Old age may not sound exciting. But recent findings offer good news for older people and for people worried about getting older. Researchers found that people become happier and experience less worry after they reach the age of 50. In fact, they say by the age of 85, people are happier with their life than they were when they were 18 years old.
The findings came from a survey of more than 340,000 adults in the United States. The Gallup Organization questioned them by telephone in 2008. At that time, the people were between the ages of 18 and 85. The researchers asked questions about emotions like happiness, sadness and worry. They also asked about mental or emotional stress.
Arthur Stone in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science at Stony Brook University in New York led the study. His team found that levels of stress were highest among adults between the ages of 24 and 25. The findings showed that stress levels dropped sharply after people reached their fifties.
The study also showed that men and women have similar feeling patterns as they grow older. However, women at all ages reported more sadness, stress and worry than men.
Researchers say they do not know why happiness increases as people get older. One theory is that, as people grow older, they grow more thankful for what they have and have better control of their feelings. They so spend less time thinking about bad experiences.
Professor Stone says the emotional patterns could be linked to changes in how people see the world, or maybe even changes in brain chemistry.
The researchers also considered possible influences like having young children, being unemployed or being single. But they found that influences like these did not affect the levels of happiness and well-being related to age.
小题1:According to the survey of the Gallup Organization people are most likely to become happier .
A．when they are between the ages of 18 and 85
B．when they come to their old age
C．when they are in their twenties
D．when they are 18 years old小题2:You may have the highest level of stress when you are at the age of .
A．20
B．25
C．35
D．40小题3:According to Arthur Stone, old people may .
A．have a positive attitude towards their life
B．know how to spend money wisely
C．dream about good things every day
D．control their behaviors better小题4:Who would probably show the greatest interest in the passage?
A．Those who are worried about getting old
B．Those who are single and unemployed
C．Those who feel unhappy all the time
D．Those who suffer from mental stress小题5:What would be the best title for the passage?
A．Getting Older Means Getting Happier
B．The Young Are Happier Than the Old
C．Women Are Easier to Be Happy in Life
D．The Younger, the Happier
