TPO2托福听力Lecture1原文文本

　　TPO2托福听力Lecture1原文文本

　　Behaviorism

　　Professor: Now, many people consider John Watson to be the founder of behaviorism. And like other behaviorists, he believed that psychologists should study only the behaviors they can observe and measure. They’re not interested in mental processes. While a person could describe his thoughts, no one else can see or hear them to verify the accuracy of his report.

　　But one thing you can observe is muscular habits. What Watson did was to observe muscular habits because he viewed them as a manifestation of thinking. One kind of habit that he studied are laryngeal habits. Watson thought laryngeal habits ...you know, from larynx, in other words, related to the voice box ...

　　He thought those habits were an expression of thinking. He argued that for very young children, thinking is really talking out loud to oneself because they talk out loud even if they’re not trying to communicate with someone in particular. As the individual matures, that overt talking to oneself becomes covert talking to oneself, but thinking still shows up as a laryngeal habit.

　　One of the bits of evidence that supports this is that when people are trying to solve a problem, they, um, typically have increased muscular activity in the throat region. That is, if you put electrodes on the throat and measure muscle potential—muscle activity—you discover that when people are thinking, like if they’re diligently trying to solve a problem, that there is muscular activity in the throat region.

　　So, Watson made the argument that problem solving, or thinking, can be defined as a set of behaviors—a set of responses—and in this case the response he observed was the throat activity. That’s what he means when he calls it a laryngeal habit. Now, as I am thinking about what I am going to be saying, my muscles in my throat are responding. So, thinking can be measured as muscle activity. Now, the motor theory ...yes?

　　Student: Professor Blake, um, did he happen to look at people who sign? I mean deaf people?

　　Professor: Uh, he did indeed, um, and to jump ahead, what one finds in deaf individuals who use sign language when they’re given problems of various kinds, they have muscular changes in their hands when they are trying to solve a problem ...muscle changes in the hand, just like the muscular changes going on in the throat region for speaking individuals. So, for Watson, thinking is identical with the activity of muscles.

　　A related concept of thinking was developed by William James. It’s called ideomotor action. Ideomotor action is an activity that occurs without our noticing it, without our being aware of it. I’ll give you one simple example. If you think of locations, there tends to be eye movement that occurs with your thinking about that location. In particular, from where we’re sitting, imagine that you’re asked to think of our university library.

　　Well, if you close your eyes and think of the library, and if you’re sitting directly facing me, then according to this notion, your eyeballs will move slightly to the left, to your left, ‘cause the library’s in that general direction. James and others said that this is an idea leading to a motor action, and that’s why it’s called “ideomotor action”—an idea leads to motor activity.

　　If you wish to impress your friends and relatives, you can change this simple process into a magic trick. Ask people to do something such as I’ve just described: think of something on their left; think of something on their right. You get them to think about two things on either side with their eyes closed, and you watch their eyes very carefully. And if you do that, you’ll discover that you can see rather clearly the eye movement—that is, you can see the movement of the eyeballs.

　　Now, then you say, think of either one and I’ll tell which you’re thinking of. OK, well, Watson makes the assumption that muscular activity is equivalent to thinking. But given everything we’ve been talking about here, one has to ask: are there alternatives to this motor theory—this claim that muscular activities are equivalent to thinking? Is there anything else that might account for this change in muscular activity, other than saying that it is thinking? And the answer is clearly yes. Is there any way to answer the question definitively? I think the answer is no.

　　TPO2托福听力Lecture1题目文本

　　What is the professor mainly discussing?

　　a) The development of motor skills in children

　　b) How psychologists measure muscle activity in the throat

　　c) A theory about the relationship between muscle activity and thinking

　　d) A study on deaf people's problem-solving techniques

　　2.Why does the professor say this?

　　a) To give an example of a laryngeal habit

　　b) To explain the meaning of a term

　　c) To explain why he is discussing laryngeal habits

　　d) To remind students of a point he had discussed previously

　　3.Why does the professor say about people who use sign language?

　　a) It is not possible to study their thinking habits.

　　b) They exhibit laryngeal habits.

　　c) The muscles in their hands move when they solve problems.

　　d) They do not exhibit ideomotor action.

　　4.What point does the professor make when he refers to the university library?

　　a) A study on problem solving took place there.

　　b) Students should go there to read more about behaviorism.

　　c) Students' eyes will turn toward it if they think about it.

　　d) He learned about William James' concept of thinking there.

　　5.The professor describes a magic trick to the class, what does the magic trick demonstrate?

　　a) An action people make that they are not aware of

　　b) That behaviorists are not really scientists

　　c) How psychologists study children

　　d) A method for remembering locations

　　6.What is the professor's opinion of the motor theory of thinking?

　　a) Most of the evidence he has collected contradicts it.

　　b) It explains adult behavior better than it explains child behavior.

　　c) It is the most valid theory of thinking at the present time.

　　d) It cannot be completely proved or disproved.

　　TPO2托福听力Lecture1答案解析

　　第1题：主旨题

　　正确答案：C

　　对应原文：0'22"-0'40"While a person could describe his thoughts, no one else can see or hear them to verify the accuracy of his report. But one thing you can observe is muscular habits. What Watson did was to observe muscular habits because he viewed them as a manifestation of thinking.

　　解析：本文通过对于肌肉运动和人思考之间的关系，来阐明一个相关的理论。前半部解释肌肉运动和人的思考，后半部分引入名词观念运动。

　　第2题：重听-目的题

　　正确答案：B

　　对应原文：0'48"-0'52"You know, from larynx, in other words, related to the voice box.

　　解析：这里教授提到单词larynx,然后解释，换句话说，就是和喉头有关。是在给一个单词进行解释。

　　第3题：目的题

　　正确答案：C

　　对应原文：2'29"-2'40"What one finds in deaf individuals who use sign language when they’re given problems of various kinds, they have muscular changes in their hands when they are trying to solve a problem.

　　解析：教授解释一些人使用手语的原因是，当他们试图思考解决问题的时候，他们的手部肌肉发生变化。

　　第4题：细节题

　　正确答案：C

　　对应原文：3'16"-3'38"In particular, from where we’re sitting, imagine that you’re asked to think of our university library. Well, if you close your eyes and think of the library, and if you’re sitting directly facing me, then according to this notion, your eyeballs will move slightly to the left, to your left, ‘cause the library’s in that general direction.

　　解析：教授让学生们想学校的图书馆，他们的眼睛会不自觉地转向他们所思考的图书馆的方向。

　　第5题：目的题

　　正确答案：A

　　对应原文：3'50"-4'27"If you wish to impress your friends and relatives, you can change this simple process into a magic trick. Ask people to do something such as I’ve just described: think of something on their left; think of something on their right. You get them to think about two things on either side with their eyes closed, and you watch their eyes very carefully. And if you do that, you’ll discover that you can see rather clearly the eye movement—that is, you can see the movement of the eyeballs. Now, then you say, think of either one and I’ll tell which you’re thinking of.

　　解析：人们在思考的时候，也许会没有意识到一些微动作。教授所教的小把戏，就是表现出，人们没有意识到这些动作。

　　第6题：态度题

　　正确答案：D

　　对应原文：4'33"-5'0"But given everything we’ve been talking about here, one has to ask: are there alternatives to this motor theory—this claim that muscular activities are equivalent to thinking? Is there anything else that might account for this change in muscular activity, other than saying that it is thinking? And the answer is clearly yes. Is there any way to answer the question definitively? I think the answer is no.

　　解析：教授认为，这个理论很难被完全证实，也很难被彻底否定。肌肉活动不一定等同于思考。