A 70-year study of personality suggests that pessimismis a risk factor for early death, especially among men.
Christopher Peterson of the University of Michigan and his colleagues analyzed data from the Terman Life-Cycle Study, which began by studying California public-school children with high IQs in 1921 and followed them through their life. Most of the 1528 children were preadolescentswhen the study began. Those still living are now in their 80s. In 1936 and 1940, participants were asked to complete a questionnaire designed to obtain information about difficult life events and their effect on overall outlook. One such question was, What do you regard as your most serious fault of personality or character?
Males were more likely than females to be classified as pessimistic. Compared with individuals with a more cheerful and optimistic outlook, pessimists were more likely to die from accidents and violence .
31. According to the passage, you may be a pessimistic person, if one failure makes you feel ________
B. other people will help you.
D. you can do better next time.
A. helpless when faced with difficulties.
C. hopeless when one bad event occurs.
33. Which of the following statements is true, according to the passage? ________
B. There are more pessimists among women than among men.
D. All pessimists will eventually die from accidents.
A. people over 70 years old.
C. pessimistic people over 80 years old.
35. The analysis made by Christopher Peterson and his colleagues shows that pessimistic people ________
B. will die soon if they are not able to learn to be cheerful and optimistic.
D. will more likely die from violence than optimistic people.
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