Question

S Older people like reading negative news stories about their younger counterparts because it boosts their own selfesteem,according to a new study.

German researchers said older people tend to be portrayed (描繪成) negatively in society. Although they are often described as wise,they are also be shown as being slow and forgetful. "Living in a youth centered culture,they may appreciate a boost (增進) in selfesteem. That's why they prefer the negative stories about younger people,who are seen as having a higher sta?tus in our society," said Dr. Silvia Knobloch-Westerwick,of Ohio State University.

Knobloch-Westerwick and her coauthor Matthias Hastall,of Zeppelin University in Friedrichshafen,Germany,studied 276 German adults,including 178 aged 18 to 30 and 98 be?tween 55 and 60. Their findings are published in the Journal of Communication.

All the adults in the study were shown what they were led to believe was a test version of a new online news magazine. They were also given a limited time to look over either a negative or positive version of 10 preselected articles.

Each story was also paired with a photograph depicting someone of either the younger or the older age group.

The researchers found that older people were more likely to choose to read negative articles about those younger than themselves. They also tended to show less interest in articles about older people,whether negative or positive.

But younger people preferred to read positive articles about other young people.

According to Knobloch-Westerwick,older people's preference for negative news about their younger counterparts can be explained by their place in society.

"Everybody likes a selfesteem boost. For young people though,it's almost automatic. Youth is considered important in society”，she said.

After perusing the articles,the participants completed a questionnaire designed to measure levels of selfesteem. Unlike their younger counterparts,the selfesteem of older people rose after they read a negative article about younger people.

(   ) 1. What is the social trend towards older people?

   A. They are often described as wise.

   B. They are also be shown as being slow and forgetful.

   C. They tend to be portrayed negatively in society.

   D. They often tend to be described wise as well as being slow and forgetful.

(   ) 2. What does the underlined word preselected mean?

   A. Choose with care. B. Choose seriously beforehand.

   C. Choose at random. D. Choose deliberately.

(   ) 3. What does the passage imply?

   A. To boot their own selfesteem,older people like reading negative news stories about their younger counterparts.

   B. Older people were more likely to choose to read negative articles about those younger than themselves.

   C. Younger people preferred to read positive articles about other young people.

   D. Everybody likes a selfesteem boost.

(   ) 4. The questionnaire is designed to         .

   A. measure levels of selfesteem

   B. identify both older and younger people's reading interest

   C. strengthen understanding between older and younger people

   D. check whether older people are slow and forgetful

Answer 1

  DBAA

根據一項新研究，老年人喜歡閱讀有關年輕人的負面新聞，因為這能增強他們的自信。

1. D細節理解題。第二段可見答案出處。

2. B詞義猜測題。

deliberately指經過深思熟慮后行事；at random任意地;seriously嚴肅認真地。

3. A推理判斷題。

4. A細節理解題。