Question

For anyone still doubting the belief that our emotions influence our physical health, a new study from New Zealand should be able to settle the matter. It reports that the physical wounds of healthy seniors healed more quickly if they wrote about their most upsetting experiences.

This confirms the results of a 2010 study, and extends those findings to cover older adults—a group that is likely to suffer wounds (as from surgery), and one with less access to other ways of lowering tension (such as exercise).

Reported in the journal Psychosomatic Medicine, a research team led by the University of Auckland’s Elizabeth Broadbent made a study featuring 50 healthy adults ranging in age from 64 to 97. They were asked to write for 20 minutes per day for three consecutive(连续的) days.

Half were asked to write about the most upsetting experience in their life, describing their deepest thoughts, feelings, and emotions about the events, ideally not previously shared with others. The others were asked to write about their daily activities without mentioning emotions, opinions or beliefs.

Two weeks after the third day of writing, all participants received a standard 4mm skin biopsy(皮下活体组织检查) on their inner arm. The very tiny wounds caused by the biopsy were photographed regularly over the following days to determine the rate at which they healed.

On the 11th day after the biopsy, the wounds completely healed on 76.2 percent of those who had done the expressive writing. That was true of only 42.1 percent of those who had written about everyday activities.

“The biological and psychological mechanisms(机体) behind this effect remain unclear,” the researchers wrote, noting that those who had done the expressive writing did not report lower stress levels or fewer depressive symptoms than the others in the control group. Even if they weren’t consciously aware of feeling more relaxed or positive, the expressive writing appeared to have caused some sort of bodily reaction—probably involving their immune systems—that hastened their recovery.

1.What was the difference between the two groups of participants in the study?

A. What they wrote.

B. Where they wrote.

C. When they wrote.

D. How often they wrote.

2.According to the text, the experiment lasted       .

A. about three days           B. about a month

C. about two weeks            D. about ten days

3.The underlined word “hastened” in the last paragraph is closest in meaning to       .

A. speeded    B. showed    C. limited         D. ruined

4. What would be the best title of the text?

A. Sharing with others can reduce stress.

B. Skin biopsies are likely to cause wounds.

C. Expressive writing heals physical wounds.

D. Upsetting experiences influence our emotions.

Answer

1.A

2.B

3.A

4.C

【解析】

试题分析：本文通过介绍一个科学实验告诉我们精神对身体健康有很大的影响，进一步证明了两者是相关联的观点。

1.A 细节题。根据文章第四段Half were asked to write about the most upsetting experience in their life, describing their deepest thoughts, feelings, and emotions about the events, ideally not previously shared with others. The others were asked to write about their daily activities without mentioning emotions, opinions or beliefs.可知参加测试的对象中有一半被要求写出他们最难受的经历，最深层的感受。另外一半被要求写出日常活动但是不要提到情绪方面的内容。可知这两群人的要求是不一样的。故A正确。

2.B 计算题。根据3、5、6段可知They were asked to write for 20 minutes per day for three consecutive(连续的) days.先连续写三天；Two weeks after the third day of writing, all participants received a standard 4mm skin biopsy(皮下活体组织检查) on their inner arm.两周以后继续皮下活体组织检查；On the 11th day after the biopsy, the wounds completely healed on 76.2 percent of those who had done the expressive writing. 活体组织检查11天以后检测伤口愈合程度。加起来大约是一个月的时间。故B正确。

3.A 猜测词意题。根据倒数第二段On the 11th day after the biopsy, the wounds completely healed on 76.2 percent of those who had done the expressive writing. That was true of only 42.1 percent of those who had written about everyday activities可知被要求写出内心深层感受的人的伤口愈合得更快，这正可以说明精神对身体是有很大影响的。再根据本句Even if they weren’t consciously aware of feeling more relaxed or positive, the expressive writing appeared to have caused some sort of bodily reaction—probably involving their immune systems—that hastened their recovery.可知在他们无意识的情况下，表达情绪的写作可以导致免疫系统的做出回应—加快伤口的恢复。所以该词应该和A项speeded“加速，加快”意义一致。

4.

【名师点睛】

对文章主旨大意的考查，不仅可以直接以理解段落及文章的主旨大意的形式出现，而且也可以用选择或拟定文章标题的形式出现。因此，选择文章标题，首先可以按照主旨大意的确定方式，先弄清文章的主旨大意，再定标题。 标题位于文章之首，用来高度概括文章内容，点明文章主题。它是段落中心思想最精练的表达形式。标题可帮助读者迅速推测出整篇文章的主要内容，抓住文章的中心，把握作者的观点和意图。那么如何选择文章的标题呢？

首先，要考虑标题对文章的概括性或覆盖面如何。一般要求能覆盖全文内容，体 现文章主旨。要避免下列三种情况：①概括不够（多表现为部分代整体，从而导致范围太小）；

②过度概括（多表现为脱离本文章内容的发挥）；

③以事实、细节替代抽象具体的大意。

其次，要考虑标题的针对性，即标题范围要恰当，针对性强。要在阅读原文的基础上， 仔细考虑所选标题与文章主题是否有密切的关系。既不能太大，也不能太小，太大则中心就不突出，太小也发挥不了应起的作用；精确度高，不能随意改变语言的表意程度及色彩。它可以是单词、短语，也可以是句子。

本文32题即为主旨大意题，本文主旨第一即为文章第一段内容，我们所选标题必须与第一段相一致。本文的主旨即为：精神情绪表达对身体健康有很大的影响。文章中用一项实验证明这一点。所以C项“Expressive writing heals physical wounds.”与之一致。

考点：考查科普类阅读