卫生类A级:完形填空Middle Age
People around the globe hit the height of their misery and depression in
middle (1) ， a new international study suggests. The finding by British and
American researchers was based on an analysis of well-being among approximately
2 million people in 80 nations. With few exceptions， the observation appears to
apply across the board， regardless (2) gender (性别)， culture， geography，
wealth， job history， education， and marriage or parental status."The scientific
fact seems to be that happiness and positive mental health follow a giant
(3) through life，" said study author Andrew J. Oswald， a professor of
economics at Warwick University in Warwickshire， England. "For the average
person， its high when youre 20， and then it slowly (4) and bottoms out in
your 40s. But the good news is that your (5) health picks up again， and
eventually gets back to the high levels of your youth."The finding was (6) on
the pooling of several different sources of happiness data， including: two
multi-decade happiness/satisfaction surveys (first launched in the 1970s)，
involving about 500，000 American and Western European men and women; four rounds
of the 80-nation "World Values Survey" (7) between 1981 and 2004 in North
America， Eastern and Western Europe， Asia， Africa， Australia， and Central and
South America; and a 2004-2007 survey (8) nearly 1 million Britons.The
bottom-line: For most people throughout the world， the highest probability
for (9) striking is around 44 years of age.In the United States， however， some
as-yet unexplained (10) differences were observed， with happiness among men
dipping the most in their early 50s， whereas women hit their nadir (最低点) around
the age of 40.The researchers cautioned that cheerful people tend to live longer
than unhappy (11) - a fact that might have skewed (使偏斜) the overall finding. But
they also suggested that evidence of a happiness (12) might simply reflect a
midlife choice to give up long-held but no longer tenable (守得住的) aspirations
(志向)， followed by a seniors sense of gratitude for having successfully endured
(13) others did not."That said， some might find it helpful simply to understand
the general (14) of mental health as they go through their own life，" said
Oswald. "It mightbe useful for people to realize that if they are (15) in their
40s this is normal. It is not exceptional. And just knowing this might
help."
1 A age B place C height D degree
2 A of B for C to D by
3 A color B size C shape D letter
4 A improves B moves C rises D falls
5 A mental B personal C general D physical
6 A focused B concluded C decided D based
7 A measured B conducted C checked D inspected
8 A calling B counting C involving D passing
9 A cancer B depression C accident D injury
10 A race B gender C education D income
11 A men B people C women D couples
12 A curve B line C axis D table
13 A unless B because C while D if
14 A moods B figures C views D trends
15 A weird B low C old D weak