Spending time in the great outdoors is a full-on sensory experience with nature’s views, endless skies, grand forests, the sounds of the wind and wildlife, and the warm feeling of sun-beams (阳光) resting on your face.
In fact, a recent study, published in the journal Ambio, found that nature doesn’t just smell good, and its fragrances make people feel good as well. The researchers from the University of Kent in the UK sent 194 participants to woodlands throughout the four seasons. The participants reported feeling relaxed and refreshed when they smelled what they described as “fresh air” or “earthy smells”. According to Earth. com, these smells awakened pleasant memories from their childhoods.
While it is well known that being in nature makes people feel good, this study was the first to focus on the olfactory (嗅觉的) aspect of the outdoors. The results showed that there may be more to smell than people give it credit for. The researchers wrote in the study, “We found smells affected multiple aspects of well-being with physical well-being discussed most frequently.”
The same study uncovered the relaxing effect of lack of smells, according to CBS News. People feel more settled in a smell-free zone, with this result possibly linked to the absence of bad-smelling urban smells, like pollution, that interfere (干扰、阻碍) with well-being. The study found that even the absence of pollution and unwanted smells that are associated with urban life was noticed by the participants to improve their physical well-being.
Dr Jessica Fisher, study co-author and postdoctoral research associate at Kent’s Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology, said, “The study provides findings that can inform the work of practitioners, public health specialists, policy-makers and landscape planners looking to improve well-being outcomes through nature. Small interventions (干预) could lead to public health benefits. So, when it comes to enjoying a hike in the woods, a pienic under the open skies, or a day at the beach, it pays to keep one’s eyes and ears, but also one’s nose, open.”
【小题1】Why is the study mentioned in paragraph 2 different from other similar ones?| A．It adopted innovative research methods. | B．It involved a number of participants. |
| C．It was supported officially. | D．It was the first to turn to studying the sense of smell. |
| A．Different smells have different functions. |
| B．No smell is better than a bad one. |
| C．Nature smells are necessary to people’s life. |
| D．Pleasant smells can improve people’s sense of smell. |
| A．To enjoy nature by their sense of smell as well |
| B．To participate in outdoor activities frequently. |
| C．To be exposed to natural smells as much as possible. |
| D．To be away from places with bad smells. |
| A．The Sounds of the Wind and Wildlife |
| B．A Scientific Study Applied to Our Real Life. |
| C．Smell of Nature Improves Well-being. |
| D．Pollution and Bad Smell are Associated with Urban Life. |
