![](https://img.xkw.com/dksih/QBM/2020/4/3/2433298146992128/2433439508054016/STEM/267350c2871c4f2bb3b1a6bc8d8c9ffa.png?resizew=214)
It’s common knowledge that the woman in Leonardo da Vinci’s most famous painting seems to look back at observers, following them with her eyes no matter where they stand in the room. But this common knowledge turns out wrong.
A new study finds that the woman in the painting is actually looking out at an angle that’s 15. 4 degrees off to the observer’s right-well outside of the range that people normally believe when they think someone is looking right at them. In other words, said the study author, Horstmann, “She’s not looking at you. “ This is somewhat ironic, because the entire phenomenon of a person’s gaze (凝视) in a photograph or painting seeming to follow the viewer is called the “Mona Lisa effect” . That effect is absolutely real, Horstmann said. If a person is illustrated or photographed looking straight ahead, even people viewing the portrait from an angle will feel they are being looked at. As long as the angle of the person’s gaze is no more than about 5 degrees off to either side, the Mona Lisa effect occurs.
This is important for human interaction with on-screen characters. If you want someone off to the right side of a room to feel that a person on-screen is looking at him or her, you don’t cut the gaze of the character to that side-surprisingly, doing so would make an observer feel like the character isn’t looking at anyone in the room at all. Instead, you keep the gaze straight ahead.
Horstmann and his co-author were studying this effect for its application in the creation of artificial-intelligence avatars(虚拟头像) when Horstmann took a long look at the “Mona Lisa” and realized she wasn’t looking at him.
To make sure it wasn’t just him, the researchers asked 24 people to view images of the “Mona Lisa” on a computer screen. They set a ruler between the viewer and the screen and asked the participants to note which number on the ruler intersected(和……相交) Mona Lisa’s gaze. To calculate the angle of Mona Lisa’s gaze as she looked at the viewer, they moved the ruler farther from or closer to the screen during the study. Consistently, the researchers found, participants judged that the woman in the “Mona Lisa” portrait was not looking straight at them, but slightly off to their right.
So why do people repeat the belief that her eyes seem to follow the viewer? Horstmann isn’t sure. It’s possible, he said, that people have the desire to be looked at, so they think the woman is looking straight at them. Or maybe the people who first coined the term “Mona Lisa effect” just thought it was a cool name.
1. It is generally believed that the woman in the painting “Mona Lisa”___________.A.attracts the viewers to look back |
B.seems mysterious because of her eyes |
C.fixes her eyes on the back of the viewers |
D.looks at the viewers wherever they stand |
A.![]() | B.![]() | C.![]() | D.![]() |
A.confirm Horstmann’s belief |
B.create artificial-intelligence avatars |
C.calculate the angle of Mona Lisa’s gaze |
D.explain how the Mona Lisa effect can be applied |
A.Horstmann thinks it’s cool to coin the term “Mona Lisa effect”. |
B.The Mona Lisa effect contributes to the creation of artificial intelligence. |
C.Feeling being gazed at by Mona Lisa may be caused by the desire for attention. |
D.The position of the ruler in the experiment will influence the viewers’ judgement. |
A.that | B.it |
C.what | D.which |
阅读下面短文,从短文后所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项。
Several years ago, while attending a communication course, I experienced a most unusual process. The instructor asked us to list
This seemed like a very
Then the man next to me raised his hand and volunteered this story: “Making my
After drinking a few beers, we climbed the tall water tank in the middle of the town, and wrote on the tank in bright red paint: Sheriff Brown is a SOB (畜生). The next day, almost the whole town saw our glorious
Nearly 20 years later, Sheriff Brown’s name
“And I want you to know that I did it.” Paused. “I knew it!” he yelled back. We had a good laugh and a
Jimmy inspired me to
A.something | B.anything | C.somebody | D.anybody |
A.ashamed | B.afraid | C.sure | D.proud |
A.private | B.boring | C.interesting | D.funny |
A.foolish | B.polite | C.simple | D.brave |
A.expected | B.suggested | C.ordered | D.demanded |
A.connect with | B.depend on | C.make apologies to | D.get along with |
A.improve | B.continue | C.realize | D.keep |
A.notes | B.list | C.plan | D.stories |
A.any | B.most | C.none | D.all |
A.part | B.game | C.trick | D.record |
A.view | B.sign | C.attention | D.remark |
A.also | B.even | C.still | D.ever |
A.appears | B.considers | C.presents | D.remembers |
A.angry | B.happy | C.doubtful | D.alive |
A.words | B.rings | C.repeats | D.calls |
A.cold | B.plain | C.nervous | D.lively |
A.in case | B.so long as | C.unless | D.because |
A.around | B.out | C.through | D.away |
A.build up | B.make up | C.clear up | D.give up |
A.regret | B.forgive | C.right | D.punish |
增加:在缺词处加一个漏字符号(∧),并在其下面写出该加的词。
删除:把多余的词用斜线(\)划掉。
修改:在错的词下划一横线,并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意:1.每处错误及其修改均限一词。
2.只允许修改10处,多者(从第11处起)不计分。
In recently years many young people prefer to go shopping on the Internet. People have different opinion about online shopping. Some think online shopping was more convenient and the goods are cheap. However, other believe it is unsafe to buy goods by credit card. And it is possible to check the quality of the goods.
As far as I am concern, going shopping in a store is a better way. It is a fun to walk around stores and looking at various goods on sale. We can choose what we really need and even find a good bargain. However, we can chat with the shop assistant and acquire a lot of useful information.
阅读下面短文,掌握其大意,然后从1~20各题所给的四个选项(A.B.C和D)中,选出最佳选项,并在答题纸上将该选项标号涂黑。
Vision is the art of seeing what is invisible to others. -- Jonathan Swift
I walked into a wild third-grade classroom. Music was playing
As soon as I walked in the room, I realized why he
A.softly | B.clearly | C.loudly | D.peacefully |
A.speaking | B.laughing | C.standing | D.dancing |
A.space | B.music | C.partner | D.joke |
A.representative | B.replacement | C.reference | D.reward |
A.teacher | B.headmaster | C.director | D.leader |
A.retired | B.remained | C.resigned | D.returned |
A.went | B.came | C.left | D.disappeared |
A.angrily | B.restlessly | C.indifferently | D.quietly |
A.names | B.faces | C.figures | D.minds |
A.prepared | B.prayed | C.protected | D.preferred |
A.board | B.mirror | C.cross | D.picture |
A.noting | B.copying | C.writing | D.drawing |
A.difficult | B.different | C.distant | D.direct |
A.dated | B.written | C.worked | D.set |
A.make | B.move | C.matter | D.mind |
A.pleased | B.puzzled | C.known | D.worried |
A.covered | B.hooked | C.hung | D.displayed |
A.So | B.However | C.And | D.But |
A.view | B.scene | C.eyes | D.vision |
A.mix up | B.bring up | C.mess up | D.burn up |
---___________. That’s life.
A.You are cut out for it. | B.It happens | C.No problem | D.That’s it |
A.lived | B.was living | C.has lived | D.had lived |
Probably the greatest deficiency (不足) of the Titanic was that she was built 40 years before the widespread use of the wonderful invention radar (雷达). Her only defense against icebergs and hidden obstacles was to rely on manned lookouts. On that fateful night the eyesight of trained lookouts only provided 37 seconds of warning before the collision.
Traveling at nearly 30 miles an hour, the Titanic was moving far too fast to avoid the huge iceberg. The warning did prevent a head-on collision as the officer on the bridge managed to turn the ship slightly.
The last ship to which it could send an SOS message was the California. She was within ten miles of the Titanic during the disaster, but her radio operator went to bed at midnight and never received any of the SOS messages from the Titanic. That was one of the important lessons learned from the catastrophe, the need for 24-hour radio operators on all passenger liners.
Another lesson learned was the need for more lifeboats. The Titanic remained afloat (漂浮) for almost three hours and most of the passengers could have been saved with enough lifeboats.
1,500 passengers and workers died in the 28 degree waters of the Atlantic. Out of the tragedy, the sinking did produce some important maritime reforms. The winter travel routes were changed to the south and the Coast Guard began to keep an eye on the location of all icebergs. The new rules for lifeboats were obvious to all. There must be enough lifeboats for everybody on board.
The most important lesson learned was that no one would ever again consider a ship unsinkable—no matter how large or how well constructed. Never again would sailors place their faith in a ship above the power of the sea.
1. The text mainly tells us ______.
A.the reason why the Titanic sank in the Atlantic Ocean |
B.how the unsinkable ship of Titanic sank in the Atlantic Ocean |
C.the lessons that we could learn from the accident of the Titanic |
D.the things we should do to protect the lives on the ship |
A.If the captain had been more careful, he could have had the chance to save the Titanic. |
B.If radar had existed 40 years ago, the Titanic would have never disappeared from the world. |
C.If the lookout had had much more experience, he could have had the time to save the Titanic. |
D.If there had been enough lifeboats on the Titanic, the Titanic would not have sunk in the Atlantic. |
A.Lessons from the Titanic | B.Technology is Important |
C.Demands of Passengers | D.Power of Sea |
A.They think there really exists the unsinkable ship. |
B.They think ships could eventually defeat the sea. |
C.They think there is no power that could control the sea. |
D.They think the bigger the ship is, the safer it is. |