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
2012-07-13
35
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 author cites "blood samples" and "fingerprints" in the last paragraph as examples of evidence that______.
选项
A、result in more criminal charges
B、are prone to misinterpretation
C、may become more widely accepted in the future
D、have more influence than direct testimony
答案
C
解析
推断题型见最后一段第三句:血样、指纹及其类似的证据并不能使陪审团产生像证人在法庭上所作证词那样大的共鸣,且这样的证据常常要求陪审团成员能够理解复杂的专业知识;但是随着对目击证人证词的依赖性变小,这些旁证可能有朝一日在重大刑事案中会取代那些视觉鉴定(血样、指纹及其类似的证据)。因此C为答案。
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/3NgO777K
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
Allflightsarecanceledbecauseofthebadweather,wehadtowaituntilthenextday.
Theoldprofessorisnotsurehowmanystudentsthereintheclassroom.
Everytimethestudentsarelazyandinarrearswiththeirhomework,theteacherinchargeoftheclasswillinstillchickensou
SincetheSuiDynasty,yellowwasofficiallydesignatedasthe______colorfortheimperialfamily.
Learningasecondlanguageistrickyatanyage(anditonlygetstougherthelongeryouwaittocrackopenthatdustyFrenchbo
Herpregnancywasnoteasy:thetypicalmorningsicknessthatoften_____thefirstthreemonthsaffectedhereverydayfornine
Ourgoalistocreateatransportationservicethatofferscustomersacompetitiveadvantage—aservicesosuperiorthatcustom
Formorethantwocenturies,American’scollegesanduniversitieshavebeenthebackboneofthecountry’sprogress.Theyhaveed
Thegibbonrangesoveranareawiderthandotheotherapes.
随机试题
以下关于强制许可的说法正确的是?
杜摩兰的()原则,现在已成为选择契约准据法的一项普遍接受的原则。
唾液腺造影技术不适用于检查
消防重点部位确定以后,应从管理的民主性、系统性、科学性着手做好六个方面的管理,以保障单位的消防安全,下列属于消防安全重点部位管理内容的有()。
“对待弱者的态度,是衡量社会文明程度的标尺”,同样,公共救助部门对待流浪者的态度,也是衡量制度文明与行政伦理的标尺。十年前,公民孙志刚在收容站内遭暴打离世;十年后,扮演流浪汉的记者又在救助站中遭遇围殴。收容变成救助,强制改为自愿,名称早已改动,历史却在重演
若(x2一)n展开式中的所有二项式系数和为512,则该展开式中的常数项为().
根据以下资料,回答问题。2017年1—4月份,全国规模以上工业企业实现利润总额22780.3亿元,同比增长24.4%,增速比1—3月份放缓3.9个百分点。1—4月份,规模以上工业企业实现主营业务收入37.7万亿元,同比增长13.5%。4
过去的3年中,在由金盾保安公司提供保安服务的500家客户中,平均每年有4家客户针对金盾的保安服务写了投诉信。这说明虽然有大约1%的客户对金盾的保安服务不满,但是,绝大多数客户对金盾的保安服务还是满意的。所以,重新审查金盾保安服务的系统和程序,对提高金盾保安
【16】please.Whattimeisitnow?【17】Whattimewi
Whatdoyouneedtodoinordertounderstandthelecture?NowtherearefourthingsthatI’mgoingtotalkabout.Thefirstthi
最新回复
(
0
)