15.Nothing is more tiresome than being stuck in a boring class.Every second takes ages to tick by.A recent survey of American kids revealed that 91percent experience boredom.In fact,adolescence is considered a peak period for the problem.One study showed that roughly one in three teenagers was bored at school.
Peter Stromberg,professor at the University of Tulsa says,"Our brains adapt really quickly to certain levels of stimulation(刺激).We get used to the media providing levels of highly emotional stimulation,and when we're not getting them we feel bored.As our society develops various ways of keeping us entertained,we may discover that rather than getting rid of boredom,we're multiplying it."Luckily,new research is implying a way that we can battle the trend.
Professor John D.Eastwood of the University of York developed a new theory of boredom,which links it to the brain's attention system-the part of the brain that we use to focus.Anything the attention system in your brain locks onto will be automatically sucked up into your conscious awareness-it might be a bird outside the window,the pleasant smell of lunch,or even someone sleeping in the back of the class.
The problem is that your attention system doesn't like being told what to do.It wants to focus on stuff that you find fun and interesting.For the parts of school that you enjoy,this isn't a problem.But for those classes that don't interest you,or present too much or too little challenge,the story is very different.In those situations,you're going to have to spend a lot of effort constantly redirecting your attention system to focus on things it would rather ignore.And the effort is going to wear you out.Eastwood describes it as"wanting,but being unable,to binvolved in a satisfying activity."It's like a block in the system.And it's the awareness of that block combined with a sense that the environment is to blame that leads to feelings of boredom.
When we're bored we blame the world around us,but Eastwood's theory challenges this assumption:Boredom doesn't exist out there; it exists inside your brain.What that means is-hard as it may be to hear-boring lessons aren't only the fault of your teacher or the subject,they're your fault too.
32.What's Peter Stromberg's opinion?D
A.Teenagers are victims of boredom
B.Our brains demand much stimulation
C.We've grown dependent on media for fun
D.The way we have fun makes us become bored
33.What can we learn about the attention system according to Paragraph 4?C
A.It doesn't like challenges.
B.It does what you want it to do.
C.It enjoys interesting things.
D.It can make our efforts fruitless.
34.What might the author suggest about a boring class?B
A.Focusing more attention on it.
B.Changing the way we look at it.
C.Employing various teaching methods.
D.Challenging the disturbing environment.
35.What might be the best title for the passage?A
A.Escape Your Boredom
B.Battle Your Attention
C.Fun or Boredom?
D.Who Is to Blame?
分析 大約三分之一的青少年在學校都很無聊,本文探究了無聊這一感覺產(chǎn)生的原因以及擺脫無聊的方法.
解答 32.D.理解推斷題.由第二段We get used to the media providing levels of highly emotional stimulation,and when we're not getting them we feel bored,可知我們習慣了高度情緒化的刺激的方式,而當我們得不到的時候就會覺得無聊,故選D.
33.C.細節(jié)理解題.由第四段It wants to focus on stuff that you find fun and interesting,可知注意力系統(tǒng)偏向于享受有趣的東西,故選C.
34.B.理解推斷題.由最后一段Boredom doesn't exist out there; it exists inside your brain,無聊本身并不存在,它存在于你的大腦中,可知對待無聊的課程需要你改變自己的看法,故選B.
35.A.A主旨歸納題.本文講述了無聊產(chǎn)生的原因以及拜托無聊的方法,故選A.
點評 在做閱讀理解時,考生可快速閱讀短文,通讀測試題,明確考察點,在對應(yīng)細讀,加快做題速度.有時間還可以復查校對答案.