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READING PASSAGE 2

You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 14–26, which are based on Reading Passage 2 below.

Healthy buildings, productive people

Indoor buildings can influence our thinking, behaviour and health

A Have you felt tired at your desk lately? According to new research, some often overlooked environmental factors within buildings – the degree or type of ventilation, airborne contaminants, lighting and noise levels, for example – can play a surprisingly large role in how good or bad you feel, and even how well you think. It is estimated that we spend more than 90 percent of our time inside, but builders in general have paid little attention to the health aspects of indoor spaces, instead focusing on superficial design features and on meeting minimum environmental standards to keep costs down.

B Researchers at Harvard University in the US looked at the effects of indoor air quality on workers' cognitive performance – important both for health and for companies' bottom lines, says Joseph Allen, assistant professor of environmental health and principal investigator of the studies. 'The true cost of running our buildings should take into account the health and productivity of people in those buildings,' Allen says. In fact, an analysis by the team showed that the cost of making alterations that could boost cognitive performance significantly was minuscule compared with the related increase in productivity – about 40 per person per year, compared with a 40 per person per year, compared with a6,500 increase in employee productivity.

C The team's first study, published in Environmental Health Perspectives, was conducted at the Syracuse Center of Excellence, a US research organisation devoted to studying and developing sustainability. The centre houses a laboratory that allows researchers to test a wide range of indoor air quality factors using sophisticated ventilation. Each day, the indoor environment was controlled with a ventilation system which included small amounts of carbon dioxide and other pollutants. The researchers exposed 24 participants – architects, designers and engineers – to a range of simulated indoor environmental conditions over six full work days. The participants completed the same cognitive tests each afternoon. The results were striking. In conditions with low levels of volatile organic compounds and carbon dioxide, participants scored 61 percent higher on the cognitive tests than in conditions with high levels of these pollutants. On measures of crisis response and strategy, scores were 131 percent higher.

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D A follow-up study looked at the effects of ventilation rates on cognitive function. The researchers tested workers in a commercial building in Boston, Massachusetts, over a period of several months. They found that when the ventilation rate was increased from 20 cubic feet per minute per person to 40 cubic feet per minute, cognitive scores improved by 15 percent. At even higher ventilation rates of 60 cubic feet per minute, scores improved by 50 percent compared to the baseline. 'This suggests that the benefits of better ventilation continue to increase as we approach and exceed currently accepted standards,' Allen explained.

E Other environmental factors also matter. Lighting, in particular, has been shown to affect mood, alertness and sleep quality. In one study, workers in offices with windows received 173 percent more white light exposure during work hours and slept an average of 46 minutes more per night than those without windows. Noise, too, plays a role. Open-plan offices, while popular for collaboration, have been linked to higher stress levels and lower concentration due to uncontrolled background conversations and other distractions.

F The implications for employers are significant. Improved indoor environments not only enhance cognitive performance but also reduce sick leave and staff turnover. Allen estimates that poor indoor air quality costs the US economy tens of billions of dollars annually in lost productivity. Conversely, investing in healthier buildings yields a substantial return. 'We're not talking about expensive, futuristic designs,' says Allen. 'We're talking about simple, proven interventions: better ventilation, low-emission materials, access to natural light, and thermal comfort.' The challenge, he adds, is that these factors are not part of standard building practice – but they should be.

Questions 14–19

Reading Passage 2 has six paragraphs, A–F.
Choose the correct heading for each paragraph from the list of headings below.
Write the correct number, i–viii, in boxes 14–19 on your answer sheet.

List of Headings

| i | The effects of a new environmentally friendly building on the people who work there |
| ii | The ability of well-designed workplaces to attract the best staff |
| iii | The assessment of workplaces in several locations |
| iv | An outline of building factors affecting health and thinking |
| v | A cost-benefit analysis of improving indoor environments |
| vi | The impact of lighting and noise on worker well-being |
| vii | Results showing major cognitive improvements from cleaner air |
| viii | The financial cost of poor air quality to the national economy |

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14 Paragraph A
15 Paragraph B
16 Paragraph C
17 Paragraph D
18 Paragraph E
19 Paragraph F

Questions 20–22

Complete the sentences below.
Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer.
Write your answers in boxes 20–22 on your answer sheet.

20 Builders have traditionally prioritised superficial design features and meeting minimum ____________________ to reduce expenses.

21 In the Syracuse study, participants who worked in conditions with low levels of ____________________ and carbon dioxide performed significantly better on cognitive tests.

22 Workers in offices without windows slept an average of 46 minutes less per night than those in offices with ____________________. >> 🔥 IELTS TUTOR gợi ý tham khảo CẦN VIẾT & THU ÂM BAO NHIÊU BÀI ĐỂ ĐẠT 8.0 SPEAKING & 7.0 WRITING?

Questions 23–26

Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 2?
In boxes 23–26 on your answer sheet, write

| TRUE | if the statement agrees with the information |
| FALSE | if the statement contradicts the information |
| NOT GIVEN | if there is no information on this |

23 The cost of improving cognitive performance through building alterations is high compared to the productivity gains.

24 All 24 participants in the Syracuse study were employed in the construction industry.

25 Open-plan offices can lead to increased stress and reduced concentration.

26 Most new buildings already include all the proven interventions recommended by Allen.

14. iv
15. v
16. vii
17. iii
18. vi
19. viii
20. environmental standards
21. volatile organic compounds
22. windows
23. FALSE
24. FALSE
25. TRUE
26. FALSE

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