『新东方在线托福听力』为托福考生准备了ETS托福TPO/Official 2 Lec 1听力练习：What is the professor's opinion of the motor theory of thinking?原文题目答案解析，TPO/Official 2 Lec 1听力原文范文音频翻译。

托福TPO/Official 2 Lec 1听力原文What is the professor's opinion of the motor theory of thinking?-新东方托福官方网校手机版

Narrator: Listen to part of a psychology lecture.

教授：如今，很多人认为约翰沃森是行为主义的创立者。

Professor: Now, many people consider John Watson to be the founder of behaviorism.

和其他的行为主义者一样，他认为心理学家应该只研究可见和可测的行为。

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.

当一个人进行心里描述时，没人见，无人听，也没人验证其报道的精确性。

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.

约翰沃森做的是观察肌肉运动规律，因为他把这些看成是思考的一种表现。

What Watson did was to observe muscular habits because he viewed them as a manifestation of thinking.

他研究的一种规律是喉部规律。

One kind of habit that he studied are laryngeal habits.

沃森认为喉部规律，嗯……从喉头开始，换句话说，与喉头相关……

Watson thought laryngeal habits...you know, from larynx, in other words, related to the voice box...

他认为这些规律是思考的符号。

He thought those habits were an expression of thinking.

他认为对很小的小孩而言，思考就是大声跟自己讲话，因为小孩即便是自言自语时声音也不小。

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.

当这个孩子长大后，公然自言自语变成悄悄自言自语，但此时思考时喉部肌肉依然活动。

As the individual matures, that overt talking to oneself becomes covert talking to oneself, but thinking still shows up as a laryngeal habit.

我这么说的理由之一是当人们要解决一个问题时，他们的，嗯，喉部肌肉运动增加。

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.

也就是说，如果你将电极紧贴喉部来测量肌肉潜能，肌肉活动，你会发现当人们的思考的时候，这么说，如果他们在努力解决一个问题时，喉部肌肉就在活动。

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.

所以，沃森提出一个观点：解决问题或思考问题可以定义为一系列的活动，一连串的反应，而在这个案例中他观察到的反应是喉部运动。

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.

这正是他把这一现象称之为喉部运动规律的原因。

That's what he means when he calls it a laryngeal habit.

在我正在思考打算说什么的时候，我喉咙的肌肉正在作出相应的运动。

Now, as I am thinking about what I am going to be saying, my muscles in my throat are responding.

所以，可以通过测量肌肉活动的形式来测量思考。

So, thinking can be measured as muscle activity.

也就是机动理论，你要问什么？

学生：嗯，布莱克教授，沃森有没有碰巧研究过用手势交流的人？

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

教授：他确实研究过，嗯，先提前说两句吧，我们发现当用手语交流的聋哑人面临需要解决各种各样的问题时，他们用手部肌肉的活动来解决问题，手部肌肉在变化，就好像健全人的喉部肌肉在活动一样。

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.

所以，在沃森看来，思维是跟肌肉的运动是一致的。

So, for Watson, thinking is identical with the activity of muscles.

被威廉詹姆斯发扬光大的一个与思维相关的一个理念。

A related concept of thinking was developed by William James.

动念动作是一种我们意识不到的活动，我们察觉不到它的存在。

Ideomotor action is an activity that occurs without our noticing it, without our being aware of it.

如果你在想一个地方，很可能你的眼球就在重现你在想的那个地方。

If you think of locations, there tends to be eye movement--that is occurs with your thinking about that location.

特别是当我们坐在教室里试想我们学校的图书馆。

In particular, from where we're sitting, imagine that you're asked to think of our university library.

如果你闭着眼睛想着学校图书馆，同时你现在就坐在我的面前，那么根据这个概念，你的眼球会轻轻地往左边转动，因为校图书馆总的说来在那个方向。

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.

詹姆斯和其他研究人员认为这个想法是引出机动理论的引子，也就是为什么被称之为“动念动作”的原因，机动理论之源。

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.

如果你想在亲友们面前炫一下的话，你可以将这个简单过程改装成魔术把戏。

If you wish to impress your friends and relatives, you can change this simple process into a magic trick.

让魔粉按照我这样的描述去做：想想在你左边的东西；想想在你右边的东西。

Ask people to do something such as I've just described: think of something on their left; think of something on their right.

你让他们闭上眼睛想在左右各两样东西，然后仔细观察他们的眼睛。

You get them to think about two things on either side with their eyes closed, and you watch their eyes very carefully.

如果你仔细观察的话，你会清晰发现他们眼睛的活动也就是说，你能看到他们眼球的运动。

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.

之后，你跟他们说想其中一个然后我告诉你想的是什么。

Now, then you say, think of either one and I'll tell which you're thinking of.

好嘞，嗯，沃森假设肌肉运动等同于思维。

OK. Well, Watson makes the assumption that muscular activity is equivalent to thinking.

但就我们今天讨论的这一切，有人不免要问：有与机动理论相仿的理论，声称肌肉运动等同于思维的理论吗？

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?

有无可以解释肌肉活动的这种变化，除了说与思维相关的其他说法吗？

Is there anything else that might account for this change in muscular activity, other than saying that it is thinking?

有无回答这个问题的确切答案？

Is there any way to answer the question definitively?

What does the professor say about people who use sign language?

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

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

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

Narrator 
Listen to part of a psychology lecture. The professor is discussing 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 habits 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.