选择知识点

    During an interview for one of my books, my interviewer said something I still think about often. Annoyed by the level of distraction(干扰)in his open office, he said, "Thatˈs why I have a membership at the coworking space across the street —so I can focus." His comment struck me as strange. After all, coworking spaces also typically use an open office layout (布局). But I recently came across a study that shows why his approach works.

    The researchers examined various levels of noise on participants as they completed tests of creative thinking. They were randomly divided into four groups and exposed to various noise levels in the background, from total silence to 50 decibels(分贝), 70 decibels, and 85 decibels. The differences between most of the groups were statistically insignificant; however,the participants in the 70 decibels group—those exposed to a level of noise similar to background chatter in a coffee shop-significantly outperformed 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.

    But since the results at 70 decibels were significant, the study also suggests that the right level of background noise—not too loud and not total silence—may actually improve oneˈs creative thinking ability. The right level of background noise may interrupt our normal patterns of thinking just enough to allow our imaginations to wander, without making it impossible to focus. This kind of "distracted focus" appears to be the best state 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 canˈt stop ourselves from getting drawn into othersˈ conversations while weˈre trying to focus. Indeed, the researchers found that face-to-face interactions and conversations affect the creative process, and yet a coworking space or a coffee shop provides a certain level of noise while also providing freedom from interruptions.

Why does the interviewer prefer a coworking space?
A. It helps him concentrate. B. It blocks out background noise. C. It has a pleasant atmosphere. D. It encourages face-to-face interactions.
Which level of background noise may promote creative thinking ability?
A. Total silence. B. 50 decibels. C. 70 decibels. D. 85 decibels.
What makes an open office unwelcome to many people?
A. Personal privacy unprotected. B. Limited working space. C. Restrictions on group discussion. D. Constant interruptions.
What can we infer about the author from the text?
A. Heˈs a news reporter. B. Heˈs on office manager. C. Heˈs a professional designer. D. Heˈs a published writer.

83-year-old Antonio Vicente has spent the last four decades of his life fighting against the trend.
As Brazilian landowners cut down rain forests to make room for profitable plantations （种植园） and cattle grounds, he struggled to bring the jungles of his childhood back to life.
"When I was a child, the peasants cut down the trees to make grasslands and charcoal, and the water dried up and did not come back," he told the reporters. "I thought： Water is valuable, no one makes water and the population will not stop growing. What is going to happen？ We are going to run out of water."
With only some donkeys and a small team of hired workers, Antonio Vicente set about bringing back the forest to his land. What started out as a weekend hobby soon became a permanent way of life, and Antonio recalls often spending whole days and nights in his young jungle, surrounded by rats and foxes, and eating banana sandwiches for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Over the last 40 years, he has planted an estimated 50，000 trees on his 31-hectare land, which now make up a small but unique area of rain forest, and a havenfor wildlife.
As the forest grew, the water returned, and Antonio says that there are now over 20 water sources on his land that were no longer there when he bought it. Then the animals started making a home there.
Today, the forest is alive with the sounds of birds and insects living there, and more species are settling in every year.
"There are toucans（巨嘴鸟），various birds,squirrels,lizards,and even the boars are returning," 83-year-old Vicente says. "If you ask me who my family are, I would say all this right here, each one of these that I planted from a seed. "



What do we know about Antonio Vicente？ ______

A. He is a Brazilian landowner.
B. He worked on his land alone.
C. He brought some jungles back to life.
D. He had no family except some animals.

What do we learn about the Brazilian peasants？ ______

A. They wasted much water on farming.
B. They focused on short-term profits.
C. They cared much about the environment.
D. They relied heavily on rain forests for a living.

What does the underlined word "haven" in Paragraph 3 probably mean？ ______

A. Trap.
B. Disaster.
C. Shelter.
D. Balance.

In the last paragraph, Antonio mainly expresses his ______ .

A. thanks for his family
B. affection for his forest
C. deep love for rare birds
D. pride as a successful farmer4

Are we just thinking with our heads？ No. The human brain is just like a telephone switchboard （总机），but not a whole system. Its function is to receive incoming signals, establish appropriate connections, and send the information to its destination. In order to provide efficient service, the body must function as a whole.
But where is the mind？ Is it in the brain？ Or the nervous system？ Can we say that the mind is in a particular place？ In fact, the mind is not a thing, not a leg, and not even a brain. Thinking is both a function and an activity. Aristotle, 2300 years ago, noted that the mind is to the body what the tool is to the worker. When the tool is not in use, there is no work. Charles Woolbert said that consciousness is what the body does.
If this activity is necessary for thought,it is also necessary for the transmission of thought from one person to another. Observe how people conduct their daily conversations. If you've never taken the trouble to do this,you'll have a surprise waiting for you,because good conversationalists are almost always in motion. Their heads nodded and nodded,sometimes so violently that you wondered how their necks could withstand the strain. Even the legs and feet are active. As for hands and arms,they rarely stay still for more than a few seconds at a time.
Remember, these people are not giving speeches. They're just people, trying to get their points of view across. They have no sense of movement. Their language has not been studied. They're just human beings in a human environment, trying to adapt to the social environment. However, their conversation is not only verbal, but also visual, involving almost every muscle in the body. Briefly, because people are really thinking, the speaker must be everywhere if he is to succeed in getting people to think.



Which of the following is the author's opinion？ ______

A. Thinking is a social phenomenon.
B. Thinking is just a brain function.
C. Thinking is the sum total of bodily activity.
D. Thinking is a function of the nervoussystem.

Tn communication, it is necessary not only to use speech, but also ______ .

A. to use various bodily movements
B. to speak directly to the other person
C. to make the other person listen
D. to observe the other person's behavior

It can be inferred from the passage that the basic function of bodily activity in speech is to ______ .

A. make the listeners deeply moved
B. appeal to the sympathy of the audience
C. make the speaker understood
D. convey the speaker's implied meaning to the listeners

The best title for the passage would be ______ .

A. Spoken Language
B. Bodily Communication
C. Spiritual Activity
D. Proper Conversation

___________around the lab, the visitors were taken to the playground.（　　）

The UK government has promised to cut the country's greenhouse gas emissions（排放）by at least 68% by 2030 compared with 1990 levels, marking a significant increase from its current goal.
The new goal comes nine days ahead of the UK hosting a "climate action summit（峰会）" to encourage other countries to declare tougher climate plans, known as Nationally Determined Contributions （NDCs），under the Paris Agreement. Current NDCs will raise temperatures by 30℃. And stronger plans are needed to meet the Paris deal's goal of limiting global warming to 1.50℃.
"This is the most significant NDCs announcement so far from any major economy," said Richard Black at the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit, a UK-based think tank, in a statement.
The new goal is exactly in line with what the government's official climate adviser,the Climate Change Committee, called for in a letter published earlier today. The group said 68% would be "world-leading" compared with existing plans of governments.
The UK had previously promised a 53% cut in emissions as part of a joint（共同的）effort with the rest of the European Union, but the UK is determined to produce a new NDCs. Separately, the UK had also promised a 57% cut by 2032 domestically.
It is clear that far more action will he needed if the UK is to meet the new goal. The government's own analysis last week showed that recent major methods, such as banning new oil-fueled car sales by 2030， had failed to do enough to put the UK on track even for the old goal of 57% by 2032. The new goal obviously widens that gap further.



Why did the UK declare its new goal before "climate action summit"？ ______

A. To show its former plans are based on facts.
B. To blame other countries for their low goals.
C. To call on other countries to take bigger steps.
D. To take the lead in controlling greenhouse gas emissions.

What is the UK's new goal for reducing emissions？ ______

A. 15%.
B. 53%.
C. 57%.
D. 68%.

What's the author's attitude to the UK's new goal？ ______

A. Opposed.
B. Doubtful.
C. Indifferent.
D. Subjective.

What can be the best title for the text？ ______

A. A new goal will be put forward on "climate action summit"
B. UK came up with a common goal under the Paris Agreement
C. UK's recent major policies are far from its pre-determined goal
D. UK sets ambitious climate goal of 68% emissions cut by 2030

The proposal Father made this morning did sound feasible ______________ every member of the family ______________ one-third of his or her income in case of emergency.（　　）

Kathy told me that all the doors and windows _______ when she arrived this morning.（　　）

The story ________ in New York on a cold night was written by O． Henry, a world-famous American writer.（　　）

By the time tomorrow, you __________your homework.（　　）

The Inuit people wear clothes and shoes ______ from furs and skins of seals.