Question

【題目】

When taking an elevator，do you often push the"Close"button？You hope by pushing it，the elevator door will close faster．But what if the button is actually fake（假的）？

Karen Penafiel is the executive director（執(zhí)行董事）of the US'NationalElevator Industry．She said that elevators'"close"buttons are a complete trick，at least in the US，and that doors will not close any faster despite how hard you push．

In the 1990s the Americans with Disabilities Act （《美國殘疾人法案》）

was passed in the US．It means all elevators have to stay open long enough to allow disabled people to enter．Only US firefighters and elevator workers can really use the buttons with special keys．

But the buttons aren't completely useless．According to psychologists（心、理學家），fake buttons can make you feel better．They give you a sense of control that can help reduce stress．That's why some other buttons in our lives are fake，too， For example，many offices in the US have fake thermostats（溫控器）．People may feel better when they think they can control the temperature in their workspace．

You were told that traffic light buttons could help make the traffic signals change faster．But they may not really work either．

However，even when people know these little"white lies"，they still push fake buttons．As long as the doors finally close，it seems worthy， John Kounios is a psychology professor at Drexel University in the US．He told The New York Times that he always pushes the traffic light buttons．"After all，I've got nothing else to do while waiting．So why not push the button on the off chance that this one will work？"

【1】The"close"buttons of the elevators in the US don't really work，do they？_____

【2】What do people hope when they push the"close"button in an elevator？_____

【3】Who can really use the"close"buttons of elevators in the US according to the passage？_____

【4】Why do the fake buttons make people feel better？_____

【5】What other examples does the passage show that fake buttons aren't completely useless？_____

【6】Will you push the fake buttons next time when you take the elevator or wait at the traffic lights？Why or why not？_____．

Answer 1

【答案】

【1】Yes， they do．

【2】They hope the elevator door will close faster．

【3】Only US firefighters and elevator workers．

【4】Because they give you a sense of control that can help reduce stress．

【5】Thermostats in many US offices and traffic light buttons．

【6】Yes， I will． Because I have nothing else to do while waiting．

【解析】

文章大意：本文說的是各個設施和空間的"假按鈕"．文章介紹了控制電梯門和交通信號燈及辦公室溫控器的假按鈕．你在按壓它們的時候，實際上不起什么作用，它們只是給你一個安慰和錯覺，使你覺得你在掌控某個事物，以便減輕壓力．

【1】推理判斷題。根據文中"She said that elevators '"close" buttons are a complete trick，at least in the US，and that doors will not close any faster despite how hard you push"可知，"關"這個按鈕完全是個騙局，至少在美國是這樣；不管你怎樣用力按壓，電梯門永遠不會很快就關閉．再根據文中"Only US firefighters and elevator workers can really use the buttons with special keys"和"But the buttons aren't completely useless"可知，在美國，只有消防員和電梯操作員才能用特殊的鑰匙來使用這個按鈕，但是，這個按鈕并非完全無用，故答案為：Yes，they do。

【2】細節(jié)理解題。根據文中"You hope by pushing it，the elevator door will close faster"可知，當人們按壓（"關"這個）按鈕時，人們希望電梯門會盡快地關閉，故答案為：They hope the elevator door will close faster。

【3】細節(jié)理解題。根據文中"Only US firefighters and elevator workers can really use the buttons with special keys"可知，在美國，只有消防員和電梯操作員才能用特殊的鑰匙來使用這個按鈕，故答案為：Only US firefighters and elevator workers。

【4】細節(jié)理解題。根據文中"They give you a sense of control that can help reduce stress"可知，它們（假按鈕）給人一種人可以控制事物的感覺，這種感覺有助于減輕壓力，故答案為：Because they give you a sense of control that can help reduce stress。

【5】細節(jié)理解題。根據問中"For example，many offices in the US have fake thermostats（溫控器）"和"People may feel better when they think they can control the temperature in their workspace"可知，在美國，很多辦公室的溫控器也是虛假的（不起作用的），但是當人們在自己的工作空間以為自己可以控制溫度時，人們會感覺好一點；再比如文中"You were told that traffic light buttons could help make the traffic signals change faster"和"But they may not really work either"可知，交通信號燈的按鈕也是虛假的（不起作用的）；故答案為：Thermostats in many US offices and traffic light buttons。

【6】細節(jié)理解題。根據文中"However，even when people know these little" white lies"，they still push fake buttons"和"As long as the doors finally close，it seems worthy"可知，即使人們知道這些小小的"無惡意的謊言"，人們也會按壓虛假的按鈕，只要門最終關閉了，就值了；再根據"After all，I've got nothing else to do while waiting"可知，在等待的期間內，你也無事可做；故答案為：Yes，I will。Because I have nothing else to do while waiting。