Question

Winter depression (or winter blues) is a common affliction (折磨) for those who live in our northern climate. Its clinical name is seasonal affective disorder (or SAD) and up to 5% of the population (especially in northern states) may suffer from it. Seasonal affective disorder is characterized by feelings of sadness and depression that occur in the winter months when the temperatures drop and the days grow short . The depression is often associated with excessive eating or sleeping and weight gain. Women are twice to three times more likely to suffer from the winter blues than men.

    There are many effective treatments for winter depression, some of which you can do to help yourself. Increasing your daily exposure to as much natural light as possible can be helpful to many. Any time that you have the opportunity to gain access to more sunlight in the winter months, you should try to do so. Taking walks throughout the day (even if you don’t normally do so), sitting next to a south-facing window at your office, in a classroom, or at home will increase your sunlight exposure. Exercising next to a window or outdoors (when possible) is another activity that can help.

    Although it may be difficult to do, maintaining your schedule and lifestyle will help to keep the depression at bay. A regular pattern of sleep is the most important thing to maintain. It may be helpful, for instance, to have your bedroom lights on a timer to turn on a half-hour before you wake. This may help in waking at a regular time every morning, when it is still dark outside in the winter months.

    Light therapy has shown to be an effective treatment for seasonal affective disorder. While you can purchase expensive, specialized light therapy lighting fixtures for your home or office, some inexpensive alternatives are also available. Another lighting technique to try is to replace commonly used light bulbs in your home with brighter full spectrum (also known as broad spectrum) light bulbs. While more expensive than regular light bulbs, these bulbs provide light that is similar to natural sunlight.

    If none of these techniques seem to help your depressive symptoms, you should consider consulting your family physician or a mental health professional. The winter blues are a form of depression and can be readily treated w ith medications or psychotherapy when other self-help methods aren’t effective. Don’t be afraid to talk about this condition with a professional; it’s nothing to be ashamed or afraid of. With a little effort, the winter blues can be beaten

What do we know about winter depression?

A. It is very common where the weather is cold.

B. It may lead to weight gain.

C. It occurs when the temperatures drop.

D. It seldom affects men.

What is the most important factor in the therapy introduced in the second paragraph?

A. Exposure to natural light.

B. Sports in winter months.

C. Outdoor activities.

D. Sunlight through the window.

What does “to keep the depression at bay” mean in the third paragraph?

A. To shorten the duration of the depression.

B. To use light to resist the depression.

C. To keep the depression manageable and minimal.

D. To delay the occurrence of the depression.

For winter depression, light therapy ___________.

A. is much more effective than other kinds of therapy

B. is so expensive that some may not be able to afford it

C. encourages people to do outdoor exercises

D. needs specialized bulbs to replace ordinary ones

We can infer from the passage that __________.

A. self-help methods do not work 100% of the time

B. medications or psychotherapy is much more effective

C. mental health professionals don’t recommend self- help methods

D. most people prefer self-help methods to medications

Answer 1

【小題1】B

【小題2】A

【小題3】C

【小題4】D

【小題5】A

解析:

【小題1】根據第一段中“The depression is often associated with excessive eating or sleeping and weight gain.”可知，冬季抑郁癥可能會導致暴飲暴食，所以也有可能導致人超重。

【小題2】根據第二段第二句“Increasing your daily exposure to as much natural light as possible can be helpful to many.”即要增加每天曬太陽的時間，這樣對治療冬季抑郁癥很有幫助，這一段都是在說怎樣增加光照，所以第二段所說的這種療法最重要的因素就是自然光照。

【小題3】根據第三段的內容，說的是每天早晨在一個固定的時間起床，那么遵守日程和有規律的生活方式可以避免冬季抑郁癥的發生，所以C正確，keep at bay表示“遏制，使……不能迫近”。

【小題4】根據第四段中“Another lighting technique to try is to replace commonly used light bulbs in your home with brighter full spectrum (also known as broad spectrum) light bulbs.”可知，燈光療法需要使用特殊制作的燈泡，而不是普通的燈泡。

【小題5】根據最后一段第一句“If none of these techniques seem to help your depressive symptoms, you should consider consulting your family physician or a mental health professional.”可知自助療法并不是100％有效的，有時候對緩解癥狀沒有用，這時候就需要去咨詢家庭醫生或者心理健康專家了。