Exhausted and unhappy, you still have to squeeze a smile to your friends, or teachers. That’s just life, you may think. But new research suggests that putting on a fake smile can worsen people’s mood and even lower work efficiency.
Lead researcher Brent Scott with other researchers studied a group of bus drivers for two weeks. They tried to find out what happened when the drivers were involved in “surface acting” or fake smiling, and the opposite, “deep acting” which means people put on real smiles by recalling pleasant memories or thinking about their current situation more positively.
The results showed that on days when drivers were forced to smile, they felt depressed and didn’t want to work. On days when they smiled due to positive thoughts, their mood improved a lot as well as their work efficiency.
The research goes against the popular belief among panies that employees should be cheerful to customers at all times. They include employees of shops, banks, call center workers and others who have face-to-face contact with members of the public. “Smiling for the sake of(为了) smiling can lead to emotional exhaustion and coldness, and that’s bad for the organization,” Scott told the Daily Mail.
The study also showed that women were harmed more by fake smiling than men. Their mood and work performance both worsened more. But they were helped more by deep acting — their mood became better and they worked more efficiently.
However, while deep acting seemed to improve mood in the short term, Scott says it’s not a long-term solution for unhappiness.
“There have been some suggestions that if you do this over a long period that you start to feel inauthentic(不真实的),” Scott said. “You may be trying to cultivate positive emotions, but at the end of the day you may not feel like yourself anymore.”
【小题1】Brent Scott and others’ experiments on bus drivers suggest that .A．depression among bus drivers is monB．thinking in a positive way helps with work efficiencyC．bus drivers with pleasant memories tend to be less efficientD．the bus drivers’ work efficiency is determined by their mood【小题2】According to the article, which of the following statements about “fake smiling” is TRUE?A．It is good for the business but bad for the employees.B．It doesn’t work on people who are emotionally expressive.C．It is a widely accepted cultural practice in the US.D．It causes more harm to women than men.【小题3】We can conclude from the article that the researchers think that .A．people should be true to their feelings B．smiling helps to put people in a good mood and bee more efficientC．it is unnecessary to cultivate positive emotionsD．deep acting can improve mood in the long run【小题4】The article is mainly about .A．the importance of smiling during face-to-face contactB．a new study on fake smiling and its influence on peopleC．suggestions on improving work efficiencyD．how to cheer up when you are exhaustedB
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(答案→)B
解析：文章大意：一项新的调查研究表明，不是发自内心的虚假微笑会让人情绪变差甚至于会降低工作效率，与此相反发自内心的微笑却能让人情绪高涨并且能提高工作效率，所以人们要真实地对待自己的感觉。
【小题1】B推理判断题。从文章第三段The results showed that on days ... , On days when they smiled due to positive thoughts, their mood improved a lot as well as their work efficiency.判断当人们因为真实的想法而微笑时，他们的情绪会变好同样工作效率也会提高，所以B选项正确。
【小题2】D细节题。文章倒数第三段The study also showed that women were harmed more by fake smiling than men.研究也表明由于佯装微笑妇女受的危害要比男人大，由此判断D为正确答案。
【小题3】A推理判断题。文章最后一段“There have been some suggestions that if you do this over a long period that you start to feel inauthentic(不真实的),” Scott said. “You may be trying to cultivate positive emotions, but at the end of the day you may not feel like yourself anymore.”如果很长时间都在假装微笑，那么自己就会感觉不真实，而且会感觉不像自己了。由此判断研究人员认为人们要真实地对待自己的感觉，所以A选项正确。
【小题4】B 主旨大意题。本文是调查报告，开头提出中心。从第一段But new research suggests that putting on a fake smile can worsen people’s mood and even lower work efficiency.判断文章是一篇关于虚假微笑及其影响的研究报告，所以B选项正确。