题目内容
Happiness is infectious, researchers reported on Thursday. The more happy people you know, the more likely you are yourself to be happy. And getting connected to happy people improves a person’s own happiness. Researchers have been analyzing a collection of facts from tracking sheets(跟踪调查卷)dating back to 1971, following births, marriages, deaths, and divorces. Volunteers also listed the information of their closest friends, co-workers, and neighbors.
They assessed (评估) happiness with a simple, four-question test. “People are asked how often during the past week, one, I enjoyed life, two, I was happy, three, I felt hopeful about the future, and four, I felt that I was just as good as other people,” Fowler said. The 60 percent of people who scored highly on all four questions were regarded as happy, while the rest were considered unhappy.
People with the most social connections ― friends, spouses (配偶), neighbors, relatives ― were also the happiest, the data showed. “Each additional happy person makes you happier,” Christakis said.
And happiness is more infectious than unhappiness, they discovered. If a social contact is happy, it increases the possibility that you are happy by 15 percent. A friend of a friend, or the friend of a spouse or a sibling (兄弟姐妹), if they are happy, increases your chances by 10 percent. A happy third-degree friend ― the friend of a friend of a friend ― increases a person’s chances of being happy by 6 percent. But every extra unhappy friend increases the possibility that you’ll be unhappy by only 7 percent.
The finding is interesting and useful. Among other benefits, happiness has been shown to have an important effect on reduced death rate, pain reduction, and improved heart function. So better understanding of how happiness spreads can help us learn how to promote a healthier society. Other data suggested having extra $5,000 increases a person’s chances of becoming happier by about 2 percent. A happy friend is worth about $40,000.
53. What’s the meaning of the underlined word “infectious”?
A. Bringing trouble to society. B. Spreading from one to another.
C. Passing diseases to others. D. Affecting one’s own family.
54. According to the research, if you want to be happy, you’d better have more _______.
A. neighbor communication B. social connections
C. siblings’ support D. relatives’ relations
55. Which of the following contributes most to your happiness?
A. A happy third-degree friend.
B. A complaining close friend of yours.
C. A happy friend of your brother’s.
D. A happy colleague you see every day.
56. The finding of the research mainly shows _______.
A. happiness can always be bought with money.
B. a happy friend is worth more than a happy spouse
C. the spread of happiness can lead to a healthier society
D. happiness can cure most of the terrible diseases
BBDC
Human wants seem endless. When a starving man gets a meal, he begins to think about an overcoat; when a manager gets a new sports car, he dreams of country clubs and pleasure boats dance into view.
The many wants of mankind might be regarded as making up several levels. When there is money enough to satisfy one level of wants, another level appears.
The first and most basic level of wants is food. Once this want is satisfied, a second level of wants appears: clothing and some sort of shelter. By the end of World War II these wants were satisfied for a great majority of Americans. Then a third level appeared. It included such items as cars and new houses.
By 1957 or 1958 this third level of wants was fairly well satisfied. Then in the late 1950s a fourth level of wants appeared: the “life-enriching” level. While the other levels mean physical satisfaction—the feeding, comfort, safety and transportation of the human body—this level means mental needs for recognition, achievement and happiness. It includes a variety of goods and services many of which could be called “luxury” items. Among them are vacation trips, the best medical care and entertainment. Also included here are fancy foods and the latest styles in clothing.
On the fourth level, a greater percentage of consumers spending goes to services, while on the first three levels more is spent on goods. Will consumers raise their sights to a fifth level of wants as their income increases, or will they continue to demand luxuries and personal services on the fourth level?
A fifth level probably would be wants that can be achieved by community action. Consumers may be spending more on taxes and crime. After filling our stomachs, our garages, and our minds, we now may seek to ensure the health and safety to enjoy more fully the good things on the first three levels.
【小题1】According to the passage, man will begin to think about such needs as housing and clothing only when _______
A.he has saved up enough money |
B.he has grown dissatisfied with his simple shelter |
C.he has satisfied his hunger |
D.he has learned to build houses |
A.were very rich |
B.were very poor |
C.Had the good things on the first three levels |
D.didn’t own cars |
A.A successful career | B.A comfortable house |
C.A good service | D.A family car |
A.would be a little better than the fourth level |
B.may be a lot more desirable than the first four |
C.can be the last and most satisfying level |
D.will come true if the government takes actions |
Linda Evans was my best friend—like the sister I never had. We did everything together: piano lessons, movies, swimming, horseback riding.
When I was 13, my family moved away. Linda and I kept in touch through letters, and we saw each other on special time—like my wedding (婚礼) and Linda’s. Soon we were busy with children and moving to new homes, and we wrote less often. One day a card that I sent came back, stamped “Address (地址) Unknown. ” I had no idea how to find Linda.
Over the years, I missed Linda very much. I wanted to share (分享) happiness of my children and then grandchildren. And I needed to share my sadness when my brother and then mother died. There was an empty place in my heart that only a friend like Linda could fill.
One day I was reading a newspaper when I noticed a photo of a young woman who looked very much like Linda and whose last name was Wagman — Linda’s married name. “There must be thousands of Wagmans,” I thought, but J still wrote to her.
She called as soon as she got my letter. “Mrs Tobin!” she said excitedly, “Linda Evans Wagman is my mother. ”
Minutes later I heard a voice that I knew very much, even after 40 years, laughed and cried and caught up on each other’s lives. Now the empty place in my heart is filled. And there’s one thing that Linda and I know for sure: We won’t lose each other again!
【小题1】The writer went to piano lessons with Linda Evans _______.
A.at the age of 13 |
B.before she got married |
C.after they moved to new homes |
D.before the writer’s family moved away |
A.got married |
B.had little time to do so |
C.didn’t like writing letters |
D.could see each other on special time |
A.was in trouble |
B.didn’t know Linda’s address |
C.received the card that she sent |
D.didn’t have a friend like Linda to share her happiness or sadness |
A.for about 40 years |
B.for about 27 years |
C.since they got married |
D.since the writer’s family moved away |