单选题 A few years ago, in their search for ways to sell more goods, advertising men hit on a new and controversial gimmick. It is a silent, invisible commercial that, the ad men claim, can be rushed past the consumer's conscious mind and planted in his subconscious—and without the consumer's knowledge.
Developed by James Vicary, a research man who studies what makes people buy, this technique relies on the psychological principle of subliminal perception. Scientists tell us that many of the sights coming to or eyes are not consciously "seen" . We select only a few for conscious "seeing" and ignore the rest. Actually the discarded impressions are recorded in the brain though they are below the threshold of consciousness.
There's little doubt in Vicary's mind as to the subliminal ad's effectiveness. His proof can be summed up in just two words: sales increase.
In an unidentified movie house not so long ago, unknown audiences saw a curious film program. At the same time, on the same screen on which the film hero was courting the heroine a subliminal projector was flashing its invisible commercials.
"Get popcorn," ordered the commercial for a reported one three-thousandths of a second every five seconds. It announced "Coca-Cola" at the same speed and frequency to other audiences. At the end of a six weeks trial, popcorn sales had gone up 57 percent, Coke sales 18 percent.
Experimental Films. Inc, says the technique is not new. It began research on subliminal perception in 1954. Experimental Films stresses that its equipment was designed for helping problematic students and treating the mentally ill. At NYU two doctors showed twenty women the projected image of an expressionless face. They told the subjects to watch the face for some change of expression. Then they flashed the word angry on the screen at subliminal speeds. Now the women thought the face looked unpleasant. When the word happy was flashed on the screen instead, the subjects thought the woman's facial expression looked much more pleasant.
Subliminal techniques, its promoters believe, are good for more than selling popcorn. Perhaps the process can even be used to sell political candidates, by leaving a favorable impression of the candidate in the minds of the electorates subliminally.
How convincing are these invisible commercials? Skeptical psychologists answer that they aren't anywhere near as effective as the ad men would like to think they are. Nothing has been proven yet scientifically, says a prominent research man.

单选题 Subliminal perception is when one ______.
A. has an attempt to buy with a good reason
B. recalls some past events and activities
C. enjoys seeing some images in his mind
D. gets a mental picture without consciousness
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】[解析] 句意理解题。根据第一自然段所述,阈下知觉是指无意识情况下被记录在大脑中的图像。故选D。
单选题 To advertising sponsors, the true test of subliminal projection is whether it ______.
A. proves worth the money spent
B. can create a mental impression
C. helps sell more of their products
D. can arouse anger in the audience
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】[解析] 句意理解题。根据原文提出的两个词“sales increase'’。即对于广告赞助商来说,检验阈下投影是否有效的标准就是看它是不是提高了宣传商品的销售额。
单选题 Subliminal ads are invisible because they are shown very ______.
A. fast B. naturally C. often D. vaguely
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】[解析] 推断题。根据文中所述,是以三千分之一秒的速度闪过。所以观众看不到阈下知觉广告是因为它的速度过快。
单选题 Subliminal techniques have NOT been used for ______.
A. promoting sales
B. making commercials
C. curing mental illness
D. selling political candidates
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】[解析] 排除题。D项仅是对阈下知觉在实际中应用的一种推测,并非真的曾在政治选举中使用过。
单选题 Some psychologists seem to believe that subliminal projection
A. needs a cautious application
B. has no effect on sales
C. benefits the customers
D. causes a mental confusion
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】[解析] 句意理解题。根据文中最后一段内容,有对此持怀疑态度的心理学家认为阈下投影对销售额没有作用。文中并未提到有关A、C、D项中的内容。