Question

Brrriiinnng. The alarm clock announces the start of another busy weekday in the morning. You jump out of bed, rush into the shower, into your clothes and out the door with hardly a moment to think. A stressful journey to work gets your blood pressure climbing. Once at the office, you glance through the newspaper with depressing stories or reports of disasters. In that sort of mood, who can get down to work, particularly some creative, original problem-solving work?

The way most of us spend our mornings is exactly opposite to the conditions that promote flexible, open-minded thinking. Imaginative ideas are most likely to come to us when we’re unfocused. If you are one of those energetic morning people, your most inventive time comes in the early evening when you are relaxed. Sleepy people’s lack of focus leads to an increase in creative problem solving. By not giving yourself time to tune into your wandering mind, you’re missing out on the surprising solutions it may offer.

The trip you take to work doesn’t help, either. The stress slows down the speed with which signals travel between neurons (神经细胞), making inspirations less likely to occur. And while we all should read a lot about what’s going on in the world, it would not make you feel good for sure, so put that news website or newspaper aside until after the day’s work is done.

So what would our mornings look like if we wanted to start them with a full capacity for creative problem solving? We’d set the alarm a few minutes early and lie awake in bed, following our thoughts where they lead. We’d stand a little longer under the warm water of the shower, stopping thinking about tasks in favor of a few more minutes of relaxation. We’d take some deep breaths on our way to work, instead of complaining about heavy traffic. And once in the office—after we get a cup of coffee—we’d click on links not to the news of the day but to the funniest videos the web has to offer. 

1.According to the author, we are more creative when we are _______.

A. focused

B. relaxed

C. awake

D. busy

2.What does the author imply about newspapers?

A. They are solution providers.

B. They are a source of inspiration.

C. They are normally full of bad news.

D. They are more educational than websites.

3.By “tune into your wandering mind” (in Para. 2), the author means “_______”.

A. wander into the wild

B. listen to a beautiful tune

C. switch to the traffic channel

D. stop concentrating on anything

4.The author writes the last paragraph in order to _______.

A. offer practical suggestions

B. summarize past experiences

C. advocate diverse ways of life

D. establish a routine for the future

 

Answer 1

【答案】

 

1.B

2.C

3.A

4.D

【解析】

试题分析：本文主要讲述的是如何让自己的注意力保持集中在自己所做的事情，以提高自己的创造性。

1.B 推理题。根据文章第2段If you are one of those energetic morning people, your most inventive time comes in the early evening when you are relaxed.可知当你放松的时候，你是最有创造性的。故B正确。

2.C 细节题。根据文章第一段4,5行Once at the office, you glance through the newspaper with depressing stories or reports of disasters.可知报纸上很多都是不好的让人压抑的消息。故C正确。

3.A 推理题。根据本句By not giving yourself time to tune into your wandering mind, you’re missing out on the surprising solutions it may offer.可知如果你不把时间用在胡思乱想，也就是你的思想不集中的时候，你就会错过很多解决问题的方法。故划线部分是指思维不集中。也就是A项。

4.D 推理题。根据文章最后一段We’d set the alarm a few minutes early and lie awake in bed, following our thoughts where they lead. We’d stand a little longer under the warm water of the shower, stopping thinking about tasks in favor of a few more minutes of relaxation.可知在本段里注意讲述的是以后我们应该怎么做让自己集中注意力于需要做的事情上来。故D正确、

考点：考察教育类短文阅读