English 中文网 漫画网 爱新闻iNews 翻译论坛
中国网站品牌栏目(频道)
当前位置: Language Tips> 天天读报> 每日播报

Talking on the cell phone? Spot the clown

[ 2009-10-23 13:19]     字号 [] [] []  
免费订阅30天China Daily双语新闻手机报:移动用户编辑短信CD至106580009009

进入英语学习论坛下载音频

Pedestrians who talk on a mobile phone are slower, change direction more, have difficulty navigating - and are less likely to notice obvious distractions like a unicycling clown, a study said this week.

Researchers observed 317 pedestrians as they crossed the main square of the campus of Western Washington University using the 114-meter-long main diagonal pathway.

The people observed were either talking on a mobile phone, listening to a personal music player, in conversation with another pedestrian, or walking alone, without any electronic devices.

The researchers noted the time it took them to cross the square, whether they stopped, zig-zagged or stumbled; how many times they changed direction and whether they collided with another person or nearly did.

The pedestrians were also monitored to see if they noticed the "unusual stimulus" the researchers had placed just off the walking path: a brightly-colored unicycling clown.

Only 25 percent of people using their mobile phones noticed the clown, while more than half of people in the other groups noticed him.

Failure to see the clown could not be blamed on the use of an electronic device per se, because 61 percent of people using a music player saw the unicyclist, or on having a conversation, because chatting couples were the most likely - 71 percent - to see the clown, the study said.

Instead, the study suggested that mobile phone users fail to notice what is going on around them, a phenomenon called "inattentional blindness".

This means that they may miss more than the unicycling clown and experience difficulty recognizing and using information needed to navigate through a complex and changing environment.

(英语点津 Helen 编辑)

Talking on the cell phone? Spot the clown

About the broadcaster:

Talking on the cell phone? Spot the clown

Casey Chin is an intern at the China Daily's website. When he's not shooting or producing videos he's trying to learn Chinese. He's from Sacramento, California (no, he doesn't know Arnold Schwarzenegger) and he just graduated from the University of Hawaii at Manoa with a degree in journalism.

 
中国日报网英语点津版权说明:凡注明来源为“中国日报网英语点津:XXX(署名)”的原创作品,除与中国日报网签署英语点津内容授权协议的网站外,其他任何网站或单位未经允许不得非法盗链、转载和使用,违者必究。如需使用,请与010-84883631联系;凡本网注明“来源:XXX(非英语点津)”的作品,均转载自其它媒体,目的在于传播更多信息,其他媒体如需转载,请与稿件来源方联系,如产生任何问题与本网无关;本网所发布的歌曲、电影片段,版权归原作者所有,仅供学习与研究,如果侵权,请提供版权证明,以便尽快删除。
 

关注和订阅

人气排行

翻译服务

中国日报网翻译工作室

我们提供:媒体、文化、财经法律等专业领域的中英互译服务
电话:010-84883468
邮件:translate@chinadaily.com.cn