I live in the land of Disney, Hollywood and year-round sun. You may think people in such a splendid, fun-filled place are happier than others. If so, you have some mistaken ideas about the nature of happiness.
Many intelligent people still equate happiness with fun. The truth is that fun and happiness have little or nothing in common. Fun is what we experience during an act. Happiness is what we experience after an act. It is a deeper, more lasting emotion.
Going to an amusement park or ball game, watching a movie or television, are fun activities that help us relax, temporarily forget our problems and maybe even laugh. But they do not bring happiness, because their positive effects end when the fun ends.
I have often thought that if Hollywood stars have a role to play, it is to teach us that happiness has nothing to do with fun. These rich, beautiful individuals have constant access to glamorous parties, fancy cars, expensive homes, everything that spells“happiness”. But in memoir（回忆录）after memoir, they reveal the unhappiness hidden beneath all their fun: depression, alcoholism ,drug addiction, broken marriages, troubled children and profound loneliness.
Ask a bachelor why he resists marriage, if he’s honest, and he will tell you that he is afraid of making a commitment, for commitment is in fact quite painful. The single life is filled with fun, adventure and excitement. Marriage has such moments, but they are not its most distinguishing features.
Similarly, couples that choose not to have children are deciding in favor of painless fun over painful happiness. They can dine out whenever they want and sleep as late as they can. Couples with infant children are lucky to get a whole night’s sleep or a three-day vacation. I don’t know any parent who would choose the word fun to describe raising children.
Understanding and accepting that true happiness has nothing to do with fun is one of the most liberating（解放性的）realizations. It liberates time: now we can devote more hours to activities that can genuinely increase our happiness. It liberates money: buying that new car or those fancy clothes that will do nothing to increase our happiness now seems pointless. And it liberates us from envy: we now understand that all those rich and glamorous people we were so sure are happy because they are always having so much fun actually may not be happy at all.
【小题1】We can learn from the passage that ________.

An earthquake happens when two plates rub (碰撞) together. The earth plates travel in different directions and at different speeds. If one plate is slowly forced underneath the other,  pressure builds up until the plates break apart. This process causes the ground to move. It is an earthquake. In other words, earthquakes are the shaking of the earth’s surface caused by the earth’s rocky outer layer as a result of the energy stored within the earth. The strain within the rocks is suddenly released (释放).
The damage an earthquake causes depends on where it is and the time it is happening. If an unpopulated region is struck, there will be low loss of life or property. If it hits a large city, there may be many injuries and much destruction. Many of the areas at risk are largely populated now. Major earthquakes hitting those areas today could produce terrible damage.
Actually, there are several million small earth-quakes every year. Large earthquakes such as the 1964 Alaska quake that measured 9.2 on the Richter scale, cause millions of dollars in damage. In the last 500 years, millions of people have been killed by earthquakes around the world — including 240,000 in the 1976 Tangshan earthquake in China.
A 60-second or less earthquake can cause devastation（毁坏） that continues for years after the first tremor (小震). In 1972, a series of severe earthquakes struck Managua, Nicaragua. Fifteen years later, the city still looked the way it had a week after the earthquake hit, because the country did not have the necessary money to rebuild it.
The shaking of the earth is sometimes not the greatest disaster. It is in the ensuing fires and floods that often the greatest damage occurs. In the 1906 earthquake, it was the fires caused after it that did the majority of the damage. An earthquake can also destroy dams high above a city or valleys, causing floods to sweep down and sweep away everything in their path.
【小题1】Which of the following is the main idea of the first paragraph?

You and I have principles(原则). And we also have opinions. I have __36___ about what I think is right or wrong or good or ___37___. But they are only opinions---I could be wrong! I ___38__ try to build my life around my opinions, but I will try to __39___ my principles.
A 15-year-old boy learned a(n) __40____ lesson about life principles. On his way home he found a woman’s __41____ that contained $127 as well as her ID card. ___42____ hesitation, he hopped(快速跳) onto his bike and went over to her ____43___---about a mile away. He told her he __44___ her wallet and she gave him a big hug and twenty dollars.
That evening the boy told his parents about the event and his father said, “I don’t think you should have ___45___ $20 for doing what you should have done. A person shouldn’t be ___46___ for being honest.”
He thought about his father’s __47___ and decided he would return the money. He biked to the lady’s home and ___48___ her back the twenty dollars. She didn’t want to take it, but he told her she __49___ to---that his father pointed out __50____ to him that he had never __51____ before.
When principles ___52___ our every action and decision, we actually change. These great principles __53___ our lives and make us into persons of character. That boy is __54___ to be raised by a wise father who had the ___55___ to say, “Those are my principles.”

The way people hold to the belief that a fun-filled，pain-free life equals happiness actually reduces their chances of ever attaining real happiness．If fun and pleasure are equal to happiness then pain must be equal to unhappiness．But in fact，the opposite is true：more often than not things that lead to happiness involve some pain．
As a result，many people avoid the very attempts that are the source of true happiness．They fear the pain inevitably brought by such things as marriage， raising children， professional achievement，religious commitment，self improvement．
Ask a bachelor （单身汉）why he resists marriage even though he finds dating to be less and less satisfying．If he is honest he will tell you that he is afraid of making a commitment．For commitment is in fact quite painful．The single life is filled with fun，adventure，excitement．Marriage has such moments，but they are not its most distinguishing features．
Couples with infant children are lucky to get a whole night’s sleep or a three-day vacation．I don’t know any parent who would choose the word fun to describe raising children．But couples who decide not to have children never know the joys of watching a child grow up or of playing with a grandchild．
Understanding and accepting that true happiness has nothing to do with fun is one of the most liberating realizations．It liberates time：now we can devote more hours to activities that can genuinely increase our happiness．It liberates money：buying that new car or those fancy clothes that will do nothing to increase our happiness now seems pointless．And it liberates us from envy：we now understand that all those who are always having so much fun actually may not be happy at all．
【小题1】According to the author，a bachelor resists marriage chiefly because          ．

In Japan, people will often go out to restaurants to treat guests. The reason for this is that Japanese homes are small. If you go out to eat with your workmates, it is a custom to share the bill equally, no matter how much you eat or drink yourself.
Japanese people use chopsticks to eat. But if you eat out, you can ask for a fork or a knife. These words have been adopted(采用) from the English language into Japanese. So if you say “fork” or “knife” to a waiter, he will probably understand you. If you eat in an expensive restaurant, waiters will usually place a hot towel on your table at the end of your meal. You can wipe your face and hands with this towel.
In Japan, you can see some people slurp (出声地吃) their noodles. It is considered rude in Western restaurants, but is acceptable in Japan. Western people usually blow on hot noodles first and then eat them, while Japanese do the cooling down gesture (姿势) when they actually eat. Many feel noodles do not taste good if they are cooled with the air. It is also normal to lift the noodle or soup bowl to mouth so that food doesn’t spill.
Eating with chopsticks requires proper manners. Never leave your chopsticks standing upright, especially not on rice. It is a symbol of death, and people will find this impolite if you are not at a funeral (葬礼). Never wave your chopsticks around, nor use them to move dishes around. If you are eating from a common bowl, use the back end of the chopsticks that you have not put in your mouth to dish the food out.
【小题1】Japanese people often treat their guests in restaurants because_____.