Section C: Reading Comprehension

Directions: There are 2 passages in this section. Each passage is followed by some questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A), B), C) and D). You should decide on the best choice and mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the centre.

Passage One

Boredom has, paradoxically, become quite interesting to academics lately. In early May, London's Boring Conference celebrated seven years of delighting in dullness. At this event, people flocked to talks about weather, traffic jams, and vending-machine sounds, among other sleep-inducing topics.

What, exactly, is everybody studying? One widely accepted psychological definition of boredom is “the distasteful experience of wanting, but being unable, to engage in satisfying activity.” But how can you quantify a person's boredom level and compare it with someone else's? In 1986, psychologists introduced the Boredom Proneness Scale, designed to measure an individual's overall tendency to feel bored. By contrast, the Multidimensional State Boredom Scale, developed in 2008, measures a person's feelings of boredom in a given situation.

Boredom has been linked to behavior issues including inattentive driving, mindless snacking, excessive drinking, and addictive gambling. In fact, many of us would choose pain over boredom. One team of psychologists discovered that two-thirds of men and a quarter of women would rather self-administer electric shocks than sit alone with their thoughts for 15 minutes. Researching this phenomenon, another team asked volunteers to watch boring, sad, or neutral films, during which they could self-administer electric shocks. The bored volunteers shocked themselves more and harder than the sad or neutral ones did.

But boredom isn't all bad. By encouraging self-reflection and daydreaming, it can spur creativity. An early study gave participants abundant time to complete problem-solving and word-association exercises. Once all the obvious answers were exhausted, participants gave more and more inventive answers to combat boredom. A British study took these findings one step further, asking subjects to complete a creative challenge (coming up with a list of alternative uses for a household item). One group of subjects did a boring activity first, while the others went straight to the creative task. Those whose boredom pumps had been primed were more productive.

In our always-connected world, boredom may be a hard-to-define state, but it is a fertile one. Watch paint dry or water boil, or at least put away your smartphone for a while, and you might unlock your next big idea.

46. When are people likely to experience boredom, according to an accepted psychological definition?

A) When they don't have the chance to do what they want.

B) When they don't enjoy the materials they are studying.

C) When they experience something unpleasant.

D) When they engage in some routine activities.

47. What does the author say boredom can lead to?

A) Determination.

B) Concentration.

C) Mental deterioration.

D) Harmful conduct.

48. What is the finding of one team of psychologists in their experiment?

A) Volunteers prefer watching a boring movie to sitting alone deliberating.

B) Many volunteers choose to hurt themselves rather than endure boredom.

C) Male volunteers are more immune to the effects of boredom than females.

D) Many volunteers are unable to resist boredom longer than fifteen minutes.

49. Why does the author say boredom isn't all bad?

A) It stimulates memorization.

B) It allows time for relaxation.

C) It may promote creative thinking.

D) It may facilitate independent learning.

50. What does the author suggest one do when faced with a challenging problem?

A) Stop idling and think big.

B) Unlock one's smartphone.

C) Look around oneself for stimulation.

D) Allow oneself some time to be bored.

Passage Two

Forests in countries like Brazil and the Congo get a lot of attention from environmentalists, and it is easy to see why. South America and sub-Saharan Africa are experiencing deforestation on an enormous scale: every year almost 5 million hectares are lost. But forests are also changing in rich Western countries. They are growing larger, both in the sense that they occupy more land and that the trees in them are bigger. What is going on?

Forests are spreading in almost all Western countries, with the fastest growth in places that historically had rather few trees. In 1990 28% of Spain was forested; now the proportion is 37%. In both Greece and Italy, the growth was from 26% to 32% over the same period. Forests are gradually taking more land in America and Australia. Perhaps most astonishing is the trend in Ireland. Roughly 1% of that country was forested when it became independent in 1922. Now forests cover 11% of the land, and the government wants to push the proportion to 18% by the 2040s.

Two things are fertilising this growth. The first is the abandonment of farmland, especially in high, dry places where nothing grows terribly well. When farmers give up trying to earn a living from farming or herding, trees simply move in. The second is government policy and subsidy. Throughout history, governments have protected and promoted forests for diverse reasons, ranging from the need for wooden warships to a desire to promote suburban house-building. Nowadays forests are increasingly welcome because they suck in carbon pollution from the air.

The greening of the West does not delight everyone. Farmers complain that land is being taken out of use by generously subsidised tree plantations. Parts of Spain and Portugal suffer from terrible forest fires. Others simply dislike the appearance of forests planted in neat rows. They will have to get used to the trees, however. The growth of Western forests seems almost as unstoppable as deforestation elsewhere.

51. What is catching environmentalists' attention nowadays?

A) Rich countries are stripping poor ones of their resources.

B) Forests are fast shrinking in many developing countries.

C) Forests are eating away the fertile farmland worldwide.

D) Rich countries are doing little to address deforestation.

52. Which countries have the fastest forest growth?

A) Those that have newly achieved independence.

B) Those that have the greatest demand for timber.

C) Those that used to have the lowest forest coverage.

D) Those that provide enormous government subsidies.

53. What has encouraged forest growth historically?

A) The government's advocacy.

B) The use of wood for fuel.

C) The favourable climate.

D) The green movement.

54. What accounts for our increasing desire for forests?

A) Their unique scenic beauty.

B) Their use as fruit plantations.

C) Their capability of improving air quality.

D) Their stable supply of building materials.

55. What does the author conclude about the prospects of forestation?

A) Deserts in sub-Saharan Africa will diminish gradually.

B) It will play a more and more important role in people's lives.

C) Forest destruction in the developing world will quickly slow down.

D) Developed and developing countries are moving in opposite directions.

Answers & Explanations

Passage One: The Science of Boredom

46. A。解析：题干问人们根据心理学定义何时会感到无聊。第二段指出无聊是 wanting, but being unable, to engage in satisfying activity（想要却无法参与令人满意的活动），即 A 选项的 don't have the chance to do what they want（没有机会做自己想做的事）。

47. D。解析：题干问无聊会导致什么。第三段首句指出：Boredom has been linked to behavior issues including... mindless snacking, excessive drinking, and addictive gambling（无聊与行为问题有关，包括无意识吃零食、过度饮酒和赌博成瘾），这些都属于 D 选项的 Harmful conduct（有害行为）。

48. B。解析：题干问一组心理学家实验的发现。第三段指出：many of us would choose pain over boredom... would rather self-administer electric shocks than sit alone with their thoughts（很多人宁愿选择痛苦也不愿无聊...宁愿自己电击自己，也不愿独自坐着思考），对应 B 选项 (choose to hurt themselves rather than endure boredom 选择伤害自己而不是忍受无聊)。

49. C。解析：题干问作者为什么说无聊并非全都是坏事。第四段首句指出：By encouraging self-reflection and daydreaming, it can spur creativity（通过鼓励自我反省和白日梦，它可以激发创造力），对应 C 选项 (It may promote creative thinking)。

50. D。解析：题干问作者建议面对挑战时怎么做。最后一段指出：put away your smartphone for a while, and you might unlock your next big idea（放下手机一会儿，你可能会解锁下一个伟大的想法），也就是建议给一点无聊的时间来激发灵感，对应 D 选项 (Allow oneself some time to be bored 允许自己有一点无聊的时间)。

Passage Two: The Greening of the West

51. B。解析：题干问现在引起环保主义者注意的是什么。第一段提到：South America and sub-Saharan Africa are experiencing deforestation on an enormous scale（南美和撒哈拉以南非洲正在经历大规模的森林砍伐），对应 B 选项 (Forests are fast shrinking in many developing countries 在许多发展中国家，森林正在迅速萎缩)。

52. C。解析：题干问哪些国家的森林增长最快。第二段第一句指出：Forests are spreading... with the fastest growth in places that historically had rather few trees（森林在蔓延...增长最快的地方是那些历史上树木很少的地方），对应 C 选项 (used to have the lowest forest coverage 过去森林覆盖率最低的地方)。

53. A。解析：题干问历史上鼓励森林增长的原因。第三段指出第二个原因是 government policy and subsidy... governments have protected and promoted forests（政府政策和补贴...历史上政府一直在保护和促进森林），对应 A 选项 (The government's advocacy 政府的提倡/拥护)。

54. C。解析：题干问现在人们越来越渴望森林的原因。第三段末尾指出：Nowadays forests are increasingly welcome because they suck in carbon pollution from the air（现在森林越来越受欢迎，因为它们吸收空气中的碳污染），对应 C 选项 (Their capability of improving air quality 改善空气质量的能力)。

55. D。解析：题干问作者对植树造林前景的结论。最后一段总结道：The growth of Western forests seems almost as unstoppable as deforestation elsewhere（西方森林的增长似乎与世界其他地方的森林砍伐一样不可阻挡），意味着西方在变绿，而其他（发展中）地区在砍伐，对应 D 选项 (Developed and developing countries are moving in opposite directions 发达国家和发展中国家正朝着相反的方向发展)。

核心搭配与高分句型

【核心搭配与高频短语】

• engage in：参与，从事（engage in satisfying activity）
• be linked to：与...有关联（Boredom has been linked to behavior issues）
• would rather do A than do B：宁愿做 A 也不愿做 B
• come up with：想出，提出（coming up with a list of alternative uses）
• put away：收起来，放好（put away your smartphone）
• on an enormous scale：大规模地（experiencing deforestation on an enormous scale）
• give up doing sth.：放弃做某事（give up trying to earn a living）
• ranging from A to B：范围从 A 到 B
• suck in：吸收，吸入（suck in carbon pollution）
• get used to：习惯于（They will have to get used to the trees）

【亮点句型解析】

• By doing sth., it can do... (方式状语前置)：
  "By encouraging self-reflection and daydreaming, it can spur creativity."
  （通过鼓励自我反省和做白日梦，它可以激发创造力。）在四级写作中，将表示方式或手段的介词短语提前，可以使句子结构更丰富。
• As... as 比较级句型：
  "The growth of Western forests seems almost as unstoppable as deforestation elsewhere."
  （西方森林的增长似乎与世界其他地方的森林砍伐一样不可阻挡。）使用 `as + adj. + as` 可以生动地将两种截然不同的现象进行等量对比。