Last year, CCTV journalists approached pedestrians with their cameras, held a microphone to their mouth and asked a simple question, “Are you happy?”

The question has caught many interviewees off guard. Even Mo Yan, who just won a Nobel Prize, responded by saying, “I don’t know”.

While the question has become a buzz phrase and the Internet plays host to heated discussions, we ask: What exactly is happiness? And how do you measure it?

In the 1776 US Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson set in writing the people’s unalienable right to “Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness”. 235 years on, Wen Jiabao told the nation, “Everything we do is aimed at letting people live more happily.” At National People’s Congress, officials agreed that increasing happiness would be a top target for the 12th five-year plan.

US psychologist Ed Diener, author of Happiness: Unlocking the Mysteries of Psychological Wealth, describes happiness as “ a combination of life satisfaction and having more positive than negative emotions”, according to US broadcasting network PBS. This may sound straightforward enough, but it still doesn’t explain what determines people’s happiness.

Many argue that happiness is elusive and that there is no single source. It also means different things to different people. For some, happiness can be as simple as having enough cash.

Researchers believe happiness can be separated into two types: daily experiences of hedonic (享乐的) well-being; and evaluative well-being, the way people think about their lives as a whole. The former refers to the quality of living, whereas the latter is about overall happiness, including life goals and achievements. Happiness can cross both dimensions.

Li Jun, a psychologist and mental therapy practitioner at a Beijing clinic, says, “Happiness can mean both the most basic human satisfaction or the highest level of spiritual pursuit. It’s a simple yet profound topic.”

Chen Shangyuan, 21, a junior English major at Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, said his idea of happiness always evolves. “At present it relates to how productive I am in a day,” he said. “It might be linked to job security or leisure time after I graduate.”

Then there is the question of measuring happiness. Does it depend on how many friends we have, or whether we own the latest smart phone? Is it even quantifiable?

Economists are trying to measure happiness in people’s lives. Since 1972, Bhutan’s GDP measurement has been replaced by a Gross National Happiness index. It is calculated according to the peoples’ sense of being well-governed, their relationship with the environment, their satisfaction with economic development, and their sense of national belonging.

In 2009, US economist Joseph Stiglitz proposed “to shift emphasis from measuring economic production to measuring people’s well-being”. But is well-being more easily measured?

1. In the second paragraph, the writer gave an example to ________.

A. support his idea that being famous is the reason to be happy

B. introduce his topic to be discussed

C. tell people winning a Nobel Prize is a great honor

D. show that the question was quite difficult

2.From what Thomas Jefferson and Wen Jiabao mentioned in the passage, we know ________.

A. people’s happiness is determined by great people

B. people’s happiness is an important target for the development of a country

C. people in all countries have the right to ask the government for a happy life

D. people both in China and America are living a happy life

3.According to the passage, the writer may most likely agree that ________.

A. CCTV journalists are concerned about people’s happiness out of sympathy

B. the question has led to heated discussions about who are the happiest people in China

C. Bhutan’s new index shows that people there are the happiest in the world

D. it is not easy for us to decide what determines people’s happiness

4.What does the underlined word “elusive” in the sixth paragraph mean?

A. available.                B. easy to get.                      C. hard to describe.            D. unimaginable.

5.The best title of the passage is ________.

A. Are you happy?                                                   B. The Measurement of Happiness

C. GDP and Happiness                                             D. The Secret of Happiness

 

GAOMI,  Shandong,  Oct.11( Xinhua)—Chinese writer Mo Yan said last Thursday that he was "very surprised" at winning the Nobel Literature Prize.

Speaking  to reporters at a hotel in his hometown Gaomi city in east China's Shandong Province, Mo said, " (I was)very surprised upon winning the prize because I felt I was not very senior in terms of qualification ( among Chinese writers).There are many good writers and my ranking was not so high."

"I am very happy," he saiD."I was having dinner when I received the news.I was surprised.”

"Thank you for coming all the way to Gaomi.This should be a season of red sorghum, but no such crop is planted any more.  I believe none of you have seen the crop," he said.

"The Nobel Literature Prize is a very important literature prize, but not the top awarD.It represents the opinions of the jury(评审团 ).I am satisfied with my major works and I still keep writing by hand.My works are Chinese literature, which is part of world literature.They show the life of Chinese people as well as the country's unique culture and folk customs.Meanwhile, my novels described human beings in the broad sense.I wrote in the perspective of a human being.These works stand beyond regions and ethnic groups," he said.

"The folk arts and folk culture accompanied my growth and I was influenced by the cultural elements I witnessed through my childhood.When I picked up the pen for literature creation, the folk cultural elements inevitably entered my novels and affected and even determined the artistic styles of my works," he added.

Mo's win brought joy to other writers and readers throughout the country as he is the first Chinese national to win the Nobel Literature Prize in its century-long history.

 Born into a farmer's family in a village in Gaomi, Mo has been known since the late 1980s for his novels such as Big Breasts and Wide Hips and Red Sorghum(红高粱), which was later adapted into a film by director Zhang Yimou.

1.Mo Yan was surprised at winning the Nobel Prize because he felt________ .

A.he was not as famous as other writers

B.he was not the best writer in China

C.he was born in a farmer's family

D.he didn't have good education

2.According to Mo Yan,              .

A.red sorghum should be planted in his hometown

B.the Nobel Prize represents the opinions of the public

C.he still keeps the habit of writing by hand

D.his novels described human beings of all regions

3.By reading Mo Yan's works, we can                .

A.increase our sense of national pride

B.learn a lot about the Chinese folk culture

C.form a vivid picture of his childhood

D.learn more about the history of the Nobel Prize

4.Which of the following words can best describe Mo Yan?

 A.modest      B.self--confident   C.humorous   D.romantic

5.Where might you find the article?

A.In a novel.                    B.In a travel book

C.In a newspaper.   D.In a student book

 

 

 

Chinese writer Mo Yan’s Nobel Prize for Literature might ignite an explosion of global interest in Chinese literature and lead to more titles translated into English, European experts say.

 “Hopefully, the award means more people will read Chinese literature and more works will get translated,” says Michel Hockx, professor of the Languages and Cultures of China and Inner Asia from University of London. “Many very good Chinese writers have been accepted globally for a long time already. Mo Yan is probably the most translated Chinese writer alive, with at least five of his novels made available in English over the past 20 years.”

Jonathan Ruppin, web editor of bookseller Foyles, says Mo’s win coincides with growing interest in Chinese literature and recognizes the talents of a distinctive and visionary(富于幻想的)writer. “We are very excited by the fact that English translations of more of his books should now become available,” Ruppin says. He made the comment after Mo became the first Chinese citizen to win the Nobel Prize for Literature in its century-long history.

As East-West cultural exchange has been booming, Chinese literature has been attracting growing attention in recent years. Hockx explains, “It’s mainly because there are many more opportunities for Chinese writers to visit other countries, to publish their works outside China and to interact with readers abroad. At the same time, more and more people globally are learning Chinese and taking an interest in the Chinese language and culture.”

University of Oxford lecturer in modern Chinese literature Margaret Hillenbrand says, “The obvious reason for the growing global presence of Chinese literature is the growing global presence of China itself. People have come to realize that there is a serious knowledge deficit (缺少)between China and its international counterparts — in particular, China knows incomparably(无比地)more about Europe and America than the other way round — and reading Chinese literature is an effective, simple means of solving that gap.”

1.The underlined word “ignite” in Paragraph 1 probably means  “________”.

A. start out      B. burn up      C. set off        D. appeal to

2.Chinese literature has been attracting growing attention mainly because ________.

A. Chinese writers have been writing more and more books in English

B. the Chinese language has become the most widely used language in the world

C. the Chinese government attaches great importance to literature

D. the cultural communication between China and western countries has developed

3. Which of the following is true according to the passage?

A. Chinese literature has spread with the development of China.

B. The Nobel Prize for Literature has a history of hundreds of years.

C. In the past, no Chinese writers were accepted outside China.

D. Foreigners know about China mainly by reading Mo Yan’s works.

4.How do you understand the underlined sentence in the last paragraph?

A. China knows more about Europe and America than before.

B. China knows more about Europe and America than they know about China.

C. China, Europe and America know one another more than before.

D. Compared with America, China knows more about Europe.

 

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