Lesson 3. Reading and discussion

Exercise 1. Reorder the jumbled paragraphs and sentences to see the logical structure of the passage. (Groupwork).

Analysis-by-synthesis

Topic sentences of the two paragraphs:

a). The history of perceptual theory has involved a debate between extreme positions.

b). A theory that views perception as an active, hypothesis-testing process – influenced by context and past experience – has been called analysis-by-synthesis (1976).

Remaining jumbled sentences:

1). As more and more evidence accumulates, it becomes apparent that neither theory alone can explain the range of perceptual phenomena.

2). The term “analysis-by-synthesis” implies that the perceiver “analyses” the object into features and then uses these features to “synthesize” (or construct) a percept that best fits all of the information – the sensory input, the context, and past experience.

3). Some aspects of perception are innate and determined by the structure of the nervous system.

4). According to this theory, the perceiver uses features of the object, its context, and past experiences to make a “best guess” about what is seen.

5). Analysis-by-synthesis is a useful theory for emphasizing the cognitive nature of perceptions.

6). One position views perception as an active cognitive process, while the other sees it as a mechanistic system fixed by the inherent structure of the nervous system.

7). Modern research is not concerned with defending or attacking either of these positions, but rather with building a theory that incorporates the best of both.

8). But it is not the full story.

Exercise 2. Read the abstract of the main passage and choose which of the following statements best summarizes it:

a). People are apathetic towards noise.

b). Noise pollution is worse in industrialized societies than in non-industrialized societies.

c). Noise pollution is a serious environmental concern.

d). Noise can have harmful physiological and psychological effects.

Noise pollution

A well-documented body of information exists showing that noise can adversely (неблагоприятно, отрицательно) affect humans in both physiological and psychological ways. Hearing losses in particular occupations such as boiler-making and construction work are well known. In fact, however, we all find hearing more difficult as we age. Young ears can distinguish a wide range of sounds from low to very high frequencies, while older ears lose the ability to distinguish high-pitched sounds. A comparison of some industrialized versus non-industrialized peoples suggests that this hearing loss may not be a requisite accompaniment of old age.

Furthermore, a closer inspection of other data reveals economic effects. For instance, an increased turnover in property has been observed in noisy areas near airports. Job performance can be adversely affected by loud noise, especially if accuracy and mental effort are involved. When interference with television or speech or sleep is included, as many as 22 to 44 million people can be said to have lost part of the use of their homes and grounds because of noise.

Thus, noise pollution is a serious environmental concern. The apathetic attitude toward noise should be overcome; vigorous efforts should be made to alert (предупреждать об опасности) people to the grave effects which may stem from an excessively noisy environment.

Exercise 3. Now read the passage and say what information from it has been compressed in the abstract. Why?