Directions: There are 4 passages in this part. For each of them there are four choices marked A.,B., C. and D. You should decide on the best choice.
Passage 3
People who spend their days glued to networking websites such as Facebook and Twitter are more likely to be depressed, a new U.K. study has revealed.
A team of researchers at the University of Leeds have conducted the first large-scale survey of its kind to find a link between the Internet and depression.
“The Internet now plays a huge part in modern life, but its benefits are accompanied by a darker side,” said psychologist Catriona Morrison, lead author of the study, which is published in the journal Psychopathology Today.
The survey was administered online, with adverts place on social-networking sites, and 1,319 people took the tests. Participants were asked to answer questions in an Internet Addiction Test. Internet Function Test (to see what people use the Internet for most) and the Beck Depression Inventory.
Morrison and her team found that 18 respondents were “Internet addicted”. When matched against not-addicted Internet users within the survey, the difference in depression ratings was significant; the addicts showed higher levels of depression than their non-addicted counterparts.
In addition, the team found a correlation between the type of sites visited and the level of user addition. According to the study, Internet addicts spent more time on “gaming websites and online community chat”, whereas the non- addicted group perused (浏览) a wider range of site.
But Morrison acknowledged some caveats (为防止误解而作的说明) to the study. The Internet Addiction Test, although a useful tool in studying this modern age addiction, is not a foolproof method of diagnosis. New tests incorporating (包含) measures of social isolation and loneliness may provide a more accurate measure to continue in this area.
“What is clear”, said Morrison, “is that for a small subset of people, excessive use of the Internet could be a warning signal for depressive tendencies.”
The study also leaves many questions unanswered. Having found a correlation, future studies may try to determine the cause. Do people become depressed because they are addicted to the Internet or turn to the Internet because they’re depressed?
Morrison hopes future studies of Internet users will help define what this link might be. “We now need to consider the wider societal implications of this relationship and confirm clearly the effects of excessive Internet use on mental health.”