There is a lot of losing in sports. Only one team can win at a time, and only one champion escapes the season without tears. But that doesn’t stop Americans from spending nearly $56 billion a year on sporting events. Is fandom(运动迷) worth it?
At first glance, the evidence isn’t encouraging. Following a loss, fans are more likely than usual to eat unhealthy food, be unproductive at work, and –in the case of the Super Bowl-die from heart disease. What about fans of the winning team? Well, they are more likely than other fans to suffer a postgame traffic fatality(死亡) if the score is close.
Rival(竞争的) fans’treatment of one another is hardly more encouraging. A recent study found that fans experienced greater pleasure when watching a rival team fail. Fans in another study reported schadenfreude, a feeling of satisfaction, when reading about the injury of a rival team’s player, and gluckschmerz or unhappiness when later reading about the player’s unexpectedly speedy recovery.
Yet a great deal of research shows that being a fan can also have positive effects. It can prevent depression and build a sense of belonging and self-worth---in case that the object of one’s devotion is a local team. Much of this is due to social bonds among fans, but not all--- sports worship also provides fans with a number of skills at dealing with life’s emotional challenges. A landmark 1976 study found that after a win,fans were more likely than usual to wear clothes connected with the winning teams, and to claim credit for the team’s success by describing the team as “we” instead of “they” in conversation.
Along with schadenfreude and gluckschmerz, being a fan seems more than anything else to be a matter of managing responses to things that cannot control. Sports fans tend to respond to reminders of death with optimism, and to remember victories much more clearly than defeats.
8. Which of the following statement is especially true as for the winning side’s fans?
A.They might die from heart disease. |
B.They tend to live an unhealthy life. |
C.They can have good work efficiency. |
D.They might have a traffic accident. |
9. What does the underlined sentence mean in paragraph 3?
A.Rival fans usually hold bad or even extreme attitude to each other. |
B.Rival fans often fight with each other. |
C.Fans can face their rival team bravely. |
D.Fans never lose heart when facing their rival team. |
10. What did the 1976 study show?
A.Being a fan could show great devotion to study. |
B.Being a fan could create a sense of belonging. |
C.Being a fan could develop a spirit of optimism. |
D.Being a fan could test social bonds. |
11. What is the best title for the text?
A.How to be a fan |
B.What it’s like to be fan |
C.Being a fan can be good for you |
D.A fan’s emotional challenges |