12.Loneliness has been linked to depression(抑郁)and other health problems.Now,a study says it can also spread.A friend of a lonely person was fifty-two percent more likely to develop feelings of loneliness.And a friend of that friend was twenty-five percent more likely to do the same.
Earlier findings showed that happiness,obesity(肥胖) and the ability to stop smoking can also spread like infections within social groups.The findings all come from a major health study in the American town of Framingham,Massachusetts.
The study began in 1948to investigate the causes of heart disease.Since then,more tests have been added,including measures of loneliness and depression.
The new findings involved more than five thousand people in the second generation of the Framingham Heart Study.The researchers examined friendship histories and reports of loneliness.The results established a pattern that spread as people reported fewer close friends.
For example,loneliness can affect relationships between next-door neighbors.The loneliness spreads as neighbors who were close friends now spend less time together.The study also found that loneliness spreads more easily among women than men.
The average person is said to experience feelings of loneliness about forty-eight days a year.The study found that having a lonely friend can add about seventeen days.But every additional friend can decrease loneliness by two and a half days.
Lonely people become less and less trusting of others.This makes it more and more difficult for them to make friends-and more likely that society will reject(排斥)them.
John Cacioppo at the University of Chicago led the study.He says it is important to recognize and deal with loneliness.He says people who have been pushed to the edges of society should receive help to repair their social networks.
59.As an average person,if you make 2more friends,how many days a year might you suffer from loneliness?B
A.48days. B.43days. C.65days. D.17days.
60.What can we infer (推斷)from the passage about lonely people?C
A.They can overcome loneliness themselves.
B.They will decrease loneliness day by day.
C.They need help to get back to normal social life.
D.They can help others to repair their social networks.
61.What's the best way to help lonely people according to this passage?B
A.Bring them together. B.Make friends with them.
C.Help them stop smoking. D.Help them loose weight.
62.Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?A
A.Loneliness And Social Net Work B.Social Networks And Friendship
C.Loneliness And Diet D.Help A Lonely Person.