During an interview for one of my books, my interviewer said something I still think about often. Annoyed by the level of distraction（干扰）in his open office, he said, “That’s why I have a membership at the coworking space across the street — so I can focus”. His comment struck me as strange. After all, coworking spaces also typically use an open office layout（布局）. But I recently came across a study that shows why his approach works.
在我为一本书做采访时，我的采访者说了一句我至今仍然经常想起的话。他对开放办公室里干扰的程度感到烦恼，他说，“这就是为什么我在街对面租了一个共享办公空间的会员——这样我就可以集中注意力了。” 他的话让我觉得很奇怪。毕竟，共享办公空间通常也采用开放式办公布局。但最近我看到了一项研究，解释了为什么他的方法有效。

The researchers examined various levels of noise on participants as they completed tests of creative thinking. They were randomly divided into four groups and exposed to various noise levels in the background, from total silence to 50 decibels（分贝）, 70 decibels, and 85 decibels. The differences between most of the groups were statistically insignificant; however, the participants in the 70 decibels group — those exposed to a level of noise similar to background chatter in a coffee shop — significantly outperformed the other groups. Since the effects were small, this may suggest that our creative thinking does not differ that much in response to total silence and 85 decibels of background noise.
研究人员研究了不同噪音水平对参与者完成创造性思维测试的影响。他们被随机分为四组，并在背景中接受从完全的寂静到50分贝，70分贝和85分贝的各种噪音水平。大多数组之间的差异在统计学上不显著；然而，70分贝组的参与者——那些暴露在与咖啡店背景交谈类似的噪音水平下的人，明显表现出优势。由于影响很小，这可能表明我们的创造性思维在对完全寂静和85分贝背景噪音的反应中并没有太大差异。

But since the results at 70 decibels were significant, the study also suggests that the right level of background noise — not too loud and not total silence — may actually improve one’s creative thinking ability. The right level of background noise may interrupt our normal patterns of thinking just enough to allow our imaginations to wander, without making it impossible to focus. This kind of “distracted focus” appears to be the best state for working on creative tasks.
但由于70分贝时的结果具有显著性，该研究还表明背景噪音的正确水平——既不要太大声也不要完全寂静——实际上可能会提高一个人的创造性思维能力。适当水平的背景噪音可能会打断我们正常的思维模式，允许我们的想象力自由发散，同时又不会让我们无法集中注意力。这种“分心的专注”似乎是进行创造性任务的最佳状态。

So why do so many of us hate our open offices? The problem may be that in our offices, we can’t stop ourselves from getting drawn into others’ conversations while we’re trying to focus. Indeed, the researchers found that face-to-face interactions and conversations affect the creative process, and yet a coworking space or a coffee shop provides a certain level of noise while also providing freedom from interruptions.
那么为什么我们这么多人讨厌我们的开放办公室呢？问题可能是在我们的办公室里，我们无法阻止自己被别人的对话吸引，而我们本来想集中注意力。事实上，研究人员发现面对面的互动和对话影响了创意思考过程，但一个共享办公空间或咖啡厅在提供一定噪音水平的同时也提供了不受打扰的自由。

1. Why does the interviewer prefer a coworking space?
   A. It helps him concentrate. B. It blocks out background noise.
   C. It has a pleasant atmosphere. D. It encourages face-to-face interactions.
   答案：A

2. Which level of background noise may promote creative thinking ability?
   A. Total silence. B. 50 decibels C. 70 decibels. D. 8 5 decibels.
   答案：C

3. What makes an open office unwelcome to many people?
   A. Personal privacy unprotected. B. Limited working space.
   C. Restrictions on group discussion. D. Constant interruptions.
   答案：D

4. What can we infer about the author from the text?
   A. He’s a news reporter.
   B. He’s an office manager.
   C. He’s a professional designer.
   D. He’s a published writer.
   答案：D