Putting more green space around a school may help students develop some mental abilities, a study suggests. Researchers tested students repeatedly over the course of a year on attentiveness (专注力)and working memory, which is the ability to keep something in mind temporarily for performing a task. On the whole, students whose schools were surrounded by more green space improved more than pupils from schools with less green space.

The study tracked more than 2,000 students in 36 primary schools in Barcelona, Spain. The pupils were in the second to fourth grades when the study began. Green space may help mental development by reducing air pollution from vehicles, according to an article by the researchers that included pollution data from the schools. It may also help by reducing noise and encouraging physical activity, researchers said.

Policy makers should know that “more green around the school is better for cognitive development and that they should make sure that kids can see and play in green areas,” one author Mark Nieuwenhuijsen said. “Existing urban schools should think about replacing concrete or other hard surfaces with green space,” he suggested, “and even a few trees may help.”

The researchers used satellite images to group schools according to how much green space appeared on the school grounds and within about 55 yards of the school property. Their analysis showed that differences in socio-economic factors between schools did not account for the study outcome.

Sally Augustin, a psychologist, said the results made sense to her. She said the results fit with previous findings that views of nature help children and adults lower stress and perform mental tasks better.

【小题1】What does the text mainly tell us?

A．Green space makes schools more beautiful.

B．Schools are lack of green space for students.

C．Students’ mental abilities need to be improved.

D．Green space is good for students’ mental abilities.

【小题2】What does the underlined word “tracked” mean in paragraph 2?

A．Moved.

B．Helped.

C．Followed.

D．Found.

【小题3】What did Mark Nieuwenhuijsen suggest?

A．More trees should be planted for kids.

B．Noise should be cleared near the school.

C．Kids should be encouraged to play more sports.

D．Air pollution should be reduced from vehicles.

【小题4】Why is Augustin mentioned in the text?

A．To show a different opinion.

B．To introduce another interesting study.

C．To present Augustin’s view about the study.

D．To make the findings of the study more convincing.

【小题5】In which column of a website can we probably read the text?

A．Health.

B．Education.

C．Nature.

D．Technology.