首页
外语
计算机
考研
公务员
职业资格
财经
工程
司法
医学
专升本
自考
实用职业技能
登录
外语
Western juries have traditionally found eyewitness testimony to be the most convincing evidence in criminal trials. Seeing is be
Western juries have traditionally found eyewitness testimony to be the most convincing evidence in criminal trials. Seeing is be
admin
2011-01-11
47
问题
Western juries have traditionally found eyewitness testimony to be the most convincing evidence in criminal trials. Seeing is believing, as the saying goes. In numerous cases, when witnesses pointed to the defendant, his or her fate was sealed. But how reliable is eyewitness testimony? Recent cases have suggested that despite our best intentions, we may unwittingly distort what we perceive.
Artists and psychologists have long known that "seeing" is not a simple matter of recording visual input. People perceive the exterior world through a complex matrix of cultural expectations, personality traits, moods and life experiences. For example, researchers tested the cultural influence on perception by showing a set of optical illusions to various groups, and found that different groups responded in divergent ways. Accustomed to and inundated by perpendicular structures, Western Europeans succumbed easily to illusions based on rectangular lines. On the other hand, the Zulu people of South Africa, whose environment had been comprised almost entirely of circular forms (round houses, doors, etc.) did not fall prey to those linear illusions.
Cultural expectations also influence the selectivity of our seeing. The amount of visual information that exists far exceeds our ability to process it, so we must filter that sensory input into recognizable images. In looking at a face, we do not see elongated ovals set in complex shadows and shading, we see eyes. And that filtering process is informed by what we perceive to be significant, which is influenced by cultural norms. Some cultures may emphasize differences in hair color or texture, others the shape of a nose or mouth, others the set of the eyes.
But it is not only group expectations that color what we see, personality and mood fluctuation can also alter our perceptions. Orderly minds who shun ambiguity will see an off- center image as firmly fixed in the center. The same photograph of four young men allows for shifting interpretations based on our current feeling: a mood of happiness reveals boys enjoying a relaxing day, while anxiety changes the picture to students worrying about exams.
In addition, numerous more prosaic factors affect our ability to record an image accurately. Duration of the encounter, proximity to the subject, lighting, and angle all affect our ability to see, and even stress may further undermine the accuracy of our perceptions.
What will this mean for criminal trials? Juries have often been reluctant to convict without eyewitness identification. Blood samples, fingerprints, and the like do not resonate as deeply with juries as does direct testimony, and frequently require understanding of complex scientific technicalities. But as confidence in eyewitness testimony wanes, such circumstantial evidence may someday replace visual identification as the lynchpin of criminal trials.
The primary purpose of the passage is to ______ .
选项
A、raise concerns about the reliability of eyewitness identification
B、disprove the role of culture in influencing perception
C、question the accuracy of juries in criminal trials
D、shed light on the differences between perception and actuality
答案
A
解析
主旨题型通读全文可知本文第一段对西方陪审团制度提出质疑,然后分几部分对之进行解释,最后一段讲由此可能导致的结果(这对刑事案意味着什么呢?);因此本文主旨是A。
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/1FgO777K
本试题收录于:
CATTI二级笔译综合能力题库翻译专业资格(CATTI)分类
0
CATTI二级笔译综合能力
翻译专业资格(CATTI)
相关试题推荐
Fortunately,myattorneyhelpedmeobtaincompensationformyinjuries,which______mymonthlyincome.
Theword"brick"didnotappearintheEnglishlanguagebeforethe15thcentury.Bricks【C1】______havebeenknowninBritainbe
Theword"brick"didnotappearintheEnglishlanguagebeforethe15thcentury.Bricks【C1】______havebeenknowninBritainbe
Theword"brick"didnotappearintheEnglishlanguagebeforethe15thcentury.Bricks【C1】______havebeenknowninBritainbe
Theword"brick"didnotappearintheEnglishlanguagebeforethe15thcentury.Bricks【C1】______havebeenknowninBritainbe
Theword"brick"didnotappearintheEnglishlanguagebeforethe15thcentury.Bricks【C1】______havebeenknowninBritainbe
Therestiseasyifonecanfindsomeonewhoknowsthepricesofsuchthingsasstationery,pocketcalculatorsorthatisneeded
Translationisbothacognitiveprocedurewhichoccursinthetranslator’sheadandasocial,cross-linguisticandcross-cultura
Muchofthisinformationcomesfromatrancheofheavilyredacteddocumentsontheinterrogationprogram,whichwaspubliclyrel
Thesimpleactofsurrenderingatelephonenumbertoastoreclerkmaynotseemharmful—somuchsothatmanyconsumersdoitwi
随机试题
下列属生糖兼生酮氨基酸的是
激进型筹资政策下,临时性流动资产的来源是()。
学生在划线段时只顾找尺子,而不会想到自己身边的身份证也可以用来画线条,这种现象属于()。
党的十八届四中全会决定指出,中国特色社会主义道路、理论体系、制度是全面推进依法治国的根本遵循。这一论点的主要哲学依据是()。
Mother:Tom,it’s7:30,you’regoingtobelateforschool.Tom:Ifeellikeanotherfiveminutes’sleep.Mother:______Getdre
汉字的区位码、国标码和机内码(又称内码)是三个不同的概念。假设某个汉字的区号是32,位号是63,则它的国标码是______。
高级程序设计语言编写的程序不能在计算机上直接执行,必须通过()翻译成具体的机器语言后才能执行。
有如下程序:#include<iostream>usingnamespacestd;intf1(intx,inty=5){returnx+y;}intf1(doublex){returnx;}
A、 B、 C、 A
Therelationshipbetween"animal"and"horse"is
最新回复
(
0
)