题目内容

WASHINGTON — Money can buy happiness, but only if you spend it on someone else, according to researchers.

    Spending as little as $5 a day on someone else could significantly boost happiness, the team at the University of British Columbia and Harvard Business School found on Thursday.

    Their experiments on more than 630 Americans showed they were measurably happier when they spent money on others --- even if they thought spending the money on themselves would make them happier.

    “We wanted to test our theory that how people spend their money is at least as important as how much money they earn,” said Elizabeth Dunn, a psychologist at the University of British Columbia.

    They asked their 600 volunteers first to rate their general happiness, report their annual income and detail their monthly spending including bills, gifts for themselves, gifts for others and donations to charity.

    “Regardless of how much income each person made, those who spent money on others reported greater happiness, while those who spent more on themselves did not,” Dunn said in a statement.

    Dunn’s team also surveyed 16 employees at a company in Boston before and after they received an annual profit-sharing bonus of between $3,000 and $8,000.

    “Employees who devoted more of their bonus to pro-social spending experienced greater happiness after receiving the bonus, and the manner in which they spent that bonus was a more important predictor of their happiness than the size of the bonus itself,” they wrote in their report, published in the journal Science.

    “Finally, participants who were randomly (随机地) required to spend money on others experienced greater happiness than those required to spend money on themselves,” they said.

    They gave their volunteers $5 or $20 and half got clear instructions on how to spend it. Those who spent the money on someone or something else reported feeling happier about it.

    “These findings suggest that very minor adjustment in spending allocations (分配) --- as little as $5 --- may be enough to produce real gains in happiness on a given day,” Dunn said.

    This could also explain why people are no happier even though US society is richer.

    “Indeed, although real incomes have increased dramatically in recent decades, happiness levels have remained largely flat within developed countries across time,” they wrote.

1.

 Dune’s experiment on 630 Americans was to ________.

    A. help people make careful plans for their money                 B. encourage people to be generous to others

    C. see how to spend money is important to happiness               D. test whether $5 is enough to buy happiness

2.

What can we conclude according to the experiment?

    A. Happiness largely depends on the size of your bonus money.

    B. Happiness, as a matter of fact, has nothing to do with money.

    C. The more money you give away, the happier person you will be.

    D. Spending money for the good of society will make you happier.

3.

How many different ways are used by the researchers to test their theory?

    A. Two.               B. Three.             C. Four.            D. Five.

4.

 The last sentence of the passage means _______.

    A. happiness does not necessary increase as money grows

    B. people in richer countries actually have more problems

    C. fast economic growth has a bad effect on people’s life

    D. great increase of income contributes to keeping happiness level stable

 

【答案】

 

1.C

2.D

3.B

4.A

【解析】 略

 

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完形填空(共20小题:每小题1.5分,满分30分)

阅读下面短文,从短文所给各题的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中,选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项。

For Senior 3 students, choosing which college to attend can be the most exciting and thrilling time in their entire school lives. This is also true for an American girl 21   Melanie.

Melanie’s dad, James Porter, who is the chief of police for a Chicago suburb, wants Melanie to 22  nearby Northwestern University, where she’s 23  been accepted. But Melanie, 17,really wants to go to Georgetown University in Washington, D.C, where she’s been wait-listed.

When she gets an unexpected 24  from Georgetown University, she decides to 25  a road trip with a few 26  female friends. Melanie believes it is her first step 27  adulthood.

But 28  the fact that this trip is “girls only”, James isn’t 29  with the prospect(期望) of his little princess 30  the world without him. He wants to protect her, so he joins the girls and hopes he can convince Melanie to go to Northwestern. 31  Melanie’s father only has the best of 32  , his presence 33  an endless series of comic encounters(遭遇).

After following their faulty device   34   into the backwoods (偏远地区), James and Melanie   35   Melanie’s little brother and his pet pig have been hiding in the spare compartment (隔间). What should be a simple change   36   the expensive car rolling down a mountain, forcing them to hike to a nearby hotel…

All these disasters add spice to their trip while along the way a father and a daughter   37   get the chance to really   38   each other.

All parents,   39   they have college students or not, can relate to the bittersweet realization that their kids are growing up.   40   what Melanie and James have done, we all can find the delicate (脆弱的) balance between staying connected and letting go.

1.A.named              B.naming           C.namely           D.names

2.A.join               B.send             C.attend           D.pass

3.A.still              B.always           C.yet              D.already

4.A.appointment        B.interview        C.visit            D.meeting

5.A.provide            B.offer            C.take             D.hold

6.A.closing            B.close            C.closed           D.closely

7.A.toward             B.for              C.during           D.with

8.A.though             B.in spite         C.once             D.despite

9.A.satisfying         B.successful       C.comfortable      D.meaningful

10.A.seeking           B.examining        C.searching        D.exploring

11.A.Since             B.Because          C.While            D.When

12.A.intentions        B.attempts         C.efforts          D.planning

13.A.comes about       B.leads to         C.calls in         D.turns out

14.A.lately            B.late             C.deeply           D.deep

15.A.discover          B.invent           C.recognize        D.realize

16.A.succeeds in       B.brings in        C.results from     D.certainly

17.A.hopefully         B.finally          C.firstly          D.certainly

18.A.agree to          B.speak to         C.talk to          D.turn to

19.A.whether           B.if               C.what             D.why

20.A.As    B.Like C.For  D.Except

 

Shirley Allen loved to sing and play the piano. She studied music in college and her 36 was to become a concert pianist or blues singer.

Everything 37 when she was 20 years old. She became sick with what doctors  38  was typhoid fever(伤寒)and she almost died. Doctors gave her medicine to help her get well, but the medicine  39 her to become  40 deaf. She could no longer hear the music which she had always  41.

Shirley would never give up playing the piano,  42  she did decide to change 43 . She transferred to Gallaudet University and studied English. In 1964 Shirley graduated from Gallaudet and looked for  44 . She wanted to be 45 and work full-time.

For three years, Shirley worked as a clerk in Washington, D.C. 46 , in 1967 she was asked to work at Gallaudet University as a dorm supervisor (宿舍监管员). Shirley supervised young women who 47 in the university during the school year. She also taught English. Somehow she found time to 48 graduate school at Howard University in Washington, D.C. In 1972, Shirley received her M.A. degree.

Always 49  a new challenge, in 1973 Shirley became a professor at National Technical Institute for the Deaf (NTID),which 50 deaf and hard-of-hearing students technical and professional training.

This 51 woman became the first black deaf female in the world to receive her Ph.D. She made  52 in 1992,  53 she received the highest degree in education from the University of Rochester in New York.

Dr. Shirley Jeanne Allen has traveled many roads and 54 many rainbows searching for her dream. With courage and 55, she never gave up.

1.

A.job

B.interest

C.dream

D.duty

 

2.

A.changed

B.disappeared

C.stopped

D.ended

 

3.

A.said

B.agreed

C.found

D.thought

 

4.

A.allowed

B.caused

C.encouraged

D.enabled

 

5.

A.almost

B.totally

C.actually

D.gradually

 

6.

A.played

B.loved

C.performed

D.remembered

 

7.

A.and

B.so

C.but

D.even if

 

8.

A.career

B.interest

C.life

D.attitude

 

9.

A.information

B.help

C.a job

D.an assistant

 

10.

A.happy

B.independent

C.free

D.confident

 

11.

A.However

B.Therefore

C.Then

D.Besides

 

12.

A.worked

B.studied

C.lived

D.played

 

13.

A.attend

B.observe

C.describe

D.advertise

 

14.

A.interested in

B.busy with

C.concerned about

D.ready for

 

15.

A.teaches

B.promises

C.pays

D.offers

 

16.

A.amazing

B.strict

C.wealthy

D.beautiful

 

17.

A.progress

B.history

C.suggestions

D.excuses

 

18.

A.after

B.while

C.until

D.when

 

19.

A.found

B.watched

C.followed

D.appreciated

 

20.

A.determination

B.intelligence

C.strength

D.pride

 

Events Calendar

TUESDAY

Landscape Pests (害虫)

Learn to identify, control and prevent seasonal landscape-disease and landscape-pest problems at the workshop, 3:30 pm. – 5 pm. Tuesday at the US National Arboretum, 3501 New York Ave NE, Washington. $15; registration required.

202-245-4521 or www.usna.usda.gov.

THROUGH AUGUST 3

Horticultural(园艺的) Art

Watercolors, pen-and-ink drawings and colored-pencil pieces by the Brookside Gardens School of Botanical (植物学的) Art and Illustration will be on display at the exhibit Botanic 2007: The Art and Science of Plants at Brookside Gardens Visitors Center, 1800 Glenallan Ave, Wheaton, through Aug. 3. Free. 301-962-1400 or www.brooksidegardens.org.

THROUGH SEPTEMBER 9

Botanical Art

Visit Patterns in Nature, an exhibit by Amy Lamb featuring photographs of flowers, leaves and other botanical life, at the US Botanic Garden Conservatory (温室),West Orangerie, 100 Maryland Ave SW, Washington, through Sept. 9. The conservatory is open 10 am. – 5 pm. Daily. Free. 202-225-8333.

THROUGH OCTOBER 8

Botanic Garden Exhibit

Celebrating America’s Public Gardens is on view through Oct. 8 at the US Botanic Garden, 100 Maryland Ave SW, Washington. The exhibit, on the Conservatory Terrace and in the National Garden, features displays of 20 public botanic gardens across the country. Hours are 10 am. – 5 pm. Daily. Free. 202-200-8956.

1.If you want to record your name for an event in advance, you may call _____.

A.202-225-8333

B.202-245-4521

C.301-962-1400

D.202-200-8956

2. If you go to Botanic Garden Exhibit, you _____.

A.can enjoy drawings and coloured-pencil pieces

B.can learn how to kill pests living on the plants

C.can find displays of 20 botanic gardens across the country

D.will enjoy the photographs of flowers and leaves

3. From the advertisement, we learn _____.

A.the first event is about growing healthy plants

B.all of the events are free of charge

C.there is no time limit to all the events

D.you can find the information of all the events either by phone or by e-mail

 

The first Starbucks coffee shop opened in 1971 in downtown Seattle, Washington, in the United States. It was a small coffee shop that roasted its own coffee beans. The coffee shop’s business did well, and by 1981 there were three more Starbucks stores in Seattle.

Things really began to change for the company in 1981. That year, Howard Schultz met the three men who ran Starbucks. Schultz worked in New York for a company that made kitchen equipment. He noticed that Starbucks ordered a large number of special coffee makers, and he was curious about the company. Schultz went to Seattle to see what Starbucks did , and he liked what he saw. He wanted to become part of the company. In 1982, the original Starbucks owners hired Schultz as the company’s head of marketing.

In 1983, Schultz traveled to Italy. The unique atmosphere of the espresso(浓咖啡) bars there caught his eye. To Schultz it seemed that Italians spent their daily lives in three places: home, work , and coffee bars . His experience in Italy gave Schultz a new idea for Starbucks back in Seattle.

Schultz created an atmosphere for Starbucks coffee shops that was comfortable and casual, and customers everywhere seemed to like it. Between 1987 and 1992, Starbucks opened 150 new stores---and that was only the beginning. As a matter of fact, by the year 2000, three new Starbucks stores opened somewhere around the world every day!

Today, Starbucks has thousands of stores, including stores in twenty-six countries. One thing that helps make Starbucks succeed in cities outside the United Stateds is the way Starbucks works with local stores and restaurants. By working together with a store already in the city, Starbucks gains an understanding of customers in the city.  This understanding helps Starbucks open stores in the right locations for their customers.

1.What is the main topic of the reading?

A. how Starbucks has grown       B. Starbucks’ customers

C. what Starbucks makes          D. how Starbucks makes its coffee

2.Which is true about Starbucks’ first ten years of business?

        A. It grew very quickly           B. It was run by Howard Schultz

        C. It was a small company        D. It made special coffee makers

3.Who is Howard Schultz?

        A. a coffee seller from New York      B. the man who changed the company

        C. an Italian coffee maker       D. one of the original owners of the company

4.About how many new Starbucks opened in 1999?

        A. 3     B. 150       C. 300      D. more than 1000

5.What helps Starbucks succeed in places outside the United States?

A. opening restaurants in just a few locations each year.

B. only selling locally produced coffee beans

C. working with other major coffee-making companies

D. learning about local customers.

 

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