Passage 3
[A] If you've ever been to a large celebration--a parade, a fair, or a religious pilgrimage-- -you might
have noticed that the crowd had its own special energy. The French 19th-century sociologist Emile
Durkheim coined a phrase for this: collective effervescence. He was convinced that the effervescence,
or enthusiasm, of a crowd had a positive impact on individuals' health.
[B] Psychologists Stephen Reicher and Mark Levine of the University of Exeter in the U.K. have
been studying the effects of crowds. Very socially connected people are less likely to die of heart
disease and some cancers, and there's some evidence that they are less vulnerable to age-related
cognitive decline. They respond better to vaccinations. Their wounds may even heal faster.
[C] Nowadays, more than half the world's population is urban, living in cities around the world.
Despite the elevated levels of crime and pollution in cities, Reicher and Levine talk about an "urban
advantage" that inhabitants have when it comes to health. As the population of a city increases, the
degree of social interaction in that city increases, too. This had positive effects in the creation of art,
knowledge, and wealth. "There is a 10 to 15 percent extra benefit, on average," says sociologist Dirk
Helbing of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zirich. "So there is a strong social force
driving us toward living together."
[D] The urban advantage only works if city officials are capable of keeping the city safe. For
instance, people won't be healthier if their drinking water is contaminated. And, undeniably, bad
things happen in crowds. If the goal of a crowd is destruction, then destruction will occur. The urban
riots in Britain in 2011, for example, were characterized by looting and arson and caused tremendous
damage.
[E] However, when Levine analyzed surveillance footage of alcohol-fueled conflict in public places
in a British city, his conclusion was that bystanders, the people watching in a crowd, played an
important role in whether a confrontation turned violent or not. In other words, bystanders can have a
calming influence. They can dissuade others from violence. This finding was very different from
previous research on the so-called bystander effect, which suggested that some people let go of
individual responsibility in a crowd, and stand helpless as horrors unfold before their eyes.
[F] The spirit of cooperation was present at a music festival in the United States in 1969, called
Woodstock. Many more people came to the event than officials had anticipated would be there. In the
words of one official at the event: "There are a . . . lot of us here. If we are going to make it, you had
better remember that the guy next to you is your brother." Fortunately, people at Woodstock took this
advice, and the three-day festival is remembered as much for its peace, love, and harmony as for its
mud, food shortages, and traffic jams.
[G] In more advanced industrialized societies, the power of cooperation is often neglected, and we
may be paying the price. In the United States, for example, life expectancy has not grown as fast as it
has in other developed countries. One possible explanation, according to Lisa Berkman, a social
epidemiologist at Harvard, is that Americans have become increasingly isolated socially. She points
to the fact that we need moments of collective effervescence. Crowds can aid our health, and our
spirits.
(Adapted from "Karma of the Crowd," by Laura Spinney: National Geographic Magazine, February 2014)
【題組】46. What is the main idea of this passage?
(A) Crowds may have a positive impact on a person's health and well-being.
(B) Psychologists have shown that bystanders help to calm people in a crowd.
(C) People who are very socially connected do not have many health problems.
(D) Emile Durkheim created the term collective effervescence in the 19th century.