Question

 “Happiness consists in the multiplicity of agreeable consciousness,” wrote Samuel Johnson, a famous British writer and lexicographer（词典编写者）of the eighteenth century.

Today, amid the large amount of worldly temptations and material sources of modem-day enjoyment, people from all walks of life are still searching for the key to happiness. The question “How can we be happy?” seems to worry everyone. Indeed, in this day and age of scientific advancement and heavenly comforts, people still do not seem able to find a definite answer to the age-old problem of finding happiness. Happiness seems to be a very difficult thing. Solon’s dictum “Count no man happy until he is dead” seems to present both the poor and the rich with a continual threat causing them no end of anxiety.

In Oxford, England, a noted psychology professor, Dr Michael Argyle, has succeeded in his quest for happiness. Over the past eight years, he has been researching the mysterious antithesis（对立面）of depression, and has found convincing clues which he has embodied in his books.

"The Psychology of Happiness”, and “The Social Psychology of Everyday Life”.

Dr Argyle explains that happiness comprises three essential elements ― first, positive emotions like joy; second, the absence of negative emotions like anxiety, and lastly, the non-emotional element which means a general, more profound satisfaction with life.

“The bigger source of happiness is a happy marriage,” Dr Argyle explains. “Job satisfaction.” he continues, “is another essential ingredient of happiness.” Do you feel you are doing a useful job? Do you feel you are achieving, or stand a chance of achieving your ambitions?

If you honestly have positive answers to these questions, then eventually, you will be happy; if not, then you can still be happy by reducing your ambitions and lowering your expectations in order to achieve happiness. The fact is, the higher your ambitions and dreams are, the more difficult it will be for you to achieve your goals and therefore it will be harder to achieve satisfaction and happiness.

Dr Argyle offers other avenues people can take to find real happiness. Music, games or sports, a drink with a friend, a simple gathering at tea, lunch or dinner with loved ones, or simply thinking of nice things, call give a person happiness, if only for a few hours. Surprisingly, television programs, especially soap operas offers nothing but a bit of pleasurable moments. Often, television viewers are so carried away emotionally that they feel depressed or emotionally tired. Non-soap programmers, on the other hand, bore many viewers or sometimes deepen their misery. Dr Argyle further explains that wealth and worldly success do contribute to happiness. But in the ultimate analysis, Dr Argyle says, it is the person's temperament（性情）that makes him happy or unhappy. "There are in our midst people who are naturally happy, and there are the sad ones.”

Happiness is indeed mysterious. As one wise man put it, “Few are those who have never had the chance to achieve happiness, but fewer those who have never taken that chance.”

51. The writer quotes Solon’s dictum in paragraph 2 to prove that ________.

A. happiness is everyone's business            B. the dead are happier than the living

C. man is generally hard.                     D. happiness is not easy to find

52. Which of the following is NOT mentioned as an ingredient of happiness?

A. Happy marriage.                         B. Entertainment.

C. High ambitions.                          D. Wealth and power.

53. The writer believes that television programs_______.

A. do more harm than good                 B. offer only limited enjoyment

C. should be avoided altogether by viewers     D. are a genuine source of enjoyment

54. Dr argyle believes that ________.

A. the temperament of a person is largely affected by his working

B. there are people who are by nature happy or unhappy

C. there are people who blame others for their low self-esteem

D. most people often feel depressed because they worry about them.

55. In the last paragraph, the writer implies that ________.

A. happiness is false                           B. people may not know it but they are, in fact, happy

C. people should not bother seeking happiness

D. most people have been happy at least once in their life

Answer 1

51-55 DCBBD