Say sorry to your wife---it may help her live longer, according to scientists. “Sorry” may be the hardest word, but scientists say it could be one of the healthiest. Researchers have discovered that women who receive an apology for hurtful behavior suffer less stress and possible damage to their heart than those who don’t. It is said that the heartbeat of a wronged woman returns to normal 20 percent quicker after a well-timed “sorry” than without it. But for men, their heartbeat takes longer to recover, according to the research. The research was undertaken by American scientists using 29 men and 59 women whose diastolic blood pressure was measured throughout an experiment. Diastolic blood pressure is a measure of pressure in the blood vessels( 血管 ) between heartbeats---if it is continuously high it can increase the chances of heart attacks. The men and women were asked to undertake a difficult mathematical task. They were told they had five minutes to complete it but were disturbed after a minute and told rudely to carry out the task more quickly. They were disturbed twice more before five minutes had passed and told to speed up. Finally they were told, “ You’re obviously not good enough.” Two minutes later researchers said sorry to half of the men and women. The researchers found that, on average, the women’s diastolic blood pressure dropped back to normal 20 percent---quicker if they received an apology from the researchers, while the men’s took 20 percent longer to return to normal. One of the researchers said, “Results indicates that the effects of apology and forgiveness on women are greater.” 小题1:The term “sorry” is considered as one of the healthiest words because it _________.
a. Half of them received apologies. b. They were disturbed a minute later. c. They were told that they weren’t good enough. d. They were asked to finish a math task in five minutes. e. They were disturbed two more times during the study.
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