1 For the philosopher
Arthur Schopenhauer optimism was fundamentally wrong, banal and corrupting while
the father of psychoanalysis Sigmund Freud simply declared it to be
neurotic. 2 Experience shows that looking on the
bright side of life does have advantages and recent scientific evidence points
to the positive mindset as being beneficial to health. In other words, optimists
live longer. 3 That was the conclusion reached by
experts at the Mayo Clinic in the US State of Minnesota who evaluated answers
given by people to a set of questions in the 1960s. Of the 729 candidates, 200
had died and according to scientists, there were a disproportionate number of
pessimists among them. 4 Ten points more on the
pessimism scale—that was the difference between "slightly pessimistic" and
"averagely pessimistic"—were enough to boost a person's chances of dying by 19
percent, according to the study by prominent psychologist Martin Seligman of the
University of Pennsylvania. 5 The study does not
say why pessimists die. But an older survey taken among children in San
Francisco and Los Angeles makes it clear that personal attitude towards the
world is a key factor in the longevity equation. 6
The latest evidence to support the theory that optimists tend to cope better
with illness of all kinds has been provided by Professor Ralf Schwarzer of
Berlin's Free University who questioned 600 heart and lung patients. His
conclusion: Optimists recover more swiftly from operations than their
pessimistic counterparts, tend to be happier after treatment and return to work
more swiftly. 7 There have been suggestions that
optimists do not stay healthier but rather turn into optimists later because
they enjoy good health. Numerous surveys have taken into account a person's
state of health at the outset and the effect remains the same.
8 Studies have shown that optimists do not blind themselves to
reality either. They thus interpret it in a positive way. "Sublimating and
denying things tend to alter reality but illusions are a way of seeing reality
in the best light," said Californian psychology professor Shelley
Taylor. 9 German science journal Bild der
Wissenschaft, which carries a major article on the topic in its current
March issue, commented on "the right attitude" to having a tumor.
10 It seems psychotherapy can go some way towards extending
the life span and life quality of a sick person although a complete recovery
using psychological technique alone is unlikely. 11
Doctors like, however, to point to the example of US cycling professional
Lance Armstrong, who was seriously ill with cancer, but whose unshakeable
optimism helped him to take the top trophy twice at cycling's premier Tour de
France. 12 The magazine also quoted a study by
Sheldon Cohens of the Carnegie-Mellon-University in Pittsburgh: 420 volunteers
were deliberately infected with strains of various common cold viruses. A day
later checks were carried out to see who had caught a cold.
13 The results showed that in the case of people who had
satisfactory, long-term relations with friends, neighbors or colleagues, the
virus was less likely to trigger a cold. Of people with three or fewer firm
relationships 62 percent became ill compared with only 35 percent of those who
had six or more close human links.
填空题
A. Quicker Recovery From Illness
B. Personal Attitude Counts
C. Relationship Between Good Health and Optimism
D. A Positive Way of Understanding Reality
E. Optimism and Pessimism
F. Optimists with Illusions
Paragraph 5 ______.
填空题
Paragraph 6 ______.
填空题
Paragraph 7 ______.
填空题
Paragraph 8 ______.
填空题
A. to avoid unpleasant things in life
B. in looking on the bright side of life
C. less likely to catch cold
D. how one looks on life
E. to be unhappy all the time
F. more likely to get cancer
Some scholars did not believe ______.
填空题
How long one can live, partly depends on ______.
填空题
An optimist does not necessarily try ______.
填空题
An experiment showed that optimists were ______.