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.

E
Brazil has become one of the developing world’s great successes at reducing population growth－but more by accident than design. While countries such as India have made joint efforts to reduce birth rates, Brazil has had better result without really trying, says George Martine at Harvard.
Brazil’s population growth rate has dropped from 2.99% a year between 1951 and 1960 to 1.93% a year between 1981 and 1990, and Brazilian women now have only 2.7 children on average. Martine says this figure may have fallen still further since 1990, an achievement that makes it the envy of many other Third World countries.
Martine puts it down to, among other things, soap operas (通俗电视连续剧) and installment (分期付款) plans introduced in the 1970s. both played an important, although indirect, role in lowering, the birth rate. Brazil is one of the world’s biggest producers of soap operas. Globo, Brazil’s most popular television network, shows three hours of soaps six nights a week, while three others show at least one hour a night. Most soaps are based on wealthy characters living the high life in big cities.
“Although they have never really tried to work in a message towards the problems of reproduction, they describe middle and upper class values － not many children, different attitudes towards sex, women working,” says Martine. “They sent this image to all parts of Brazil and made people conscious of other patterns of behavior and other values, which were put into a very attractive package.”
Meanwhile, the installment plans tried to encourage the poor to become consumers (消费者). “This led to an enormous change in consumption (消耗、消费) patterns and consumption was incompatible (不相容的) with unlimited reproduction.” Says Martine.
57. According to the passage, Brazil has cut back its population growth ____.
A. by educating its citizens 　　　　　　　　B. by careful family planning
C. by developing TV programs 　　　　　　　D. by chance
58. According to the passage, many Third World countries ______.
A. haven’t attacked much importance to birth control
B. would soon join Brazil in controlling their birth rate
C. haven’t yet found an effective measure to control their population
D. neglected the role of TV plays in family planning
59. Soap operas have helped in lowering Brazil’s birth rate because ____.
A. they keep people sitting long hours watching TV
B. they have gradually changed people’s way of life
C. people are drawn to their attractive package
D. they popularize birth control measures
60. What is Martine’s conclusion about Brazil’s population growth?
A. The increase in birth rate will increase consumption.
B. The desire for consumption helps to reduce birth rate.
C. Consumption patterns and reproduction patterns are contradictory (互相矛盾的)
D. A country’s production is limited by its population growth.

To celebrate the end of our exams, my friends and I went to a fast food restaurant.We__26__hamburgers and Coca Cola at the counter. When our__27__came,I started walking towards an empty table. By bad luck, my purse strap (带子) got__28__on a chair and the tray (托盘) that I was holding slipped__29___my hands and went flying in the air. The tray, and its contents,__30___on a man who was just about to__31___a bite of his sandwich. I stared,greatly___32__,as the drinks soaked (浸湿) his white shirt.
Then I___33__my eyes and prepared myself for his burst of__34__.Instead,he said “It’s OK” to_ 35__me before he disappeared into the washroom.
Still shaky and unsure___36__to do next, my friends and I went to a table and sat there, trying our best to look___37__.A moment later, the man came out of the washroom and___38__our table, my heart almost stopped
___39__.I thought he was going to ask for my father’s_ 40 __and call him.
　　To my surprise, he merely smiled at us, handed us some cash and said,“__41___yourself new hamburgers. ”He then walked_ 42___without even finishing his food.
　　He could have made what was already an uncomfortable situation worse,___43__he chose a different way and gave us a reason to believe that there is still__44___in this world. I will never___45__his actions.

When did you last see a polar bear? On a trip to a zoo, perhaps? If you had attended a winter activity in New York a few years ago, you would have seen a whole polar bear club. These "Polar Bears" are people who meet frequently in the winter to swim in freezing cold water. That day, the air temperature was 3℃, and the water temperature was a bit higher. The members of the Polar Bear Club at Coney Island, New York are usually about the age of 60. Members must satisfy two requirements. First, they must get along well with everyone else in the group. This is very important because there are so many different kinds of people in the club. Polar Bears must also agree to swim outdoors at least twice a month from November through February.

　　Doctors do not agree about the medical effects of cold-water swimming. Some are worried about the dangers of a condition in which the body's temperature drops so low that finally the heart stops. Other doctors, however, point out that there is more danger of a heart attack during summer swimming because the difference between the air temperature and water temperature is much greater in summer than in winter.

The Polar Bears themselves are satisfied with the benefits (or advantages) of cold-water swimming. They say that their favorite form of exercise is very good for the circulatory system（循环系统）because it forces the blood to move fast to keep the body warm. Cold-water swimmers usually turn bright red after a few minutes in the water. A person who turns blue probably has a very poor circulatory system and should not try cold-water swimming.

　　The main benefits (or advantages) of cold-water swimming are probably mental. The Polar Bears love to swim year-round; they find it fun and relaxing. As one 70-year-old woman says. "When I go into the water, I pour my troubles into the ocean and let them float away."

The members of the Polar Bear Club must meet the following requirements except that

__________.

A. they must reach the age of 60

B. they should be easy to make friends with

C. they must swim outdoors at least 8 times in the four cold months

　 D. they must agree to swim outdoors from November through February

Doctors __________.

A. encourage people to take part in cold-water swimming actively

　 B. point out the possible danger of blood illness during cold-water swimming

　 C. believe swimming is helpful both in winter and in summer

　 D. have different ideas about the medical effects of cold-water swimming

According to the passage, some doctors believe it is true that __________.

　 A. you are healthy if cold-water swimming turns your skin color blue

　 B. cold-water swimming causes more heart attacks in summer than in winter

　 C. cold-water swimming can make the body temperature dangerously high

　 D. Polar Bears are bears swimming in freezing water

The Polar Bears like to swim all the year round, for __________.

　 A. they can remain young                         B. it is an easy way to keep the body warm in winter

　 C. they find it enjoyable and interesting        D. they might meet fewer troubles in life

The passage is mainly about __________.

A. a group of cold-water swimming lovers              

B. the polar bears' life 

　 C. doctors' ideas about cold-water swimming              

D. the requirements of the Polar Bear Club