Unit 2
SENSATION AND PERCEPTION
Chapter 1
SENSATION
WARM-UP
Do the crossword below to complete the introductory statement to the chapter:
This chapter examines sensation, the process that enables us to gather information from numerous sources. Sensation refers to the raw sensory data from the senses of
Across
3. the feeling that is produced by a particular food or drink when you put it in your mouth
5. the sense which you use to hear sounds
6. the quality that people and animals recognize by using their nose
Down
1. ability to see
2. the feeling you have when part of your body hurts
4. a state in which all your weight is evenly spread so that you do not fall
THINK ABOUT IT!
How many colors can we distinguish?
Which sense is more sensitive – taste or smell?
Does listening to loud music really damage the ears?
READING 1
Pre-reading
VISION
Different animal species depend more on some senses than on others. Dogs rely heavily on the sense of smell, bats on hearing, and some fish on taste. But for humans, vision ranks as the most important sense. As a result, it has received the most attention from psychologists. To understand vision, we need to look first at the parts of the visual system, beginning with the structure of the eye.
Vocabulary focus
Match the Russian terms with their English equivalents
Сетчатка a) Blind spot
Зрачок b) Cornea
Радужная оболочка c) Lens
Р
оговица d)
Optic nerveХрусталик глаза e) Fovea
Тёмное пятно f) Retina
Ямка g) Iris
Зрительный нерв h) Pupil
Check your results with a partner.
While-reading
Now study Fig. (строение человеческого глаза), read the text below, and fill in the gaps with the appropriate word.
The structure of the human eye, including the cellular path to the brain, is shown in Fig.
Light enters the eye through the (1)______ (cornea), the transparent protective coating over the front part of the eye. It then passes through the (2)______, the opening through the center of the (3) _____, the colored part of the eye. In very bright light, the muscles in the (4)______ contract to make the pupil smaller and thus protect the eye from damage. This contraction also helps us see better in bright light. In dim light, the muscles relax to open the pupil wider and let in as much light as possible.
Inside the pupil light moves through the (5)_____, which focuses it onto the
(6)______, the light-sensitive inner lining of the back of the eyeball. The lens changes shape to focus on objects that are closer or farther away. Normally the lens is focused on a middle distance, at a point neither very near nor very far away. To focus on an object that is very close to the eyes, tiny muscles around the lens contract and make the lens rounder. To focus on something far away, the muscles work to flatten the lens.
On the retina and directly behind the lens lies a depressed spot called the (7)______.
The (8)______ ______ carries messages from each eye to the brain. The place on the retina where the axons of all the ganglion cells join to leave the eye is called the (9) _______.
GRAMMAR FOCUS
Adverb or adjective?
Normally adverbs are used with verbs.
e.g. People can accurately identify a taste within one-tenth of a second after something salty or sweet has touched the tongue.
This tells you how people can identify the smell.
However, with certain verbs it is sometimes necessary to use adjectives. These verbs are usually connected with our senses – look1, sound, taste, feel2, and smell. Other verbs include be, seem3, and appear4.
e.g. The picture looks beautiful.
With a partner discuss what you would say in the following situations.
e.g. You’re eating an apple. The apple tastes sweet.
a) You’re listening to music. It sounds ….
b) You’re looking at a cell under the microscope. It seems…
c) You’re looking at Pete. He looks …
d) You’re wearing clean clothes again. It feels…
e) You’re eating a Japanese dish. It tastes…
f) You’re walking by the sea. It smells…
Check your dictionary for other usages of the verbs above.
READING 2