Research has shown that playing music to keep your mind busy while showering, taking a walk or travelling to school could affect your ability to think outside the box and come up with artistic or inventive things to do. By comparison, experts say being bored can lead to daydreaming plus the birth of new ideas.
Listening to music while taking a shower or going for a walk takes away from time that could be spent thinking about yourself and your life — the perfect time to let your creative juices flow, happiness expert Gretchen Rubin said. “You need this open-searching time for new ideas to bubble up,” she said. “This is why people get ideas in the shower or in the middle of the night — it’s a downtime (休息) where then the brain creates its own fun.” “It’s when I’m bored that I have big insights because my brain is open and trying to entertain itself,” Ms Rubin added.
A recent study by psychologists showed the same process at work. In the research, groups of people were given a dull writing or reading task. They were then asked to complete a creative task. Researchers found the boring writing and reading activities led to increased creativity — meaning being bored made the mind entertain itself with something creative and fun.
So, is it best to get rid of the bath-time playlist? A lot of people said the research was a real mood killer. One said, “Sometimes I need the music to drown out all the thoughts I don’t want to think.” Another commented, “Many people have too much going on in their heads. That’s why they listen to music in the shower, so they can actually relax. What do we have to have ideas about? Why can’t we just enjoy the things we love?” But other listeners said they liked having quiet time while travelling home at the end of the day.
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1.What is the research result?
A Playing music can keep your mind busy.
B Music helps you think outside the box.
C Being bored is important for creativity.
D It takes a lot to be creative.
解析：选C。C 细节理解题。根据第一段的“...could affect your ability to think outside the box and come up with artistic or inventive things to do”以及“experts say being bored can lead to daydreaming plus the birth of new ideas”可知，在淋浴、散步或早晨上学途中听音乐让大脑忙起来可能会影响你跳出思维定式或进行创造性思维的能力，无聊会导致白日做梦和新想法的诞生，即无聊对提升创造力很重要。故选C。
2.Which of the following words can replace the underlined phrase “bubble up”?
A Continue.
B Apply.
C Appear.
D Practice
解析：选C。C 词义猜测题。根据划线词所在句的后一句“This is why people get ideas in the shower or in the middle of the night”这就是为什么人们会在淋浴时或半夜想出新点子，可知，这段开放的搜索时间可以帮助新想法产生。故选C。
3.Why were people given a writing or reading task in the research?
A To entertain them.
B To make them bored.
C To make their mind busy.
D To make the task creative.
解析：选B。B 细节理解题。根据第三段中的“Researchers found the boring writing and reading activities”以及“meaning being bored made the mind entertain itself”可知，这些读写活动是很无聊的，即给他们这项写作阅读任务是为了让他们感到无聊。故选B。
4.What’s most people’s attitude to the research?
A Negative.
B Positive.
C Worried.
D Indifferent.
解析：选A。A 推理判断题。根据最后一段中的“A lot of people said the research was a real mood killer.”很多人说这项研究是真正的情绪杀手，并结合后面两条评论内容可知，他们不支持这项研究。故选A。
