B

Living near the beach may come with an extra perk (利益): better health. A new study analyzed information from more than 48 million people in England and found that the nearer they lived to the coast, the more likely people were to report good health within the past year.

Living near the coast may be associated with better health because the seaside environment reduces stress, the researchers said. They pointed to another British study that found that people who took trips to the coast experienced more feelings of calmness and relaxation than those who visited urban parks or the countryside.

The difference from living near the coast was relatively small. But a small effect, when applied to an entire population, can have a substantial impact on public health, said study researcher Ben Wheeler of Peninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry in Exeter, England.

However, it’s too soon to advise people to hit the beach to improve health, Wheeler said. The study only found an association, not a cause-effect link, and it’s possible that other factors could explain the results. For instance, it could be that people who are wealthier, and therefore healthier, are more able to move to desired locations such as the coast, Wheeler said, a phenomenon known as the migrant effect. But the study did find that the association between coastal living and better health was strongest for those living in the poorest areas, which perhaps indicates that wealth cannot explain the results, Wheeler said.

Because the study looked at only England—an island country in which everyone lives within 72 miles of the coast—it’s not clear whether the findings would apply to other populations. Far from England, a health expert not involved in the study said that while the British research certainly doesn’t prove that people’s health and the place they live are linked, it’s possible that proximity to the seas does something for our bodies.

If future studies confirm the results, the next step would be to find out it is what coastal environments that can benefit health. Wheeler said it may then be possible to bring those benefits to people living in other areas, through virtual environments, for instance.

25. We can conclude from the passage that ______.

  A. people living near the sea may be healthier

  B. people are encouraged to move to the coast

  C. people pay increasingly attention to health

  D. people are worried about residential environment

26. According to the researchers, living near the sea ______.

  A. doesn’t nearly affect the British population

  B. can help get over one’s stress

  C. can cure some difficult diseases in a way

  D. means freeing from sadness or troubles

27. What Ben Wheeler said means ______.

  A. the British public health is decreasing

  B. concrete evidence favors life near the sea

  C. exact reasons are proposed for further research

  D. wealthier people are likely to be healthier

28. What does the underlined word “proximity” in the passage mean?

  A. being opposite B. being distant C. being similar D. being close
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