Question

Last summer, two nineteenth-century cottages were rescued from remote farm fields in Montana, to be moved to an Art Deco building in San Francisco. The houses were made of wood. These cottages once housed early settlers as they worked the dry Montana soil; now they hold Twitter engineers.

   The cottages could be an example of the industry’ s odd love affair with “l(fā)ow technology,” a concept associated with the natural world, and with old-school craftsmanship (手藝) that exists long before the Internet era. Low technology is not virtual (虛擬的) —so, to take advantage of it, Internet companies have had to get creative. The rescued wood cottages, fitted by hand in the late eighteen-hundreds, are an obvious example, but Twitter’s designs lie on the extreme end. Other companies are using a broader interpretation (闡釋) of low technology that focuses on nature.

   Amazon is building three glass spheres filled with trees, so that employees can “work and socialize in a more natural, park-like setting.” At Google’s office, an entire floor is carpeted in glass. Facebook’s second Menlo Park campus will have a rooftop park with a walking trail.

   Olle Lundberg, the founder of Lundberg Design, has worked with many tech companies over the years. “We have lost the connection to the maker in our lives, and our tech engineers are the ones who feel impoverished (貧乏的) , because they’re surrounded by the digital world,” he says. “They’re looking for a way to regain their individual identity, and we’ve found that introducing real crafts is one way to do that.”

   This craft based theory is rooted in history, William Morris, the English artist and writer, turned back to pre-industrial arts in the eighteen-sixties, just after the Industrial Revolution. The Arts and Crafts movement defined itself against machines. “Without creative human occupation, people became disconnected from life,” Morris said.

   Research has shown that natural environments can restore(恢復) our mental capacities. In Japan, patients are encouraged to “forest-bathe,” taking walks through woods to lower their blood pressure.

   These health benefits apply to the workplace as well. Rachel Kaplvin, a professor of environmental psychology, has spent years researching the restorative effects of natural environment. Her research found that workers with access to nature at the office—even simple views of trees and flowers—felt their jobs were less stressful and more satisfying. If low-tech offices can potentially nourish the brains and improve the mental health of employees then, fine, bring on the cottages.

1.The writer mentions the two nineteenth-century cottages to show that ________.

A. Twitter is having a hard time

B. old cottages are in need of protection

C. early settlers once suffered from a dry climate in Montana

D. Internet companies have rediscovered the benefits of low technology

2.Low technology is regarded as something that _______.

A.is related to nature                            B. is out of date today

C. consumes too much energy               D. exists in the virtual world

3.The main idea of Paragraph 5 is that human beings ________.

A. have destroyed many pre-industrial arts

B. have a tradition of valuing arts and crafts

C. can become intelligent by learning history

D. can regain their individual identity by using machines

4.The writer’s attitude to “l(fā)ow technology” can best be described as ________.

A. positive        B. defensive               C. cautious           D. doubtful

5.What might be the best title for the passage?

A. Past Glories, Future Dreams                

B. The Virtual World, the Real Challenge

C. High-tech Companies, Low-tech Offices      

D. The More Craftsmanship, the Less Creativity

 

Answer 1

1.D

2.A

3.B

4.A

5.C

【解析】

試題分析：這篇短文講述的是關于現(xiàn)代科技公司運用“大自然對人們創(chuàng)造力產(chǎn)生作用”的理念，積極創(chuàng)設原生態(tài)的辦公環(huán)境。這里提到的低科技指的是工業(yè)化之前的建造技術，它更貼近自然。在自然的辦公環(huán)境下，職員們不會感到有壓力，對他們的健康是有好處的。

1.1】D細節(jié)理解題。作者提到兩個19世紀的村舍是為了表明什么？根據(jù)短文第二段中Low technology is not virtual (虛擬的) —so, to take advantage of it, Internet companies have had to get creative可知，低科技不是虛擬的，因此要充分的利用它，高科技公司需要有創(chuàng)造力。而短文開頭提到的兩個19世紀的小村舍就是低科技技術下的產(chǎn)物�，F(xiàn)代的高科技公司也需要用低科技的理念創(chuàng)設原生態(tài)的辦公室。故選D。

2.2】A 推理判斷題。低科技被認為是什么樣的事物？根據(jù)下文中作者給出的例子so that employees can “work and socialize in a more natural, park-like setting以及最后一段中Her research found that workers with access to nature at the office可以判斷出，低科技跟大自然有關，即在一個天然的環(huán)境下，故選A。B選項意思是低科技已經(jīng)過時了，這不符合文意，現(xiàn)在很多高科技的公司都在打造低科技的辦公室，讓職員們更接近自然；C選項的意思是低科技消耗很多能源，其實正好相反，低科技的東西都是很天然的，不需要消耗很多能源；D選項的意思說低科技是虛擬的，而短文短文中說它并不是虛擬的，故與文意不符。故選A。

3.3】B細節(jié)理解題。第五段主要是說人類怎樣？根據(jù)這一段的第一句話This craft based theory is rooted in history, William Morris, the English artist and writer, turned back to pre-industrial arts in the eighteen-sixties可知，工藝基礎理論是有其歷史根源的，英國的藝術家、作家William Morris又回到了19世紀60年代的工業(yè)化之前的藝術。由此可知選B。

4.4】A推理判斷題。作者對低科技的態(tài)度可以用哪一個詞來形容？A是積極的；B是辯護的；C是謹慎的；D是懷疑的。通過作者給出的這些例子可以看出，利用低科技建造的原生態(tài)辦公室對職員們的工作的積極性是有好處的。并且作者還引用了一項研究Research has shown that natural environments can restore(恢復) our mental capacities來說明自然環(huán)境對我們精神上的有利影響。故選A，是積極的。

5.5】C 主旨大意題。這篇短文中作者告訴我們低科技不是虛擬的，現(xiàn)代的高科技公司需要有創(chuàng)造力，所以要充分的利用以前的低科技技術，創(chuàng)設更加原生態(tài)的辦公環(huán)境。故用High-tech Companies, Low-tech Offices作為題目是最合適的。

考點：科普類短文閱讀。