《2026年水木金卷高考模拟试卷精编英语》

D
Boredom has become quite interesting to academics lately. In early May, London's Boring Conference celebrated seven years of delighting in dullness. At this event, people flocked to talks about weather, traffic jams and vending-machine sounds, among other sleep-inducing topics.
What, exactly, is everybody studying? One widely accepted psychological definition of boredom is "the distasteful experience of wanting, but being unable to engage in satisfying activities. " But how can you quantify a person's boredom level and compare it with someone else's? In 1986, psychologists introduced the Boredom Proneness Scale (无聊倾向量表), designed to measure an individual's overall tendency to feel bored. By contrast, the Multidimensional State Boredom Scale, developed in 2008, measures a person's feelings of boredom in a given situation.
Boredom has been linked to behavior issues including inattentive driving, mindless snacking, and excessive drinking. In fact, many of us would choose pain over boredom. One team of psychologists discovered that two-thirds of men and a quarter of women would rather self-administer electric shocks than sit alone with their thoughts for 15 minutes. Researching this phenomenon, another team asked volunteers to watch boring, sad, or neutral films, during which they could self-administer electric shocks. The bored volunteers shocked themselves more and harder than the sad or neutral ones did.
But boredom isn't all bad. By encouraging self-reflection and daydreaming, it can prompt creativity. An early study gave participants abundant time to complete problem-solving and word-association exercises. Once all the obvious answers were exhausted, participants gave more and more inventive answers to fight boredom. A British study took these findings one step further, asking subjects to complete a creative challenge (coming up with a list of alternative uses for a household item). One group of subjects did a boring activity first, while the others went straight to the creative task. Those whose boredom pumps had been activated were more productive.
In our always-connected world, boredom may be a hard-to-define state, but it is a fruitful one. Watch paint dry or water boil, or at least put away your smartphone for a while, and you might unlock your next big idea.
51. When are people likely to experience boredom, according to an accepted psychological definition?
A. When they don't have the chance to do what they want.
B. When they don't enjoy the materials they are studying.
C. When they experience something unpleasant.
D. When they engage in some routine activities.
52. What does the author say boredom can lead to?
A. Determination.
B. Mental illness.
C. Concentration.
D. Harmful conduct.
53. What is the finding of one team of psychologists in their experiment?
A. Volunteers prefer watching a boring movie to sitting alone at home.
B. Many volunteers choose to hurt themselves rather than endure boredom.
C. Male volunteers care less about the effects of boredom than females.
D. Many volunteers are unable to resist boredom longer than fifteen minutes.
54. Why does the author say boredom isn't all bad?
A. It stimulates memorization.
B. It may promote creative thinking.
C. It allows time for relaxation.
D. It may facilitate independent learning.
55. What does the author suggest one do when faced with a challenging problem?
A. Stop idling and think big.
B. Look around oneself for stimulation.
C. Unlock one's smartphone.
D. Allow oneself some time to be bored.

答案： 51.A 细节理解题。题干意为:根据一个被接受的心理学定义,什么时候人们可能会经历无聊?根据第二段中“One widely accepted psychological definition of boredom is ‘the distasteful experience of wanting, but being unable to engage in satisfying activities.’”可知,一个被广泛接受的关于无聊的心理学定义是“想要却不能从事令人满意的活动的不愉快经历”。由此可知,当人们没有机会做想做的事情时,可能会经历无聊。故选 A。
52.D 细节理解题。题干意为:作者说无聊可以导致什么?根据第三段中“Boredom has been linked to behavior issues including inattentive driving, mindless snacking, and excessive drinking.”可知,无聊与一些行为问题有关,包括分心驾驶、漫不经心地吃零食和过度饮酒。由此可知,作者认为无聊会导致有害的行为。故选 D。
53.B 细节理解题。题干意为:一组心理学家在他们实验中的发现是什么?根据第三段中“One team of psychologists discovered that two-thirds of men and a quarter of women would rather self-administer electric shocks than sit alone with their thoughts for 15 minutes.”可知,一组心理学家在实验中发现,许多志愿者宁愿选择伤害自己,也不愿忍受无聊。故选 B。
54.B 细节理解题。题干意为:为什么作者说无聊不全是坏事?根据倒数第二段中“But boredom isn’t all bad. By encouraging self-reflection and daydreaming, it can prompt creativity.”可知,无聊可以促进创造性思维,所以不全是坏事。故选 B。
55.D 推理判断题。题干意为:当一个人面对一个具有挑战性的问题时时,作者建议他/她做什么?根据最后一段中“Watch paint dry or water boil, or at least put away your smartphone for a while, and you might unlock your next big idea.”可知,像油漆变干、水煮沸或将手机放起来一会儿这些无聊的行为可能让人解锁一个好主意,找到解决方法。由此可推知,当面对一个具有挑战性的问题时,作者建议留给自己一些无聊的时间。故选 D。