阅读理解。
Researchers found that people become happier and experience less worry after they reach the age of fifty.
In fact, they say by the age of eighty-five, people are happier with their life than they were when they were
eighteen years old.
The findings came from a survey of more than 340,000 adults in the United States. The Gallup (民意调查)
Organization questioned them by telephone in 2008. At that time, the people were between the ages of eighteen
and eighty-five.
The researchers asked questions about emotions like happiness, sadness and worry. They also asked about
mental or emotional stress.
Arthur Stone 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 twenty-two and twenty-five. The findings showed that stress
levels dropped sharply after people reached their fifties. Happiness was highest among the youngest adults and
those in their early seventies. The people least likely to report feeling negative emotions were those in their
seventies and eighties.
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 emotions.
They also 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.
The study also showed that men and women have similar emotional patterns as they grow older. However,
women at all ages reported more sadness, stress and worry
1. We can learn from the research that ____.
A. only when people get older will they feel happier
B. stress levels among the youngest are the highest
C. older people tend to be grateful
D. older people usually have no worries
2. According to the research, when people get older, ____.
A. they miss the old days
B. they are physically weak
C. they have better self-control
D. they are more emotional
3. What would the author probably talk about next?
A. What influences happiness.
B. How to live better.
C. How to keep happier.
D. Why women are less happier.
4. The author is intended to ____.
A. advise how to reduce stress
B. introduce a scientific finding
C. describe how to do research
D. talk about human emotions
