Just looking at somebody shivering is enough to make us feel freezing, researchers have found. They discovered volunteers who watched videos of people putting their hands in cold water found their own body temperature drop significantly. They say the behavior is part of our ability to stay the same be with others.  

The research by scientists in the Brighton and Sussex Medical School shows that humans are susceptible to “temperature contagion”.

Dr Neil Harrison, who led the research, said that such unconscious physiological changes may help us be the same with one another and live in communities. He said, “Mimicking another person is believed to help us create an internal model of their physiological state which we can use to better understand their attitudes and how they are feeling. Humans are greatly social creatures and much of humans’ success results from our ability to work together in communities — this would be hard to do if we were not able to rapidly change with each other and predict one another’s thoughts, feelings and motivations.”

For the research, which was published in the journal PLOS ONE, 36 participants each watched eight videos of actors putting their hands in either clearly warm or cold water. At the same time, the temperature of their own hands was measured.  Their hands were colder when watching the “cold” videos. However, the “warm” videos did not cause a change.

Dr Harrison explains: “We think that this is probably because the warm videos were less powerful — the only evidence that the water was warm steam at the beginning of the videos and the pink color of the actor’s hand but blocks of ice were clearly visible throughout the cold video. There is also some evidence to suggest that people may be more sensitive to others appearing cold than hot.”

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1.How do people feel when they watch others shivering?

A People will feel anxious.

B People will feel important.

C People will feel contagious.

D People will feel very cold.

解析：选D。D。细节理解题。根据文章第1段第1句的Just looking at somebody shivering is enough to make us feel freezing, researchers have found可以得知看到别人发抖，旁观的人会感觉到冷。

2.The underlined word “Mimicking” in the third paragraph may mean _____.

A Helping

B Copying

C Living

D Researching

解析：选B。B。词义猜测题。从第3段第1句的unconscious physiological changes may help us be the same with one another and live in communities可知要和其他人一样，因此也就是模仿其他人，所以此处要用copying。

3.What lead to success according to Dr Neil Harrison?

A The abilities of teamwork.

B The abilities of learning.

C The abilities of physiology.

D The abilities of creating.

解析：选A。A。推理判断题。根据文章第3段第3句的Humans are greatly social creatures and much of humans’ success results from our ability to work together in communities可知是人类能共同协作才能成功的。

4.What should the participants do during the research?

A They should put their hands in the warm water.

B They should keep their hands acting regularly.

C They should watch actors feel different water.

D They should put their hands into different water.

解析：选C。C。细节理解题。根据文章第4段第1句的36 participants each watched eight videos of actors putting their hands in either clearly warm or cold water可知他们要看演员把手放在不同水温的水里。

5.Why didn’t the “warm” videos cause a change?

A Because the warm videos were not impressive.

B Because the warm videos were not visible.

C Because the warm videos disappeared soon.

D Because the warm videos were sensitive.

解析：选A。A。推理判断题。根据文章最后1段第1句的because the warm videos were less powerful— the only evidence that the water was warm was steam可知是因为让人感知“热”的视频给人的印象不深刻。