单选题 The city has always been an engine of intellectual life, from the 10-century cafes of London, where citizens gathered to discuss chemistry and politics, to the Left Bank bars of modem Paris, where Picasso talked about modern art. Without the metropolis , we might not have had the great art of Shakespeare.
And yet, city life isn"t easy. Now scientists have begun to examine how the city affects the brain, and the results are depressing. Just being in the urban environment, they have found, impairs (损害) our basic mental processes. After spending a few minutes on a crowded city street, the brain is less able to hold things in memory and suffers from reduced self-control. While it"s long been recognized that city life is exhausting, this new research suggests that cities actually dull our thinking, sometimes dramatically so.
One of the main forces at work is a complete lack of nature, which is surprisingly beneficial for the brain. Studies have demonstrated, for instance, that hospital patients recover more quickly when they can see trees from their windows, and that women living in public housing are better able to focus when their apartments overlook a lawn. Even these glimpses of nature improve brain performance, it seems, because they provided a mental break from the urban life.
This research arrives just as humans cross an important milestone (里程碑). For the first time in history, the majority of people live in cities. Instead of inhabiting wide-open spaces, we"re crowded into concrete jungles, surrounded by traffic and millions of strangers. In recent years, it has become clear that such unnatural surroundings have important implications for our mental and physical health, and can powerfully alter how we think.

单选题 Which of the following is the main idea of this passage?

【正确答案】 B

【答案解析】[解析] 根据文章第二段前两句“And yet, city life isn"t easy. Now scientists have begun to examine how the city affects the brain, and the results are depressing. ”可知，城市生活并不容易，现在科学家们已经开始研究城市是如何影响人的大脑的，研究结果令人沮丧。联系上下文可知，文章是围绕城市对人的大脑和思维的影响来展开的。故选B。

单选题 The word "metropolis" in the first paragraph is closest in meaning to ______.

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】[解析] 文章一开头就提到了“城市一直是文明生活的助推器”，并以伦敦和巴黎为例来进行说明，然后提到“如果没有metropolis，我们就不会有莎士比亚的伟大作品了”。根据句子间的逻辑关系可知，“metropolis”应该表示“城市”的意思。故选C。

单选题 People have just come to realize that ______.

【正确答案】 D

【答案解析】[解析] 根据文章第二段最后一句“While it"s long been recognized that city life is exhausting, this new research suggests that cities actually dull our thinking, sometimes dramatically so. ”可知，虽然人们很早就意识到城市生活是令人疲惫的，但是新的研究表明城市生活使我们的思维变得非常迟钝。由此可推知，人们刚刚意识到城市生活对人们大脑和思维的破坏。故选D。

单选题 What is the factor mentioned in the third paragraph that helps the hospital patients recover more quickly?

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】[解析] 根据文章第三段第一句话“One of the main forces at work is a complete lack of nature, which is surprisingly beneficial for the brain. ”可知，城市对人脑造成破坏的一个重要原因就是缺乏自然环境。接着本段分析了自然(nature)的作用，其中包括病人康复这一例子，病人能很快康复是因为自然环境的作用。故选A。

单选题 According to the passage, which of the following statement is TRUE?

A、 Different aspects (方面) of an urban environment, such as the crowded street, can lead to an increase in self-control.
B、 Small changes in urban design cannot reduce the negative side effects of city fife.
C、 For the first time in history, the earth"s population is more urban than rural.
D、 A walk down a busy city street will improve brain performance.

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】[解析] 根据文章最后一段第一、二句话“This research arrives just as humans cross an important milestone. For the first time in history, the majority of people live in cities. ”可知，该项研究正值人类跨过了一个重要的里程碑之时，有史以来第一次城市人口占了多数。这与选项C的意思一致。故选C。