A messy desk can actually lead people towards clearer thinking, say researchers from Germany．
The researchers found in a series of linked studies - using a messy desk and a messy shop front - that people actually thought more clearly when all around was chaos, as they sought to simplify the tasks at hand.
Visual and mental clutter（阻塞） forces human beings to focus and think more clearly.
Famous thinkers and writers such as Albert Einstein and Roald Dahl have been notorious（聲名狼藉的） for their untidy desks.
“Messy desks may not be as detrimental（有害的） as they appear to be, as the problem-solving approaches they seem to cause can improve work efficiency or increase employees' creativity in problem solving,” say the authors.
“Business and government managers often promote 'clean desk' policies to avoid disorganized offices and messy desks, for the purpose of boosting work efficiency and productivity,” writes lead researcher Jia Liu of the University of Groningen in a paper published in the Journal of Consumer Research.
“This practice is based on the conventional wisdom that a disorganized and messy environment can clutter one's mind and complicate one's judgments.”
“However, not all evidence supports this conventional link between a messy environment and a messy mind.”
The scientists tested people's response in various 'messy' environments - including a messy shop front, a disorganized desk, and even a work environment where a language task 'reminded' people of messiness.
The authors found in the series of six studies people tended towards simplicity in their thinking.
“They categorized （分類） products in a simpler manner, were willing to pay more for a T-shirt that shows a simple-looking picture, and sought less variety in their choices.” said the researchers.
小題1: The purpose of the first two paragraphs is to show that _____．
A．A messy desk cannot contribute to clearer thinking
B．People thought more clearly about a messy desk and a shop front
C．People will feel confused when all around are chaos
D．People manage to simplify the tasks in messy environments
小題2: Why does the author take Albert Einstein as an example?
A．to support the idea that clearer thinking comes from messy environment．
B．to tell the fact that Einstein was known for his untidy desks．
C．to stop us from learning from Albert Einstein．
D．to call on us to develop a good habit．
小題3:How do people look at messy environment according to the conventional wisdom?
A．Messy environment will create clearer thinking．
B．Messy environment will simplify one' s judgment．
C．Messy environment can promote work efficiency．
D．Messy environment can block one' s mind．
小題4: What does the last paragraph imply?
A．People believe messy environment creates clearer thinking．
B．People sought more simplicity in the choices．
C．People were not willing to choose those complicated products．
D．Not all the people accept messy environment and complicated things

小題1:B
小題2:A
小題3:D
小題4:D

試題分析：本文敘述了德國的研究人員日前表示，凌亂的辦公桌其實可以讓員工思維更清晰。視覺和心理的雜亂會迫使人們集中精力，而且更能理清思路。
小題1:段落大意題。根據(jù)The researchers found in a series of linked studies - using a messy desk and a messy shop front - that people actually thought more clearly when all around was chaos,研究人員發(fā)現(xiàn)在一系列相連的研究——使用一個凌亂的書桌和一個混亂的店面——實際上人們的思想更加清楚，故選B。
小題2:細(xì)節(jié)理解題。根據(jù)來支持他的觀點凌亂的環(huán)境而是思維更加清晰，故選A。
小題3:細(xì)節(jié)理解題。根據(jù)This practice is based on the conventional wisdom that a disorganized and messy environment can clutter one's mind and complicate one's judgments故選 D。
小題4:推理判斷題。根據(jù)并不是所有的人接受混亂的環(huán)境和變復(fù)雜的事情，故選D。
點評：文章由若干段話組成，要求給每段話歸納段落大意，意即找出該段的中心思想、主旨。本題型不是讓你寫出每段話的段落大意，這樣不好評判對錯。而是要求從選項列表中選擇。在現(xiàn)在的考試中，選項的數(shù)目往往大大多于文章中段落的數(shù)目，也就是說，有很多干擾選項。讀每段話時，要抓住該段話的主題句和核心詞匯，正確答案常常是主題句的改寫。讀每段話時，并不是該段話全要仔細(xì)閱讀。這樣，既浪費時間，也不容易抓住重點。應(yīng)該抓住該段話的主題句。
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B．How to predict earthquakes.
C．Where earthquakes often happen.
D．When a fault is formed.
小題2:That scientists study the history of large earthquakes in certain areas is to ultimately_________.
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C．forecast the possibilities of similar earthquakes
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根據(jù)短文內(nèi)容，從短文的選項中選出能填入空白處的最佳選項，選項中有兩項為多余選項。
Every boy and every girl expects their parents to give them pocket money． Why do their parents just give them a certain amount?    1  
The amount of money that parents give to their children to spend as they wish differs from family to family．   2  Some children get weekly pocket money． Others get monthly pocket money．
First of all, children are expected to make a choice between spending and saving． Then parents should make the children understand what is expected to pay for with the money． At first, some young children may spend all of the money soon after they receive it． Parents are usually advised not to offer more money until it is the right time．  3  
In order to encourage their children to do some housework, some parents give pocket money if the children help around the home． Some experts think it not wise to pay the children for doing that．   4  
Pocket money can give children a chance to experience three things they can do with the money． They can spend it by giving it to a good excuse． They can spend it by buying things they want．   5  Saving helps children understand that costly goals require sacrifice（犧牲）． Saving can also open the door to future saving and investing（投資）for children．
A．They can save it for future use．
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C．As helping at home is a normal part of family life．
D．Some children are not good at managing the pocket money．
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F．One purpose（目的）is to let kids learn how to manage their own money．
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