Question

Directions: Write a summary of the passage in more than 60 words and the original sentences in the passage are not allowed to use.

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? 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.

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Answer

Two recent studies have researched the relationship between personality characteristics and longevity. More outgoing, more active and less anxious people and sympathetic and cooperative females live longer, for these personalities may bring them more social resources. However, seemingly advantageous personalities like self-discipline and open-mindedness do not necessarily lead to longevity. Surprisingly, a mother’s personality may affect her children’s life span.

【解析】

本文为一篇说明文的概要写作。文章讲述了性格和寿命之间的关系，更外向、更活跃、更不焦虑的人以及富有同情心和合作精神的女性寿命更长，因为这些性格可能会给她们带来更多的社会资源。然而，表面上有利的性格，如自律和开放的心态，并不一定会导致长寿。令人惊讶的是，母亲的性格可能会影响孩子的寿命。注意词数要求和使用自己的语言。

写之前，需要认真仔细地读几遍原文材料，让理解更深刻，抓住几大要点去写题。本篇概要写作，需从以下几个要点着手；

要点1：该段最近有研究探讨了人性格特征与寿命的关系，主题句为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.

要点2：该段主要讲述更外向、更活跃、更不焦虑的人以及富有同情心和合作精神的女性寿命更长，因为这些性格可能会给她们带来更多的社会资源。内容可以从Long-living women are also more likely to be sympathetic and cooperative than women with a normal life span中提炼。

要点3：该段主要讲述表面上有利的性格，如自律和开放的心态，并不一定会导致长寿，内容可以从Those who were more self-disciplined, for instance, were no more likely to live to be very old.及后面句子中提炼。

要点4：该段主要讲述母亲的性格可能会影响孩子的寿命，主题句为another recent study shows that your mother’s personality may also help determine your longevity.