Question

Why do some people live to be older than others? You know the standard explanations: keeping a moderate diet, engaging in regular exercise, etc. But what effect does your personality have on your longevity（长寿）? Do some kinds of personalities lead to longer lives? A new study in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society looked at this question by examining the personality characteristics of 246 children of people who had lived to be at least 100.

The study shows that those living the longest are more outgoing, more active and less neurotic (神经质的) than other people. Long-living women are also more likely to be sympathetic and cooperative than women with a normal life span. These findings are in agreement with what you would expect from the evolutionary theory: those who like to make friends and help others can gather enough resources to make it through tough times. Interestingly, however, other characteristics that you might consider advantageous had no impact on whether study participants were likely to live longer. Those who were more self-disciplined, for instance, were no more likely to live to be very old. Also, being open to new ideas had no relationship to long life, which might explain all those bad-tempered old people who are fixed in their ways.

Whether you can successfully change your personality as an adult is the subject of a longstanding psychological debate. But the new paper suggests that if you want long life, you should strive to be as outgoing as possible.

Unfortunately, another recent study shows that your mother’s personality may also help determine your longevity. That study looked at nearly 28,000 Norwegian mothers and found that those moms who were more anxious, depressed and angry were more likely to feed their kids unhealthy diets. Patterns of childhood eating can be hard to break when we’re adults, which may mean that kids of depressed moms end up dying younger. Personality isn’t destiny, and everyone knows that individuals can learn to change. But both studies show that long life isn’t just a matter of your physical health but of your mental health.

1.The aim of the study in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society is____.

A. to investigate the role of exercise in living a long life

B. to find out if one’s lifestyle has any effect on their health

C. to see whether people’s personality affects their life span

D. to examine all the factors contributing to longevity

2.What does the author imply about outgoing and sympathetic people?

A. They are more likely to get over hardship.

B. They are better at negotiating an agreement.

C. They generally appear more resourceful.

D. They have a good understanding of evolution.

3.What finding of the study might prove somewhat out of our expectation？

A. Personality characteristics that prove advantageous actually vary with times.

B. Easy-going people can also live a relatively long life.

C. Readiness to accept new ideas helps one enjoy longevity.

D. Such personality characteristics as self-discipline have no effect on longevity.

4.What can we learn from the findings of the two new studies?

A. Anxiety and depression more often than not cut short one’s life span.

B. Health is in large part related to one’s lifestyle.

C. Personality plays a decisive role in how healthy one is.

D. Longevity results from a combination of mental and physical health.

Answer

1.C

2.A

3.D

4.D

【解析】

本文是一篇科教类阅读．文章主要介绍了一些影响长寿的因素．

1.细节理解题。根据"The study shows that those living the longest are more outgoing，more active and less neurotic （神经质的） than other people．Long-living women are also more likely to be sympathetic（同情的） and cooperative than women with a normal life span．"可知研究目的是要发现什么样的性格品质会影响一个人的寿命。故选C。

2.推理判断题。根据"These findings are in agreement with what you would expect from the evolutionary theory：those who like to make friends and help others can gather enough resources to make it through tough times．"可知作者认为外向并有同情心的人更容易克服困难。故选A。

3.细节理解题。根据第二段中however, other characteristics that you might consider advantageous had no impact on whether study participants were likely to live longer. Those who were more self-disciplined, for instance, were no more likely to live to be very old.可知，这项研究发现可能自律等人格特征对长寿没有影响。故选D。

4.推理判断题。根据"But both studies show that long life isn't just a matter of your physical health but of your mental health．"可知长寿不仅与一个人的身体健康有关，而且与其心理健康也有很大关系。故选D。