Question

【題目】 When taking an elevator, do you often push the “close” button? You hope by pushing it, the elevator door will close faster. But what if the button is actually fake（假的）?

Karen Penafiel is the executive director（執(zhí)行董事）of the US National Elevator Industry. She said that elevators’ “close” buttons are a complete trick, at least in the US, and that doors will not close any faster no matter how hard you push.

In the 1990s the Americans with Disabilities Act（《美國(guó)殘疾人法案》）was passed in the US. It means all elevators have to stay open long enough to allow disabled（殘疾的）people to enter. Only US firefighters and elevator workers can really use the buttons with special keys.

But the buttons aren’t completely useless. According to psychologists（心理學(xué)家）, fake buttons can make you feel better. They give you a sense of control that can help reduce stress. That’s why some other buttons in our lives are fake, too.

For example, many offices in the US have fake thermostats（溫控器）. People may feel better when they think they can control the temperature in their workspace.

You were told that traffic light buttons could help make the traffic signals change faster. But they may not really work either.

However, even when people know these little “white lies”, they still push fake buttons. As long as the doors finally close, it seems worthy.

John Kounios is a psychology professor at Drexel University in the US. He told The New YorkTimes that he always pushes the traffic light buttons. “After all, I’ve got nothing else to do while waiting. So why not push the button on the off chance that this one will work?”

【1】You push the “close” button in the US, the elevator door will ________.

A.close immediatelyB.not be completely open

C.play a trick on youD.not close as fast as you wish

【2】The US, in order for disabled people to go in safely, ________.

A.elevator workers will press the “open” button for them

B.they will be given a special key to use in the elevators

C.all elevators are designed to open long enough

D.no “close” button is fixed on the elevators

【3】Which of the following is NOT mentioned as fake?

A.Thermostat buttons.B.Elevator buttons.

C.Traffic light buttons.D.Power buttons.

【4】There are quite a few fake buttons in our lives because they can ________.

A.control people’s sensesB.help people feel better

C.control the temperatureD.tell “white lies”

【5】The underlined words “on the off chance” in the last paragraph most probably mean “______”.

A.with the little hopeB.without any plan

C.with a great opportunityD.without any possibility

【6】The best title for the passage is ________.

A.Button pushing societyB.Useless buttons

C.Buttons for disabled peopleD.Fake elevator buttons

Answer 1

【答案】

【1】D

【2】C

【3】D

【4】B

【5】A

【6】A

【解析】

當(dāng)坐電梯的時(shí)候，你是不是經(jīng)常按“關(guān)門”按鈕？你希望通過按它，電梯門關(guān)的快一點(diǎn)。但是如果這個(gè)按鈕實(shí)際上是假的怎么辦？本文介紹了我們生活中的一些假的按鈕。

【1】細(xì)節(jié)理解題。根據(jù)that doors will not close any faster no matter how hard you push.可知你用力按按鈕門并不會(huì)快點(diǎn)關(guān)。故選D。

【2】細(xì)節(jié)理解題。根據(jù)It means all elevators have to stay open long enough to allow disabled（殘疾的）people to enter. 為了讓殘疾人有足夠的時(shí)間進(jìn)電梯，所有的電梯都必須開很長(zhǎng)時(shí)間。故選C。

【3】細(xì)節(jié)理解題。文中第三段介紹假的電梯按鈕；第四段介紹假的溫控器按鈕；第六段介紹交通燈按鈕是假的。只有D選項(xiàng)文中并未提及。故選D。

【4】細(xì)節(jié)理解題。根據(jù)According to psychologists（心理學(xué)家）, fake buttons can make you feel better. 可知從心理學(xué)角度講，假的按鈕會(huì)讓你感覺更好。故選B。

【5】詞義猜測(cè)題。So為連詞，表示“因此”。根據(jù)上句After all, I’ve got nothing else to do while waiting. 畢竟等待的時(shí)間也沒有事做，因此……。Why not表示“為什么不……”；this one will work可推測(cè)此句意為“因此為什么不按有一點(diǎn)希望的按鈕，萬(wàn)一這個(gè)好使呢？”故選A。

【6】主旨大意題。本文通過對(duì)電梯假的按鈕，介紹了我們生活中有很多假的按鈕，通過按鈕也反映了一些社會(huì)問題。D和C選項(xiàng)只是說了電梯按鍵，片面；B選項(xiàng)中這些按鈕并不是沒用的。因此Button pushing society符合文章意思。故選A。