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Blinking is something we do [automatic / automatically] , without thinking. We blink 15–20 times a minute. There are several [reason / reasons] why we blink. [One / Once] is to stop our eyes from [becoming / become] dry. This helps our vision. [Another / Other] reason is to protect our eyes from dust or sudden insect attacks. Scientists in Canada think they have found another function [of / to] blinking. The researchers are from Concordia University in Montreal. They found that we blink [few / less] when we are listening [to / for] someone speak. This happens more when there is background [noisy / noise] . Lead researcher Penelope Coupal said blinking less means our brain has a little more energy. This allows us to focus [in / on] what another person is saying.

The research team conducted two experiments [on / in] 49 participants. All of the test participants listened to sentences being read [loud / aloud] . In one experiment, there was no background noise. In the [another / other] test, there was background noise, which [made / make] it harder for the people to hear the sentences. The scientists said that people in [the / a] test with background noise blinked a [lot / loads] less. When the background noise increased, blink [rates / rate] dropped even further. Study co-author Dr Mickael Deroche said we automatically blink less "when important information [are / is] coming". Ms Coupal agreed. She said: "We don't just blink [random / randomly] . In fact, we blink systematically less when important information is [presented / presentation] ."