Question

  The human face may have been built for certain basic functions 一 eating,breathing,seeing — but the 43 separate muscles that keep it constantly moving mean it is constantly communicating too. For example,every eyebrow lift means something. That's good news for a small growing field of business that uses facial analysis to figure out if an advertisement or a TV pilot(實驗性節目) appeals to consumers.

   Affectiva,a 30-person operation in America,is the most successful of these companies. A decide ago,Rana el Kaliouby began collecting video samples (樣本） of faces with the goal of helping autistic(患自閉癥的) children. “Autistic kids have a hard time reading faces,” she says, “so the plan was to design a system that tells them that the person they’ re talking to is smiling,say,or looks confUsed." In 2006,the National Science Foundation sponsore her to continue her work at the. MIT Media Lab. Industry groups regularly visit the lab and el Kaliouby’s research impressed them. “They asked , ^ Have you thought of using what you are working on to test a product?’ ” she recalls. So,in 2009 she and her MIT professor established Affectiva to do just that.

   For a starting fee of $2,500,Affectiva makes its software available to marketers. Volunteers watch a video on a computer screen while the camera in the computer watches them back. Volunteers always know it is there and when they,re being recorded,which doesn’ t materially affect the results. Engagement,boredom,amusement,displeasure and more are tracked and analyzed. The database Affectiva uses to conduct those analyses is made up of more than 2. 5 million facial video samples. The software also takes factors such as sex,culture and age into account. “Women tend to smile more than men,” el Kaliouby says.

   Market testing is only the lowest-hanging fruit. El Kaliouby expects to expand the business to political polling(民意測驗) and analysis,as well as helping teachers of online courses assess student engagement. She is still interested in autism and other psychological conditions. There are some potential growth areas that are more controversial: lie detection and airport security,for example. For Affectiva,they’ re no-go zones. “We believe volunteers should always have the right to decide whether to be tested,so for that reason we don't want to be in security ,” el Kaliouby says. That,of course,leaves that space open to new competitors.

28. When el Kaliouby founded Affectiva,she wanted to.

   A. look for sponsors

   B. help autistic children

   C. create a video sample database

   D. test commercials and TV pilots

29. What does the underlined word “it” in Paragraph 3 refer to?

   A. The computer. B. The camera.

   C. The screen. D. The video.

30. We can infer that “new competitors” mentioned in the last paragraph may use facial analysis to.

   A. do political polling and analysis

   B. assess online students’ engagement

   C. examine whether people are telling lies

   D. help people with psychological conditions

31. In which part of a magazine Can we read the text?

   A. Technology.   B. Education.

   C. Lifestyle. D. Society.

Answer 1

28. D 29. B 30. C 31. A

(科普知識與現代技術)

本文是說明文。Rana el Kaliouby創辦了Affectiva公司，通過分析受試者的面部表情判斷某一廣告或實驗性節自是否吸引現眾。

28. D.細節理解題。根據前兩段中的...uses facial analysis to figure out if an advertisement or a TV pilot appeals to consumers,Affectiva ... is the most successful of these companies 及 “They asked ,‘Have you thought of using what you are working on to test a product?’”she recalls. So,in 2009 she and her MIT professor established Affectiva to do just that 可知，el Kaliouby 創辦 Affectiva公司就是要幫助客戶判斷某一廣告或 實驗性節目是否吸引觀眾。

29. B.篇章結構題。根據劃線詞后的when the/re being recorded可推斷，這里指志愿者知道“攝像頭” It在那兒,也知道什么時候正在錄像。

30. C.推理判斷題。根據最后一段中的lie detection and airport security,for example. For Affectiva,they,re no-go zones 可知，Affectiva 公 司不會去做M謊和機ft安檢的業務,這就為“新的 競爭者”留下空間，使得他們可以去做這些業務。

31. A.文章出處題。通讀全文可知，文章介紹了 Affectiva公司通過分析受試者的面部表情判斷 某一廣告或實驗性節目是否吸引觀眾。Affectiva公司分析面部表情的技術是本文的關 鍵，故本文最有可能出自科技版塊。