Question

What a Messy Desk Says About You

For some time, psychologists have been studying how personality traits affect health and health-related choices. Not surprisingly, they have found that people blessed with innate conscientiousness, meaning that they are organized and predictable, typically eat better and live longer than people who are disorderly. They also tend to have immaculate offices.

What has been less clear is whether neat environments can produce good habits even in those who aren’t necessarily innately conscientious. To find out, researchers at the University of Minnesota conducted a series of experiments. In the first experiment, they randomly assigned a group of college-age students to spend time in two office spaces, one of which was very neat, the other wildly cluttered (乱堆) with papers and other work-related stuff. The students spent their time filling out questionnaires unrelated to the study. After 10 minutes, they were told they could leave with an apple or a chocolate bar. Those students who sat in the orderly office were twice as likely to choose the apple as those who sat among the mess.

A second experiment, however, found that working in chaos has its advantages, too. In this one, college students were placed in a messy or a neat office and asked to dream up new uses for Ping-Pong balls. Those in messy spaces generated ideas that were significantly more creative, according to two independent judges, than those in offices where stacks of papers and other objects were neatly arranged.

The results were something of a surprise, says Dr. Vohs, the leader of the study. Few previous studies found much virtue in disorder. The broken window theory, proposed decades ago, holds that even slight disorder and neglect can encourage indifference and poor discipline.

But in the study by Dr. Vohs, disordered offices encouraged originality and a search for novelty. In the final portion of the study, adults were given the choice of adding a health “boost” to their lunchtime smoothie that was labeled either “new” or “classic.” The volunteers in the messy space were far more likely to choose the new one; those in the tidy office generally chose the classic version. “Disorderly environments seem to inspire breaking free of tradition,” Dr. Vohs and her co-authors conclude in the study, “which can produce fresh insights.”

The implications of these findings are also practical. “My advice would be, if you need to think outside the box for a future project”, Dr. Vohs says, “then let the clutter rise and free your imagination. But if your primary goal is to eat well or to go to the gym, pick up around your office first. By doing this, the naturally messy can acquire some of the discipline of the conscientious.”

1.The underlined word “immaculate” in paragraph 1 probably means ______.

A.messy B.tidy

C.terrible D.comfortable

2.Which of the following can best explain the broken window theory?

A.Chaos begets chaos. B.Misfortune may be an actual blessing.

C.Bad news has wings. D.When a door shuts, a window opens.

3.Which of the following will Dr. Vohs probably agree with?

A.More virtue exists in organized people.

B.Creativity results from tidiness and discipline.

C.Disorderly surroundings help to create new ideas.

D.Workers’ good habits guarantee the success of a project.

4.What can we conclude from the study results?

A.The naturally neat people tend to be very creative.

B.A messy office will cause quite low working efficiency.

C.Environments can affect people’s way of thinking and behavior.

D.People’s personalities are determined by their working environments.

Answer

1.B

2.A

3.C

4.C

【解析】

这是一篇说明文。文章介绍了一项研究人类行为与环境相关的实验，实验结果表明无序混乱的环境可能更容易激发人们打破传统，产生新的见解。同时研究人员建议如果你需要在未来的项目中跳出框框思考，那就让杂乱的东西堆积起来，释放你的想象力。但如果你的主要目标是吃得好或去健身房，那就先在办公室里收拾一下。

1.词义猜测题。根据上文Not surprisingly, they have found that people blessed with innate conscientiousness, meaning that they are organized and predictable, typically eat better and live longer than people who are disorderly. They also tend to have…不出所料，他们发现，天生有自觉性的人，也就是有条理、可预测的人，通常比那些不守规矩的人吃得更好，活得更久。可推知天生有自觉性有条理的人，他们也更有倾向于拥有整洁的办公室。故划线单词意思为“整洁的”。故选B。

2.推理判断题。根据第四段最后一句The broken window theory, proposed decades ago, holds that even slight disorder and neglect can encourage indifference and poor discipline.（几十年前提出的“破窗理论”认为，即使是轻微的混乱和忽视也会助长冷漠和缺乏纪律。）可推知混乱产生混乱最能解释破窗理论。故选A。

3.推理判断题。根据倒数第二段最后一句“Disorderly environments seem to inspire breaking free of tradition,” Dr. Vohs and her co-authors conclude in the study, “which can produce fresh insights.”（“无序的环境似乎激发了人们打破传统，”沃斯博士和她的合著者在研究中总结道，“这可以产生新的见解。”）可推知沃斯博士可能会同意杂乱的环境有助于创造新想法。故选C。

4.推理判断题。根据文章最后一段中“My advice would be, if you need to think outside the box for a future project”, Dr. Vohs says, “then let the clutter rise and free your imagination. But if your primary goal is to eat well or to go to the gym, pick up around your office first. By doing this, the naturally messy can acquire some of the discipline of the conscientious.”（沃斯博士说:“我的建议是，如果你需要在未来的项目中跳出框框思考，那就让杂乱的东西堆积起来，释放你的想象力。”但如果你的主要目标是吃得好或去健身房，那就先在办公室里收拾一下。通过这样做，天生邋遢的人可以获得一些自觉的纪律。”）可推知我们能从研究结果中得出结论，环境可以影响人们的思维方式和行为方式。故选C。