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（命运), 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 see whether people’s personality affects their life span

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

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

D. to examine all the factors contributing to longevity

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

A. They have a good understanding of evolution.

B. They are better at negotiating an agreement.

C. They generally appear more resourceful.

D. They are more likely to get over hardship.

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

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

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

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

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

4.What does the recent study of Norwegian mothers show?

A. Children’s personality characteristics are invariably determined by their mothers.

B. People with unhealthy eating habits are likely to die sooner.

C. Mothers’ influence on children may last longer than fathers’.

D. Mothers’ negative personality characteristics may affect their children’s life spans.

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

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

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

Answer

1.A

2.D

3.C

4.D

5.B

【解析】

试题分析：文章介绍了性格和寿命的关系。长寿的结果来源于心理和身体健康的组合。

1. 主旨题。题目问的是研究目的是什么，定位至第一段最后一句“A new study in the …246 children of people who had lived to be at least 100“定位句前一段提到了personality和longevity，研究是围绕二者关系展开的，A项提到了personality和life span，并且指出是否性格会影响到寿命，故答案为A。B,C均未提及，D项出现了all，太绝对，文章只介绍了性格和寿命的关系，这是干扰选项。

2. 推断题。题目问到关于乐观开朗的人，作者有什么看法。Outgoing和sympethetic定位至第二段，最后一句“those who like to make friends and help others can gather enough resources to make it through tough times”乐于交友的人可以有更充足的资源来帮助他们度过艰难时期。D选项get over hardship是同义选项，A项和B项并非定位区间的词，C项resourceful是原文中定位句出现的，但是后面的to do才是强调的部分，所以C项是干扰选项。

3. 推理判断题。题干问到这项研究能或多或少证实我们哪些期望？定位至第三段“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.“然而，一些其他的你认为有优势的性格特点对于参与者是否能够长寿没有影响，例如，越自律的人，并不是更有可能寿命长。C项是对这两句话的概括。

4. 细节理解题。题干问关于挪威妈妈们的研究显示了什么。Norwegian 定位至第五段，“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.”found that后面即为答案，更焦虑，压力大且易怒的妈妈更有可能带给孩子不健康的饮食。D项是同义转述。

5. 细节理解题。题干问这两项新的研究成果表明了什么？定位至最后一段最后一句“But both studies show that long life isn't just a matter of your physical health but of your mental health.” Show that后面即为答案，长寿跟身体和心理的健康都有关系。B项是这句话的同意转述。

【名师点睛】

推理题的解题方法

1. 抓住特定信息进行逆向或正向推理

做此类试题要善于抓住某一段话中的关键信息，即某些关键词或短语去分析、推理、判断，利用逆向思维或正面推理，从而推断出这句话所隐含的深层含义。

2. 整合全文（段）信息进行推断

做推理题时，有时需要在弄懂全文意思的基础上，整合与题目相关的有用信息，综合起来去推理判断，确定最佳结论。6.是原文中定位句出现的，但是后面的to do才是强调的部分，所以C项是干扰选项。

考点：考查健康类阅读