Consumers everywhere are faced with the same dilemma: given limited resources, what sorts of purchases are most likely to produce lasting happiness and satisfaction? Recent research has confirmed that experiential purchases tend to produce greater hedonic (享乐的)gains than material purchases.

The reason why experiences improve with time may be because it is possible to think about experiences in a more abstract manner than possessions. For example, if you think back to a fantastic summer from your youth, you might easily remember an abstract sense of warm sunshine and youthful exuberant (生气勃勃), but you're less likely to remember exactly what you did day-by-day.

Material possessions are harder to think about in an abstract sense. The car you bought is still a car, that great new jacket you picked up cheap is still just a jacket. It’s more likely the experience of that summer has taken on a symbolic meaning that can live longer in your memory than a possession.

Purchasing may have a negative impact on happiness because consumers often buy “joyless” material possessions, resulting in comfort but not pleasure. In general, people adapt to experiences more slowly than to material purchase. This can be seen in both negative and positive purchases: hedonic adaptation would result in a positive experience causing more happiness but a negative experience causing less happiness than the comparable material purchase with the same initial happiness level.

Experience, however, seems to be more resistant to these sorts of unfavourable comparisons. It is because of the unique nature of experience. It’s more difficult to make an unfavourable comparison when there is nothing directly comparable. After all, each of our youthful summers is different.

It’s well established that social comparisons can have a huge effect on how we view what might seem like positive events. One striking example is the finding that people prefer to earn $50,000 a year while everyone else earns $25,000, instead of earning $100,000 themselves and having other people earn $200,000.

A similar effect is seen for possessions. When there are so many flat-screen HD TVs to choose from, it's easy to make unfavourable comparisons between our choice and the others available.

1.An abstract sense in the passage refers to awareness of something __________.

A. you cannot think about

B. you can’ t remember well

C. you cannot understand

D. you cannot see or touch

2.If you make an experiential purchase before a material purchase, you may go to__________.

A. a theatre before going to a store

B. an exhibition before going to a park

C. a mall before going to a grocer's

D. a market before going to a restaurant

3.The example of earnings is given to actually indicate__________.

A. how ridiculous people are B. how people feel content

C. how nearsighted people are D. how people hold prejudice

4. It is implied in the passage that, after their material purchases, people might__________.

A. enjoy their ownership of what they have bought

B. pick every fault in the products they have got

C. regret making a wrong decision to buy the items

D. leave what they’ve purchased untouched at home

Volunteer at Shelter - North Toronto Cat Rescue---Bayview/Hwy 7

Do you like animals? Come and volunteer at our cat shelter.

North Toronto Cat Rescue is a no-cage, no-kill cat shelter. We are a volunteer organization, funded totally by donation, and are a licensed Canadian charity.

We are looking for volunteers who can join us once a week for a 3 month period (at least). The work is not wonderful but it is very rewarding. Mainly, we feed, clean, and scoop litter. Of course we also spend quality time with our cats.

We have 2 shifts(换班) per day, 7 days per week:

Mornings are 9am-1pm.

Evenings are 5-7pm or 6-8pm.

Please note that any new volunteer who wishes to work evening shift must be able to work 4 morning shifts on a team before moving to an evening shift. This is required in order to gain the ability to work more independently, as required during evening shifts.

Students must be at least 16 years old. Adults are also welcome.

If you do not have your own personal transportation, please check the public transportation from your area to our location at Bayview/Hwy 7 area before responding to this ad.

1. Where is the ad most likely to appear?

A. In the local newspaper B. On the Internet

C. On TV D. In a magazine

2. Which of the following volunteers can work evening shift?

A. A college student who can work for half a year period.

B. A college student who lives near the shelter.

C. A worker who has worked five morning shifts at the shelter.

D. A car owner who will work there for the first time.

3.How many hours will a new volunteer work at least for the shelter?

A. 14 B. 32 C. 48 D. 24

4.What can we infer about the work at the shelter?

A. Boring B. Tiring C. Dirty D. Challenging

To honor the best books for young adults and children, TIME has created this list of classics: Best Young-Adult and Children’s Books.

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

Sherman Alexie’s coming-of-age novel shows family and traditions through young Arnold Spirit, torn between his life in an Indian community and his largely white high school. The specifics are sharply drawn, but this novel, with its themes of self-discovery, speaks to young readers everywhere.

Harry Potter

What more can be said about J. K. Rowling’s unique series? How about this: seven years after the final book was published, readers young and old still go crazy at the slightest rumor of a new Potter story.

The Book Thief

For many young readers, Markus Zusak’s novel provides their first in-depth reflection of the Holocaust(大屠杀). Although terror surrounds Liesel, a young German girl, so too does evidence of friendship, love and charity — recovering lights in the darkness.

A Wrinkle in Time

Madeleine L’Engle’s super-realist adventure has provided generations of children with their first-ever exciting experiences, as Meg travels across the fifth dimension(维度) in search of her father. But the science fiction also has a message: Meg learns independence and bravery in the process.

Charlotte’s Web

Readers are still drawn to the simplicity and beauty of spider Charlotte’s devotion to her pig friend Wilbur. Though family farms may be less common than they were in 1952, E. B. White’s novel remains timeless for its lasting reflection on the power of friendship and of good writing.

Holes

Louis Sachar’s story of a family curse(诅咒), fancy sports shoes and poisonous lizards moves forward and backward through time, telling of how Stanley Yelnats IV ended up in a prison camp. It’s an introduction to a complex story, filled with fun, warmth and a truly memorable criminal.

Matilda

With apologies to the lovable Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, this may be Roald Dahl’s most inspiring book for young people. Poor Matilda feels troubled and ignored by her family — a sense that many preteens share. They don’t share her supernatural powers, but that’s the lasting appeal of this escapist fun.

The Outsiders

Published when author S. E. Hinton was just 18, this coming-of-age novel offers evidence that even the youngest writer can provide valuable wisdom. Her striking look at Ponyboy and gang life in the 1960s has continued to have a powerful effect for decades on readers of all kinds, whether they identify more with the Greasers or the Socs.

The Phantom Tollbooth

In a humorous, sharp fairy tale(童话故事) that shows language and mathematics through a story of adventure in the Kingdom of Wisdom, Jules Feiffer’s unusual drawings do as much as Norton Juster’s plain language combined with complex ideas to carry readers through Digitopolis and the Mountains of Ignorance.

The Giver

Lois Lowry’s tale of self-discovery in society has a memorable central character, Jonas, and an unforgettable message — that pain and harm have an important place in individual lives and in society, and to forget them is to lose what makes us human.

1.Which of the following shares the same theme with The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian?

A. A Wrinkle in Time B. The Giver

C. The Book Thief D. Harry Potter

2.According to the passage, The Phantom Tollbooth ______.

A. contains a lot of fancy pictures

B. talks only about maths problems

C. describes a journey in complex language

D. sets its background in the Kingdom of Freedom

3.It can be learned from the passage that ______.

A. Charlotte fell in love with Wilbur

B. Matilda was well cared for in her family

C. Stanley Yelnats IV got punished

D. S. E. Hinton was best at telling fairy tales

4.What is the main purpose of the passage?

A. To advertise for some booksellers.

B. To introduce some famous writers.

C. To admire some classics for kids and young adults.

D. To recommend some great works of TIME magazine.

It took place at the Biltmore Hotel, which, to my eight-year-old mind, was just about the fancies place to eat.My , my mother, and I were having lunch after a morning spent shopping.I ordered a Salisbury steak.When brought to the table, it was by a plate of peas.I do not like peas now.I did not like peas then.I have always hated peas.And I was not about to eat them now."Eat your peas," my grandmother said.

"Mother," said my mother in her voice."He doesn't like peas.Leave him alone."

My grandmother did not reply.She in my direction, looked at me in the eye, and said the words that changed my life: "I'll pay you five dollars if you eat those peas."

I had absolutely no idea of the coming . I only knew that five dollars was an enormous, nearly amount of money, and as awful as peas were, only one plate of them stood between me and the of that five dollars.I began to force the terrible things down my .

My mother was very angry.My grandmother had that look of someone who has thrown down an unbeatable trump card(王牌)."I can do what I want, Ellen, and you can't stop me." My mother glared at her mother.She glared at me.

I, of course, kept shoving peas down my throat.The made me nervous, and every single pea made me want to throw up, but the magical image of that five dollars before me, and I finally swallowed down every last one of them.My grandmother handed me the five dollars in a(n) way.My mother continued to glare in silence.And the ended.Or so I thought.

My grandmother left for Aunt Lillian's a few weeks later.That night, at dinner, my mother served my favorite foods.Along with them came a big, steaming bowl of peas.She offered me some peas, and I certainly .My mother fixed me with a cold as she put a huge pile of peas onto my plate.Then came the words that were to me for years.

"You ate them for ," she said."You can eat them for love."

What possible argument could I gather against that? There was none.I ate them that day and every other time they were thereafter.

1.A.grandmother B.sister C.brother D.father

2.A.covered B.accompanied C.replaced D.ruined

3.A.passively B.particularly C.sincerely D.certainly

4.A.warning B.pleasant C.terrific D.bored

5.A.came B.walked C.leaned D.waved

6.A.harmful B.fateful C.truthful D.grateful

7.A.appetite B.doom C.fortune D.criticism

8.A.unacceptable B.uncertain C.unimaginable D.undeniable

9.A.possession B.thought C.reference D.offer

10.A.mouth B.face C.stomach D.throat

11.A.interested B.surprised C.offensive D.self-satisfied

12.A.peas B.glares C.words D.gestures

13.A.floated B.faded C.escaped D.rolled

14.A.peaceful B.showy C.hurried D.encouraging

15.A.incident B.silence C.lunch D.shopping

16.A.hesitated B.accepted C.declined D.complained

17.A.hand B.voice C.look D.eye

18.A.push B.benefit C.trouble D.cheer

19.A.money B.pressure C.fun D.love

20.A.awarded B.refused C.served D.mentioned

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