告他们在现实生活中的表现或参与相对较短且人工的基于实验室的任务。”其中 artificial laboratory-based tasks对应lab observations，report how they behaved in real life or participate 对应participants’ reports, 故B为答案。

　　54. How will future psychological studies benefit individuals?

　　【答案】A) By helping them pin down their unusual behaviors.

　　【解析】细节题。根据题干信息future psychological studies benefit individuals定位到第8段最后一句。“除了揭示人口范围的模式之外，数据和分析的正确组合还可以帮助个人识别他们自己行为的独特特征，包括可能表明需要某种形式干预的条件。”其中，pin down(使明确)对应identify，unique characteristics of their own behavior对应unusual behaviors.，故A为答案。

　　55. What do we learn about current psychological studies?

　　【答案】B) They are increasingly focused on real-life situations.

　　【解析】细节题。根据题文同序和题干信息current psychological studies定位到第9段第2句。“今天，该领域正处于转型期，从专注于本科生参与的实验室研究转向更加多样化的人群研究的更复杂的现实世界。”其中，focus on 对应focus on, real-world situations 对应real-life situations，故B 为答案。

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