成人本科学位英语历年真题试卷汇编7
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The city has always been an engine of intellectual life, from the 18th-century cafes of London, where citizens gathered to discuss chemistry and politics, to the Left Bank bars of modern Paris, where Picasso talked about modern art. Without the metropolis, we might not have had the great art of Shakespeare.
And yet, city life isn\’t easy. Now scientists have begun to examine how the city affects the brain, and the results are depressing. Just being in an urban environment, they have found, impairs(损害) our basic mental processes. After spending a few minutes on a crowded city street, the brain is less able to hold things in memory, and suffers from reduced self-control. While it’s long been recognized that city life is exhausting, this new research suggests that cities actually dull our thinking, sometimes dramatically so.
One of the main forces at work is a complete lack of nature, which is surprisingly beneficial for the brain. Studies have demonstrated, for instance, that hospital patients recover more quickly when they can see trees from their windows, and that women living in public housing are better able to focus when their apartments overlook a lawn. Even these glimpses of nature improve brain performance, it seems, because they provide a mental break from the urban life.
This research arrives just as humans cross an important milestone(里程碑). For the first time in history, the majority of people live in cities. Instead of inhabiting wide-open spaces, we\’ re crowded into concrete jungles, surrounded by traffic and millions of strangers. In recent years, it’s become clear that such unnatural surroundings have important implications for our mental and physical health, and can powerfully alter how we think.
This research is also leading some scientists to dabble(涉足) in urban design, as they look for ways to make the city less damaging to the brain. The good news is that even slight alterations, such as planting more trees in the inner city or creating urban parks with a greater variety of plants, can significantly reduce the negative side effects of city life. The mind needs nature, and even a little bit can be a big help.
1.Which of the following is the main idea of this passage?(B)
A. The city inspires talented people.
B. The city hurts your brain.
C. The city has many pleasures and benefits.
D. The city seriously affects the natural balance.
解析：主旨题。根据全文大意，主要讲的是城市会给人的大脑带来负面的影响，故选B。
2.The word \\(C)
A. citizen
B. nature
C. city
D. stress
解析：文章第一段的第一句“…The city has always been an…where Picasso talked about modem art.”。猜测词义题。根据第一段的第一句讲的the city的种种好处，再根据此处metropolis前面的the可知此处metropolis在前文提到过，也就是city的意思。故选C。
3.People have just come to realize that________.(D)
A. human attention is a scarce resource
B. city life can make people very tired
C. the city is an engine of intellectual life
D. an urban environment is damaging to the brain
解析：文章第二段的第二句“Now scientists have begun to examine how the city affects the brain, and the results are depressing.”。根据文章第二段可知，人们已经开始认识到城市的环境对人类大脑的损害，故选D。
4.What is the factor mentioned in the third paragraph that helps the hospital patients recover more quickly?(A)
A. Nature.
B. Better treatment.
C. Experience
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