『新东方在线托福听力』为托福考生准备了ETS托福TPO/Official 14 Lec 1听力练习：Why does the professor mention the area where the optic nerve connects to the back of the eye?原文题目答案解析，TPO/Official 14 Lec 1听力原文范文音频翻译。

托福TPO/Official 14 Lec 1听力原文Why does the professor mention the area where the optic nerve connects to the back of the eye?-新东方托福官方网校手机版

旁白：请听一段心理学上的演讲。

Narrator: Listen to part of a lecture in a psychology class.

女教授：我们已经说过，“认知力”指的是这样的精神状态：熟悉某事并相信它确实存在，精神层面上我们曾经达到这样的状态。

Female Professor: We've said that the term “cognition” refers to mental states like knowing and believing, and to mental processes we use to arrive at those states.

所以，比如说，推理是一种认知过程，这就是认识能力。

So, for example, reasoning is a cognitive process, so is perception.

我们通过感官获得信息，帮助我们做出决定抵达信念的彼岸等等。

We use information that we perceive through our senses to help us make decisions, to arrive at beliefs and so on.

然后，我们还有记忆力和想象力，这些都跟过去发生过的或未来可能发生的背景知识相关。

And then there are memory and imagination which relate to the knowledge of things that happen in the past or may happen in the future.

因此，认识能力，记忆力和想象力，这些都是引导我们熟悉某事物并相信其存在的内在精神过程。

So, perceiving, remembering, imagining are all internal mental processes that lead to knowing or believing.

然而，每一个过程都有其局限性，可能会让我们产生错误的新年或做出错误的预测。

Yet, each of these processes has limitations and can lead us to hold mistaken beliefs or make false predictions.

也许你们听过这样的一次研究，研究中人们听一列相关单词。

Maybe you've heard of studies in which people hear a list of related words.

啊，就说一列不同种类的水果类单词，在听了单词后，他们会说出一些附加的词汇。

Um, let's say a list of different kinds of fruit, after hearing this list, they're presented with several additional words.

在这种情况下，我们会说到的附加的单词是 “blanket 毛毯”和“cheery 快乐的”。

In this case, we'll say the additional words were “blanket” and “cherry”.

这些词都没有在原先的单词表上出现过。

Neither of these words was on the original list.

而且，嗯，人们会准确的说到，“blanket”没有在原单词表上，他们也会错误得认为“cheery”就有在单词表上。

And while people will claim correctly that “blanket” was not on the original list, they'll also claim incorrectly that the word “cherry” was on the list.

大部分人确信他们听到了“cheery”这个单词。

Most people are convinced they heard the word “cherry” on the original list.

为什么他们会犯这么简单的错误呢？

我们认为原因是单词表上的单词都很相关，大脑会将我们听到的主旨信息储存起来。

Well, we think because the words on the list were so closely related, the brain stored only the gist of what it heard.

比如说，所有的单词表上的单词都是各种水果。

For example, that all the items on the list were types of fruit.

当我们回忆的时候，大脑经常会填补记忆的细节，而很多时候这些细节实际上是错误的。

When we tap our memory, our brains often fill in details and quite often these details are actually false.

我们也是通过认知能力捕获这些“填补”的现象。

We also see this fill-in phenomenon with perception.

认知能力是一种通过我们的感官允许我们在当下处理信息的能力。

Perception is the faculty that allows us to process information in the present, as we take it in via our senses.

研究在一次表明，大脑会填补一些他们没有获得而自己以为获得了的信息。

Again, studies have shown that people will fill in information that they thought they perceived even when they didn't.

比如说，在某些实验中，参加测试的人听到了一个句子，但没有捕捉到逻辑连接词。

For example, experiments have been done where a person hears a sentence but that's missing the word that logically completes it.

他们会说听到了这个词，尽管根本就没有这个词。

They'll claim to hear that word even though it was never said.

所以如果我说，额，太阳从……升起，然后让大家填补完整句子。

So, if I were to say, uh, “The Sun rises in the” and then fail to complete the sentence.

他们经常会说自己听到了“东边”这个词。

People will often claim to have heard the word “east”.

在认知心理学中，对于这种不准确的信息填补有一个短语。

In Cognitive Psychology, we have a phrase for this kind of inaccurate filling-in of details.

该术语原本指的是我们眼睛里的某一部位，该部位的视神经将眼睛的背部链接到我们的大脑。

The term originally refer to the place in our eyes where the optic nerve connects the back of the eye to the brain.

在神经连接眼睛的区域没有光感受器。

There are no photo receptors in the area where the nerve connects to the eye.

所以眼睛的这一部位不能够检测到图像。

So that particular area of the eye is incapable of detecting images.

这就使得我们的视野中出现“盲点”。

It produces a blind spot in our field of vision.

然而我们全然不知，因为大脑填补了其认为属于图像的部分。

We aren't aware of it because the brain fills in what it thinks belongs in the image.

So the picture always appears complete to us.

但是，“盲点”现在的所指范围已经扩大。

But the term blind spot has also taken on a more general meaning.

它还指的是可能影响人们对某一事物进行判断的偏见而不为所知的状态。

It refers to people being unaware of a bias that may affect their judgment about a subject.

而相同的“盲点现象”不仅影响人们的记忆力和认识能力，还影响到想象力。

And the same blind spot phenomenon that affects memory and perception also affects imagination.

想象力是人们预测生活中未来会发生的事件的能力。

Imagination is a faculty that some people use to anticipate future events in their lives.

然而由于我们能够自由想象各种细节，这便会导致不切实际的预测并左右我们的决定。

But the ease with which we imagine details can lead to unrealistic expectations and can bias our decisions.

那么，额，Peter，假设我让你想象一下午餐沙拉，没问题的，是吧？

So, um, Peter, suppose I ask you to imagine a lunch salad, no problem, right?

但我猜你会想到的是具体的沙拉原料。

But I bet you'd imagine specific ingredients.

你的材料里有西红柿，洋葱和莴苣吗？我的有。

Did yours have tomatoes? Onion? Lettuce? Mine did.

我们的脑袋会填补各种细节，这些细节可能不是其他人想象中的沙拉原料，这就会让我们失望了，如果下次我们在饭馆点了沙拉，我们各自有自己想象的版本，但我们点到的沙拉不一定就是我们要的。

Our brains fill in all sorts of details that might not be part of other people's image of the salad, which could lead to disappointment for us if the next time we order a salad in a restaurant we have our imagined salad in mind that's not necessarily what we'll get on our plate.

问题不是我们想象这些东西，而是我们假设我们想的是对的。

The problem is not that we imagine things but that we assume what we've imagined is accurate.

我们应该知道，想象力有这种内在特征，即“盲点”，这让我们的预期与现实不符。

We should be aware that our imagination has this built-in feature “the blind spot”, which makes our predictions fall short of reality.

Why does the professor mention a study with a word list?

What was demonstrated by the study on perception that the professor mentions?

Why does the professor mention the area where the optic nerve connects to the back of the eye?

What point does the professor make about imagination?

Narrator: Listen to part of a lecture in a psychology class Professor: We’ve said that the term “Cognition” refers to mental states like: knowing and believing, and to mental processes that we use to arrive at those states. So for example, reasoning is a cognitive process, so is perception. We use information that we perceive through our senses to help us make decisions, to arrive at beliefs and so on. And then there are memory and imagination which relate to the knowledge of things that happen in the past or may happen in the future. So perceiving, remembering, imagining are all internal mental processes that lead to knowing or believing. Yet, each of these processes has limitations and can lead us to hold mistaken beliefs or make false predictions. Yet, each of these processes has limitations and can lead us to hold mistaken beliefs or make false predictions. Take memory for example, maybe you have heard of studies in which people hear a list of related words. Um…, let`s say a list of different kinds of fruit. After hearing this list, they are presented with several additional words. In this case, we`ll say the additional words were “blanket” and “cherry”. Neither of these words was on the original list, and while people will claim correctly that “blanket” was not on the original list, they’ll also claim incorrectly that the word “cherry” was on the list. Most people are convinced they heard the word “cherry” on the original list. Why did they make such a simple mistake? Well, we think because the words on the list were so closely related, the brain stored only the gist of what it heard. For example, that all the items on the list were types of fruit. When we tap our memory, our brains often fill in details and quite often these details are actually false. We also see this “fill-in” phenomenon with perception. Perception is the faculty that allows us to process information in the present as we take it in via our senses. Again, studies have shown that people will fill in information that they thought they perceived even when they didn`t. For example, experiments have been done where a person hears a sentence, but it is missing the word that logically completes it. They’ll claim to hear that word even though it was never said. So if I were to say…er…the Sun rises in the…and then fail to complete the sentence, people will often claim to have heard the word “east”. Take memory for example, maybe you have heard of studies in which people hear a list of related words. Um…, let`s say a list of different kinds of fruit. After hearing this list, they are presented with several additional words. In this case, we`ll say the additional words were “blanket” and “cherry”. Neither of these words was on the original list, and while people will claim correctly that “blanket” was not on the original list, they’ll also claim incorrectly that the word “cherry” was on the list. Most people are convinced they heard the word “cherry” on the original list. Why did they make such a simple mistake? Well, we think because the words on the list were so closely related, the brain stored only the gist of what it heard. For example, that all the items on the list were types of fruit. When we tap our memory, our brains often fill in details and quite often these details are actually false. We also see this “fill-in” phenomenon with perception. Perception is the faculty that allows us to process information in the present as we take it in via our senses. Again, studies have shown that people will fill in information that they thought they perceived even when they didn`t. For example, experiments have been done where a person hears a sentence, but it is missing the word that logically completes it. They’ll claim to hear that word even though it was never said. So if I were to say…er…the Sun rises in the…and then fail to complete the sentence, people will often claim to have heard the word “east”. In cognitive psychology, we have a phrase for this kind of inaccurate “filling in of details”--- it’s called: A Blind Spot. The term originally refers to the place in our eyes where the optic nerve connects the back of the eye to the brain. There are no photoreceptors in the area where the nerve connects to the eye. So that particular area of the eye is incapable of detecting images. It produces “A Blind Spot” in our field of vision. We aren’t aware of it, because the brain fills in what it thinks belongs in the image, so the picture always appears complete to us. But the term “blind spot” has also taken on a more general meaning--- it refers to people being unaware of a bias that may affect their judgment about a subject. And the same “blind-spot phenomenon” that affects memory and perception also affects imagination. Imagination is a faculty that some people use to anticipate future events in their lives. But the ease with which we imagine details can lead to unrealistic expectations and can bias our decisions. So…um…Peter, suppose I ask you to imagine a lunch salad, no problem, right? But I bet you imagine specific ingredients. Did yours have tomatoes, Onion, Lettuce? mine did. Our brains fill in all sorts of details that might not be part of other people’s image of a salad, which could lead to disappointment for us. If the next time we order a salad in a restaurant, we have our imagined salad in mind, that’s not necessarily what we’ll get on our plate. The problem is not that we imagine things, but that we assume what we’ve imagined is accurate. We should be aware that our imagination has this built-in feature, the blind spot, which makes our predictions fall short of reality. So…um…Peter, suppose I ask you to imagine a lunch salad, no problem, right? But I bet you imagine specific ingredients. Did yours have tomatoes, Onion, Lettuce? mine did. Our brains fill in all sorts of details that might not be part of other people’s image of a salad, which could lead to disappointment for us. If the next time we order a salad in a restaurant, we have our imagined salad in mind, that’s not necessarily what we’ll get on our plate. The problem is not that we imagine things, but that we assume what we’ve imagined is accurate. We should be aware that our imagination has this built-in feature, the blind spot, which makes our predictions fall short of reality.