Question

Here is a good reason to be hopeful about the future: it might help you stay alive.

Findings from a new study were presented at a recent meeting of the American Psychosomatic(身心的) Society. Researchers in the United States studied one hundred thousand women during an eight-year period, beginning in nineteen ninety-four. All of the women were fifty years of age or older. The study was part of the Women's Health Initiative organized by the National Institutes of Health.

The women were asked questions that measured their beliefs or ideas about the future. The researchers attempted to identify each woman's personality eight years after gathering the information.

The study found that hopeful individuals were fourteen percent less likely than other women to have died from any cause. The hopeful women were also thirty percent less likely to have died from heart disease after the eight years.

Hilary Tindle from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine in Pennsylvania was the lead author of the report. She said the study confirmed earlier research that linked optimistic (樂觀的) feelings to longer life.

The researchers also gathered information about people's education, financial earnings, physical activity and use of alcohol or cigarettes. Independent of those things, the findings still showed that optimists had less of a chance of dying during the eight-year period.

Some women who answered the questions were found to be cynically (愛嘲笑地) hostile (懷敵意的), or highly untrusting of others. These women were sixteen percent more likely to die than the others. They also were twenty-three percent more likely to die of cancer.

The study also found that women who were not optimistic were more likely to smoke and have high blood pressure or diabetes. They were also more likely not to exercise.

Professor Tindle says the study did not confirm whether optimism leads to healthier choices, or if it actually affects a person's physical health. She also says the study does not prove that negative (消極的) emotions or distrust lead to bad health effects and shorter life. Yet there does appear to be a link that calls for more research.

http://www.voanews.com/specialenglish/2009-04-14-voa2.cfm

59. Which of the following is NOT true above study mentioned in the passage?

A. One hundred thousand women aged fifty years old or older were involved in the study.

B. The hopeful women were 30% less likely to have died from heart disease after the eight years.

C. Some women who were highly untrusting of others were 16% more likely to die than the others.

D. negative emotions or distrust actually affect a person's physical health.

60. The above passage mainly _________.

A. gives advice on how to keep hopeful

B. introduces a study about women’s psychosomatic health

C. introduces a study that confirmed optimism leads to healthier choices.

D. warns that negative emotions lead to bad health effects and shorter life

61. From the findings from the new study, we can infer _______________.

A. optimism might be helpful to your health. B. negative emotions don’t lead to shorter life.

C. There is no link between people’s emotions and their health.

D. There is necessary link between people’s emotions and their health.

62. What’s the meaning of the underlined phrase “independent of” in the sixth paragraph?

A. naturally connected with       B. not satisfied with

C. controlled by                D. not dependent on

Answer 1

DBAD