A messy desk can actually lead people towards clearer thinking, say researchers from Germany．
The researchers found in a series of linked studies - using a messy desk and a messy shop front - that people actually thought more clearly when all around was chaos, as they sought to simplify the tasks at hand.
Visual and mental clutter（阻塞） forces human beings to focus and think more clearly.
Famous thinkers and writers such as Albert Einstein and Roald Dahl have been notorious（声名狼藉的） for their untidy desks.
“Messy desks may not be as detrimental（有害的） as they appear to be, as the problem-solving approaches they seem to cause can improve work efficiency or increase employees' creativity in problem solving,” say the authors.
“Business and government managers often promote 'clean desk' policies to avoid disorganized offices and messy desks, for the purpose of boosting work efficiency and productivity,” writes lead researcher Jia Liu of the University of Groningen in a paper published in the Journal of Consumer Research.
“This practice is based on the conventional wisdom that a disorganized and messy environment can clutter one's mind and complicate one's judgments.”
“However, not all evidence supports this conventional link between a messy environment and a messy mind.”
The scientists tested people's response in various 'messy' environments - including a messy shop front, a disorganized desk, and even a work environment where a language task 'reminded' people of messiness.
The authors found in the series of six studies people tended towards simplicity in their thinking.
“They categorized （分类） products in a simpler manner, were willing to pay more for a T-shirt that shows a simple-looking picture, and sought less variety in their choices.” said the researchers.
小题1: The purpose of the first two paragraphs is to show that _____．
A．A messy desk cannot contribute to clearer thinking
B．People thought more clearly about a messy desk and a shop front
C．People will feel confused when all around are chaos
D．People manage to simplify the tasks in messy environments小题2: Why does the author take Albert Einstein as an example?
A．to support the idea that clearer thinking comes from messy environment．
B．to tell the fact that Einstein was known for his untidy desks．
C．to stop us from learning from Albert Einstein．
D．to call on us to develop a good habit．小题3:How do people look at messy environment according to the conventional wisdom?
A．Messy environment will create clearer thinking．
B．Messy environment will simplify one' s judgment．
C．Messy environment can promote work efficiency．
D．Messy environment can block one' s mind．小题4: What does the last paragraph imply?
A．People believe messy environment creates clearer thinking．
B．People sought more simplicity in the choices．
C．People were not willing to choose those complicated products．
D．Not all the people accept messy environment and complicated things
小题1:B
小题2:A
小题3:D
小题4:D
题目分析：本文叙述了德国的研究人员日前表示，凌乱的办公桌其实可以让员工思维更清晰。视觉和心理的杂乱会迫使人们集中精力，而且更能理清思路。
小题1:段落大意题。根据The researchers found in a series of linked studies - using a messy desk and a messy shop front - that people actually thought more clearly when all around was chaos,研究人员发现在一系列相连的研究——使用一个凌乱的书桌和一个混乱的店面——实际上人们的思想更加清楚，故选B。
小题2:细节理解题。根据来支持他的观点凌乱的环境而是思维更加清晰，故选A。
小题3:细节理解题。根据This practice is based on the conventional wisdom that a disorganized and messy environment can clutter one's mind and complicate one's judgments故选 D。
小题4:推理判断题。根据并不是所有的人接受混乱的环境和变复杂的事情，故选D。
点评：文章由若干段话组成，要求给每段话归纳段落大意，意即找出该段的中心思想、主旨。本题型不是让你写出每段话的段落大意，这样不好评判对错。而是要求从选项列表中选择。在现在的考试中，选项的数目往往大大多于文章中段落的数目，也就是说，有很多干扰选项。读每段话时，要抓住该段话的主题句和核心词汇，正确答案常常是主题句的改写。读每段话时，并不是该段话全要仔细阅读。这样，既浪费时间，也不容易抓住重点。应该抓住该段话的主题句。