Question

Depression(抑郁症) is a serious problem today. One expert says that depression is like cancer because it is “widespread, costly and deadly”. Depression hits one person in five around the world.

Although people have believed depression to be a problem among the rich and educated, studies show that depression is a problem among everyone. Over any six-month period, between five to seven percent of the world’s population will be suffering from a serious depression.

A recent study shows that the more teenagers watch television, the more likely they are to develop depression as young adults.

The researchers used a national long-term survey of teenage health to investigate the relationship between media use and depression. They based their findings on more than four thousand teenagers who were not depressed when the survey began in 2000.

As part of the survey, the young people were asked how many hours of television or videos they watched daily. They were also asked how often they played computer games and listened to the radio. Media use totaled an average(平均) of 5 and a half hours a day. More than two hours of that was spent watching TV.

Seven years later, in 2007, more than seven percent of the young people had signs of depression. The average age at that time was twenty-one.

The researchers say they did not find any such relationship with the use of other media such as movies, video games or radio. But the study did find that every extra hour of television meant an eight percent increase in the chances of developing signs of depression. Young men were more likely than young women to develop depression given the same amount(总量) of media use. It’s still uncertain if watching TV causes depression. But one possibility is that it was taking time away from activities help prevent depression.

Last December, the journal Social Indicators Research published a study of activities that help lead to happy lives. Sociologists from the University of Maryland found that people who describe themselves as happy spend less time watching television than unhappy people. The study found that happy people are likely to be socially active, to read, to take part in religious services and to vote.

1.The writing purpose of this passage is ___________.

A.to introduce a long-term survey

B.to describe the signs of depression

C.to discover the possible causes of depression

D.to tell stories about a widespread, costly and deadly illness

2.Which of the following words has the closest meaning to ‘investigate’?

A.build B.break C.balance D.explore

3.What can we learn about depression?

A.Only rich and educated people may suffer from depression.

B.Depression hits 20 percent of people around the world.

C.Teenagers are more likely to develop depression.

D.It is a common illness that can be cured easily.

4.What can we learn from the passage?

A.Social activities may lead to depression.

B.Watching TV may increase the risk of developing depression.

C.Teenagers should play more video games instead of watching TV.

D.Compared to young men, young women are more likely to develop depression.

Answer 1