The medical world is gradually realizing that the quality of the environment in hospitals

The medical world is gradually realizing that the quality of the environment in hospitals may play a significant role in the process of recovery from illness.
As part of a nationwide effort in Britain to bring art out of the galleries and into public places, some of the country's most talented artists have been called in to transform older hospitals and to soften the hard edges of modern buildings. Of the 2,500 National Health Service hospitals in Britain, almost 100 now have significant contemporary art in corridors, waiting areas and treatment rooms.
These recent initiatives(首创) owe a great deal to one artist, Peter Senior who set up his studio at a Manchester hospital in northeastern England during the early 1970s. He felt the artist had lost his place in modern society and that art should be enjoyed by a wider audience.
A typical hospital waiting room might have as many as 5,000 visitors each week. What a better place to hold regular exhibitions of art! Senior held the first exhibition of his own paintings in the outpatients waiting area of the Manchester Hospital in 1975. Believed to be Britain's first hospital artist, Senior was so much in demand that he was soon joined by a team of six young art school graduates.
The effect is striking. Now in the corridors and waiting rooms the visitor experiences a full view of fresh colors, playful images and restful courtyards.
The quality of the environment may reduce the need for expensive drugs when a patient is recovering from an illness. A study has shown that patients who had a view onto a garden needed half the number of strong pain killers compared with patients who had no view at all or only a brick wall to look at.
【小题1】The underlined part to soften the hard edges of modern buildings in Paragraph 2 means . A．to decorate hospitals with art collectionsB．to make the corners of hospital buildings round C．to change people's attitude toward hospitalsD．to replace the old buildings with modern buildings【小题2】Peter Senior is a(n) . A．doctor interested in artsB．artist who refuses to hold art exhibitions in hospitalsC．pioneer in introducing art into hospitalsD．artist who owns a great deal of property【小题3】The improvement of the hospital environment seems to be effective in . A．making it unnecessary to give drugs to patientsB．helping the modern artists regain their status in societyC．calling in more talented artists to hospitalsD．helping patients recovering from illness【小题4】The writer’s attitude towards the effect of art exhibitions in hospitals is . A．suspicious B．positiveC．neutral(中立的)D．unfavorableA

(答案→)A 解析：文章讲述了一个英国现代艺术家把画展摆在了医院大厅里，从而改变了病人就医环境的实例，以及研究的情况。【小题1】语义理解题。第二段提到，英国努力使艺术走出画廊而进入public places。使很多医院的走廊候诊室、诊室中都有了significant collections of contemporary art（数量可观的当代艺术作品），由此可知，国家召集艺术家们改造旧医院，从而soften the hard edges of modern buildings, 就是要用art collection来装饰医院，使医院看上去不那么生硬、冷漠。【小题2】事实细节题。根据第二段第一句These recent initiatives(首创) owe a great deal to one artist, Peter Senior ... early 1970s可知这些首创大部分要归功于一个名叫Peter Senior的艺术家，他早在70年代初期就在位于英格兰东北部的曼彻斯特医院建立了他的工作室, 由此可知，他是第一位将艺术引进医院的人。【小题3】事实细节题。从第一段The medical world is gradually realizing that the quality of the environment in hospitals may play a significant role in the process of recovery from illness可得知答案D。【小题4】态度题。从第四段中What a better place to hold regular exhibitions of art!及倒数第二段The effect is striking说明作者对艺术展的影响持肯定态度。

这个问题的回答的对