A
Taking a shower is relaxing. You can hum a song, daydream or think about nothing, leaving the real world behind you. But did you know that showering can also benefit your mind?
A research by Scott Barry Kaufman, a psychologist from Yale University in the U．S. interviewed over 3,000 people around the world. It turned out that nearly twothirds of the interviewees said they had experienced new ideas in the shower and were more likely to have them in the shower than at work.
So why does a simple shower have such magic power? Science can explain it.
Showering can help to raise our level of dopamine, a hormone (荷尔蒙) closely related to our creativity. “People vary in terms of their level of creativity according to the activity of dopamine，” explained Alice Flaherty, a famous American neuroscientist. “Taking a warm shower can make us feel relaxed and therefore make the dopamine level rise and bring ‘Aha！’ moment to us.”
Besides the chemical changes, showering may give you a break from what you feel you have been stuck with. Especially when you have thought hard all day about a problem, jumping into the shower can keep you from the outside world so that you can focus on your inner feelings and memories. In this way, according to American psychologist Shelley H. Carson, author of Your Creative Brain, “A showering hour may turn into an ‘incubation (孵化) period’ for your ideas.”
Compared with sitting in front of a computer, taking a shower is something we do less frequently in our daily life. When showering, we get a fresh experience with the change of location, temperature and humidity. “New and unexpected experiences can lead to positive changes in thinking，” explained Kaufman. “Getting off the couch and jumping in the shower may create a distance and force you to think from a new point of view.”
Showering allows us to enjoy the creative juices of our minds, but it needn't just be the bathroom where you get your inspiration. For instance, Gertrude Stein, a female American writer and poet, got new ideas by driving around a farm and stopping at different cows until she found the one that most inspired her. So try to create your own way to free your mind.
1．According to the article, what changes can showering cause?
A．Bringing the terrible moment to us.
B．Setting the creative part of the brain free.
C．Leading to boredom or tiredness.
D．Increasing the level of dopamine.
解析：选D 细节理解题。根据第四段第一句“Showering can help to raise our level of dopamine ...”可知，淋浴能够使多巴胺的数值升高。故选D项。
2．If one has focused on something all day, showering can help ________.
A．turn one's attention inward
B．draw one's attention to the outside world
C．make an important breakthrough
D．many chemical changes to take place
解析：选A 细节理解题。根据第五段第二句“Especially when you have thought hard ... your inner feelings and memories.”可知，淋浴可以使人将注意力转向内心。故选A项。
3．According to Kaufman, why can taking showers make us creative?
A．Because taking showers happens more often.
B．Because taking showers can make us acquire a fresh experience, inspiring us.
C．Because nothing but taking showers can get our inspiration.
D．Because taking showers can help us try something unexpected.
解析：选B 细节理解题。根据第六段中的“When showering, we get a fresh experience”及“lead to positive changes in thinking”，再结合最后一段的描述可知，淋浴可以帮助我们获得新的体验、赋予我们灵感，故选B项。
4．The example of Gertrude Stein in the last paragraph is used to ________.
A．encourage readers to find their own ways of getting inspiration
B．point out to readers that it's hard to get inspiration
C．explain how to link inspiration with readers' daily lives
D．show that creativity often comes from strange places
解析：选A 推理判断题。根据最后一段中的“but it needn't just be the bathroom where you get your inspiration”及最后一句“So try to create your own way to free your mind.”可以判断，举该例是为了鼓励读者寻找适合自己的获得灵感的方式。故选A项。
