Question

    A new report from University of East Anglia(UEA)shows that exposure to green space reduces the risk of type II diabetes, cardiovascular disease, stress, and high blood pressure. Populations with higher levels of green space exposure are also more likely to report good overall health.

Lead author Caoimhe Twohig-Bennett, from UEA’S Norwich Medical School, said, “Spending time in nature certainly makes us feel healthier, but until now the impact on our long-term wellbeing hasn’t been fully understood. We gathered evidence from over 140 studies involving more than 290 million people to see whether nature really does provide a health boost.”

The research team studied data from 20 countries including the UK, the US, Spain, France, Germany, Australia and Japan—where “forest bathing” is already a popular practice. “Green space” was defined as open, undeveloped land with natural vegetation including urban green space, which included parks and street greenery. The team analyzed how the health of people with little access to green space compared to that of people with the highest amounts of exposure.

“We found that spending time in or living close to natural green space is associated with diverse and significant health benefits. It reduces the risk of type TT diabetes, cardiovascular disease, premature death, and preterm birth, and increases sleep duration. People living closer to nature also had reduced diastolic blood pressure, heart rate and stress. In fact, one of the really interesting things we found is that exposure to green space significantly reduces people’s levels of salivary cortisol—a physiological marker of stress. This is really important because in the UK, 11.7 million working days are lost annually due to stress, depression or anxiety.”

“Forest bathing is really popular as a therapy in Japan, with participants spending time in the forest either sitting or lying down, or just walking around. Our study shows that perhaps they have the right idea! Although we have looked at a large body of research on the relationship between green space and health, we don’t know exactly what it is that causes this relationship. People living near green space likely have more opportunities for physical activity and socializing. Meanwhile, exposure to a wide variety of bacteria present in natural areas may also have benefits for the immune system and reduce inflammation (炎症),” Twohig-Bennett stated.

Study co-author Prof Andy Jones, also from UEA, said, “We often reach for medical treatment when we’re unwell but exposure to health-promoting environments is increasingly recognized as both preventing and helping treat disease. Our study shows that the size of these benefits can be enough to have a meaningful clinical(临床的) impact.”

The research team hopes that their findings will prompt doctors and other healthcare professionals to advise patients to spend more time in green space and natural areas.

1.What do we know about exposure to green space from the first two paragraphs?

A.290 million people will see its effectiveness.

B.People have been cured of several diseases by this way.

C.People seeing less green space can’t report good health.

D.People haven’t realized its value completely.

2.From the research team’s definition of “green space”, we can infer that          .

A.green space often exists in places with small populations

B.space in the countryside is certainly green space

C.an urban green belt is a kind of green space

D.green space in the cities usually has little effects on people’s health

3.What does the author do in Paragraph 4?

A.Analyze the research process.

B.Introduce the research findings.

C.Show his concern about people’s health.

D.Explain why green space is good for patients.

4.Prof Andy Jones holds the view that            .

A.their study will improve the professionalism of doctors

B.exposure to green space can help treat disease effectively

C.one should see a doctor immediately when unwell

D.people are increasingly going to health-promoting spaces

Answer

1.D

2.C

3.B

4.B

【解析】

本文是一篇说明文。主要讲述关于多接触绿地对人们的长期健康有好处的研究。

1.细节理解题。 A选项290 million people will see its effectiveness. 2.9亿人将看到其有效性。文中的140多项研究中包含2.9亿人，并不一定都能看到它的有效性，故A选项错误；B选项People have been cured of several diseases by this way.通过这种方式治愈了人们的几种疾病。文中描述暴露在绿地的方法对人们健康有好处，并没有提到治愈疾病，故B选项错误；C选项People seeing less green space can’t report good health. 看到绿地少的人不能报告良好的健康。文中说的接触绿地越多的人可能报告整体健康良好，反之并不一定成立，所以C选项不正确；D选项People haven’t realized its value completely. 人们还没有完全意识到它的价值。同文中的“Spending time in nature certainly makes us feel healthier, but until now the impact on our long-term wellbeing hasn’t been fully understood.” 花时间在大自然中肯定会让我们感觉更健康，但迄今为止，人们还没有完全了解大自然对我们长期健康的影响。因此D选项符合文章意思，故选D。

2.推理判断题。文中第三段“Green space” was defined as open, undeveloped land with natural vegetation including urban green space, which included parks and street greenery. ” “绿地”被定义为开放的，未开发的土地与自然植被包括城市绿地，其中包括公园和街道绿化。因此可以推断城市绿化带是一种绿地，故选C。

3.细节理解题。文中第四段“We found that spending time in or living close to natural green space is associated with diverse and significant health benefits.” 我们发现，花时间在自然绿地或住在自然绿地附近，对健康有各种各样的显著益处。接下来介绍了具体的益处，因此整个第四段都在介绍研究的结果，多接触自然绿地对健康有好处。故选B。

4.细节理解题。文中倒数第二段“Study co-author Prof Andy Jones, also from UEA, said, “We often reach for medical treatment when we’re unwell but exposure to health-promoting environments is increasingly recognized as both preventing and helping treat disease. Our study shows that the size of these benefits can be enough to have a meaningful clinical(临床的) impact.” 研究报告的撰写者之一、来自UEA的Andy Jones教授说：“我们身体不舒服的时候常常去看医生，但是人们越来越认识到，促进健康的环境对预防和治疗疾病都有好处。我们的研究表明，这些好处的大小就足以产生有意义的临床影响。”因此总结得出接触绿地有助于有效治疗疾病，故选B。