单选题
Using Facebook makes people sadder, at least according to some research. But just what is it about the social network that takes a hit on our mood? A study of the different ways of interacting with the site now offers an answer:
Grazing
on the content of other people"s idealized lives may make reality painful.
Scientists have long debated Facebook"s impact on users" in-the-moment mood as well as their deeper satisfaction with life. Some studies have found that the site makes us happier; others, sadder.
One of the problems is that most studies were cross-sectional, taking a snapshot of people at one point of time. But that makes it difficult to separate our use of Facebook from the many other factors known to affect well-being, from overwork to romantic meltdowns. A 2013 study led by Ethan Kross, a psychologist at the University of Michigan, sidestepped
this problem
by studying people"s use of Facebook over time, surveying them about their well-being five times per day for 2 weeks. The conclusion was that the more you use Facebook, the sadder you get.
That study generated an enormous amount of attention. But the results offered no clue to what it is about the social network, or how people are using it, that might have this negative effect.
Since then, a collaboration of labs including Kross"s has tried to tease apart the mechanisms. The researchers performed an "intervention," using subjects" personal Facebook accounts in specific ways. After all, interaction with Facebook consists of a whole set of activities, from browsing photos and "liking" websites to directly interacting with others through messages and comments.
Last week, Kross shared a sneak preview of his team"s results. Their findings suggest that there is no effect on well-being if one "actively" uses Facebook. When subjects directly interacted with the social network by posting status updates, sharing content, and messaging others, their mood stayed the same over the course of a day. But the negative impact on well-being that Kross discovered in his 2013 study reappeared for individuals who were made to "passively" use the site—just browsing through photographs of other people"s happy moments, reading people"s conversations, and not contributing anything.
"Using Facebook is not bad for well-being per se," Kross concluded, but "grazing" its content is. Possible reasons for this were bounced around by the audience of psychologists. For example, one theory holds that people post idealized versions of themselves on Facebook, and comparing those to your own real-world life is toxic if you don"t take part in the online theater.
单选题
The word "Grazing" (Para. 1) most probably means
单选题
What does the phrase "this problem" in Paragraph 3 refer to?
【正确答案】
A
【答案解析】[解析] 细节题。根据题干关键词定位到第三段。倒数第二句中出现了this problem这个短语。本段第一句为One of the problems is that most studies were cross-sectional, taking a snapshot of people at one point of time, 指出了problem是什么。But that makes it difficult...则是problem引起的结果。接下来即以A 2013 study led by Ethan Kross为例说明这个实验也忽视了上文提到的problem，因此可知this problem是指第一句的内容，A项“大部分实验都是典型性的，不具有一般性”为正确答案，typical相当于原文的cross-sectional。B项made a detailed study与原文taking a snapshot不符。C项是problem引起的结果。D项为无关信息干扰项。
单选题
Ethan Kross"s 2013 study failed to find
【正确答案】
C
【答案解析】[解析] 细节题。根据题干关键词定位到第三、四段。第三段最后一句提到了实验结果。第四段But the results offered no clue to what it is about the social network, or how people are using it, that might have this negative effect. 则提到了实验的缺陷，即研究结果并没有指出究竟是社交网络的哪一方面，或者人们怎样使用社交网络会带来消极影响。因此C项为正确答案。A项“人们怎样使用社交网络”，B项“人们使用脸谱网的时候是否会变得悲伤”，D项“人们在使用脸谱网的何时会变悲伤”，均与题干不符。
单选题
It can be inferred from the last two paragraphs that
【正确答案】
C
【答案解析】[解析] 推断题。根据题干关键词定位到最后两段。本题可用排除法。由there is no effect on well-being if one "actively" uses Facebook可知A项“人们积极地使用脸谱网会使幸福生活受到影响”错误。由When subjects...messaging others, their mood stayed the same...可知B项“当实验者在脸谱网上留言时，他们的情绪会受到影响”错误。最后一段提到Using Facebook is not bad for well-being per se...but "grazing" its content is。因此C项“只有人们过度关注其中的内容时，使用脸谱网才对幸福生活有坏处”为正确答案。由最后一句可知D项错误。
单选题
Which of the following can best summarize the main idea of the text?