Question

       Thoreau and other naturalists have praised the benefits of nature to your state of mind in their works, but there are some researches showing how nature makes you smarter. A study has found that exposure to the great outdoors improves cognitive(认知的) function. Experts have called this attention restoration therapy(注意力修复治疗).

       In the study, researchers from the University of Michigan asked a group of volunteers to complete a take designed to challenge memory and attention. The volunteers then took a walk in either a park or in downtown Ann Arbor. After the walk, volunteers returned to the lab and were retested on the task. The performance on the memory and attention task greatly improved in people following the walk in the park, but did not improve in those who walked downtown.

       Why nature makes you smarter? According to the experts, one reason has to do with how nature affects your attention. You have two types of attention. One is involuntary, where your attention is attracted by some stimuli(刺激物). And the other one is directed attention, where you control your attention. Directed attention is important for memory, resolving conflict and reducing absent mind.

       Being in nature exposes you to soothing stimuli that engages your involuntary attention. It gives your directed attention a rest and a chance to become renewed. When you are in a city, you are constantly vigilant(警觉的), your directed attention is turned on and cannot get a rest.

       Richard Luov created the term “nature deficit(缺乏) disorder disorder” to describe a condition of being so out of touch with nature that we lose humility, our spirituality, our humanity and we also are at higher risk of obesity(肥胖), depression and other disease. His first book, Last Child in the Woods, was about the negative effects of a nature deficit on children, but his new book. The Nature Principle, describes how adults are equally at risk if they seldom spend time with nature.

       If you can’t be in nature today, get a screen saver of nature. In another part of the study, people who were simply shown photos of nature did better on cognitive function than those shown urban images. But I think it will be better for you to go out and experience the real things.

61．Which of the following probably belongs to the attention restoration therapy?

       A．Doing exercise in the gym.

       B．Reading Thoreau’s works at home.

       C．Jogging around in the shopping mall.

       D．Walking or running through a local park.

62．From the second paragraph, we can learn all EXCEPT that       .

       A．the study was conducted by experts of University of Michigan

       B．the study is about people’s memory and attention

       C．the study indicates nature has a good effect on memory and attention

       D．the participants should walk in both the park and downtown

63．According to the passage, when one is considered to engage your involuntary attention?

       A．Remembering things.                                  B．Relaxing in nature.

       C．Solving problems.                                       D．Being cautious.

64．Which is the CORRECT information about Richard Luov?

       A．He found the reason for obesity.

       B．He wrote a book about children’s problems.

       C．He has published a new health book.

       D．He created a term to describe people who spend little time in nature.

65．which of the following would the author highly advise readers to do?

       A．Get a picture of nature.

       B．Avoid watching urban images.

       C．Set your screen with an image of nature as the background.

       D．Go out and spend time in nature.

Answer 1

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