Blind Olympic Athletes Show the Universal Nature
Tune into any sports coverage on TV, and you will see many athletes proudly raise their arms and heads in victory, while a much larger number hang their shoulders and necks in defeat. Studies have revealed why—they are universal behaviours, performed by humans in response to success and failure.
The discovery came from Jessica Tracy from the University of British Columbia and David Matsumoto from San Francisco State University, who wanted to see how people showed feelings of pride and shame. 1 ． They tried to find a large group of people, and it was critically important that some of these subjects had never seen other people reacting to success or failure before.
The answer was Athens, during the 2004 Olympic Games. Its sister competition—the Paralympics—included many athletes who were born blind. 2 ． Working with a professional photographer, Tracy and Matsumoto compared the body language of 108 competitors, 41 of whom had lost their sight, and 12 of whom were blind from birth. The photographer repeatedly took pictures of these athletes after their competitions, and the researchers carefully recorded the positions of their heads, arms and bodies. 3 ． The winners tilted their heads up, smiled, lifted their arms and puffed out their chests, while shoulders bent forward and narrowed chests were the marks of losers.
4 ． Men and women who have never seen other people behave in these ways still make exactly the same movements. And while it’s possible that parents may have taught their blind children some of these actions, it’s very unlikely that they could have taught them all—particularly the expansion or narrowing of the chest.
These actions were also remarkably consistent between contestants from every part of the world. Tracy and Matsumoto argue that pride and shame deserve a place alongside other primary emotions like happiness, fear and surprise. 5 ．
A ． They are inborn behaviours and are accompanied by their own distinct sets of actions.
B ． In fact, the culture was found to have only a very small effect on their body language.
C ． Therefore, they could not have witnessed how other people reacted to winning and losing.
D ． The result suggested that the athletes were showing their pride based on careful observation.
E.The athletes’ behaviours give strong evidence that they have had the actions naturally since birth.
F.Analyzing the data, they found that the sighted and sightless athletes behaved in almost exactly the same ways.
G.In particular, they wanted to know whether these expressions were culturally determined and learned through observation.
1 ． G
2 ． C
3 ． F
4 ． E
5 ． A
【分析】
这是一篇说明文。文章主要介绍了一项研究发现人们对成功和失败的反应是天生的，介绍了这一研究开展的过程以及研究发现。
1 ．根据上文 “The discovery came from Jessica Tracy from the University of British Columbia and David Matsumoto from San Francisco State University, who wanted to see how people showed feelings of pride and shame. ( 这一发现来自英属哥伦比亚大学的 Jessica Tracy 和旧金山州立大学的 David Matsumoto ，他们想知道人们是如何表达自豪和羞愧的 )” 可知，上文提到 Jessica Tracy 和 David Matsumoto 想知道人们是如何表达自豪和羞愧的，本句应承接上文进一步说明他们想法， G 选项中 They 指代上文中 Jessica Tracy 和 David Matsumoto 。故 G 选项 “ 他们尤其想知道这些表达方式是否是文化决定的，是否是通过观察习得的 ” 符合语境，故选 G 。
2 ．根据上文 “Its sister competition—the Paralympics—included many athletes who were born blind. ( 它的姊妹比赛 —— 残奥会 —— 包括许多天生失明的运动员 )” 可知，上文提到残奥会包括许多眼睛看不见的运动员，故本句与上文构成因果关系，表示这些人无法目睹其他人对胜利和失败的反应， C 选项中 they 指代上文 many athletes who were born blind 。故 C 选项 “ 因此，他们无法目睹其他人对胜利和失败的反应 ” 符合语境，故选 C 。
3 ．根据上文 “Working with a professional photographer, Tracy and Matsumoto compared the body language of 108 competitors, 41 of whom had lost their sight, and 12 of whom were blind from birth. The photographer repeatedly took pictures of these athletes after their competitions, and the researchers carefully recorded the positions of their heads, arms and bodies. ( 在一位专业摄影师的帮助下， Tracy 和 Matsumoto 比较了 108 名参赛者的肢体语言，其中 41 人后天失明， 12 人从出生就失明。摄影师在运动员比赛结束后反复拍照，研究人员仔细记录他们头部、手臂和身体的姿势 )” 以及后文 “The winners tilted their heads up, smiled, lifted their arms and puffed out their chests, while shoulders bent forward and narrowed chests were the marks of losers.( 获胜者仰起头、微笑、举起双臂、挺起胸膛，而失败者的标志是肩膀前倾、胸膛狭窄 )” 可知，上文提到 Tracy 和 Matsumoto 在对比运动员的姿势，后文则提到了一些获胜者和失败者所共有的肢体动作，可推测他们发现有视力和失明的运动员的行为方式几乎完全相同，故 F 选项 “ 通过分析数据，他们发现有视力和失明的运动员的行为方式几乎完全相同 ” 符合语境，故选 F 。
4 ．根据上一段中 “The winners tilted their heads up, smiled, lifted their arms and puffed out their chests, while shoulders bent forward and narrowed chests were the marks of losers.( 获胜者仰起头、微笑、举起双臂、挺起胸膛，而失败者的标志是肩膀前倾、胸膛狭窄 )” 以及后文 “Men and women who have never seen other people behave in these ways still make exactly the same movements. And while it’s possible that parents may have taught their blind children some of these actions, it’s very unlikely that they could have taught them all—particularly the expansion or narrowing of the chest.( 从来没有见过别人有这种行为的男人和女人仍然做出完全相同的动作。虽然父母可能教过他们的盲童一些这些动作，但他们不太可能教过他们 —— 尤其是胸部的扩张或缩小 )” 可知，上一段对比的结果是有视力和失明的运动员行为方式几乎完全相同，都做出了一些共有的动作，后文则提到从来没有见过别人有这种行为的男人和女人仍然做出完全相同的动作，可推测他们的行为证明了这些动作能力是天生就有的。故 E 选项 “ 运动员的行为有力地证明了他们从出生起就具有天生的动作能力 ” 符合语境，故选 E 。
5 ．根据上文 “These actions were also remarkably consistent between contestants from every part of the world. Tracy and Matsumoto argue that pride and shame deserve a place alongside other primary emotions like happiness, fear and surprise. ( 这些动作在来自世界各地的选手之间也非常一致。 Tracy 和 Matsumoto 认为，骄傲和羞耻应该和其他基本情感，如快乐、恐惧和惊讶，一起占有一席之地 )” 可知，来自世界各地的选手动作也一致，说明骄傲和羞耻是天生的行为， A 选项中 they 指代上文中 pride and shame 。故 A 选项 “ 它们是天生的行为，伴随着它们自己独特的一系列行为 ” 符合语境，故选 A 。