Over the last 70 years, researchers have been studying happy and unhappy people and finally found out ten factors that make a difference. Our feelings of well-being at any moment are determined to a certain degree by genes. However, of all the factors, wealth and age are the top two.

Money can buy a degree of happiness. But once you can afford to feed, clothe and house yourself , each extra dollar makes less and less difference.

Researchers find that, on average, wealthier people are happier. But the link between money and happiness is complex. In the past half-century, average income has sharply increased in developed countries, yet happiness levels have remained almost the same. Once your basic needs are met, money only seems to increase happiness if you have more than your friends, neighbors and colleagues.

“Dollars buy status, and status makes people feel better,” conclude some experts, which helps explain why people who can seek status in other ways---scientists or actors, for example—may happily accept relatively poorly-paid jobs.

In a research, Professor Alex Michalos found that the people whose desires—not just for money, but for friends, family, job, health—rose furthest beyond what they already had, tended to be less happy than those who felt a smaller gap. Indeed, the size of the gap predicted happiness about five times better than income alone. “The gap measures just blow away the only measures of income.” Says Michalos.

Another factor that has to do with happiness is age. Old age may not be so bad. “Given all the problems of aging, how could the elderly be more satisfied?” asks Professor Laura Carstensen.

In one survey, Carstensen interviewed 184 people between the ages of 18 and 94, and asked them to fill out an emotions questionnaire. She found that old people reported positive emotions just as often as young people, but negative emotions much less often.

Why are old people happier? Some scientists suggest older people may expect life to be harder and learn to live with it, or they’re more realistic about their goals, only setting ones that they know they can achieve. But Carstensen thinks that with time running out, older people have learned to focus on things that make them happy and let go of those that don’t. “People realize not only what they have, but also that what they have cannot last forever,” she says. “A goodbye kiss to a husband or wife at the age of 85, for example, may bring far more complex emotional responses than a similar kiss to a boy or girl friend at the age of 20.

1.According to the passage, the feeling of happiness ________.

A．is determined partly by genes              B．increases gradually with age

C．has little to do with wealth                 D．is measured by desires

2.Some actors would like to accept poorly-paid jobs because the jobs_____.

A．make them feel much better               B．provide chances to make friends

C．improve their social position               D．satisfy their professional interests

3.Aged people are more likely to feel happy because they are more______.

A．optimistic         B．successful         C．practical          D．emotional

4.Professor Alex Michalos found that people feel less happy if _______.

A．the gap between reality and desire is bigger

B．they have a stronger desire for friendship

C．their income is below their expectation

D．the hope for good health is greater

People with less education suffer fewer stressful days, according to a report in the current issue of the Journal of Health and Social Behavior.
However, the study also found that when less-educated people did suffer stress it was more severe and had a stronger effect on their health.
From this, researchers have concluded that the day-to-day factors that cause stress are regular. Where you are in society determines the kinds of problems that you have each day, and how well you will cope with them.
The research team interviewed a national sample of 1, 031 adults daily for eight days about their stress level and health. People without a high school diploma reported stress on 30 percent of the study days, people with a high school degree reported stress 38 percent of the time, and people with college degrees reported stress 44 percent of the time.
“Less advantaged people are less healthy on a daily basis and are more likely to have downward turns in their health.” leading researcher, Dr. Joseph Grzywacz of Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, said in a prepared statement. “The downward turns in health were connected with daily stressors (紧张刺激物), and the effect of daily stressors on their health is much more damaging for the less advantaged. ”
“If something happens every day, maybe it’s not seen as a stressor.” Grzywacz says. “Maybe it is just life.”
57.Stress level is closely related to_______.
A. family size   B. work experience     C. body weight       D. social position    
58.Which group reported the biggest number of stressful days?
A. People without any education.   B. People without high school degrees.
C. People with high school degrees.        D. People with college degrees.
59.The less advantaged people are, the greater_______.
A. the effect of stress on their health is B. the degree of their health concern is
C. the level of their education is     D. the effect of education on their health is
60.Less-educated people report fewer days of stress possibly because_______.
A. they don’t want to tell truth       
B. they don’t want to face the truth
C. stress is too common a factor in their life     
D. their stress is much greater   

____ is our belief that improvements in health care will lead to a stronger, more prosperous economy.

A．As               B．That              C．This              D．It

Mother used to ask me what the most important part of the body is. Through the years I would   ­­1  ­­­ at the correct answer. When I was younger, I thought   2   very important to us, so I said, “My ears, mum.” She said, “No, many people are   3  . But think about it and I’ll ask you again.”

Since making my first   4  , I had often thought over the question. So the next time I told her, “Mum, it must be our eyes.” She said, “You are   5   fast, but the answer isn’t correct because there are blind people.”

   6   the years, mother asked me a couple more   7   and always her response was, “No, but you are getting   8  , dear.” Last year, my Grandpa   9  . Everybody was heartbroken, crying. When it was our   __10   to say our final good-bye to Grandpa, Mum asked me, “Do you know the important body part yet, my dear?”

I was   11   when she was asking me. I always thought this was a    12__ between us. She saw the   __13   look on my face and told me “This question’s very important. It shows you have really   14   your life.” I saw her eyes full of tears. She said, “My dear, the most important body part is your   15  .” I asked, “Is it because they hold up your head?” she replied, “No, it is   16   on them a crying friend or a loved one can   __17   their head. I hope you’ll have a shoulder to cry   18   when you need it.”

Then and there I understood the most important body part is not a   19   one. It is being sympathetic(同情的) to the pain of   20  .

1.A. guess          B. believe                   C. doubt                D. notice

2.A. love           B. health           C. sight                   D. sound

3.A. blind                   B. invisible                  C. deaf                    D. thoughtful

4.A. discovery B. decision                 C. advice                D. attempt

5.A. thinking      B. learning                  C. growing                  D. changing

6.A. Over           B. Till                      C. Beyond                    D. Before

7.A. times          B. things            C. questions               D. ways

8.A. stronger    B. taller                 C. nicer                    D. smarter

9.A. left out      B. got ill             C. passed away          D. got wounded

10.A. turn          B. duty                    C. pity                     D. chance

11.A. satisfied   B. shocked                  C. interested             D. excited

12.A. test           B. secret                C. match             D. game

13.A. worried B. regretted                C. puzzled          D. pained

14.A. lived                  B. found            C. disliked                  D. enjoyed

15.A. feet          B. shoulders               C. hands            D. hair

16.A. how                  B. why                    C. because          D. whether

17.A. put                    B. carry                 C. leave                   D. rest

18.A. on             B. by              C. above             D. for

19.A. valuable B. selfish                C. useful                  D. precious

20.A. Grandpa  B. the deaf            C. others            D. the blind

C

Some futurologists have assumed that the vast upsurge(剧增)of women in the workforce may portend a rejection of marriage. Many women, according to this hypothesis, would rather work than marry. The converse(反面)of this concern is that the prospects of becoming a multi-paycheck household could encourage marriage. In the past, only the earnings and financial prospects of the man counted in the marriage decision. Now, however, the earning ability of a woman can make her more attractive as a marriage partner. Data show that economic downturns tend to putting off marriage because the parties cannot afford to establish a family or are concerned about rainy days ahead. As the economy comes to life, the number of marriages also rises.

The increase in divorce rates follows to the increase in women working outside the home. Yet, it may be wrong to jump to any simple cause-and-effect conclusions. The impact of a wife’s work on divorce is no less cloudy than its impact on marriage decisions. The realization that she can be a good provider may increase the chances that a working wife will choose divorce over an unsatisfactory marriage. But the reverse is equally plausible(似是而非的). Tensions grounded in financial problems often play a key role in ending a marriage. By raising a family’s standard of living, a working wife may strengthen her family’s financial and emotional stability.

Psychological factors also should be considered. For example, a wife blocked from a career outside the home may feel caged in the house. She may view her only choice as seeking a divorce. On the other hand, if she can find fulfillment through work outside the home, work and marriage can go together to create a stronger and more stable union.

Also, a major part of women’s inequality in marriage has been due to the fact that, in most cases, men have remained the main breadwinners. A working wife may rob a husband of being the master of the house. Depending upon how the couple reacts to these new conditions, it could create a stronger equal partnership or it could create new insecurities.

64．The word “portend” (Line 2, Para.1) is closest in meaning to“_____”.

A．defy       B．signal     C．suffer from   D．result from

65．It is said in the passage that when the economy slides_____.

    A．men would choose working women as their marriage partners

    B．more women would get married to seek financial security

    C．even working women would worry about their marriages

    D．more people would prefer to remain single for the time being

66．One reason why women with no career may seek a divorce is that_____.

A．they feel that they have been robbed of their freedom

B．they are afraid of being bossed around by their husbands

C．they feel that their partners fail to live up to their expectations

D．they tend to suspect their husbands? loyalty to their marriage

67．Which of the following statements can best summarize the authors view in the passage?

A．The stability of marriage and the divorce rate may reflect the economic situation of the country．

B．Even when economically independent, most women have to struggle for real equality in marriage.

C．In order to secure their marriage women should work outside the home and remain

independent

D．The impact of the growing female workforce on marriage varies from case to case.