阅读理解 For the past five years, Dr. Stephen Post has been funding research projects that test how altruism(selflessness), compassion, and giving affect people's lives and well-being. As head of the Institute for Research on Unlimited Love(IRUL), at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, he has sponsored more than 50 studies by scientists from 54 major universities. In a wide range of disciplines—from public health to human development to neuroscience, sociology, and evolutionary biology—the studies have demonstrated that love and caring expressed in doing good for others lead people to have healthier, happier, and even longer lives.
IRUL research is part of a significant shift under way within key scientific disciplines from focusing just on the deficit or disease model of human nature to studying the positive, virtuous, and thriving aspects. In the process, the research is broadening the understanding of what contributes to health and longevity. Even some in evolutionary biology, a field long known for proclaiming "the selfish gene," are on board.
"A lot of my colleagues view it very positively," says David Sloan Wilson, a prominent evolutionary biologist famous for his work on "group selection." Dr. Wilson has studied how altruistic teenagers fare within differing social environments—situations where they thrive and others where they are under great stress—as well as group altruism. He praises the institute for identifying and supporting "a neglected set of subjects" for research.
Research on people diagnosed with various illnesses—whether it be HIV/AIDS, multiple sclerosis, or alcoholism-revealed that those patients involved in counseling or otherwise serving others show greater improvement in their own health. Volunteerism studies have demonstrated such positive results that some people have called for doctors to prescribe volunteer activities. Post emphasizes, however, that it's not just the activity itself, but the feelings behind the acts that benefit those taking part.
Numerous studies on the brain have provided images that confirm the "helper's high"—the warm glow that people feel from helping activities. But Post doesn't conclude that it's the selfish pursuit of that high that spurs people to be givers. "It's not just from the chemicals. There is this neurological activity in the human body," he says, "but I think there is a spiritual presence that enlivens and elevates this kind of natural substrate." The institute will then turn very practical, Post says, taking all that has been learned about love and seeing "how it can be applied in interventions to make the world a better place."
单选题 11.According to the first two paragraphs, we know that IRUL research
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】事实细节题。文中讲到“这些研究已经证明,帮助他人时体现出来的爱和关怀使人更健康、更快乐、甚至更长寿”,C项与此相符。
单选题 12.In the eyes of Dr. Wilson, IRUL research
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】推理判断题。根据Dr.Wilson定位到第三段。段落结尾处讲到“IRUL提出并支持研究‘一批受忽视的学科’,威尔逊对此称赞不已”,可见D项praiseworthy“值得赞扬的”符合此意。
单选题 13.The examples of the patients are cited in Paragraph 4 to show that
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】事实细节题.第四段以参加志愿者活动的病人身体康复更快的事例证明全文主旨一一爱和关怀使人更健康、快乐、长寿,C项意思与此相近。
单选题 14.The phrase "helper's high"(Line 1, Paragraph 5)most probably means
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】词义理解题。helper's high是一个陌生词组,但破折号后面就是对它的解释,意为“人们在帮助别人时体验到的温暖欢愉之感”,B项“做好事的愉悦感”最符合此义。
单选题 15.We can learn from the last paragraph that Dr. Post believes
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】推理判断题。主要考查对Dr.Post的几句话的理解。他提到“这种快感不仅仅来自体内的化学物质”,“有一种精神存在激活并升华了自然基质”,可见他认为这种快感与精神的关系更大,故D项正确。