(1) Thanksgiving may be an official day of gratitude in the U.S., but research suggests that if you make time for "thank you" ev

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问题     (1) Thanksgiving may be an official day of gratitude in the U.S., but research suggests that if you make time for "thank you" every day, you might enjoy life more.
    (2) Many people may think of gratitude as a "passive" gesture—you wait for something good, then feel grateful, said David DeSteno, a professor of psychology at Northeastern University. DeSteno studies the effects that thankfulness can have on people’s behavior.
    (3) But a growing body of research is suggesting the opposite is true, according to DeSteno. By choosing to feel gratitude, people can make positive changes in their lives. "Gratitude isn’t passive reflection. It’s active," DeSteno said. "And it’s not about the past. It’s there to help direct our behavior in the future. "
    (4) In experiments where he and his colleagues set people up to feel grateful, they found that thankfulness appeared to spur participants to act in more cooperative, less selfish ways. In one study, for example, people came to the lab to complete a computer task. At some point, certain participants’ computers were rigged to "crash". Luckily, a kind stranger who had just completed the same task (and was actually part of the research team) offered help and got the computer running again. Afterward, all of the study participants played a standard economic game where people have the opportunity to either act strictly in their own self-interest or in a more cooperative way.
    (5) In general, DeSteno’s team found, the study participants who had gotten help from a stranger during that first test were more likely to be cooperative during the next test. (A survey all of the participants took confirmed that those who’d received help were, in fact, feeling more grateful than their counterparts who’d had smooth sailing.) That’s one of a number of studies, DeSteno said, that suggest that gratitude helps guide behavior. It can encourage you to get more exercises, or to be more helpful to others (and not just that person you feel you "owe").
    (6) Some research has also found links between gratitude and better health, such as lower blood pressure and just feeling physically better. However, it’s not clear whether gratitude directly affects physical well-being.
    (7) At the University of California, Professor Naomi Eisenberger and her colleagues hope to zero in a bit more on the effects of gratitude. For six weeks, some study participants will spend time writing about things for which they are grateful. The rest will write about positive subjects, but won’t focus on gratitude.
    (8) According to Eisenberger, gratitude, based on studies like DeSteno’s, seems to enhance people’s ability to care for others. And in animals, Eisenberger noted, caregiving is linked to lesser reactivity in the face of a threat—mothers may feel less scared for themselves when a predator comes, and protect their babies instead.
    (9) Whatever the biological effects, plenty of research suggests that gratitude can change how you feel—even about those people who’ve been in your life for years, according to Sara Algoe, an assistant professor of psychology at the University of North Carolina.
    (10) Her research has focused on the effects of gratitude in romantic relationships. In one study of 77 couples who’d been together for an average of four years, Algoe’s team had each partner think of something the other had done for them recently—no matter how small—and then thank him or her. Before that task, the couples completed a survey on their satisfaction with their relationship. Then they did it again six months later.
    (11) In general, the study saw a shift in people who felt their partner really meant that "thank you"—thinking, for example, that "my partner saw the ’real’ me. " Those men and women typically felt more satisfied with their relationship six months later. The findings, according to Algoe, highlight the importance of saying "thank you" even for those mundane things, from those people you see every day.
    (12) " Expressing gratitude well is a potent part of relationship satisfaction," Algoe said. "Sometimes we feel grateful, but we don’t say it. This research suggests it’s important to say it. And if someone offers you help, try accepting it instead of shunning it. See it as a gift. "
Which of the following is NOT mentioned as a potential benefit of gratitude?

选项 A、Improved physical health.
B、Better mental well-being.
C、Tendency to care for others.
D、Higher relationship satisfaction.

答案B

解析 细节题。由题干中的a potential benefit of gratitude定位到原文第六段、第八段和第十一段。本题是一个反选题,考生应注意审题。第六段第一句指出,感恩与更好的健康状况之间存在联系,比如血压降低和确实感觉身体变好,而原文并未提及感恩是否与更好的心理健康状况相关,因此答案为B,同时排除A。第八段第一句提到,感恩似乎可以增强人们关心他人的能力,故排除C;第十一段指出,阿尔戈的研究发现,那些觉得伴侣真想表达“谢谢”的人发生了转变,他们通常在六个月后对其关系感到更满意,也就是说,感恩让他们对伴侣关系的满意度更高,故排除D。
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