For years studies have shown people in lower-status jobs generally have higher rates of heart disease and other illnesses and die earlier than those in higher-status positions while job authority(当权者) has shown no relationship with workers’ health. But University of Toronto researchers, using data from 1,800 US workers, found the health of people in higher positions is affected by work as they are more likely to report conflicts with co-workers and say work disturbs their home life. However, the positive aspects of having a power position at work, such as higher status, more pay and greater independence, seemed to cancel out (抵消) the negative aspects when it came to people’s physical and psychological health.
These latest findings, reported in the journal Social Science & Medicine, suggest that the advantages and disadvantages of authority positions basically cancel each other out, giving the general impression that job authority has no health effects. For the study, the researchers surveyed participants about various aspects of their work, life and well-being. Job authority was judged based on whether a person managed other employees and had power over hiring, firing and pay.
Physical health complaints included problems like headaches, body aches, heartburn and tiredness. Psychological complaints included sleep problems, difficulty concentrating and feelings of sadness, worry and anxiety.
“This isn’t to suggest that having authority is ‘bad’ — in fact, we show it has benefits ... but it is important to identify the negative sides and deal with them.” researcher Scott Schieman said. Schieman said conflicts with co-workers or involvement of work into home life may destroy physical and mental well-being by creating stress. “These are key stressors that can tax individuals’ ability to function effectively,” Schieman said.
【小题1】Work will have a negative effect on job authority’s health probably because ________.
| A．they are not fit for their work |
| B．they have power over hiring and pay |
| C．they are faced with severe competition |
| D．they don’t get on well with their co-workers |
| A．their health problems are not serious enough to see |
| B．they have enough money to keep themselves healthy |
| C．their problems are quite different from those of workers |
| D．the advantages and disadvantages of their status work against each other |
| A．warn people not to be a boss for ever |
| B．remind the boss to deal with the bad effects of their work |
| C．show that having authority is harmful to one’s health |
| D．prove that being a boss can benefit a lot |
| A．Lower-status can affect health |
| B．Authority can affect health in a way |
| C．Positive aspects of a power position |
| D．Disadvantages of being a boss |
Why Is Independence Important?
When we speak of a person being independent, what do we mean?
If you are dependent on other people, your ability to make clear, precise decisions is severely affected.
Independence leads to personal improvement.
Independence is a boost to your self-esteem.
Self-esteem is tied in very closely to achieving success. How we see ourselves can affect our whole approach to life.
When you can act independently in each of these areas of your life, then you will have become a mature adult with a positive attitude towards everything you do.
| A．Independence makes you happier. |
| B．Independence makes you a better decision-maker. |
| C．When you are independent, you can lead a free social life. |
| D．Usually, we take it to mean that a person achieves adulthood. |
| E．You will always have to consider the effect that your choices will have on those other people. |
| F．The more independent you are, the more likely it is that you will have positive self-esteem. |
| G．You are going to be willing to do things on your own, without needing support or approval from others. |
In the story of “The Crow and the Pitcher”（乌鸦和水罐）from Aesop’s Fables（伊索寓言）, a thirsty crow drops stones into a narrow jar to raise the low level of water inside so he can take a drink.
Now scientists have evidence to back up that story. New Caledonian crows actually do understand how to make water displacement work to their advantage, experiments showed. The results suggests that the birds are, at least in some aspects, as smart as first-graders, according to the study.
Researchers, led by Sarah Jelbert at the University of Auckland in New Zealand, presented six crows with tubes filled with water. Inside the tubes, a worm or pieces of meat on a piece of wood was floating, just out of reach of the crow. In front of the tubes, the researchers arranged a bunch of heavy rubber erasers that would sink, and light plastic objects that would float. The crows found out that they could drop the heavy objects into the tubes in order to raise the water level and get their snack.
However, the birds handled awkwardly in experiments in which they could choose to drop objects in either a wide tube or a narrow tube to get snack, the researchers said. Dropping objects into the narrow tube would lift the water level by a greater amount and put the treat within reach after just two drops. In contrast, it took around seven drops to raise the snack to the same level in the wide tube. The crows obviously didn’t realize this, and most of them went for the wide tube first.
Previous studies showed that chimps and human children can solve similar tasks. In a 2011 study, chimps and kids found out that they could put water into a tube to reach a peanut that was floating in a small amount of water at the bottom.
【小题1】What does the text focus on?| A．Aesop’s prediction. | B．Crows’ intelligence. |
| C．The development of crows. | D．Human-animal communication. |
| A．By dropping in the heavy erasers. | B．By removing the plastic objects. |
| C．By standing on the wood. | D．By breaking the tube. |
| A．the tube. | B．The object. |
| C．the snack. | D．The water |
| A．Crows are sensitive to surroundings. |
| B．Crows have the ability to recognize shapes. |
| C．Crows are cleverer than chimps and children. |
| D．Crows understand water displacement incompletely. |
How do I change my life? If you’re asking this question, remember that the one constant thing in our life is change.
Spend some time trying to sort out what is important in your life to make a life change. What is it that you want to achieve in your life? What are your dreams? What makes you happy? Your meaning in life sets the direction of how you want to live your life. Without meaning, you will spend the rest of your life wandering aimlessly.
Let go of regrets.Regrets will only hold you back in life. You cannot change what you did or did not do in the past, so let it go. The only thing you have control over now is how you choose to live your present and future life.
Learning new skills helps us to be more adaptable in new situations.
| A．Change your beliefs. |
| B．Find your life meaning. |
| C．Remember that your goals may change. |
| D．The more we resist it, the tougher our life becomes. |
| E．The only person who is going to change your life is you! |
| F．It also encourages us to be more creative and innovative in our thinking. |
| G．Each time you experience a negative thought about your past, challenge it. |
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