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Pinocchio may be just a children’s fairy tale, but Spanish scientists at the University of Granada recently investigated the so-called “Pinocchio effect” and found that our noses don’t grow when we tell a lie, but actually shrink a bit.
Dr. Emilio Gómez Milán and his team developed a lie detector test that used thermography to tell if people were lying, and found that whenever participants in their research were being untruthful, the temperature of the tips of their noses dropped up to 1. 2℃, while the temperature of their forehead increased up to 1. 5℃. Scientists also found that drop in temperature at nose level actually caused it to slightly shrink, although the difference is undetected by the human eye.
“One has to think in order to lie, which rises the temperature of the forehead, ” Dr. Gomez Milan explained the findings. “At the same time we feel anxious, which lowers the temperature of the nose. ”
For this study, researchers asked a number of 60 students to perform various tasks while being scanned by thermal imaging technology. One of these tasks involved calling a 3 to 4 minutes call to their parents, partner or a friend and telling a significant lie. Participants had to devise the lie by themselves during the call, and the thermal cameras picked up this “reverse Pinocchio effect” caused by the fluctuation ( 起 伏 ) in temperature in the nose and forehead.
Interestingly, the thermal lie detector picked up the temperature difference in 80 percent of test subjects, which is a better rate of success than that of any modern lie detector.
“With this method we have achieved to increase accuracy and reduce the occurrence of ’false positives’, something that is frequently with other methods such as the polygraph (测谎仪) , ” said Dr. Emilio Gómez Milán, who added that law enforcement interviewers could one day combine other lie detection technology with thermal imaging to achieve better results.
The thermal lie detector has been the most reliable in the world, 10% more than the popular polygraph.
【文章大意】本文是一篇说明文。文章讲述了一项新研究发现撒谎虽然不会像匹诺曹故事中那样让鼻子变长, 但是会出现一些细微的面部表情变化, 而这项发现可以应用到司法执法的过程中。
1. Why does the author mention “Pinocchio” at the beginning?
A. To tell a fairy story.
B. To warn us not to lie.
C. To introduce a research.
D. To inspire us to doubt old beliefs.
【解析】选C。推理判断题。匹诺曹故事的作用, 而非故事寓意, 故从结构作用上分析可知用匹诺曹是为了引出主题研究。故选C。
2. According to the research, what might happen if you tell a lie?
A. Your nose gets longer.
B. Your nose becomes smaller.
C. Your temperature gets higher.
D. Your temperature remains stable.
【解析】选B。细节理解题。根据第二段内容可知, 人撒谎过后鼻尖降温、额头升温, 而这种温度的变化会导致皱鼻子(slightly shrink)的动作, 也就是鼻子会稍微缩小, 故选B。
3. What can we learn about the research?
A. Researchers conduct the study by interviewing.
B. Researchers design difference lies for participants.
C. The thermal lie detector will prove a popular one.
D. The thermal lie detector may assist law enforcement.
【解析】选D。推理判断题。根据倒数第二段内容可知, 这项技术有望投入到司法执法过程中, 综合全文内容, 可知这项研究中的最大成果是测谎仪的应用。
