如何夺回你的注意力?
Many people find it hard to pay attention these days. Smartphones, emails and social media fill every free minute. In fact, research has not shown that people’s attention is really getting shorter. Experts say the bigger problem is that there are more things taking our attention away—phone messages, emails, meetings and noise.
Scientists also explain how the brain works. It cannot truly do more than one thing at a time. Instead, it rapidly switches between tasks, which makes people more likely to make mistakes and take longer to finish their work. For example, if you answer a message while doing homework, you may need more time to get back to it.
So how can we keep our attention? One of the best ways is to keep phones out of reach and spend less time on social media. You can also set a time limit for phone use. It helps to know when you work best: many people do their best work in the middle of the morning and feel tired after lunch. Save that good time for hard jobs, not for emails or meetings.
Short breaks matter too. A short walk, especially outdoors, can bring your attention back. Writing down the most important things the night before also helps you start the day with a clear mind. Even your room can make a difference: studies show that a tidy space with green plants may improve attention.
There is another side to the problem, too. Many apps are designed to hold our attention as long as possible. Some countries, including Italy, France and Australia, have made laws to protect people from work messages after work hours. Staying focusedis not easy—but with small changes, we can take our attention back.
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1.1. What does the underlined word “switches” probably mean?
A moves
B stops
C finishes
D compares
解析：选A。A 词义猜测题。根据文章第二段“Instead, it rapidly switches between tasks, which makes people more likely to make mistakes and take longer to finish their work”大脑不能同时做几件事，只能在任务之间快速切换，由此导致出错和费时，故“switches”意为“切换”，与moves意思最接近；B“停止”、C“完成”、D“比较”均与上下文“在任务之间来回”不符。故选A。
2.2. What does the writer advise people to do during their best hours?
A Write down important things.
B Check emails and attend meetings.
C Take a short walk outdoors.
D Do difficult work.
解析：选D。D 细节理解题。根据文章第三段“Save that good time for hard jobs, not for emails or meetings”状态好的时段应留给难事；A是前一晚要做的事；C是休息方法；B与原文“别把好时段用来查邮件开会”相反。故选D。
3.3. What do the ways in Paragraphs 3 and 4 have in common?
A They need some special tools.
B They come from small daily changes.
C They are all about working at night.
D They all take a long time to work.
解析：选B。B 推理判断题。第三段的“keep phones out of reach”“spend less time on social media”“Save that good time for hard jobs”与第四段的“A short walk, especially outdoors”“Writing down the most important things the night before”“a tidy space with green plants”方法各异，但都是日常生活里的细小改变；第五段末句“with small changes, we can take our attention back”正是印证。B项“come from small daily changes”是对两组方法的共同概括；A无中生有（散步、写清单并不需要特殊工具），C张冠李戴（“the night before”只是写清单的时间，并非所有方法都与夜间工作有关），D 无中生有（选项中all表述过于绝对，原文并未说明这些方法需要很久才见效）。故选B。
4.4. Why have some countries made such laws according to Paragraph 5?
A To stop people from working at night.
B To make apps hold people’s attention.
C To help people truly rest outside work.
D To limit children’s homework time.
解析：选C。C 推理判断题。根据文章第五段“Some countries…have made laws to protect people from work messages after work hours”法律把工作消息挡在下班之后，正是为了让人们在休息时间专心休息。C项“truly rest outside work”用outside work转述after work hours、“truly rest”转述“免受打扰”；A曲解（法律是挡消息，不是禁止夜间工作），B颠倒是非（抓注意力的正是apps，法律是对抗它），D无中生有（原文只提到一些国家立法保护人们下班后免受工作消息打扰，并未提及儿童或作业时间限制）。故选C。
5.5. Which of the following is the best title for the text?
A A. How to Win Back Your Attention
B B. Say No to Smartphones
C C. Laws That Protect Workers
D D. The Secret of the Human Brain
解析：选A。A 主旨大意题。根据文章末句“with small changes, we can take our attention back”全文先讲“干扰变多＋大脑机制”，再给四类方法，最后落回“把注意力夺回来”，A项“How to Win Back Your Attention”是win back对take back的同义改写，概括全文；B以偏概全（手机只是干扰之一），C以偏概全（法律只是末段一例），D曲解（大脑机制只是原理铺垫，不是全文主旨）。故选A。