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 (受访者) 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 (预防措施),” 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

【语篇解读】本文是一篇调查报告。题材是对未来生活的期望值与健康的关系。文章叙述了德国的一份调查报告，调查对象为18-96岁的成年人，指出成年早期、中期和晚期的人对未来生活的期望由乐观—准确—悲观的变化的这一结果。

段落	关键词、句	大意推测
第一部分（Para. 1）	People…optimistic… faced greater risk of disability or death…than those pessimists	开篇明义，给出了调查结果。
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	调查对象、调查结果的描述，并对结果进行分析。
第三部分（Para. 10）	from early to late adulthood… from optimistic, to accurate, to pessimistic	再次对调查结果进行总结。

【解析】

67.B。细节理解题。难度：较易。根据题干中的made the most accurate prediction定位文章第四段，while middle-aged adults (age 40 to 64) more accurately predicted how…,得知中年人对将来的预测更准确。

68. C。难度：中等。推理判断题。根据文章第六段people who were pessimistic about their future may be more careful about their actions可知答案。

【解题思路】本题题干中用了positive这个单词，对应了文章中的more careful about their actions,就是说悲观的人对于他们的将来更加注意他们的行为，从而积极采取措施应对潜在的风险。本题容易误选D选项。从常识上来说，好像该选项能说的过去，但文中并未提及。

69. A。难度：中等。推理判断题。根据文章第八段，…respondents who enjoyed good health or income were associated with expecting a greater decline.可知，收入高的人总是会想到将来收入的下降，得知答案。

【干扰项排除】C选项“他们将遭受心理疾病”。第八段的最后一句指出，高收入的人残疾的风险更高。这是调查结果。而题干是高收入的人他们怎样看待他们的未来。至于B，D调查结果未提及。

70.D。难度：中等。概括总结题。根据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。

【干扰项排除】: A选项：悲观确保生存的机会。这可以在第九段找到相关信息。但接下来作者说到：The authors of the study noted that there were limitations to their conclusions，所以答案是错误的。B选项：好的经济条件导致好的健康。文章第八段最后一句：…higher income was related to a greater risk of disability，可知答案错误。C选项：医学治疗决定健康结果。第九段最后一句：Illness, medical treatment and personal loss could also have driven health outcomes，可知，健康是由好多方面决定。因此，选项错误。

【难句学习】

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.

翻译：我们观察到对未来高估的太乐观的人比起那些客观预估的人来说，他们在未来十年有更高的残疾和死亡风险。

分析：本句：being too optimistic在此句中用动名词作主语，谓语动词为：was associatedwith…，than 找出比较对象：predicting a better future 和 actually observed作比较，这样结构就清晰了。

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

翻译：那些对未来悲观的人比起那些对未来充满憧憬的人，他们对于他们的行为更加小心谨慎。

分析：本句结构：people who…than people who…用了两个定语从句修饰先行词：people，than 对这两种人进行比较。