(1)As unpleasant emotions go, anxiety is the sketchiest. It's a vague, pit-of-the-stomach dread that sneaks up to you—that unease you get when your boss says that she needs to talk to you right away, when the phone rings at 4:00 a.m., or when your dentist looks into your mouth and says "Hmmmm" for the third time. (2)Lingering anxiety can keep you up at night, make you irritable, undermine your ability to concentrate, and either ruin your appetite or cause Olympian eating binges. And the constant state of readiness generated by anxiety—adrenaline pumping, heart racing, palms sweating—may contribute to high blood pressure and heart disease. How to prevent anxiety then? (3)Meditate. Maybe you're just high-strung. If so, meditation is worth a try. It cultivates a calmness that eases anxious feelings and offers a sense of control. A study at the University of Massachusetts found that volunteers who took an 8-week meditation course were considerably less anxious afterward. People who are high-strung find that they are dramatically calmer with 20 minutes of meditation in the morning and another 20 minutes after dinner. (4)If you've never done meditation, try this technique: Sit quietly in a comfortable position and take a few deep, cleansing breaths to relax your muscles. Then choose a calming word or phrase.(Experts suggest either a word or short phrase with religious significance, or the word one.)Silently repeat the word or phrase for 20 minutes. As you find your thoughts straying, gently return your focus to your repeated word and continue to breathe deeply. (5)Jog, walk, swim, or cycle. If you can't make time for meditation, be sure to make time for regular exercise. Exercise can have the same calming effect as meditation, particularly if it's something repetitive like running or swimming laps. Treatment? (6)Odds are that you can learn to handle anxiety better. Here's how. (7)Remember to breathe. When you're anxious, you tend to hold your breath or breathe too shallowly. That makes you feel more anxious. Breathing slowly and deeply can have a calming effect. To make sure that you're breathing correctly, place your hand on your diaphragm(横膈膜), just below your rib cage. Feel it rise with each inhalation and fall with each exhalation. (8)Analyze and act. The antidote(矫正方法)to anxiety is analysis and action. To rid yourself of that vague sense of dread, you have to figure out exactly what it is that you dread. Then you can map a plan of action to do something about it. Usually the first step in this action plan is to find out more about the problem. (9)Let's say you are anxious about your competence on the job. Ask yourself, "What, in particular, am I afraid that I'll muff?" Maybe you're afraid that you'll get further behind and miss your deadlines. Or maybe you're worried that you're blowing it whenever you present your ideas in meetings. Are your worries founded? Have you had several near misses with deadlines? Are your suggestions routinely vetoed? If not, the anxiety is needless. If there is a real problem, work on a solution: Pace yourself to better meet deadlines, or join a public speaking class.

【正确答案】 D

【答案解析】解析：根据题干中的symptoms，caused by anxiety及各选项内容定位到第2段。由该段末句“由于焦虑而产生的临战状态——肾上腺素增加，心脏急促，手掌出汗——这些都可能导致高血压以及心脏病”可知，导致高血压是一个潜移默化的过程，焦虑并不能直接导致高血压，故D为本题答案。解答本题时，需注意区分哪些是焦虑“直接引起”的症状，哪些“间接引起”的症状，弄清两者的区别，本题就不难得出正确答案。另外，由第2段可知，A、B、C都是由焦虑直接产生的症状，可以排除。