2026年中考英语时文阅读训练与消极的人相处可能会使我们加速衰老-Negative people might make us age more quickly

Negative people might make us age more quickly   (23rd March 2026) From supportive friendships to toxic colleagues, our relationships can shape our stress levels more than our jobs, finances, or even our diet and health habits. A new study suggests that who we surround ourselves with can negatively affect our longevity. Scientists at Indiana University in the USA conducted a study on how the people around us can impact the stress in our lives. The researchers focused on the effect people called "hasslers" had on us. A hassler is an annoying individual who regularly hassles us. Lead researcher Professor Brea Perry said, "having more hasslers is associated with accelerated biological aging…and how much wear and tear [people] have on their body". The study is published in the journal PNAS. Researchers questioned participants about the difficult relationships in their lives to identify hasslers. Dr Perry found around one third of the participants had at least one hassler in their social network. She said about 10 per cent had at least two hasslers. She suggested that each additional hassler was associated with a 1.5 per cent faster pace of aging. Perry added: "It can actually take days for that stress response to drop and for your body to go back to normal." She highlighted the adverse effects of accumulated stress from hasslers, saying: "When you experience that chronically, over and over again, it has this long-term effect on the body." 1. Vocabulary Matching Paragraph 1 1. toxic a. Your money and how you use it. 2. finances (noun)  b. A long life. 3. surround c. Damage that happens slowly over time. 4. longevity d. To be all around something or someone. 5. annoying e. Small problems or difficulties. 6. hassles f. Very bad or harmful. 7. wear and tear g. Making you feel a little angry or uncomfortable. Paragraph 2 8. participants h. To find and say what something or someone is. 9. identify i. Connected or related to something. 10. associated j. In a long-lasting or habitual and problematic way. 11. pace k. Bad or harmful. 12. adverse l. The speed of something. 13. accumulated m. People who take part in something. 14. chronically n. Collected or built up over time. 【答案】 2. TRUE / FALSE: Read the headline. Guess if “1-8” below are true (T) or false (F). 1. The article says toxic colleagues destroy supportive friendships. T / F 2. The research is from a university in India. T / F 3. The research focused on how "hasslers" affect people's longevity. T / F 4. A researcher said stress from hasslers can add to bodily wear and tear. T / F 5. Every research participant knew at least two hasslers. T / F 6. One additional hassler can increase the pace of aging by 1.5 per cent. T / F 7. A researcher said it can take months for the body to destress. T / F 8. The researcher said chronic stress has short-term effects on the body. T / F 【答案】 3. SYNONYM MATCH: (The words in bold are from the news article.) 1. 1. supportive 2. toxic 3. conducted 4. hassle 5. wear and tear 6. identify 7. pace 8. adverse 9. accumulated 10. chronically a. harmful b. damage c. inconvenience d. poisonous e. recognize f. persistently g. helpful h. heaped up i. speed j. carried out 【答案】 4. READING COMPREHENSION: MULTIPLE CHOICE 1) What can shape our stress levels besides supportive friendships? a) joining social networks b) exercise c) toxic colleagues d) reading news 2) What does who we surround ourselves with negatively affect? a) our longevity b) our finances c) our free time d) our intelligence 3) What university is this research from? a) India University b) Indiana University c) Indigo University d) Independente University 4) What are negative people called who give us stress? a) bullies b) fools c) Bob d) hasslers 5) What can rise in the body because of negative people, besides stress? a) wearables b) sniffs and tears c) wear and tear d) hair and tears 6) What is PNAS? a) a destressing clinic b) a journal c) a hospital d) a university 7) What did Dr Perry say one third of test participants had in their lives? a) money worries b) health problems c) amazing friends d) hasslers 8) How many negative people did 10% of test participants know? a) three b) at least two c) just one d) none 9) How long did Dr Perry say it can take for stress to disappear? a) hours b) days c) weeks d) months 10) What effect does accumulated stress have on the body? a) a long-term effect b) a detrimental effect c) a lethal effect d) a treatable effect keys： 5. Comprehension questions 1. What can shape our stress levels besides supportive friendships? 2. What does who we surround ourselves with negatively affect? 3. What university is this research from? 4. What are negative people called who give us stress? 5. What can rise in the body because of negative people, besides stress? 6. What is PNAS? 7. What did Dr Perry say one third of test participants had in their lives? 8. How many negative people did 10% of test participants know? 9. How long did Dr Perry say it can take for stress to disappear? 10. What effect does accumulated stress have on the body? 【答案】 1. Toxic colleagues 2. Our longevity 3. Indiana University 4. Hasslers 5. Wear and tear 6. A journal 7. Hasslers 8. At least two 9. Days 10. A long-term effect 6. Put the words in the right order 1. can levels Our our relationships shape stress . 2. affects longevity negatively ourselves surround we Who with . 3. around can impact our people stress The us . 4. called effect had hasslers on people The us . 5. and have How much people tear wear . 6. about difficult participants questioned relationships Researchers the . 7. days drop for It responses stress takes to . 8. accumulated adverse effects highlighted of She stress the . 9. again and chronically experience over over that You . 10. body effect has It long-term on the this . keys： 1. Our relationships can shape our stress levels. 2. Who we surround ourselves with negatively affects longevity. 3. The people around us can impact our stress. 4. The effect people called hasslers had on us. 5. How much wear and tear people have. 6. Researchers questioned participants about the difficult relationships. 7. It takes days for stress responses to drop. 8. She highlighted the adverse effects of accumulated stress. 9. You experience that chronically over and over again. 10. It has this long-term effect on the body. 7.【optional】Gap fill Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below. impact shape annoying tear toxic longevity biological diet From supportive friendships to (1) _________________________________ colleagues, our relationships can (2) _________________________________ our stress levels more than our jobs, finances, or even our (3) _________________________________ and health habits. A new study suggests that who we surround ourselves with can negatively affect our (4) _________________________________. Scientists at Indiana University in the USA conducted a study on how the people around us can (5) _________________________________ the stress in our lives. The researchers focused on the effect people called "hasslers" had on us. A hassler is an (6) _________________________________ individual who regularly hassles us. Lead researcher Professor Brea Perry said, "having more hasslers is associated with accelerated (7) _________________________________ aging...and how much wear and (8) _________________________________ [people] have on their body". Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below. drop journal least pace chronically identify adverse associated The study is published in the (9) _________________________________ PNAS. Researchers questioned participants about the difficult relationships in their lives to (10) _________________________________ hasslers. Dr Perry found around one third of the participants had at (11) _________________________________ one hassler in their social network. She said about 10 per cent had at least two hasslers. She suggested that each additional hassler was (12) _________________________________ with a 1.5 per cent faster (13) _________________________________ of aging. Perry added: "It can actually take days for that stress response to (14) _________________________________ and for your body to go back to normal." She highlighted the (15) _________________________________ effects of accumulated stress from hasslers, saying: "When you experience that (16) _________________________________, over and over again, it has this long-term effect on the body." 学科网（北京）股份有限公司 $