A team of Cambridge psychologists conducted an experiment to compare the cognitive (认知的) effects of merely seeing art with actively judging how beautiful it is.

In the study, 187 people were invited to visit Kettle’s Yard gallery during an exhibition of handmade clay objects. Participants were randomly divided into two groups: the “beauty” group was asked to actively consider and then rate the beauty of each object they viewed, while the control group just matched a line drawing of the object with the artwork itself. All participants were then tested on how they process information, and whether it’s in a more practical or abstract way.

Across all participants, those in the beauty group scored almost 14% higher on average than the control group in abstract thinking. While they were told the study was about cognitive processes, participants were asked about interests, with around half saying they had an artistic hobby. Among those, the effect was greater: those with an artistic hobby in the beauty group scored over 25% higher on average for abstract thinking than those with an artistic hobby in the control group.

Emotional states of participants were also measured by asking about their feelings while completing the gallery task. Across all participants, those in the beauty group reported an average of 23% higher levels of “transformative and self-transcendent feelings” — such as feeling moved, enlightened and inspired — than the control group. Importantly, however, the beauty group did not report feeling any happier than the control group, suggesting that it was the engagement with beauty that influenced abstract thinking, rather than any overall positivity from the experience.

“We usually think in very concrete terms when doing something on a screen,” said Simone Schnall, senior author of the study. “It’s becoming much rarer to zone out and just let the mind wander, but that’s when we think in ways that broaden our minds. Admiring the beauty of art may be the ideal way to initiate the abstract cognitive processes.”

1.1. What was the beauty group asked to do with the clay objects?

A Draw their outlines.

B Give each piece a rating.

C Compare their prices.

D Make a copy of each piece.

解析：选B。细节理解题。第二段原句 "the 'beauty' group was asked to actively consider and then rate the beauty of each object they viewed"（"美" 组被要求积极思考并评价每件物品的美丑），rate（评价、打分）与 B 项 "give each piece a rating" 完全对应。干扰项辨析：A"画出轮廓" 是对照组的任务（"matched a line drawing of the object with the artwork"—— 将线条画与艺术品匹配，画线图不是 "美" 组的任务，且 "匹配"≠"画出"）；C"比较价格" 文中未提及价格；D"复制作品" 无中生有。此题考查对两组不同任务的精准区分，警惕将对照组任务错安到 "美" 组头上。

2.2. Which participants got the highest score on average in the test?

A Beauty group, with an artistic hobby.

B Beauty group, without an artistic hobby.

C Control group, with an artistic hobby.

D Control group, without an artistic hobby.

解析：选A。细节理解题。第三段给出了完整的数据链：①"美" 组全体平均比对照组高近 14%；②在有艺术爱好的人中，效果更显著 ——"美" 组有艺术爱好者比对照组有艺术爱好者高出 25% 以上。数据层级为：美组有艺术爱好（最高）> 美组无艺术爱好 > 对照组有艺术爱好 > 对照组无艺术爱好，故最高分者是 "有艺术爱好的美组"，选 A。此题考查对两组数据和 "among those, the effect was greater" 递进关系的理解。

3.3. Why were the participants’ emotional states measured?

A To discover their attitudes towards art.

B To identify their specific thinking patterns.

C To examine the difficulty of the tasks.

D To determine factors behind the test results.

解析：选D。推理判断题。第四段测量情绪后给出了关键结论："the beauty group did not report feeling any happier than the control group, suggesting that it was the engagement with beauty that influenced abstract thinking, rather than any overall positivity from the experience"（"美" 组并未报告更快乐，这表明影响抽象思维的是与美的互动，而非整体积极情绪）。这说明测量情绪的目的是检验 "抽象思维提高究竟归因于与美的互动，还是归因于整体愉悦情绪"—— 即确定测试结果背后的驱动因素，故 D 正确。干扰项辨析：A"发现对艺术的态度"—— 情绪测量关注的是感受强度而非态度倾向；B"识别思维模式"—— 思维模式是认知测试的任务，与情绪测量无关；C"检查任务难度" 无中生有。此题考查理解实验设计意图，"suggesting that" 后的结论是解题关键。

4.4. What is the major finding of the study regarding the appreciation of art?

A It enhances emotional ties.

B It needs critical thinking skills.

C It creates positive feelings.

D It encourages abstract thinking.

解析：选D。主旨大意题。全文核心结论：主动评价艺术之美的人抽象思维得分显著更高（"美" 组平均高 14%、有艺术爱好者高 25% 以上）。末段作者施纳尔进一步点明 "Admiring the beauty of art may be the ideal way to initiate the abstract cognitive processes"（欣赏艺术之美可能是开启抽象认知过程的理想方式），与 D 项 "促进抽象思维" 完全对应。干扰项辨析：A"增强情感联系"—— 文中测量的是 "自我超越感" 而非人际关系的情感联系；B"需要批判性思维"—— 欣赏艺术恰好需要的是放空漫游而非批判分析（"let the mind wander"）；C"产生积极情绪" 与关键结论矛盾 —— 作者特意指出 "美" 组并未感到更快乐，愉悦情绪不是欣赏艺术的效果。此题考查把握研究结论，第四段的转折 "But...did not report feeling any happier" 是排除 C 的关键。