# Photic sneezing - 科目：雅思听力真题（Part 4） - 考频：中频 - 最近考试：2026.4.11/2020.1.18/2013.6.15 - 题目数：10 - 来源页：https://www.yaquan.site/paper/00b32727-93ea-4a1c-a5fe-aa8a84ab8af6（在线机考练习与音频请访问该页面） - 数据更新：2026-10-29 ## 题目原文 00:00:00,880 Now listen carefully and answer questions thirty-one to forty. 00:00:08,980 Welcome to this lecture in the health sciences intended to inspire you and get you thinking about your research project. Today, I want to show you how even ordinary human behavior like sneezing, which normally happens when you get a cold, may be worth studying. Have you ever been walking outside when a bright shaft of sunlight hits you between the eyes? The reaction of some people is immediate, an unpleasant prickling in the nose, an increase in their breathing rate, and an uncontrollable watering of the eyes. Then, almost as quickly, they sneeze and gain relief. This may happen every time they go into the sun. This so-called photic or light sneeze is a reflex, which means it can't be controlled, and it's very common. Anything between one in ten and one in three people might be affected. 00:01:09,060 In fact, a sneeze is triggered by an irritation of some sort in the linings of the nostrils. The result is a cascade of reactions, beginning with the stimulation of the nerve endings all over the face and generating an explosive expulsion of air at up to ninety-five miles an hour, like an extremely localized personal hurricane. 00:01:35,480 The body's coordination of such reactions is complicated and belongs to the subconscious control hardware that regulates other things. For example, tears in the eyes. 00:01:51,400 People have been interested in the phenomenon of photic sneezing for thousands of years. The Greek philosopher Aristotle asked, "Why does the sun prompt us to sneeze, whereas the heat of a fire does not?" 00:02:05,640 A partial answer came two thousand years later when the English philosopher Francis Bacon showed that his photic sneeze had nothing to do with heat. If he closed his eyes when going into the sun, he didn't sneeze even though the heat was still there. 00:02:22,020 Henry Everett, a consultant psychiatrist at John Hopkins University Hospital in Baltimore, was the first to make a systematic attempt to understand the condition. Noting in nineteen sixty-four that thirty percent of the staff employed in the medical department were photic sneezers, Everett did some further investigation. He found that while eighty percent of sneezers reported other sneezers among their relatives, only twenty percent of non-sneezers did. Now, there are factors that are certain indicators of a photic sneeze. First of all, those with the condition almost always sneeze a set number of times on exposure to light. In addition to this, the sneeze depends on a contrast in visible brightness, such as when the sun moves out from behind a cloud. 00:03:09,420 And the sneezing fit won't be repeated immediately. The body needs time before it can be recharged. So if you go back into a darkened space and then immediately re-enter bright light, you will not sneeze again. 00:03:24,680 Now on to possible applications of research in this area. The photic sneeze had long been overlooked because its effects are generally less than serious. Although the government did once study it as a risk factor for pilots. 00:03:39,620 Yet work on such a simple disorder might lead to important discoveries on more acute conditions such as migraine or epilepsy, which are also caused by cross wires in the nervous system. That is why I encourage you to select something similar for your first investigative medical project. It could be the beginning of something even more useful. 00:04:01,600 Now let's talk about the project timetable. 00:04:07,500 That is the end of part four. 00:04:10,360 You now have one minute to check your answers to part four. ## 题目与答案 ### 31. Background Some people react to sunlight by: ·a prickle in the nose ·faster 31_____ relieved by a sneeze Background Some people react to sunlight by: ·a prickle in the nose ·faster 31_____ relieved by a sneeze **答案**：breathing 原文定位：The reaction of some people is immediate;an unpleasant prickling in the nose, an increase in their breathing rate, and an uncontrollable watering of the eyes 同义替换：「faster」↔「increase in rate」 ### 32. ·watery eyes This “photic” sneeze cannot be controlled and is a 32_____ reflex. ·watery eyes This “photic” sneeze cannot be controlled and is a 32_____ reflex. **答案**：common 原文定位：This so-called photic or light sneeze is a reflex, which means it can't be controlled, and it's very common 同义替换：「cannot be controlled」↔「can't be controlled」 ### 33. Sneezing in general ·A sneeze is caused by some kind of irritation in the nose. ·Nerve endings in the 33_____ are stimulated, leading to an explosion of air. Sneezing in general ·A sneeze is caused by some kind of irritation in the nose. ·Nerve endings in the 33_____ are stimulated, leading to an explosion of air. **答案**：face 原文定位：The result is a cascade of reactions, beginning with the stimulation of the nerve endings all over the face and generating an explosive expulsion of air ### 34. ·It is co-ordinated by the same mechanism that controls the production of 34_____ . ·It is co-ordinated by the same mechanism that controls the production of 34_____ . **答案**：tears 原文定位：The body's coordination of such reactions is complicated and belongs to the subconscious control hardware that regulates other things, for example, tears in the eyes 同义替换：「co-ordinated」↔「coordination」；「controls」↔「regulates」；「production of tears」↔「tears in the eyes」 ### 35. Research into photic sneezing The condition has been known for thousands of years. Aristotle: Why does the sun cause sneezing while a 35_____ does not? Research into photic sneezing The condition has been known for thousands of years. Aristotle: Why does the sun cause sneezing while a 35_____ does not? **答案**：fire 原文定位：The Greek philosopher Aristotle asked, "Why does the sun prompt us to sneeze, whereas the heat of a fire does not 同义替换：「cause」↔「prompt us to」；「while」↔「whereas」 ### 36. Bacon showed the cause was light. Everett found 80% photic sneezers shared the habit with 36_____ . Bacon showed the cause was light. Everett found 80% photic sneezers shared the habit with 36_____ . **答案**：relatives 原文定位：He found that while eighty percent of sneezers reported other sneezers among their relatives, only twenty percent of non-sneezers did 同义替换：「shared the habit with」↔「other sneezers among their」 ### 37. Indicators Photic sneezers usually produce the same 37_____ of sneezes. Indicators Photic sneezers usually produce the same 37_____ of sneezes. **答案**：number|times 原文定位：those with the condition almost always sneeze a set number of times on exposure to light 同义替换：「usually」↔「almost always」；「same」↔「set」 ### 38. The reaction is caused by a 38_____ in brightness. The reaction is caused by a 38_____ in brightness. **答案**：contrast 原文定位：The sneeze depends on a contrast in visible brightness, such as when the sun moves out from behind a cloud 同义替换：「reaction」↔「sneeze」；「is caused by」↔「depends on」 ### 39. The sneeze takes 39_____ to recharge. The sneeze takes 39_____ to recharge. **答案**：time 原文定位：The body needs time before it can be recharged 同义替换：「takes」↔「needs」 ### 40. Application The condition was often ignored apart from some research on photic sneezing among 40_____ . But studying it may result in breakthroughs for more serious conditions. Application The condition was often ignored apart from some research on photic sneezing among 40_____ . But studying it may result in breakthroughs for more serious conditions. **答案**：pilots 原文定位：The photic sneeze had long been overlooked because its effects are generally less than serious, although the government did once study it as a risk factor for pilots 同义替换：「ignored」↔「overlooked」；「research on」↔「study」；「among」↔「for」 --- 以上内容由鸭圈雅思真题库（www.yaquan.site）提供，收录近期雅思考试真题回忆，支持在线机考模式免费练习。