阅读理解
Daily physical activity is an important
part of a healthy lifestyle. For this reason, many architects and designers are
working to create buildings that encourage people to make exercise a part of
their ordinary routine. The movement to promote healthy activity through
architecture is called active design. It began in 1998 as part of a university
public health program, and it has since gained popularity in cities around the
world. Active design uses a number of techniques to encourage the occupants of
a building to be more active.
One of the most important strategies of
active design is inspiring people to make walking part of their routine. A
particularly successful tool for promoting walking is the skip-stop elevator.
These elevators stop only on every second or third floor, leaving riders to
take the stairs in order to reach their destination. Another strategy of active
design is to make stairs more pleasant and inviting. Instead of creating dark
stairwells that are located in isolated parts of buildings, active design uses
well-lit and centrally placed stairs to encourage more foot traffic. Skip-stop
elevators and appealing stair design are both effective tools of active design
because they offer incentive and opportunity for exercise. In fact,
researchers studying a building that employs both skip-stop elevators and more
attractive stair design said that 70 percent of building occupants reported
using the stairs every day.
Active design encourages physical activity
using not only the interior features of a building, but the relationship
between a building and its surroundings as well. A building that employs active
design may integrate outdoor space in order to make the environment more
engaging and promote physical activity. Some elements that architects use to
incorporate the exterior with the interior are glass walls, interior gardens or
park spaces, and courtyards with open ceilings, all of which de-emphasize the
boundaries between inside and outside. These elements make the building more
physically and mentally invigorating. Similarly, by increasing the number of
entrances and exits to a building, architects can help keep a building's users
interested in their surroundings by providing a variety of routes for them to
use. If people continue to be stimulated by new sights or experiences, they are
less likely to choose the quickest and easiest path to their destination and
may instead choose a more physically challenging route.
(1)
What does the underlined word “incentive” in paragraph 2 mean?
A . requirement
B . encouragement
C . technique
D . assistance
(2)
Why does the author discuss dark stairwells in paragraph 2?
A . To demonstrate the differences between elevator and stairwell design.
B . To describe one advantage of using skip-stop elevators in buildings.
C . To make a point about why people don't use the stairs often.
D . To argue that skip-stop elevators may lead to design failures.
(3)
Which of the following is NOT a way that architects weaken the boundary between indoor and outdoor spaces?
A . Creating more routes for entering and exiting.
B . Building gardens inside the building.
C . Creating spaces with open ceilings.
D . Using see-through materials.
(4)
How does paragraph 2 relate to paragraph 3 in the passage?
A . Para 2 describes an early model of a design discussed in para 3.
B . Para 3 argues about the effectiveness of the technique from para 2.
C . Para 3 introduces a different strategy than the one discussed in para 2.
D . Para 2 explains a technique, and para 3 gives examples of how it is used.
答案: B
C
A
C