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The research carried out by the University of Bari in Italy could help prove hospitals who are
accused of wasting money on art and decoration as it suggests a pleasant environment helps patients
ease discomfort and pain.
A team headed by Professor Marina de Tommaso at the Neurophysiopathology Pain Unit asked
a group of men and women to pick the 20 paintings they considered most ugly and most beautiful
from a selection of 300 works by artists such as Leonardo da Vinci and Sandro Botticelli. They
were then asked to look at either the beautiful paintings, or the ugly painting, or a blank panel(板)
while the team put a short laser pulse at their hand, creating a sensation as if they had been stuck
by a pin. The subjects rated the pain as being a third less intense(剧烈的) while they were viewing
the beautiful paintings, compared with when looking at the ugly paintings or the blank panel.
Electrodes(电极) measuring the brain's electrical activity also confirmed a reduced response to the
pain when the subject looked at beautiful paintings.
While distractions, such as music, are known to reduce pain in hospital patients, Prof de Tommaso
says this is the first result to show that beauty plays a part.
The findings, reported in New Scientist, also go a long way to show that beautiful surroundings could
aid the healing process.
"Hospitals have been designed to be functional, but we think that their artistic aspects should be
taken into account too," said the neurologist. "Beauty obviously offers a distraction that ugly paintings
do not. But at least there is no suggestion that ugly surroundings make the pain worse. I think these
results show that more research is needed into the field how a beautiful environment can alleviate
suffering."
Pictures they liked included Starry Night by Vincent Van Gogh and Botticellis Birth of Venus.
Pictures they found ugly included works by Pablo Picasso, the Italian 20th century artist Anonio
Bueno and Columbian Fernando Botero. "These people were not art experts so some of the
pictures they found ugly would be considered masterpieces by the art world," said Prof de Tommaso.
1. The underlined word "alleviate" in the fifth paragraph probably means "_______".
A. cure
B. relieve
C. improve
D. kill
2. Which of the following is TURE about the view of Prof Marina de Tommaso?
A. Beautiful surroundings could help to heal sufferings completely.
B. Hospitals must take their artistic aspects into consideration first.
C. Ugly surroundings will surely make the pain worse.
D. Both music and beauty can reduce pain in hospital patients.
3. From the last paragraph, we know that _______.
A. some artists' paintings were beautiful, so they were masterpieces
B. only art experts could judge they were masterpieces or not, though ugly
C. the artists mentioned above were not really art masters.
D. some of them were art masters, while others were not.
4. Which of the following is the suitable title for the passage?
A. Beautiful surroundings can ease pain.
B. Ugly paintings could be masterpieces.
C. More research should be done in the field.
D. Latest environmental research.
