Section C
Directions: There are 2 passages in this section． Each passage is followed by some questions or unfinished statements． For each of them there are four choices marked A) , B) , C) and D)． You should decide on the best choice and mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the centre．
Passage One
Questions 56 to 60 are based on the following passage．
"Does my smile look big in this?" Future fitting-room mirrors in clothing stores could subtly adjust your reflection to make you look--and hence feel--happier, encouraging you to like what you see．
That's the idea behind the Emotion Evoking System developed by Shigeo Yoshida and colleagues at the University of Tokyo in Japan． The system can manipulate your emotions and personal preferences by presenting you with an image of your own smiling or frowning face．
The principle that physiological (生理的) changes can drive emotional ones－that laughter comes before happiness, rather than the other way around--is a well-established idea．
The researchers wanted to see if this idea could be used to build a computer system that manipulates how you feel． The system works by presenting the user with a webcam (網絡攝像頭) image of his or her face--as if they were looking in a mirror． The image is then subtly altered with software, turning the comers of the mouth up or down and changing the area around the eyes, so that the person appears to smile or frown．
Without telling them the aim of the study, the team recruited 21 volunteers and asked them to sit in front of the screen while performing an unrelated task． When the task was complete the participants rated how they felt． When the faces on screen appeared to smile, people reported that they felt happier．Conversely, when the image was given a sad expression, they reported feeling less happy．
Yoshida and his colleagues tested whether manipulating the volunteers' emotional state would influence their preferences． Each person was given a scarf to wear and again presented with the altered webcam image． The volunteers that saw themselves smiling while wearing the scarf were more likely to report that they liked it, and those that saw themselves not smiling were less likely．
The system could be used to manipulate consumers' impressions of products, say the researchers． For example, mirrors in clothing-store fitting rooms could be replaced with screens showing altered reflections． They also suggest people may be more likely to find clothes attractive if they see themselves looking happy while trying them on．
"It's certainly an interesting area," says Chris Creed at the University of Birmingham, UK． But he notes that using such technology in a shop would be harder than in the lab, because people will use a wide range of expressions． "Attempting to make slight differences to these and ensuring, that the reflected image looks believable would be much more challenging," he says．
Of course, there are also important ethical questions surrounding such subtly manipulative technology．"You could argue that if it makes people happy what harm is it doing?" says Creed． "But I can imagine that many people may feel manipulated, uncomfortable and cheated if they found out．"
56． What's the main purpose of the Emotion Evoking System?
A． To see whether one's feeling can be unconsciously affected．
B． To see whether one's facial expressions can be altered．
C． To see whether laughter comes before happiness．
D． To replace the mirrors in future clothing-store fitting rooms．
57． What can we learn about the webcam image in the study?
A． It recorded the volunteers' performance in the task．
B． It gave the volunteers an illusion．
C． It attempted to make the volunteers feel happier．
D． It altered the volunteers' looks in the mirror．
58． What would probably happen if the researchers' suggestions were to be taken?
A． People would totally change their personal preferences．
B． People would feel cheated and angry．
C． People would buy some clothes they don't like．
D． People would try on more clothes they like．
59． What does Creed mention as a limitation of the technology?
A． It only changes the areas around the mouth and the eyes．
B． It only works in clothing stores．
C． It only makes subtle changes to people's expressions．
D． It only deals with a．limited number of facial expressions．
60． What does Creed's comment on the ethical issues with this technology imply?
A． Nothing is more important than happiness．
B． People should make their decisions independently．
C． Technology is unable to manipulate people．
D． People should not base their happiness on technology．