阅读理解

　　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 decided 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(复杂的)．In the past half-century, the average income(平均收入)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(social position), and status makes people feel better,”say 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 his research, Professor Alex Michalos found that the people whose desires(欲望), 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(差距)．Indeed, the size of the gap predicted happiness about five times better than income alone．“The gap measures just blow away the measures of only 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 emotion questionnaire．She found that old people reported positive emotions just as often as young people．Some scientists suggest older people may expect life to be harder and learn to live with it, or they’re more realistic about their 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．”

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阅读理解

Some friends have opposite views and interests, and some like the same things．What is your opinions? Should friends be different or the same? We asked some people what they think and this is what they said．

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阅读理解。

　　Your friends might be in England or may be just next-door neighbors, but they are all just a few clicks away．Life has changed a lot for millions of young people who like to make friends online around the world．Whether you use chat room, QQ, MSN or OICQ, you are in this group．

　　“I don't often talk with my parents or grandparents, but I talk a lot with my friends on QQ, ” said Tears in Hand, an online name used by a girl student in China．

　　QQ is the biggest messaging service in China now．A report from the company which developed QQ says that 4 million people used it one Saturday night in October．And probably Tears in Hand was one of them．“I log in on Friday nights, Saturdays or Sundays, when I feel bored．I usually spend about ten hours chatting online every week, ” she said．“But I never talk with strangers, especially boys or men．” Even though she likes chatting, she is careful about making friends with strangers online because she knows that she shouldn't believe in the strangers online easily．

　　Many people like to meet online when they feel they have got to know someone very well．Tears in Hand once met one online friend face to face and they went to a football match together．

　　A boy named Blue Sky dislikes QQ users, “I used to chat on QQ, but I found most people are talking about foolish things．Now I only chat in English in MSN with my Japanese or American friends because I want to learn more about foreign cultures．So he spends very little time chatting on QQ and he thinks it's a waste of time and money．He said, “If you are addicted to it, you can't concentrate on your lessons．We should know that friends in our real life are more important than those online ones．”

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