Use of English (2017)

Could a hug a day keep the doctor away? The answer may be a resounding “yes!” [1] helping you feel close and [2] to people you care about, it turns out that hugs can bring a [3] of health benefits to your body and mind. Believe it or not, a warm embrace might even help you [4] getting sick this winter.

In a recent study [5] over 400 healthy adults, researchers from Carnegie Mellon University in Pennsylvania examined the effects of perceived social support and the receipt of hugs [6] the participants’ susceptibility to developing the common cold after being [7] to the virus. People who perceived greater social support were less likely to come [8] with a cold, and the researchers [9] that the stress-reducing effects of hugging [10] about 32 percent of that beneficial effect. [11] among those who got a cold, the ones who felt greater social support and received more frequent hugs had less severe [12].

“Hugging protects people who are under stress from the [13] risk for colds that’s usually [14] with stress,” notes Sheldon Cohen, a professor of psychology at Carnegie. Hugging “is a marker of intimacy and helps [15] the feeling that others are there to help [16] difficulty.”

Some experts [17] the stress-reducing, health-related benefits of hugging to the release of oxytocin, often called “the bonding hormone” [18] it promotes attachment in relationships, including that between mothers and their newborn babies. Oxytocin is made primarily in the central lower part of the brain, and some of it is released into the bloodstream. But some of it [19] in the brain, where it [20] mood, behavior and physiology.

[A]Unlike

[B]Besides

[C]Despite

[D]Throughout

[A]connected

[B]restricted

[C]equal

[D]inferior

[A]choice

[B]view

[C]lesson

[D]host

[A]recall

[B]forget

[C]avoid

[D]keep

[A]collecting

[B]involving

[C]guiding

[D]affecting

[A]of

[B]in

[C]at

[D]on

[A]devoted

[B]exposed

[C]lost

[D]attracted

[A]across

[B]along

[C]down

[D]out

[A]calculated

[B]denied

[C]doubted

[D]imagined

10.

[A]served

[B]required

[C]restored

[D]explained

11.

[A]Even

[B]Still

[C]Rather

[D]Thus

12.

[A]defeats

[B]symptoms

[C]tests

[D]errors

13.

[A]minimized

[B]highlighted

[C]controlled

[D]increased

14.

[A]equipped

[B]associated

[C]presented

[D]compared

15.

[A]assess

[B]moderate

[C]generate

[D]record

16.

[A]in the face of

[B]in the form of

[C]in the way of

[D]in the name of

17.

[A]transfer

[B]commit

[C]attribute

[D]return

18.

[A]because

[B]unless

[C]though

[D]until

19.

[A]emerges

[B]vanishes

[C]remains

[D]decreases

20.

[A]experiences

[B]combines

[C]justifies

[D]influences

答案与解析 (Answers)

1. [B] Besides. 解析：除了帮助你感到亲近之外（递进关系）。

2. [A] connected. 解析：feel connected to... 与...有联系/连结。

3. [D] host. 解析：a host of... 固定搭配，意为“大量的/许多的”。

4. [C] avoid. 解析：避免这个冬天感冒生病。

5. [B] involving. 解析：一项涉及/包括 400 名成年人的研究。

6. [D] on. 解析：examining the effects of... on... 调查...对...的影响。

7. [B] exposed. 解析：be exposed to the virus 暴露于/接触病毒。

8. [C] down. 解析：come down with a cold 固定短语，患上感冒。

9. [A] calculated. 解析：研究人员计算/估算出拥抱的效果占了32%。

10. [D] explained. 解析：拥抱的效果解释了（accounted for/explained）那 32% 的益处。

11. [A] Even. 解析：即使是在那些已经感冒的人当中。

12. [B] symptoms. 解析：感冒症状（symptoms）较轻。

13. [D] increased. 解析：因压力而增加的感冒风险。

14. [B] associated. 解析：be associated with... 与压力相关的/联系在一起的。

15. [C] generate. 解析：产生（generate）一种别人在支持你的感觉。

16. [A] in the face of. 解析：面对（in the face of）困难时。

17. [C] attribute. 解析：attribute... to... 将...归因于...。

18. [A] because. 解析：被称为催产素，是因为（because）它能促进依恋。

19. [C] remains. 解析：留在（remains）大脑中。

20. [D] influences. 解析：在那里影响（influences）情绪和行为。

核心长难句精解 (Highlighted Sentences)

1. 动名词作状语与表语从句：
"Besides helping you feel close and connected to people you care about, it turns out that hugs can bring a host of health benefits..."
 【解析】Besides helping... 是现在分词短语作介词宾语。turns out that... 是固定句型，表示“事实证明/结果是”。a host of 是考研高频短语。 
【翻译】除了帮助你与所关心的人感到亲近和连结外，事实证明，拥抱还能给你的身心带来诸多健康益处。 
2. 过去分词作后置定语与固定短语：
"People who perceived greater social support were less likely to come down with a cold..."
 【解析】who 引导定语从句修饰 People。come down with 是一个非常地道的表达，专指“染上/患上（小病）”。 
【翻译】那些能感受到更多社会支持的人，患感冒的可能性更小。 
3. 因果逻辑与宾语从句：
"Some experts attribute the stress-reducing... benefits to the release of oxytocin... because it promotes attachment in relationships..."
 【解析】attribute A to B 意为“将 A 归因于 B”。because 引导原因状语从句。oxytocin（催产素）是科普类文章的常见词汇。 
【翻译】一些专家将拥抱减轻压力、促进健康的益处归因于催产素的释放，催产素常被称为“结合荷尔蒙”，因为它能促进人际关系的依恋。 