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  3. Researchers at the University of California-Berkeley are challenging our long-held belief that humans are hard-wired to be selfi

Researchers at the University of California-Berkeley are challenging our long-held belief that humans are hard-wired to be selfi

admin2012-05-28  76
问题     Researchers at the University of California-Berkeley are challenging our long-held belief that humans are hard-wired to be selfish. Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection was misinterpreted by his male popularizers, the researchers say. Rather than "every man for himself, Darwin believed that humans are successful as a species precisely because of our nurturing, selfless and compassionate traits.
    Why has it taken so long for Darwin’s central revelation to be properly interpreted? "We’ve had too many men in social science," Berkeley psychology professor Dacher Keltner told me in an interview. "Female scientists acknowledge that ’fight or flight’ is part of human nature, but so is caring for people." This is no touchy-feely feminist theory. Hard science is showing how the human capacity to care is wired into our brains and nervous systems.
    In my book Passages in Caregiving, I urge women who assume the whole responsibility for taking care of an elderly parent or chronically ill spouse to build a Circle of Care. Reach out to your brothers and sisters, friends, neighbors and community volunteers to help you care, because no one can perform this overwhelming role alone. You will be as stunned as I to learn how the most selfless caregivers are rewarded with greater longevity (寿命). Stephanie Brown, associate professor of preventive medicine at SUNY-Stony Brook, followed a group of older adults caring for family members with dementia and other illnesses. If they offered care more than 14 hours a week, they were less likely to die in a seven-year period than their peers.
    "Survival of the Kindest" is not just a theory. It is becoming a revolutionary cultural movement. There are many signs that caring is gaining currency. Keltner, who has been studying the science of this instinct for 15 years, says we are coming to the end of our cycle of greed. Berkeley and Stanford universities now have compassion centers devoted to the study and teaching of this theory. It will run up against hostility among the Hobbesians. Ayn Rand wrote, "If any civilization is to survive, it is the morality of selfishness that men have to reject." As Americans, we have a cultural bias against caring.
    Oh, sure, we give our families gifts generously during the holiday season, but in a capitalist system based on unrestrained competition, we worry that if we care, we lose. Compassion is a woman’s word. In men, it’s cast as weak, when in fact it makes us stronger under stress and more highly respected by our peers. For so long we have repeated the careless saying "Nice guys finish last." But the 40 richest Americans who took the Giving Pledge to commit half their fortunes to doing good are no spring chickens. Here is my reinterpretation: Nice guys die last.
What does Stephanie Brown’s study reveal?
选项 A、Selfless caregivers tend to have a longer lifespan.
B、Caregivers are more likely to die from heavy workload.
C、Caregivers should turn to community volunteers for help.
D、The longer a person offers care, the less likely he is to die.
答案A
解析 根据题干中的Stephanie Brown将本题出处定位到第三段第三、四句。第三句提到，你可能和我一样惊讶地发现，无私关爱他人的人更能长寿。第四句介绍了Stephanie Brown就此做的研究，[A]中的have a longer lifespan对应文中的are rewarded with greater longevity，故为答案。文中未提到繁重的工作量问题，故排除[B][C]是作者的观点而不是Stephanie Brown研究的内容，故排除；[D]是对most selfless caregivers are rewarded with greater longevity的过度推测，故排除。
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