A German study suggests that people who were too optimistic about their future actually faced greater risk of disability or death within 10 years than those pessimists who expected their future to be worse.

　　The paper, published this March in Psychology and Aging, examined health and welfare surveys from roughly 40,000 Germans between ages 18 and 96. The surveys were conducted every year from 1993 to 2003.

　　Survey respondents (受访者) were asked to estimate their present and future life satisfaction on a scale of 0 to 10, among other questions.

　　The researchers found that young adults (age 18 to 39) routinely overestimated their future life satisfaction, while middle-aged adults (age 40 to 64) more accurately predicted how they would feel in the future. Adults of 65 and older, however, were far more likely to underestimate their future life satisfaction. Not only did they feel more satisfied than they thought they would, the older pessimists seemed to suffer a lower ratio (比率) of disability and death for the study period.

　　“We observed that being too optimistic in predicting a better future than actually observed was associated with a greater risk of disability and a greater risk of death within the following decade,” wrote Frieder R. Lang, a professor at the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg.

　　Lang and his colleagues believed that people who were pessimistic about their future may be more careful about their actions than people who expected a rosy future.

　　“Seeing a dark future may encourage positive evaluations of the actual self and may contribute to taking improved precautions (预防措施),” the authors wrote.

　　Surprisingly, compared with those in poor health or who had low incomes, respondents who enjoyed good health or income were associated with expecting a greater decline. Also, the researchers said that higher income was related to a greater risk of disability.

　　T  Pessimism gurantees chances of survival.he authors of the study noted that there were limitations to their conclusions. Illness, medical treatment and personal loss could also have driven health outcomes.

　　However, the researchers said a pattern was clear. “We found that from early to late adulthood, individuals adapt their expectations of future life satisfaction from optimistic, to accurate, to pessimistic,” the authors concluded.

　　67. According to the study, who made the most accurate prediction of their future life satisfaction?

　　A. Optimistic adults.

　　B. Middle-aged adults.

　　C. Adults in poor health.

　　D. Adults of lower income.

　　68. Pessimism may be positive in some way because it causes people ______.

　　A. to fully enjoy their present life

　　B. to estimate their contribution accurately

　　C. to take measures against potential risks

　　D. to value health more highly than wealth

　　69. How do people of higher income see their future?

　　A. They will earn less money.

　　B. They will become pessimistic.

　　C. They will suffer mental illness.

　　D. They will have less time to enjoy life.

　　70. What is the clear conclusion of the study?

　　A. Pessimism guarantees chances of survival.

　　B. Good financial condition leads to good health.

　　C. Medical treatment determines health outcomes.

　　D. Expectations of future life satisfaction decline with age.

For many businessmen online education has been a dream．Now it has come true．The investment （投资） in higher education, whether financial or in terms of time, has long been impossible for many of them．But well-known educational institutions have chosen to deliver an internet-based program, and these barriers(障碍) have been lifted．

　　That is good news for people eager to improve themselves and is more attractive to employers．It is also a benefit to industry with better qualified candidates（候选人） applying for jobs at every level．

　　Having the benefits of a higher qualification（资格） without going to the university campus is attractive to many students．Campus study means greater cost, while online programs are flexible and save time, whether at home or at work．Students can achieve their degrees without causing too much disruption to their career or home life．

　　In addition to affordable, flexible（灵活） classes and greater convenience, students also have access to the online learning resources of many of the world’s top educational institutions．They can also communicate with their tutors no matter what time it is or whether either party is away for any reason．

　　This has opened up the possibility of getting a qualification from a university or college that many students could only have dreamed of in the past．It also allows specialists to get the precise qualifications and focus on their studies．As well as seeing the increase of applicants from lower-incomes and housewives, studying online in the US is even becoming popular with younger people of college age．

　　Employers have become increasingly welcome and positive to online qualifications as more candidates earn them, especially if they’re properly approved by the US Department of Education．

　　US institutions have led the way in online education provision（供给）．Many top US colleges and universities offer a range of online programs that are highly respected and in every way perfectly fit for adults who need to combine their studies with a working life．

1.According to Paragraph 1, many US colleges and universities ______．

A．have begun to lift the barriers to financial investment

B．have begun to run an internet-based program

C．have had a dream of offering online education

D．have gained financial investment

2.Why do people choose online education?

A．They can find jobs more easily than on-campus graduates．

B．They can get qualifications from US Department of Education．

C．They can save money and arrange their time and courses freely．

D．They can invest money in different courses provided online．

3.The underlined word “disruption” in the third paragraph probably mean ______．

A．dissatisfaction 　        B．attention 　C．attraction 　　　 D．interruption

4.Which would be a good title for the passage?

A．Adult Education Online

B．Online Education Taking the Place of Campus Education

C．Top US Universities Offering Online Education

D．The Best of USA’s Online Education

One of the most difficult questions to answer is how much a job is worth. We naturally expect that a doctor’s salary will be higher than a bus conductor’s wages. But the question becomes much more difficult to answer when we compare a miner with an engineer, or an unskilled man working on an oil-rig（钻探平台）with a teacher in a secondary school. What the doctor, the engineer and the teacher have in common is that they have devoted several years to studying in order to obtain the necessary qualifications for their professions. We feel instinctively that these skills and these years should be rewarded. At the same time we recognize that the work of the miner and the oil-rig laborer is both hard and dangerous, and that they must be highly paid for the risks they take.
　　Another aspect we must take into consideration is how socially useful a man’s work is. Most people would agree that looking after the sick or teaching children is more important than, say, selling second-hand cars. Yet it is almost certain that the used-car salesman earns more than the nurse and the schoolteacher.
　　Indeed, this whole question of just rewards can be turned on its head. You can argue that a man who does a job which brings him personal satisfaction is already receiving part of his reward in the form of a so-called “psychic（精神的）wage”, and that it is the man with the boring, repetitive job who needs more money to make up for the soul-destroying repetitiveness of his work. It is significant that the jobs like nursing and teaching continue to be poorly paid, while others, such as those in the world of sport or entertainment, carry financial rewards out of all proportion to their social worth.
Although the amount of money that people earn is largely determined by market forces, this should not prevent us from seeking some way to decide what is the right pay for the job. A starting point would be to try to decide the ratio（比率）which ought to exist between the highest and the lowest paid. The picture is made more complicated by two factors: firstly by the welfare benefits which every citizen receives, and secondly by the taxation system which is often used as an instrument of social justice by taxing high incomes at a very high rate indeed. Most countries now regard a ratio of 7:1 as socially acceptable. If it is less, the highly-qualified people carrying heavy responsibilities will become disappointed, and might even end up by leaving for another country. If it is more, the difference between rich and poor will be so great that it will lead to social unrest.
【小题1】Why do people naturally expect that doctors should be well-paid?

One of the most difficult questions to answer is how much a job is worth. We naturally expect that a doctor’s salary will be higher than a bus conductor’s wages. But the question becomes much more difficult to answer when we compare a miner with an engineer, or an unskilled man working on an oil-rig（钻探平台）with a teacher in a secondary school. What the doctor, the engineer and the teacher have in common is that they have devoted several years to studying in order to obtain the necessary qualifications for their professions. We feel instinctively that these skills and these years should be rewarded. At the same time we recognize that the work of the miner and the oil-rig laborer is both hard and dangerous, and that they must be highly paid for the risks they take.

　　Another aspect we must take into consideration is how socially useful a man’s work is. Most people would agree that looking after the sick or teaching children is more important than, say, selling second-hand cars. Yet it is almost certain that the used-car salesman earns more than the nurse and the schoolteacher.

　　Indeed, this whole question of just rewards can be turned on its head. You can argue that a man who does a job which brings him personal satisfaction is already receiving part of his reward in the form of a so-called “psychic（精神的）wage”, and that it is the man with the boring, repetitive job who needs more money to make up for the soul-destroying repetitiveness of his work. It is significant that the jobs like nursing and teaching continue to be poorly paid, while others, such as those in the world of sport or entertainment, carry financial rewards out of all proportion to their social worth.

Although the amount of money that people earn is largely determined by market forces, this should not prevent us from seeking some way to decide what is the right pay for the job. A starting point would be to try to decide the ratio（比率）which ought to exist between the highest and the lowest paid. The picture is made more complicated by two factors: firstly by the welfare benefits which every citizen receives, and secondly by the taxation system which is often used as an instrument of social justice by taxing high incomes at a very high rate indeed. Most countries now regard a ratio of 7:1 as socially acceptable. If it is less, the highly-qualified people carrying heavy responsibilities will become disappointed, and might even end up by leaving for another country. If it is more, the difference between rich and poor will be so great that it will lead to social unrest.

1.Why do people naturally expect that doctors should be well-paid?

A．Their work requires greater intelligence.

B．They are under constant pressure at work.

C．They work harder than most other people.

D．They have studied for years to get qualified.

2.In Paragraph 2 and 3, the author indicates that __________.

A．the talented should do more important work

B．unskilled jobs have less social responsibility

C．those with more socially useful jobs earn less

D．people want to pay more to important services

3.Which of the following statements would the author agree?

A．It’s difficult to define the social value of a job.

B．The market will decide what the right pay is for a job.

C．People should find a proper ratio between high and low pay.

D．Those receiving high salary should carry heavy responsibilities.