Question

How Room Designs Affect Our Work and Feelings

Architects have long had the feeling that the places we live in can affect our thoughts, feelings and behaviors. But now scientists are giving this feeling an empirical（經(jīng)驗(yàn)的，實(shí)證的） basis. They are discovering how to design spaces that promote creativity, keep people focused and lead to relaxation.

 Researches show that aspects of the physical environment can influence creativity. In 2007, Joan Meyers-Levy at the University of Minnesota, reported that the height of a room's ceiling affects how people think. Her research indicates that higher ceilings encourage people to think more freely, which may lead them to make more abstract connections. Low ceilings, on the other hand, may inspire a more detailed outlook.

 In additions to ceiling height, the view afforded by a building may influence an occupant's ability to concentrate. Nancy Wells and her colleagues at Cornell University found in their study that kids who experienced the greatest increase in greenness as a result of a family move made the most gains on a standard test of attention.

 Using nature to improve focus of attention ought to pay off  academically, and it seems to, according to a study led by C. Kenneth Tanner, head of the School Design & Planning Laboratory at the University of Georgia. Tanner and his team found that students in classrooms with unblocked views of at least 50 feet outside the window had higher scores on tests of vocabulary, language arts and maths than did students whose classrooms primarily overlooked roads and parking lots.

 Recent study on room lighting design suggests than dim（暗淡的） light helps people to loosen up. If that is true generally, keeping the light low during dinner or at parties could increase relaxation. Researchers of Harvard Medical School also discovered that furniture with rounded edges could help visitors relax.

So far scientists have focused mainly on public buildings. "We have a very limited number of studies, so we're almost looking at the problem through a straw（吸管）," architect David Allison says. "How do you take answers to very specific questions and make broad, generalized use of them? That's what we're all struggling with."

What does Joan Meyers-Levy focus on in her research?

 A. Light.      B. Ceilings.     C. Windows.     D. Furniture.

The passage tells us that ______.

 A. the shape of furniture may affect people's feelings

 B. lower ceilings may help improve students' creativity

 C. children in a dim classroom may improve their grades

 D. students in rooms with unblocked views may feel relaxed

The underlined sentence in the last paragraph probably means that ______.

 A. the problem is not approached step by step

 B. the researches so far have faults in themselves

 C. the problem is too difficult for researchers to detect

 D. research in this area is not enough to make generalized patterns

Which of the following shows the organization of the passage?

 CP: Central Point    P: Point   SP: Sub-point（次要點(diǎn)）   C: Conclusion

Answer 1

【小題1】B

【小題2】A

【小題3】D

【小題4】C

解析:

【小題1】細(xì)節(jié)理解題。根據(jù)第二段內(nèi)容可知Joan Meyers-Levy focus on ceilings.

【小題2】細(xì)節(jié)判斷題。根據(jù)文中內(nèi)容可知B,C和D均是錯(cuò)誤的。

【小題3】句意猜測題。根據(jù)劃線句子后面的一句話可以知道該題的正確答案為:D。

【小題4】考查文章結(jié)構(gòu)。注意解題技巧。第一段為總要點(diǎn)，最后一段為結(jié)論，要點(diǎn)123共同服務(wù)于結(jié)論，重要的是要點(diǎn)二又包含了兩個(gè)次要點(diǎn)。綜上分析可知答案為:C。