Pessimistic，anxious and depressed people may have a higher risk of dementia (痴呆)，US researchers reported on Thursday.
A study of a group of 3,500 people showed that those who scored high for pessimism on a standardized personality test had a 30 percent increased risk of developing dementia 30 to 40 years later.
Those scoring very high on both anxiety and pessimism scales had a 40 percent higher risk，the study showed.
“There appears to be a doseresponse pattern.That is，the higher the scores，the higher the risk of dementia，”Dr Yonas Geda，a neuropsychiatrist at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester，Minnesota who led the study，said in a statement.
Geda and his colleagues looked at the medical records of 3,500 men and women who lived near the clinic between 1962 and 1965.
They all took the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory，a standard personality and life experience test，Geda’s team told a meeting of the American Academy of Neurology in Miami.
In 2004，the team interviewed the participants or family members.
Those who scored higher for anxiety and pessimism on the test were more likely，as a group，to have developed dementia by 2004，including Alzheimer’s disease and vascular (血管的) dementia.
This did not mean a person who is pessimistic could assume he or she has a higher risk of developing dementia.
“One has to be cautious in interpreting a study like this，”Geda said.
“One cannot make a leap from group level data to the individual.Certainly the last thing you want to do is to say，‘Well，I am a pessimist；thus，I am doomed to develop dementia 20 or 30 years later，’because this may end up being a selffulfilling prophecy (预言)．”
And there is NOT any specific way to prevent dementia，although many studies have shown that a healthy diet，exercise，keeping active in other ways，doing puzzles and other activities lower the risk.
【小题1】What is the passage mainly about?A．It is impossible for people to avoid dementia.B．People who always have negative feelings may have a higher risk of getting dementia.C．If we have a healthy diet，we would have no chance of getting dementia.D．A person who is pessimistic has a higher risk of developing dementia.【小题2】According to the passage，which of the following is TRUE?A．There are many ways to prevent dementia effectively.B．A person who is pessimistic is sure to get dementia.C．Those who lead a happy life will not get dementia when they are old.D．Those who scored high for pessimism might have a higher risk of dementia.【小题3】Which of the following does NOT help reduce the risk of getting dementia according to the passage?A．A healthy diet.B．Proper exercises.C．Doing puzzles.D．Getting up early.【小题4】Which of the following words is not close to the meaning of the word “pessimistic”？A．Cheerless.B．Optimistic.C．Unhappy.D．Upset.B
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(答案→)B
解析：
【小题1】 B
解析 主旨大意题。文章第一段就点明了主题，整篇文章都围绕悲观、压抑等情绪更容易使人患痴呆症这一论断展开。
【小题2】 D
解析 细节理解题。由最后一段可知A项错误；悲观者患痴呆症的可能性会更大而不是一定会患痴呆症，所以B项错误，D项正确；生活幸福的人也不一定就一定不会患痴呆症。
【小题3】 D
解析 细节理解题。最后一段提到健康饮食、常运动、猜字谜等有助于预防痴呆，而文中并没有涉及到有关“早起床”的信息。
【小题4】 B
解析 词义猜测题。由文章知，pessimistic与anxious和depressed意义接近，而A、C、D三项与这两个词的意思也接近，只有optimistic意为“乐观的”，与pessimistic意义相反。