A Moment of Science VII

A Moment of Science VII:
(1) Blindness and Better Hearing and (2) Brain in Love

This is your first listening assignment of the semester. Click here for suggestions on how to go about doing the listening assignments.

(1) Blindness and Better Hearing
Audio link to program:
http://amos.indiana.edu/library/blindhear.ram
Downloadable link (.rm file; right-click, choose ・tヲsキsタノ, and download):
http://amos.indiana.edu/library/blindhear.rm

Vocabulary:

notion
developed
Academy Award-winning
"Ray": Ray Charles
finely tuned
hushed
bug
Jamie Foxx
artificially
supernatural
abilities
on average
enhanced
outperform
sighted specialized
to localize
to involve
earphones
to pinpoint
typically
task
to process
visual cortex
to convert to
to have a long way to go in + Ving
investigation
to take over for
to navigate

Listening comprehension questions:
1. It seems that blind people on the average do indeed have more developed hearing abilities. Is this simply because they pay more attention to what they hear because they cannot see, or why is this?
2. What kind of blind people are better at localizing sound?
3. Give an example from the movie "Ray" that illustrates just how sharp Ray Charles's hearing was.
4. What use might there be in gaining a better understanding of how the sharper hearing mechanism of blind people works?

(2) Brain in love
Audio link to program:
http://amos.indiana.edu/library/brainlove.ram
Downloadable link (.rm file; right-click, choose ・tヲsキsタノ, and download):
http://amos.indiana.edu/library/brainlove.rm

Vocabulary:

sweetheart
metaphor (for)
cliché
romantic
off target
basic
to crave
to anticipate
ventral tegmental area
caudate nucleus
neuroscientists
brain scan
images
passion
relationship
secure
region
to be associated with
physical attractiveness
to make a distinction between
to be mad about s.o.
to register s.t. as
urge

Listening comprehension questions:
1. Why is a rose not such a suitable metaphor for love in its early stages? What kinds of metaphors might be more appropriate? (Note pronunciation of appropriate!)
2. What is a cliché? Give two examples each of clichés in both English and Chinese. This page might help with the English: http://www.vistacraft.com/bbowman/embedded/health/cliche.htm
3. When are the ventral tegmental area of the brain and caudate nucleus active?
4. How do scientists learn which areas of the brain are active during what kinds of body events?
5. What does physical attractiveness have to do with the feeling of being in love?

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