首页
外语
计算机
考研
公务员
职业资格
财经
工程
司法
医学
专升本
自考
实用职业技能
登录
外语
The Death of a Spouse For much of the world, the death of Richard Nixon was the end of a complex public life. But researchers
The Death of a Spouse For much of the world, the death of Richard Nixon was the end of a complex public life. But researchers
admin
2010-02-20
82
问题
The Death of a Spouse
For much of the world, the death of Richard Nixon was the end of a complex public life. But researchers who study bereavement wondered if it didn’t also signify the end of a private grief. Had the former president merely run his allotted fourscore and one, or had he fallen victim to a pattern that seems to afflict long- time married couples: one spouse quickly following the other to the grave?
Pat, Nixon’s wife of 53 years, died last June after a long illness. No one knows for sure whether her death contributed to his. After all, he was elderly and had a history of serious heart disease. Researchers have long observed that the death of a spouse particularly a wife is sometimes followed by the untimely death of the grieving survivor. Historian Will Durant died 13 days after his wife and collaborator, Ariel; Buckminster Fuller and his wife died just 36 hours apart. Is this more than coincidence?
“Part of the story, I suspect, is that we men are so used to ladies feeding us and taking care of us,” says Knud Helsing, an epidemiologist at the Johns Hopkins School of Public health, “that when we lose a wife we go to pieces. We don’t know how to take care of ourselves.” In one of several studies Helsing has conducted on bereavement, he found that widowed men had higher mortality rates than married men in every age group. But, he found that widowers who remarried enjoyed the same lower mortality rate as men who’d never been widowed.
Women’s health and resilience may also suffer after the loss of a spouse. In a 1987 study of widows, researchers from the University of California, Los Angeles, and UC, San Diego, found that they had a dramatic decline in levels of important immune - system cells that fight off disease. Earlier studies showed reduced immunity in widowers.
For both men and women, the stress of losing a spouse can have a profound effect. “All sorts of potentially harmful medical problems can be worsened, “says Gerald Davison, professor of psychology at the University of Southern California. People with high blood pressure, for example, may see it rise. In Nixon’s case, Davison speculates, “the stroke, although not caused directly by the stress, was probably hastened by it.” Depression can affect the surviving spouse’s will to live; suicide are elevated in the bereaved, along with accidents not involving cars.
Involvement in life helps prolong it. Mortality, says Duke University psychiatrist Daniel Blazer, is higher in older people without a good social - support - system, who don’t feel they’re part of a group or a family, that they “fit in” somewhere. And that’s a more common problem for men, who tend not to have as many close friendships as women. The sudden absence of routines can also be a health hazard, says Blazer. “A person who loses a spouse shows deterioration in normal habits like sleeping and eating.” he says. “They don’t have that other person to orient them, like when do you go to bed, when do you wake up, when do you eat, when do you take your medication, when do you go out to take a walk.’? Your pattern is no longer locked into someone else’s pattern, so it deteriorates.”
While earlier studies suggested that the first six months to a year - or even the first week -- were times of higher mortality for the bereaved, some newer studies find no special vulnerability in this initial period. Most men and women, of course do not die as a result of the loss of a spouse. And there are ways to improve the odds. A strong sense of separate identity and lack of over dependency during the marriage are helpful. Adult sons and daughters, siblings and friends need to pay special attention to a newly widowed parent. They can make sure that he or she is socializing, getting proper nutrition and medical care, expressing emotion and, above all, feeling needed and appreciated.
According to researchers, Richard Nixon’s death was _______.
选项
A、caused by his heart problems.
B、indirectly linked to his wife’s death.
C、the inevitable result of old age.
D、an unexplainable accident.
答案
B
解析
该文的主题即夫妻双方中,任何一方的过世都可能加速另一方的死亡。作者只是拿Nixon的例子作个引子,是为了证明作者的观点。
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/7dvO777K
0
专业英语八级
相关试题推荐
Intheatmosphere,carbondioxideactsratherlikeaone-waymirror—theglassintheroofofagreenhousewhichallowsthesun’s
A、Thegovernmentshouldtakestepstoprotecttheenvironment.B、Thegovernmentshouldappointadepartmenttocleanupriversa
Theenergycrunch,whichisbeingfeltaroundtheworld,hasdramatizedhowtherecklessdespoilingoftheearthsresourceshas
A、Theirperformancemayimprove.B、Theirimmunesystemmaybereinforced.C、Theirbloodpressuremayriseallofasudden.D、The
Aroundoneinahundreddeathsworldwideisduetopassivesmoking,whichkillsanestimated600,000peopleayear,WorldHealth
Aroundoneinahundreddeathsworldwideisduetopassivesmoking,whichkillsanestimated600,000peopleayear,WorldHealth
美国是个在轮子上的国家。大多数美国人都拥有汽车,有的甚至为之而着迷。他们会花大量时间讨论究竟要买进口车还是国产车,确定哪一款车是最好的家用车或最好的跑车。汽车修理也是个大众话题。你可以参与(他们的)讨论,谈你(拥有)的汽车或与人共享你从汽车杂志上看到的信息
ForaCEOtobesuccessfulingovernment,hehastoIncommentingonO’Neill’srecordasTreasurySecretary,thepassageseems
Animalsperformmanyusefulandentertainingjobs.Dogsareparticularlyvaluableguidingtheblind,protectingproperty,
Animalsperformmanyusefulandentertainingjobs.Dogsareparticularlyvaluableguidingtheblind,protectingproperty,
随机试题
和谐社会可以理解为()。
俄国文学史上第一个“多余人”形象是_________。莱蒙托夫的《当代英雄》中刻画了俄国文学史上第二个“多余人”形象是。
多见于健康男性,原发灶以疖痈多见,发病急,寒战高热,多形性皮疹,以瘀点多见,关节症状明显,多累及大关节,有迁徙性损害,很少合并感染性休克泌尿生殖道是常见的入侵途径,易并发心内膜炎,对各种抗菌药物耐药
下列关于其他项目清单编制的说法,正确的是()。
背景资料:某大厦工程项目,建设单位与施工单位根据《建设工程施工合同文本》签订了工程的总承包施工合同,总承包商将该大厦工程项目的装饰装修工程分包给一家具有相应资质条件的某装饰装修工程公司。该装饰装修工程公司与工程项目建设单位签订了该大厦工
心理测量中,项目的________也叫鉴别力,是指测验项目对被试者的心理特性的区别能力。
治安管理处罚的程序,适用《治安管理处罚法》的规定,该法没有规定的,适用( )的有关规定。
恩格斯指出,认识中“不仅每个已经解决的问题都引起无数的新问题,而且每一个问题也多半都只能一点一点地、通过一系列常常需要花几百年时间的研究才能得到解决”。对这种认识现象的合理解释是(
设则等于()
【B1】【B12】
最新回复
(
0
)