Question

    Mathew White, an environmental psychologist, is on a mission to give Mother Nature the respect he thinks she deserves when it comes to human health. For decades, scientists and health-care professionals have recognized that exposure to green spaces, such as public parks or forests, is linked with lower risks of all sorts of illnesses common in the world. Experimental work has demonstrated various physiological responses that occur when people spend time in natural environments: blood pressure drops, heart rate decreases, immune function improves, and the nervous system directs the body to rest and digest.

As humans increasingly populate urbanized areas, they are spending less and less time in natural environments. But before doctors can start advising their patients to head to the nearest park, there is an important outstanding question, says White: How much time in nature do you need to generate these apparent benefits? Most of the research that has linked health outcomes with exposure to the natural world didn’t use frequency or duration of park visits, but rather the amount of green space within a certain distance of a person’s home, White says. But “it’s not so much where you live; it’s whether you use it or not.”

So he collected data to estimate what dose（剂量） of nature was needed to show benefits to a person’s health. White’s group found the answer he was after: Spending at least two hours in nature per week was strongly correlated with self-reports of being in good health or having high wellbeing. “I was very surprised, to be honest,” says White, who had been expecting a much longer time. “We had no idea that such a clear threshold of time per week would emerge from the data.”

He was further surprised to learn that it didn’t seem to matter how many trips to a park people took, so long as they got in their two hours per week. It could be a long visit one day, a couple of hour-long trips, three visits of 40 minutes, or four half-hour excursions. He and his colleagues speculate that, if nature’s apparent health benefits are a result of being able to de-stress, then whatever pattern of green space exposure fits one’s schedule is probably the best way to achieve that goal.

Health-care recommendations for people to spend time in nature are probably years away, but the movement has begun. Several organizations around the world are working to promote awareness of nature’s contribution to health. Some researchers have used the term “a dose of nature” to evaluate the amount of exposure needed to gain benefits. “That was kind of the deliberate medicalization of the language around nature and health,” says White.

1.White’s research focused on_______.

A.required amount of green space

B.benefits from the exposure to nature

C.necessary time length of nature visits

D.physical responses to outdoor activities

2.What does the underlined phrase “threshold of time” in Paragraph 3 probably mean?

A.Maximum time. B.Minimum time.

C.Adequate time. D.Average time.

3.From the last paragraph, we can infer that White______.

A.is confident about his mission

B.is willing to cooperate with others

C.has persuaded others to accept his idea

D.has adopted the term for his research result

4.What’s the best title for the passage?

A.Respect for Nature B.Nature as Medicine

C.Present from Nature D.Mission in Nature

Answer

1.C

2.B

3.A

4.B

【解析】

本文为一篇说明文。主要介绍了人们在自然环境中会产生各种生理反应:血压下降，心率下降，免疫功能改善，神经系统引导身体休息和消化，每周至少在自然中呆上两个小时，与自我报告的健康状况或高幸福感密切相关。

1.

推理判断题。根据第二自然段says White: How much time in nature do you need to generate these apparent benefits? Most of the research that has linked health outcomes with exposure to the natural world didn’t use frequency or duration of park visits, but rather the amount of green space within a certain distance of a person’s home, White says.(怀特说：你需要多少时间才能产生这些明显的益处？大多数将健康结果与接触自然环境联系在一起的研究没有使用公园参观的频率或持续时间，而是考虑到附近一定距离内的绿地面积)通过这句话我们可以知道对于以前大部分的研究来说，都没有研究公园的参观频率和持续时间。所以我们可以推断出，怀特的主要研究内容就是对于公园绿地的使用频率和使用时间。故C项necessary time length of nature visits(访问自然的必要时长)符合以上推理。故此题选C。

2.

词义猜测题。通过上一句“I was very surprised, to be honest,” says White, who had been expecting a much longer time.(“我很惊讶，怀特说，他一直期待的是更长的时间”)我们可以知道，原本怀特是认为大家会花很多时间在大自然中，但是数据却让他大吃一惊。由此我们可以推断出人们的使用时间是非常少的。所以B项minimum time(最少时间)就是这个短语想表达的含义。故此题选B。

3.

推理判断题。根据最后一自然段Some researchers have used the term “a dose of nature” to evaluate the amount of exposure needed to gain benefits. “That was kind of the deliberate medicalization of the language around nature and health,” says White.(一些研究人员用“自然剂量”来评估获得益处所需的暴露量。怀特说：“这是对自然和健康刻意医学化的语言”)可知，怀特在对于其他研究人员所得出的结论表示不赞同。由此我们可推断出怀特是更加相信自己观点的。故此题选A。

4.

主旨大意题。主要介绍了人们在自然环境中会产生各种生理反应:血压下降，心率下降，免疫功能改善，神经系统引导身体休息和消化，每周至少在自然中呆上两个小时，与自我报告的健康状况或高幸福感密切相关。所以B选项Nature as Medicine(自然作为药物)就是本文最佳标题。故此题选B。