Question

　　A German study suggests that people who were too optimistic about their future actually faced greater risk of disability or death within 10 years than those pessimists who expected their future to be worse.

　　The paper, published this March in Psychology and Aging, examined health and welfare surveys from roughly 40,000 Germans between ages 18 and 96. The surveys were conducted every year from 1993 to 2003.

　　Survey respondents (受訪者) were asked to estimate their present and future life satisfaction on a scale of 0 to 10, among other questions.

　　The researchers found that young adults (age 18 to 39) routinely overestimated their future life satisfaction, while middle-aged adults (age 40 to 64) more accurately predicted how they would feel in the future. Adults of 65 and older, however, were far more likely to underestimate their future life satisfaction. Not only did they feel more satisfied than they thought they would, the older pessimists seemed to suffer a lower ratio (比率) of disability and death for the study period.

　　“We observed that being too optimistic in predicting a better future than actually observed was associated with a greater risk of disability and a greater risk of death within the following decade,” wrote Frieder R. Lang, a professor at the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg.

　　Lang and his colleagues believed that people who were pessimistic about their future may be more careful about their actions than people who expected a rosy future.

　　“Seeing a dark future may encourage positive evaluations of the actual self and may contribute to taking improved precautions (預防措施),” the authors wrote.

　　Surprisingly, compared with those in poor health or who had low incomes, respondents who enjoyed good health or income were associated with expecting a greater decline. Also, the researchers said that higher income was related to a greater risk of disability.

　　T  Pessimism gurantees chances of survival.he authors of the study noted that there were limitations to their conclusions. Illness, medical treatment and personal loss could also have driven health outcomes.

　　However, the researchers said a pattern was clear. “We found that from early to late adulthood, individuals adapt their expectations of future life satisfaction from optimistic, to accurate, to pessimistic,” the authors concluded.

　　67. According to the study, who made the most accurate prediction of their future life satisfaction?

　　A. Optimistic adults.

　　B. Middle-aged adults.

　　C. Adults in poor health.

　　D. Adults of lower income.

　　68. Pessimism may be positive in some way because it causes people ______.

　　A. to fully enjoy their present life

　　B. to estimate their contribution accurately

　　C. to take measures against potential risks

　　D. to value health more highly than wealth

　　69. How do people of higher income see their future?

　　A. They will earn less money.

　　B. They will become pessimistic.

　　C. They will suffer mental illness.

　　D. They will have less time to enjoy life.

　　70. What is the clear conclusion of the study?

　　A. Pessimism guarantees chances of survival.

　　B. Good financial condition leads to good health.

　　C. Medical treatment determines health outcomes.

　　D. Expectations of future life satisfaction decline with age.

　　

Answer 1

【語篇解讀】本文是一篇調(diào)查報告。題材是對未來生活的期望值與健康的關(guān)系。文章敘述了德國的一份調(diào)查報告，調(diào)查對象為18-96歲的成年人，指出成年早期、中期和晚期的人對未來生活的期望由樂觀—準確—悲觀的變化的這一結(jié)果。

段落	關(guān)鍵詞、句	大意推測
第一部分（Para. 1）	People…optimistic… faced greater risk of disability or death…than those pessimists	開篇明義，給出了調(diào)查結(jié)果。
第二部分（Para. 2-9）	...verestimated ...accurately...underestimate... Seeing a dark future... to taking improved precautions higher income was related to a greater risk of disability	調(diào)查對象、調(diào)查結(jié)果的描述，并對結(jié)果進行分析。
第三部分（Para. 10）	from early to late adulthood… from optimistic, to accurate, to pessimistic	再次對調(diào)查結(jié)果進行總結(jié)。

【解析】

67.B。細節(jié)理解題。難度：較易。根據(jù)題干中的made the most accurate prediction定位文章第四段，while middle-aged adults (age 40 to 64) more accurately predicted how…,得知中年人對將來的預測更準確。

68. C。難度：中等。推理判斷題。根據(jù)文章第六段people who were pessimistic about their future may be more careful about their actions可知答案。

【解題思路】本題題干中用了positive這個單詞，對應了文章中的more careful about their actions,就是說悲觀的人對于他們的將來更加注意他們的行為，從而積極采取措施應對潛在的風險。本題容易誤選D選項。從常識上來說，好像該選項能說的過去，但文中并未提及。

69. A。難度：中等。推理判斷題。根據(jù)文章第八段，…respondents who enjoyed good health or income were associated with expecting a greater decline.可知，收入高的人總是會想到將來收入的下降，得知答案。

【干擾項排除】C選項“他們將遭受心理疾病”。第八段的最后一句指出，高收入的人殘疾的風險更高。這是調(diào)查結(jié)果。而題干是高收入的人他們怎樣看待他們的未來。至于B，D調(diào)查結(jié)果未提及。

70.D。難度：中等。概括總結(jié)題。根據(jù)文章最后一段最后一句：…from early to late adulthood, individuals adapt their expectations of future life satisfaction from optimistic, to accurate, to pessimistic,” the authors concluded.可知答案。

【干擾項排除】: A選項：悲觀確保生存的機會。這可以在第九段找到相關(guān)信息。但接下來作者說到：The authors of the study noted that there were limitations to their conclusions，所以答案是錯誤的。B選項：好的經(jīng)濟條件導致好的健康。文章第八段最后一句：…h(huán)igher income was related to a greater risk of disability，可知答案錯誤。C選項：醫(yī)學治療決定健康結(jié)果。第九段最后一句：Illness, medical treatment and personal loss could also have driven health outcomes，可知，健康是由好多方面決定。因此，選項錯誤。

【難句學習】

1.We observed that being too optimistic in predicting a better future than actually observed was associated with a greater risk of disability and a greater risk of death within the following decade.

翻譯：我們觀察到對未來高估的太樂觀的人比起那些客觀預估的人來說，他們在未來十年有更高的殘疾和死亡風險。

分析：本句：being too optimistic在此句中用動名詞作主語，謂語動詞為：was associatedwith…，than 找出比較對象：predicting a better future 和 actually observed作比較，這樣結(jié)構(gòu)就清晰了。

2. people who were pessimistic about their future may be more careful about their actions than people who expected a rosy future.

翻譯：那些對未來悲觀的人比起那些對未來充滿憧憬的人，他們對于他們的行為更加小心謹慎。

分析：本句結(jié)構(gòu)：people who…than people who…用了兩個定語從句修飾先行詞：people，than 對這兩種人進行比較。