The Phenomenon of Hypnosis
题目：
Hypnosis is a process in which the person being hypnotized (the volunteer) demonstrates willingness to adopt suggestions by another person (the hypnotist). It is unclear whether hypnosis is truly an altered state of awareness or simply a kind of social playacting designed to please the hypnotist, but we do know a few things about what hypnosis is not. For one thing, we know that people who are hypnotized never really enter into anything resembling a deep sleep and, although the word “hypnosis” does come from the Greek “hypnos,” meaning “to sleep,” hypnosis bears little physiological relation to sleep. The EEG patterns (patterns of the brain’s electrical activity recorded by electrodes placed on the scalp) of a hypnotized subject, along with other physiological indices, more closely resemble those of someone who is relaxed rather than deeply asleep. Moreover, certain reflexes (automatic responses) that are commonly absent during sleep, such as the knee jerk, are still present under hypnosis.
Another myth is that only weak-willed people are susceptible to hypnosis. Everyone appears to be susceptible to a degree, in the sense that we all show heightened suggestibility under some circumstances. There are individual differences among people-hypnotic suggestibility scales indicate that only about 20 percent of the population is highly hypnotizable-but it is not clear what factors account for these differences. Personality studies have shown that people who are readily hypnotized are not weak-willed or conforming, although they may have more active imaginations than people who resist hypnosis.
A variety of methods can be used to bring about the hypnotic state. The most popular technique is one where the hypnotist, acting as an authority figure, suggests to the client that he or she is growing increasingly more relaxed and sleepy with time: “Your eyes are getting heavier and heavier, you can barely keep your lids open,” and so on. Often the client is asked to stare at something, perhaps a spot on the wall or a swinging pendulum. The logic here is that eye fixation leads to muscle fatigue, which helps convince clients that they are indeed becoming increasingly relaxed. Other approaches rely more on subtle suggestions, but in general no one method is necessarily better than any other. In the words of one researcher, “The art of hypnosis relies on not providing the client with grounds for resisting.”
Once they are hypnotized, people become highly suggestible, responding to commands from the hypnotist in ways that seem automatic and involuntary. The hypnotist can then use his or her power of suggestion to achieve adaptive ends, such as helping people kick unwanted habits like smoking or overeating. Pain relief is also possible at certain deep stages of hypnosis. Hypnotized patients report less pain during childbirth and typically suffer less during dental work. It’s even been possible to perform major surgeries, such as appendectomies, using hypnosis as the primary anesthesia (method of relieving pain). Research is ongoing to determine the biological basis for these striking pain-relieving effects. It was once thought, for example, that the release of endorphins (hormones that induce a feeling of happiness) by the brain might be responsible, although this possibility now seems less likely.
If you ever visit a theater performance of a hypnotist, you’re likely to witness an astonishing variety of hypnotically induced behaviors. One impressive demonstration is catalepsy: one of the hypnotized person’s limbs is placed in some unusual position (perhaps raising a leg or an arm in the air), and the subject then retains this position rigidly for long periods of time without any signs of tiring. Perceptual effects are also common. The volunteer, acting as a kind of robot, appears to see or hear things that are not really there; perhaps the subject carries on conversations with imaginary people or ignores loud noises that would normally cause someone to jump. Perceptual changes of this sort have sometimes been reported in the laboratory. In a number of these studies, researchers have looked for hypnotically based changes in vision. Susceptibility to perceptual illusions, for instance, can sometimes be reduced under hypnosis, although the data overall are not especially clear-cut. There has also been work demonstrating that perception of time can be altered under hypnosis, leading to underestimation of the hypnotic period.
1
Hypnosis is a process in which the person being hypnotized (the volunteer) demonstrates willingness to adopt suggestions by another person (the hypnotist). It is unclear whether hypnosis is truly an altered state of awareness or simply a kind of social playacting designed to please the hypnotist, but we do know a few things about what hypnosis is not. For one thing, we know that people who are hypnotized never really enter into anything resembling a deep sleep and, although the word “hypnosis” does come from the Greek “hypnos,” meaning “to sleep,” hypnosis bears little physiological relation to sleep. The EEG patterns (patterns of the brain’s electrical activity recorded by electrodes placed on the scalp) of a hypnotized subject, along with other physiological indices, more closely resemble those of someone who is relaxed rather than deeply asleep. Moreover, certain reflexes (automatic responses) that are commonly absent during sleep, such as the knee jerk, are still present under hypnosis.
Which of the following can be inferred from paragraph 1 about the state of being hypnotized?
Inference Questions推理题
AIt can be difficult to distinguish from ordinary states of awareness
BIt is best detected by looking at a volunteer’s EEG patterns
CIt involves many of the same physiological behaviors as sleep.
DIt can be attained whether a volunteer is awake or asleep
2
Hypnosis is a process in which the person being hypnotized (the volunteer) demonstrates willingness to adopt suggestions by another person (the hypnotist). It is unclear whether hypnosis is truly an altered state of awareness or simply a kind of social playacting designed to please the hypnotist, but we do know a few things about what hypnosis is not. For one thing, we know that people who are hypnotized never really enter into anything resembling a deep sleep and, although the word “hypnosis” does come from the Greek “hypnos,” meaning “to sleep,” hypnosis bears little physiological relation to sleep. The EEG patterns (patterns of the brain’s electrical activity recorded by electrodes placed on the scalp) of a hypnotized subject, along with other physiological indices, more closely resemble those of someone who is relaxed rather than deeply asleep. Moreover, certain reflexes (automatic responses) that are commonly absent during sleep, such as the knee jerk, are still present under hypnosis.
In paragraph 1, why does the author state that the knee-jerk reflex is present under hypnosis?
Factual Information Questions事实信息题
ATo present a finding about hypnosis that contradicts findings from EEG patterns
BTo support the argument that hypnotized subjects are not deeply asleep
CTo give a reason for doubting that people who are hypnotized are simply playacting
DTo call into question the idea that hypnotized subjects are relaxed
3
Another myth is that only weak-willed people are susceptible to hypnosis. Everyone appears to be susceptible to a degree, in the sense that we all show heightened suggestibility under some circumstances. There are individual differences among people-hypnotic suggestibility scales indicate that only about 20 percent of the population is highly hypnotizable-but it is not clear what factors account for these differences. Personality studies have shown that people who are readily hypnotized are not weak-willed or conforming, although they may have more active imaginations than people who resist hypnosis.
According to paragraph 2, which of the following statements about hypnotic susceptibility seems to be true?
Factual Information Questions事实信息题
AStrong-willed people are less susceptible to hypnosis.
BPeople with unusually active imaginations are less susceptible to hypnosis.
CAll people can be hypnotized to some extent if the right conditions are present.
DHypnotic suggestibility scales provide little useful information about people’s actual susceptibility to hypnosis.
4
A variety of methods can be used to bring about the hypnotic state. The most popular technique is one where the hypnotist, acting as an authority figure, suggests to the client that he or she is growing increasingly more relaxed and sleepy with time: “Your eyes are getting heavier and heavier, you can barely keep your lids open,” and so on. Often the client is asked to stare at something, perhaps a spot on the wall or a swinging pendulum. The logic here is that eye fixation leads to muscle fatigue, which helps convince clients that they are indeed becoming increasingly relaxed. Other approaches rely more on subtle suggestions, but in general no one method is necessarily better than any other. In the words of one researcher, “The art of hypnosis relies on not providing the client with grounds for resisting.”
According to paragraph 3, which of the following is true about the various methods that are used to bring about the hypnotic state?
Factual Information Questions事实信息题
AThey all start by telling the client that he or she is becoming sleepy.
BThey all successfully remove fatigue.
CNone of them has been proved to be effective.
DNone of them is clearly the best
5
Once they are hypnotized, people become highly suggestible, responding to commands from the hypnotist in ways that seem automatic and involuntary. The hypnotist can then use his or her power of suggestion to achieve adaptive ends, such as helping people kick unwanted habits like smoking or overeating. Pain relief is also possible at certain deep stages of hypnosis. Hypnotized patients report less pain during childbirth and typically suffer less during dental work. It’s even been possible to perform major surgeries, such as appendectomies, using hypnosis as the primary anesthesia (method of relieving pain). Research is ongoing to determine the biological basis for these striking pain-relieving effects. It was once thought, for example, that the release of endorphins (hormones that induce a feeling of happiness) by the brain might be responsible, although this possibility now seems less likely.
The word “striking” in the passage is closest in meaning to
Vocabulary Questions词汇题
Adesirable
Bimpressive
Cconsistent
Dtypical
6
Once they are hypnotized, people become highly suggestible, responding to commands from the hypnotist in ways that seem automatic and involuntary. The hypnotist can then use his or her power of suggestion to achieve adaptive ends, such as helping people kick unwanted habits like smoking or overeating. Pain relief is also possible at certain deep stages of hypnosis. Hypnotized patients report less pain during childbirth and typically suffer less during dental work. It’s even been possible to perform major surgeries, such as appendectomies, using hypnosis as the primary anesthesia (method of relieving pain). Research is ongoing to determine the biological basis for these striking pain-relieving effects. It was once thought, for example, that the release of endorphins (hormones that induce a feeling of happiness) by the brain might be responsible, although this possibility now seems less likely.
According to paragraph 4. which of the following is true about a hypnotist’s influence on a hypnotized person?
Factual Information Questions事实信息题
AIt can help the hypnotized person stop smoking or overeating.
BIt is reduced if the hypnotized person is in pain
CIt can be used to closely control a person’s hormone activity.
DIt can make the hypnotized person less suggestible.
7
Once they are hypnotized, people become highly suggestible, responding to commands from the hypnotist in ways that seem automatic and involuntary. The hypnotist can then use his or her power of suggestion to achieve adaptive ends, such as helping people kick unwanted habits like smoking or overeating. Pain relief is also possible at certain deep stages of hypnosis. Hypnotized patients report less pain during childbirth and typically suffer less during dental work. It’s even been possible to perform major surgeries, such as appendectomies, using hypnosis as the primary anesthesia (method of relieving pain). Research is ongoing to determine the biological basis for these striking pain-relieving effects. It was once thought, for example, that the release of endorphins (hormones that induce a feeling of happiness) by the brain might be responsible, although this possibility now seems less likely.
Paragraph 4 presents all of the following as evidence that pain relief is possible during hypnosis EXCEPT:
Negative Factual Information Questions否定事实信息题
APatients have undergone appendectomies using hypnosis as the primary anesthesia.
BHypnosis has been shown to release endorphins. which have pain-relieving effects.
CPatients have said that hypnosis makes childbirth less painful.
DHypnotized patients experience less pain during dental work
8
If you ever visit a theater performance of a hypnotist, you’re likely to witness an astonishing variety of hypnotically induced behaviors. One impressive demonstration is catalepsy: one of the hypnotized person’s limbs is placed in some unusual position (perhaps raising a leg or an arm in the air), and the subject then retains this position rigidly for long periods of time without any signs of tiring. Perceptual effects are also common. The volunteer, acting as a kind of robot, appears to see or hear things that are not really there; perhaps the subject carries on conversations with imaginary people or ignores loud noises that would normally cause someone to jump. Perceptual changes of this sort have sometimes been reported in the laboratory. In a number of these studies, researchers have looked for hypnotically based changes in vision. Susceptibility to perceptual illusions, for instance, can sometimes be reduced under hypnosis, although the data overall are not especially clear-cut. There has also been work demonstrating that perception of time can be altered under hypnosis, leading to underestimation of the hypnotic period.
Paragraph 5 mentions all of the following as examples of effects that can be produced in people under hypnosis EXCEPT
Factual Information Questions事实信息题
Aholding an arm or leg in the air for a long time without showing fatigue
Bbehaving like a robot
Cjumping in response to imaginary noises
Dtalking to people who are not really there
9
Another myth is that only weak-willed people are susceptible to hypnosis. [■] Everyone appears to be susceptible to a degree, in the sense that we all show heightened suggestibility under some circumstances. [■] There are individual differences among people-hypnotic suggestibility scales indicate that only about 20 percent of the population is highly hypnotizable-but it is not clear what factors account for these differences. [■] Personality studies have shown that people who are readily hypnotized are not weak-willed or conforming, although they may have more active imaginations than people who resist hypnosis. [■]
A variety of methods can be used to bring about the hypnotic state. The most popular technique is one where the hypnotist, acting as an authority figure, suggests to the client that he or she is growing increasingly more relaxed and sleepy with time: “Your eyes are getting heavier and heavier, you can barely keep your lids open,” and so on. Often the client is asked to stare at something, perhaps a spot on the wall or a swinging pendulum. The logic here is that eye fixation leads to muscle fatigue, which helps convince clients that they are indeed becoming increasingly relaxed. Other approaches rely more on subtle suggestions, but in general no one method is necessarily better than any other. In the words of one researcher, “The art of hypnosis relies on not providing the client with grounds for resisting.”
Look at the four squares [■] that indicate where the following sentence could be added to the passage
This does not mean that every person’s responsiveness to hypnosis is the same.Insert Text Questions句子插入题
Where would the sentence best fit？Click on a square sentence to the passage.
10
Researchers still do not understand some aspects of hypnosis, but they have information about its methods and effects.
Prose Summary Questions概要小结题
Select 3 answers
AResearchers have proven incorrect certain common views about what hypnosis is and why some people are more easily hypnotized than others, but it is unclear what the true answers are
BHypnotized subjects seem to behave in very similar ways, demonstrating a lack of movement and frequently carrying or conversations with themselves.
CAll methods of hypnosis involve removing the client’s resistance, an once hypnotized, people may become suggestible enough to allow the hypnotist to change unwanted behaviors.
DHypnotic suggestibility scales have indicated that people who are generally relaxed are more susceptible to hypnosis than people who have difficulty relaxing or falling asleep.
EIn the process of hypnosis, hypnotized subjects tend to imitate the behavior of a hypnotist who assumes the role of a responsible authority
FPerceptual effects of hypnosis are common and have been observed in the laboratory, and pain-relief effects of hypnosis have been used in medical procedures
