雅思阅读真题（Part 2）
嗅觉的力量：人类鼻子被低估了
本篇也叫：嗅觉的力量、嗅觉、气味的力量、鼻子嗅觉、嗅觉感官、人类嗅觉
Part 2 · 最近考试：2026.9.4长沙职业保险学院
本篇为雅思阅读真题（Part 2）《The power of smell》，共 13 题，2026.9.4长沙职业保险学院雅思考试真题回忆，页面提供完整原文、题目、答案与解析，并支持在线机考模式免费练习。本页同时提供 Markdown 版本 供 AI 助手与搜索引擎直接读取。
文章探讨人类嗅觉被低估的现象，指出鼻子其实能敏锐感知气味并影响情绪、行为和选择。通过布罗卡、格雷尔等研究，对比狗等哺乳动物，说明人类嗅觉器官虽小但大脑连接独特，纠正了人类嗅觉差的误解。
Research shows that our olfactory sense is more influential than we realise
A
Dogs’ noses are renowned for their sensitivity to smells, while human noses are thought to be poor by comparison — yet that might be a misconception. According to recent studies, our noses are in fact acutely sensitive instruments that guide our everyday life to a surprising extent. Subtle smells can change your mood, behaviour and the choices you make, often without you realising it. Our own odours, meanwhile, indicate emotional states such as fear or sadness to those around us. The big mystery is why we aren't more aware of our nasal activity. Noses have certainly never been at the forefront of sensory research, and were pushed aside until recently in favour of the seemingly more vital senses of vision and hearing. “There has been a lot of prejudice that people are not that influenced by olfactory stimuli, especially compared to other mammals,” says Lilianne Mujica-Parodi, who studies the neurobiology of human stress at Stony Brook University in New York, in the United States.
B
One of the first people to assert the relative unimportance of human smelling was Pierre Paul Broca, an influential 19th-century anatomist. After comparing the proportion of the brain devoted to smell in different animals, he suggested that mammals can be classed into two broad groups: macrosmatic mammals, such as dogs, have a finely tuned sense of smell which they rely on to perceive the world, while we, along with other primates and the marine mammals, are microsmatic – we have small olfactory organs that we only rely on to a small extent. That idea seemed to fit with more recent studies which found that the majority of mammals have genes coding for about 1,000 different types of smell receptor. Most of these genes aren't expressed in humans, giving our noses just 400 different types of receptor.
C
Yet these findings may have been misleading. Brain scans now show that more of the brain is devoted to smell processing than Broca's anatomical studies suggested. And although we may have fewer types of receptor than other mammals, Charles Greer at Yale University in the United States has shown that the human nose and brain are unusually well connected, with each group of receptors linking to many more neural regions than is the case in other animals. That should give us a good ability to process incoming scents. Once researchers began looking, they found the nose to be far more sensitive than its reputation suggested. One study, for example, found that we can detect certain chemicals diluted in water to less than one part per billion. That means that a person can detect just a few drops of a strong smell like ethyl mercaptan in an Olympic-sized pool.
D
“We are also exceptionally gifted at telling smells apart, even in the case of two molecules whose only difference is that their structures are mirror images of one another. That is fantastic sensitivity,” says George Dodd, a perfumer and researcher at the olfaction group of the University of Warwick, in the United Kingdom. What's more, it's becoming clear that the brain’s olfactory centres are intimately linked to its limbic system, which is involved in emotion, fear and memory. That suggests a link between smell and the way we think.
E
The power of smell will be no news to estate agents, who often advocate the smell of baking bread or brewing coffee to promote the sale of a house. But there are more subtle and surprising effects too. When Hendrick Schifferstein and colleagues from Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands pumped the smell of orange, seawater or peppermint into a nightclub, the revellers danced more, rated their night as more enjoyable, and even thought the music was better than when there was no added scent. Meanwhile, Rob Holland of the University of Utrecht in the Netherlands found that the hint of aroma wafting out of a hidden bucket of citrus-scented cleaner was enough to persuade students in a hostel to clean up after themselves.
F
Other work has found that scent can influence our cognitive skills. A study by William Overman and colleagues at the University of North Carolina in the United States found that when men were subjected to a novel smell – either good or bad – during a task used to test decision-making skills, they performed significantly worse than normal. The researchers concluded that the scent stimulated brain areas connected with emotion, making their decisions emotional rather than rational.
G
Smells are especially good memory evokers, but it is actually a myth that odours trigger more detailed memories than other stimuli. “The memory is not more accurate and you don't remember more details,” says Yaara Yeshurun at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Israel, “but it is unique in that it is more emotional.” This isn't surprising when you consider that there are certain brain areas dedicated to both emotion and olfaction, such as the amygdala, and there is a strong link between emotion and memory. In 2009, Yeshurun found that the link between a memory and a smell is stronger if the smell is unpleasant rather than pleasant. She also discovered that the very first time we attach a smell to an object, it evokes a much greater response in our brains than for any subsequent encounter with the smell or object, laying down stronger foundations for the memory. That doesn't happen with any other sense. Since those first encounters with a smell would have happened at a young age, this explains why smells often transport us back to our childhood.
想在线练习这套卷子？进入机考练习
答案：D
原文定位：We are also exceptionally gifted at telling smells apart, even in the case of two molecules whose only difference is that their structures are mirror images of one another. That is fantastic sensitivity,” says George Dodd, a perfumer and researcher at the olfaction group of the University of Warwick, in the United Kingdom
同义替换：「humans can distinguish between」↔「We are also exceptionally gifted at telling smells apart」，「two extremely similar substances」↔「two molecules whose only difference is that their structures are mirror images of one another」
答案：B
原文定位：After comparing the proportion of the brain devoted to smell in different animals, he suggested that mammals can be classed into two broad groups: macrosmatic mammals, such as dogs, have a finely tuned sense of smell which they rely on to perceive the world, while we, along with other primates and the marine mammals, are microsmatic – we have small olfactory organs that we only rely on to a small extent
同义替换：「categorisation」↔「be classed into two broad groups」
答案：F
原文定位：A study by William Overman and colleagues at the University of North Carolina in the United States found that when men were subjected to a novel smell – either good or bad – during a task used to test decision-making skills, they performed significantly worse than normal. The researchers concluded that the scent stimulated brain areas connected with emotion, making their decisions emotional rather than rational
同义替换：「smell negatively affected」↔「performed significantly worse than normal」，「ability to make choices」↔「decision‑making skills」
答案：C
原文定位：One study, for example, found that we can detect certain chemicals diluted in water to less than one part per billion. That means that a person can detect just a few drops of a strong smell like ethyl mercaptan in an Olympic-sized pool
同义替换：「proved humans could perceive」↔「found that we can detect」
答案：A
原文定位：Noses have certainly never been at the forefront of sensory research, and were pushed aside until recently in favour of the seemingly more vital senses of vision and hearing
同义替换：「studies」↔「research」，「have been undervalued」↔「never been at the forefront」
答案：E
原文定位：The power of smell will be no news to estate agents, who often advocate the smell of baking bread or brewing coffee to promote the sale of a house
同义替换：「using smell」↔「the smell of baking bread or brewing coffee」，「prompt people to buy something」↔「promote the sale of a house」
答案：Rob Holland
原文定位：Meanwhile, Rob Holland of the University of Utrecht in the Netherlands found that the hint of aroma wafting out of a hidden bucket of citrus-scented cleaner was enough to persuade students in a hostel to clean up after themselves
同义替换：「A faint smell」↔「the hint of aroma」，「could motivate」↔「was enough to persuade」，「people to do household chores」↔「clean up after themselves」
答案：Charles Greer
原文定位：And although we may have fewer types of receptor than other mammals, Charles Greer at Yale University in the United States has shown that the human nose and brain are unusually well connected, with each group of receptors linking to many more neural regions than is the case in other animals. That should give us a good ability to process incoming scents
同义替换：「species」↔「animals」
答案：William Overman and colleagues
原文定位：The researchers concluded that the scent stimulated brain areas connected with emotion, making their decisions emotional rather than rational
同义替换：「Smell is associated with feelings」↔「the scent stimulated brain areas connected with emotion」，「rather than the logical part of the brain」↔「emotional rather than rational」
答案：Pierre Paul Broca
原文定位：After comparing the proportion of the brain devoted to smell in different animals, he suggested that mammals can be classed into two broad groups: macrosmatic mammals, such as dogs, have a finely tuned sense of smell which they rely on to perceive the world, while we, along with other primates and the marine mammals, are microsmatic – we have small olfactory organs that we only rely on to a small extent
同义替换：「do not require a sophisticated ability to smell」↔「small olfactory organs that we only rely on to a small extent」
答案：amygdala
原文定位：This isn't surprising when you consider that there are certain brain areas dedicated to both emotion and olfaction, such as the amygdala, and there is a strong link between emotion and memory
同义替换：「a part of」↔「areas」，「feeling」↔「emotion」，「smell」↔「olfaction」
答案：Unpleasant
原文定位：In 2009, Yeshurun found that the link between a memory and a smell is stronger if the smell is unpleasant rather than pleasant
同义替换：「create especially powerful associations with memories」↔「the link between a memory and a smell is stronger」
答案：childhood
原文定位：Since those first encounters with a smell would have happened at a young age, this explains why smells often transport us back to our childhood
同义替换：「Of all the senses」↔「this doesn't happen with any other sense」，「smell has the capacity to prompt memories of」↔「smells often transport us back to」