Irma

The Expression Emotions  TOEFL 托福閱讀考古題 

其實從托福閱讀的考題就可以發現，他們很多內容都是過往的研究報告也就是 research 出來的，一般來說像這樣的內容，想在如BBC、ABC等等這類國外新聞媒上看到機率是有，但是資料肯定是不多，所以反而要透過像Discovery 或者 TED、國家地理頻道這類知識性節目才會吸收到篇幅完整，數量多的資料內容。

就好比下面這篇托福文章是關於情緒的表達，是我們平常或多或少就已經知道的知識，所以只要能抓住關鍵單字與內容，老實說內容不是很難理解。

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  Joy and sadness are experienced by people in all cultures around the world, but how can we tell when other people are happy or despondent? It turns out that the expression of the many emotions may be universal. Smiling is apparently a universal sign of friendliness and approval. Baring the teeth is a hostile way, as noted by Charles Darwin in the nineteenth century, may be a universal sign if anger. As the originator of the theory of evolution, Darwin believed that the universal recognition of facial expressions would have survival value. For example, facial expressions could signal the approach of enemies (or friends) in the absence of language.

  Most investigators concur that certain facial expressions suggest the same emotions in all people. Moreover, people in diverse cultures recognize the emotions manifested by the facial expressions. In classic research Paul Eckman took photographs of people exhibiting the emotions aof anger, disgust, fear, happiness, and sadness. He then asked people around the world to indicate what emotions were being depicted in them. Those queried ranged from European college students to members of the Fore, a tribe that dwells in the New Guinea highlands. All groups, including the Fore, who had almost no contact with Western culture, agreed on the portrayed emotions. The Fore also displayed familiar facial expressions when asked how they would respond if they were the characters in stories that called for basic emotional responses. Eckman and his colleagues more recently obtained similar results in a study of ten cultures in which participants were permitted to report that multiple emotions were shown by facial expressions. The participants generally agreed on which two emotions were being shown and which emotion was more intense.

  Psychological researchers generally recognize that facial expressions reflect emotional states. In fact, various emotional states give rise to certain patterns of electrical activity in the facial muscles and in the brain. The facial-feedback hypothesis argues, however, that the causal relationship between emotions and facial expressions can also work in the opposite direction. According to this hypothesis, signals from the facial muscles (“feedback) are sent back to emotion centers of the brain, and so a person’s facial expression can influence that person’s emotional state/ Consider Darwin’s words: “The free expression by outward signs of an emotion intensifies it. On the other hand, the repression, as far as possible, of all outward signs softens our emotions. “Can smiling give rise to feelings of good will, for example, and frowning to anger?

  Psychological research has given rise to some interesting findings concerning the facial-feedback hypothesis. Causing participants in experiments to simile, for example, lead them to report more positive feelings and to rate cartoons (humorous drawings of people or situations) as being more humorous. When they are caused to frown, they rate cartoons as being more aggressive.

  What are the possible links between facial expressions and emotion? One link is arousal, which is the level of activity or preparedness for activity in an organism. Intense contraction of facial muscles, such as those used in signifying fear, heightens arousal. Self-perception of heightened arousal then leads to heightened emotional activity. Other links may involve changes in brain temperature and the release of neurotransmitters (substances that transmit never impulses.) The contraction of facial muscles both influences the internal emotional state and reflects it. Ekcman has found that the so-called Duchenne smile, which is characterized by “crow’s feet” wrinkles around the a subtle drop in the eye cover fold so that the skin above the eye moves down slightly toward the eyeball, can lead to pleasant feelings.

  Eckman’s observation may be relevant to the British expression “keep a stiff upper lip” as a recommendation for handling stress. It might be that a “stiff” lip suppresses emotional response – as long as the lip is not quivering with fear or tension. But when the emotion that leads to stiffening the lip is more intense, and involves strong muscle tension, facial feedback may heighten emotional response.

圖片來源轉載自google。