A
What kinds of rooms are your favorite spots for studying? We are going to guess that they are probably not painted bright red or yellow. But maybe they should be. Imagine. You are suddenly asked to prepare for an exam. You have two rooms to choose from. One is a pale blue, and the other is a bright red. Which one do you settle into for study? Is one going to get your brain fired up for learning, or let you relax into the best state of concentration?
According to researchers at Curtin University in Australia, it might be best to camp out in the bright red room when you are looking to store information. It might sound strange, since we often think of pale rooms — soft blues or light greens — are relaxing. And they seem to be: The Curtin University study showed that pale colors made participants feel more relaxed and calm, while bright colors increased heart rate. But calming and relaxing, it turns out, may not always be the best environment for deep concentration or knowledge gaining. Reading comprehension was much better in the bright rooms than in the pale rooms. Although participants reported that they generally preferred the pale rooms to study in as an approach to relax into work, the researchers saw just the opposite — that the bright-colored rooms seemed to lead to greater concentration.
While this might seem only surprising, the findings get into a rather controversial (有争议的) area of psychological study. The Yerkes-Dodson Law says that a little bit of stress is good for achieving best performance, while too much stress negatively affects it. The higher heart rate and the reports of the bright colors creating a heavy atmosphere might just suggest that a little stress was good for the brain.
【语篇概述】本文是一篇说明文, 介绍了研究人员发现色彩艳丽的房间更能让人集中注意力, 从而提高学习成绩。
1. What is the common idea mentioned in the first paragraph?
A. Pale colors appeal to all tastes.
B. Few people like bright red or yellow.
C. Light-colored rooms make you feel nervous.
D. Bright-colored rooms are not good for studying.
【解析】选D。推理判断题。根据第一段中的“What kinds of rooms are your favorite spots for studying? We are going to guess that they are probably not painted bright red or yellow. ”可知, 你最喜欢的学习地点是什么类型的房间? 我们通常认为它们可能不是鲜红色或黄色的, 由此可知, 人们普遍认为色彩艳丽的房间不适合学习, 故D项正确。
2. What might directly affect the research results according to Para. 2?
A. How participants react to colors.
B. Participants’ preferences in colors.
C. What participants read in the rooms.
D. Time participants spent in the rooms.
【解析】选A。细节理解题。根据第二段中的“Although participants reported that they generally preferred the pale rooms to study in as an approach to relax into work, the researchers saw just the opposite — that the bright-colored rooms seemed to lead to greater concentration. ”可知, 尽管参与者表示他们通常更喜欢在浅色的房间里学习, 以此更放松地学习或工作, 但研究人员发现色彩艳丽的房间似乎能让人更集中注意力, 由此可知, 直接影响研究结果的是参与者对颜色的反应, 故A项正确。
3. What can be concluded from the study by Curtin University?
A. Higher stress leads to better performance.
B. Most people know how to make use of colors.
C. Stress is necessary when you want to concentrate.
D. Being relaxed is very important for people studying.
【解析】选C。推理判断题。根据第三段中的“The Yerkes-Dodson Law says that a little bit of stress is good for achieving best performance”可知, 多德森定律说, 一点点压力对取得好成绩是有好处的, 由此可知, 从科廷大学的研究中我们可以得出结论: 当你想集中注意力时, 压力是必要的, 故C项正确。
4. What’s the main idea of the text?
A. Findings about people’s favorite room colors.
B. Room colors can affect one’s academic performance.
C. Bright-colored rooms can create a heavy atmosphere.
D. Light-colored rooms help people feel relaxed into work.
【解析】选B。主旨大意题。通读全文可知, 本文介绍了研究人员发现色彩艳丽的房间更能让人集中注意力, 从而提高学习成绩, 也就是说房间的颜色会影响一个人的学习成绩, 故B项正确。
