問題 3 以下の英文を読んで、次の問いに答えなさい。 (*のついた語には語注が
ある。)
If you are able to step outside and hear many types of birds, you might also
have a greater feeling of well-being. Two studies show that hearing diverse
birdsongs may help increase our happiness.
(A)
One study was done by researchers at California Polytechnic State
University. A research team studied the effects of birdsong ( 1
) people
walking through a park in the U.S. state of Colorado. A biology graduate
student, Danielle Ferraro, led the study.
"There could be an evolutionary reason why we like birdsong so much. And
the idea is that when we hear birdsong it could signal safety to us," Ferraro says.
There could be many other reasons, too. Ferraro states that in some areas
around the world birdsong can also signal the arrival of spring and nice weather.
Bird diversity, she adds, can also mean a healthy environment.
She explained her study to Voice of America (VOA). Ferraro and her team
played recorded songs from a diverse group of birds native to the area. They did
this on hiking trails in a park in Boulder, Colorado. (2) several weeks, the
researchers played recorded birdsong at certain times of the day and other times
they did not. Then they talked with hikers after they ( 3 ). Hikers who
heard the recorded diverse birdsongs reported a greater sense of well-being than
the people who heard simply the natural birds. The researchers suggest that
both the bird sounds and biodiversity* can increase feelings of well-being.
Ferraro explained that she used native birdsong for the study. This way it
would sound as natural as possible. They also did the study during the summer.
She explains why this is important. "So the study ( 4 ) in the summer and
that's kind of important because the spring is most birds' breeding* season. And
if we play the birdsong during breeding season, that might have disturbed them.
(B)
We didn't want to disturb the birds too much." The study was published in an
academic journal called the Royal Society B in December 2020.
- 10-
◇M2 (310-15)
