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Boredom has, paradoxically, become quite interesting to academics lately. In early May, London’s Boring Conference celebrated seven years of delighting in dullness. At this event, people flocked to talks about weather , traffic jams and vending-machine sounds, among other sleep-inducing topics.
What, exactly, is everybody studying? One widely accepted psychological definition of boredom is“the distasteful experience of wanting, but being unable, to engage in satisfying activity.” But how can you quantify a person’s boredom level and compare it with someone else’s? In 1986,psychologists introduced the Boredom Proneness Scale,designed to measure an individual’s overall tendency to feel bored.By contrast,the Multidimensional State Boredom Scale, developed in 2008, measures a person’s feelings of boredom in a given situation.
Boredom has been linked to behavior issues including inattentive driving, mindless snacking, excessive drinking, and addictive gambling. In fact,many of us would choose pain over boredom. One team of psychologists discovered that two-thirds of men and a quarter of women would rather self-administer electric shocks than sit alone with their thoughts for 15 minutes. Researching this phenomenon, another team asked volunteers to watch boring, sad, or neutral films, during which they could self-administer electric shocks. The bored volunteers shocked themselves more and harder than the sad or neutral ones did.
But boredom isn’t all bad. By encouraging self-reflection and daydreaming, it can spur creativity. An early study gave participants abundant time to complete problem-solving and word-association exercises. Once all the obvious answers were exhausted, participants gave more and more inventive answers to combat boredom.A British study took these findings one step further, asking subjects to complete a creative challenge (coming up with a list of alternative uses for a household item). One group of subjects did a boring activity first,while the others went straight to the creative task. Those whose boredom pumps had been primed were more productive.
In our always-connected world, boredom may be a hard-to-define state, but it is a fertile one.Watch paint dry or water boil, or at least put away your smartphone for a while, and you might unlock your next big idea.
1
When are people likely to experience boredom, according to an accepted psychological definition?
A.
When they don’t have the chance to do what they want.
B.
When they don’t enjoy the materials they are studying.
C.
When they experience something unpleasant.
D.
When they engage in some routine activities.
本题答案：
A
B
C
D
参考答案：
A
系统解析：
根据题干关键词accepted psychological definition定位至第二段第二句。该句提到，一个被广泛接受的关于无聊的心理学定义是“渴望但又无法参加令人满意的活动而产生的令人不快的经历”。故答案选 A)项。其他三项均不符合心理学定义的内容，故排除。
2
What does the author say boredom can lead to?
A.
Determination.
B.
C.Mental deterioration.
C.
Concentrati
D.
Mental deterioration.
E.
B.Concentration.
F.
Harmful conduct.
本题答案：
A
B
C
D
参考答案：
D
系统解析：
题目就提问。根据题干关键词 boredom can lead to定位至第三段首句。该句提到，无聊与一些行为问题有关，包括分心驾驶、漫不经心地吃零食、过度饮酒和赌博成瘾。这 些行为都是不好的行为习惯，故答案选D)项。A)项在文中并未提及，故排除;B)项与定 位句中提到的inattentive不符，故排除;过度饮酒和赌博成瘾或许可以概括为“精神颓废”，但分心驾驶和漫不经心地吃零食不属于“精神颓废”，因此C)项不能概括文中提到的所有行为，故排除。
3
What is the finding of one team of psychologists in their experiment?
A.
Volunteers prefer watching a boring movie to sitting alone deliberating.
B.
Many volunteers choose to hurt themselves rather than endure boredom.
C.
Male volunteers are more immune to the effects of boredom than females.
D.
Many volunteers are unable to resist boredom longer than fifteen minutes.
本题答案：
A
B
C
D
参考答案：
B
系统解析：
根据题干关键词finding of one team of psychologists定位至第三段第三句。该句提到， 一个心理学家小组发现，三分之二的男性和四分之一的女性宁愿自我电击，也不愿独坐 思考15分钟。可知，“许多志愿者宁愿自我伤害也不愿忍受无聊”，故答案选 B)项。A) 项中的“watching a boring movie”是另一个研究小组的研究内容，故排除;该项研究发 现，三分之二的男性和四分之一的女性宁愿自我电击，说明，男性更易受到无聊的影响， 故排除 C)项;D)项属曲解文意，故排除。
4
Why does the author say boredom isn’t all bad?
A.
A.It stimulates memorization.
B.
C.It may promote creative thinking.
C.
B.It allows time for relaxation.
D.
D.It may facilitate independent learning.
本题答案：
A
B
C
D
参考答案：
C
系统解析：
根据题干关键词boredom isn't all bad定位至第四段首句。该句提到，但无聊并不都是坏事。通过鼓励自我反省和幻想，它可以激发创造力。故答案选 C)项。其他三项在文 中均未提及，故排除。
5
What does the author suggest one do when faced with a challenging problem?
A.
Stop idling and think big.
B.
Unlock one’s smartphone.
C.
Look around oneself for stimulation.
D.
Allow oneself some time to be bored.
本题答案：
A
B
C
D
参考答案：
D
系统解析：
根据题干关键词author suggest定位至末段。该段第二句提到，看着油漆变干或者水沸腾，或者至少把你的智能手机暂时收起来一会儿，你可能会解锁你的又一个了不起的创意。说明，当你做一些无聊的事情时，让头脑放松，可能会想出了不起的创意;那么在面对具有挑战性的问题时，也可以这么做。故答案选D;B)项与作者所提的建议相悖，故排除。
Forests in countries like Brazil and the Congo get a lot of attention from environmentalists,and it is easy to see why. South America and sub-Saharan Africa are experiencing deforestation on an enormous scale: every year almost 5 million hectares are lost. But forests are also changing in rich Western countries. They are growing larger, both in the sense that they occupy more land and that the trees in them are bigger. What is going on?
Forests are spreading in almost all Western countries,with the fastest growth in places that historically had rather few trees. In 1990 28% of Spain was forested;now the proportion is 37%. In both Greece and Italy, the growth was from 26% to 32% over the same period.Forests are gradually taking more land in America and Australia.Perhaps most astonishing is the trend in Ireland. Roughly 1% of that country was forested when it became independent in 1922. Now forests cover 11% of the land,and the government wants to push the proportion to 18% by the 2040s.
Two things are fertilising this growth. The first is the abandonment of farmland, especially in high, dry places where nothing grows terribly well. When farmers give up trying to earn a living from farming or herding,trees simply move in. The second is government policy and subsidy. Throughout history, governments have protected and promoted forests for diverse reasons,ranging from the need for wooden warships to a desire to promote suburban house-building. Nowadays forests are increasingly welcome because they suck in carbon pollution from the air. The justifications change, the desire for more trees remains constant.
The greening of the West does not delight everyone.Farmers complain that land is being taken out of use by generously subsidised tree plantations.Parts of Spain and Portugal suffer from terrible forest fires. Others simply dislike the appearance of forests planted in neat rows.They will have to get used to the trees, however. The growth of Western forests seems almost as unstoppable as deforestation elsewhere.
6
What is catching environmentalists’ attention nowadays?
A.
Rich countries are stripping poor ones of their resources.
B.
Forests are fast shrinking in many developing countries.
C.
Forests are eating away the fertile farmland worldwide.
D.
Rich countries are doing little to address deforestation.
本题答案：
A
B
C
D
参考答案：
B
系统解析：
根据题干关键词environmentalists' attention定位至文章首句。该句提到，巴西和刚果 等国的森林受到了环保主义者的广泛关注，原因很容易理解。随后进一步指出原因是 南美洲和撒哈拉以南的非洲正经历着大规模的森林砍伐。可知，“许多发展中国家的森 林面积在迅速减少”引起了环保主义者们的注意，故答案选 B)项。A)项在文中并未提 及，故排除;第三段中提到，在西方国家，由于某些地区放弃了种什么都长不好的农田， 因此才会有树木种进来。说明，并非森林侵蚀了肥沃的农田，故排除 C)项;第三段中提 到，森林面积增加的第二个因素是政府出于各种原因保护和推广森林的发展。说明，西 方富裕国家对于解决森林砍伐问题并非无作为，故排除 D)项。
7
Which countries have the fastest forest growth?
A.
Those that have newly achieved independence.
B.
Those that have the greatest demand for timber.
C.
Those that used to have the lowest forest coverage.
D.
Those that provide enormous government subsidies.
本题答案：
A
B
C
D
参考答案：
C
系统解析：
根据题干关键词fastest forest growth定位至第二段首句。该句提到，几乎所有的西方国家的森林都在扩张，在历史上树木稀少的地方增长得最快。故答案选 C)项。第二段 中提到，爱尔兰在1922年独立，并不是指 newly achieved independence，故排除 A)项; B)项在文中并未提及，故排除;第三段中提到的government policy and subsidy指的是 政府的政策和补贴促进了森林的扩张，但并未提及这个因素和森林增长快之间的关系， 故排除 D)项。
8
What has encouraged forest growth historically?
A.
The government’s advocacy.
B.
The use of wood for fuel.
C.
The favourable climate.
D.
The green movement.
本题答案：
A
B
C
D
参考答案：
A
系统解析：
根据题干关键词encouraged forest growth定位至第三段首句。该句提到，有两个因素 在促进这种增长。即放弃农田和政府的政策及补贴;第五句中还提到，纵观历史，各国 政府都出于各种原因保护和推广森林的发展。可知，“政府的倡导”促进了历史上森林 面积的增加，故答案选 A)项。其他三项在文中均未提及，故排除。
9
What accounts for our increasing desire for forests?
A.
Their unique scenic beauty.
B.
Their use as fruit plantations.
C.
Their capability of improving air quality.
D.
Their stable supply of building materials.
本题答案：
A
B
C
D
参考答案：
C
系统解析：
根据题干关键词 our increasing desire for forests定位至第三段倒数第二句。该句提 到，森林越来越受欢迎，因为它们吸收空气中的碳污染。可知，森林可以改善空气质量， 故答案选 C)项。其他三项在文中均未提及，故排除。
10
What does the author conclude about the prospects of forestation?
A.
Deserts in sub-Saharan Africa will diminish gradually.
B.
It will play a more and more important role in people’s lives.
C.
Forest destruction in the developing world will quickly slow down.
D.
Developed and developing countries are moving in opposite directions.
本题答案：
A
B
C
D
参考答案：
D
系统解析：
根据题干关键词conclude和prospects of forestation定位至文章末句。该句提到，西方 国家森林的增长似乎和其他地方的森林砍伐一样几乎势不可挡。该句呼应开头提到的 西方富裕国家森林增多，有些发展中国家森林减少。说明，作者认为“发达国家和发展 中国家正在朝相反的方向发展”，故答案选 D)项。文章首段中提到的是撒哈拉以南的 非洲地区的森林将会继续减少，而不是沙漠减少，故排除 A)项;B)项在文中并未提及，故排除;C)项与文中所表述的内容相悖，故排除。
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