During an interview for one of my books，my interviewer said something I still think about often.Annoyed by the level of distraction（干擾）in his open office，he said， "That't why I have a membership at the co-working space across the street --- so I can focus." His comment struck me as strange.After all，co-working spaces also typically use an open office layout（布局）.But I recently came across a study that shows why his method works.
The research examined various levels of noise on participants（參與者）as they completed tests of creative thinking.They were randomly divided into four groups with various levels of noise in the background，from total silence to 50 decibels（分貝），70 decibels，and 85 decibels.
The differences between most of the groups were so small that they could be ignored；however，the participants in the 70 decibels group -- where there was a level of noise similar to background chatting in a coffee shop --- performed better than the other groups.Since the effects were small，this may suggest that our creative thinking does not differ that much in response to total silence and 85 decibels of background noise.
The study also suggests that the right level of background noise --- not too loud and not total silence --- may actually improve one's creative thinking ability.The right level of background noise may interrupt our normal patterns of thinking just enough to allow our imaginations to work，without making it impossible to focus.This kind of "distracted focus" appears to be the best for working on creative tasks.
So why do so many of us hate our open offices？The problem may be that，in our offices，we can't stop ourselves from getting drawn into others' conversations while we're trying to focus.Indeed，the researchers found that face---to---face communications and conversations influence the creative process，and yet a co-working space or a coffee shop provides a certain level of noise while also providing freedom from interruptions.
（1）Why does the writer mention his interview at the start of the passage？ BB
A．To advertise for one of his new books.
B．To introduce the topic of the passage.
C．To show his confusion about the interview's actions.
D．To express the interviewer's annoyance over his open office.
（2）What does Paragraph 2 tell us about the research？ DD
A．Theory of the research.
B．Place of the research.
C．Results of the research.
D．Method of the research.
（3）Which level of background noise may promote creative thinking ability？ BB
A．85 decibels.
B．70 decibels.
C．50 decibels.
D．Total silence.
（4）What makes an open office unwelcome to many people？ AA
A．Constant interruptions.
B．Limited working space.
C．Personal privacy unprotected.
D．Inconvenience of group discussion.
【答案】B；D；B；A
【解答】
【點評】
聲明：本試題解析著作權(quán)屬菁優(yōu)網(wǎng)所有，未經(jīng)書面同意，不得復制發(fā)布。
發(fā)布：2024/5/27 14:0:0組卷：13引用：2難度：0.5
相似題
-
1．Like a tired marriage，the relationship between libraries and publishers has long been dull.E-books，however，are causing heartache.Libraries know they need digital services，but many publishers are too cautious about piracy and lost sales to co-operate.Among the big six publishers，only Random House and Harper Collins license e-books with most libraries.
Publishers are wise to be nervous.Owners of e-readers are exactly the customers they need：book-lovers with money.If these people switch to borrowing e-books instead of buying them，what then？Electronic borrowing is awfully convenient.Unlike printed books，which must be checked out and returned to a physical library miles away，book files can be downloaded at home.The files disappear from the device when they are due.
E-lending is not simple，however.There are various incompatible e-book formats，devices and licenses.Most libraries use a company called OverDrive，which secures rights from publishers and provides e-books and audio files in every format.Yet publishers and libraries are worried by OverDrive's global market dominance，as the company can control fees and conditions.Publishers were annoyed when OverDrive cooperated with Amazon，the world's biggest online bookseller，last year.Owners of Amazon's Kindle e-reader who want to borrow e-books from libraries are now redirected to Amazon's website.
According to Pew，an opinion researcher，library users are a perfect market for Amazon.Late last year Amazon introduced its Kindle Owners' Lending Library，which lets its best customers borrow free one of thousands of popular books each month.But a recent Pew survey found that more than half of Americans with library cards say they prefer to buy their e-books.It also noted that e-books actually are available at most libraries，and that popular titles often involve long waiting lists，which may inspire people to buy.
So publishers keep adjusting their lending arrangements in search of the right balance.Random House raised its licensing price earlier this year，and Harper Collins limits libraries to lending its titles 26 times.The story of the library e-book is a nail-biter.
（1）It can be inferred from Paragraph 1 that.
A．several big publishers have sold e-books to libraries
B．both libraries and publishers caution the e-book piracy
C．some publishers are hesitant to cooperate with libraries
D．libraries are eager to keep strong relationship with publishers
（2）What worries publishers about people's switch to e-books？
A．The risk of e-book piracy.
B．The possible decline of book sales.
C．No time limit for the downloaded book files.
D．The availability of the incompatible e-book formats.
（3）We can learn from Paragraph 3 and 4 that.
A．Amazon is adopting measures to win more customers
B．OverDrive distributes e-books and audio files to publishers
C．over half of Americans are borrowing e-books from libraries
D．the fees of lending e-books are under the control of publishers
（4）What is the best title for the text？
A．The Hopeful Future of Publishing Business
B．The Uncertain Economics of Lending E-books
C．The Dull Relationship between Libraries and Publishers
D．The Close Cooperation between OverDrive and Amazon發(fā)布：2025/1/1 16:0:1組卷：1引用：3難度：0.5 -
2．One day something that upset me happened，bringing（1）
（tear）to my eyes and making me angry.The incident took me out（2）balance and disturbed my inner peace.
To restore calm，I put on my outdoor equipment，picked up my skis（滑雪板）and（3）（go）to the park.I skied at（4）slow steady pace.I listened to the sound of the snow beneath my skis and the wind blowing through the bare branches of the trees.
I was honest with myself，（5）（recognize） that I was angry and could let it go.With each pass around the park，I felt my inner peace returning.I began to hear the birds singing.I noticed the wind had filled in my tracks with snow in some areas，creating a clean snowfield.I felt the（6）（strong）of my arms and legs as they worked together，aiming（7）（make） the skiing an enjoyable experience.I felt the healing power of being in nature.
I forgave（8）（I）for reacting with anger when it served no purpose.I forgave those people，（9）gave me cause to lose my temper.My heart（10）（fill） with light and love for all.發(fā)布：2025/1/1 16:0:1組卷：2引用：2難度：0.9 -
3．Is there a link between social media and depression？Do social media have a negative impact on your mental health？It's complicated.
In a recent study，the investigators compared social media use and depression between teens.（1）Specifically，for every hour per day that one teen spent on social media more than her peers，she likely had a 0.64-point higher depression score.
A different study published in 2018 identified five distinct types of social media users.The finding was that "problematic social media use" was one of the main themes for people whose mental health was affected by social media.You can have alcohol in your life without it being a problem，or your alcohol use may become problematic. （2）
There's one important thing to remember about survey research — just because two things happen together，it's not necessarily true that one causes the other.（3）For all we know，it could be that people who are already more depressed choose to spend more time on social media.
（4）If you think that we shouldn't paint social media with one broad brush，you're on the right track.On the one hand，participants often described social media as a valuable way to cope with stress.On the other hand，cyberbullying via social media was also a common experience for participants.Some also said that constantly checking their own social media profile was stressful.
It's certainly possible that experiences like cyberbullying，comparing yourself to idealized images，and constantly monitoring your profile，are bad for your mood.It's also true for many that social media offer community support and positive messages.Given the inconclusive research，it's safe to say that at least we shouldn't write off social media altogether.（5）Anyway，you cannot use it as a crutch（依靠）for coping with other stressors and mental health problems.
A.It's the same with social media.
B.Social media can be a double-edged sword.
C.People get more opinionated about the potential problems of social media.
D.They found that those who used social media more had higher depression scores.
E.They reviewed all existing research and found that there were both benefits and drawbacks.
F.The key to benefiting from social media may lie in using it in moderation and staying socially connected.
G.For example，just because higher social media use co-occurs with higher levels of depression doesn't mean social media use causes depression.發(fā)布：2025/1/1 15:0:2組卷：6引用：3難度：0.5
把好題分享給你的好友吧~~