Does being rich make you happy? Many studies on happiness give negative answers. Here are some points in being happy.
Basic Human Needs Must Be Met
People whose basic needs for shelter, clothing and food are not met will find it very difficult to feel happy. Of course，there are exceptions，but for most of us，we can only be happy once our basic needs are met.
The Joneses Cannot Be Escaped
People's happiness is not determined by how much they have, but by how much people around them have. So, we tend to feel happy once our basic needs are met and we have more than the people surrounding us.
This means that while keeping up with the Joneses could be destructive if we let it go too far, it is also part of human nature to want to feel at least on the same level，financially，as those surrounding us.
You Should Escape The Rat Race
We should know the importance of staying out of the rat race. So yes, you need to work hard，get the education you need to land a good job and work long enough and hard enough to get to a place where you can easily meet your basic needs. What are basic needs? For most middle or upper middle class Americans, basic needs are not very basic anymore.
For most of us，once our basic needs have been met, happiness is achieved when we engage in activities we like，spend time with friends and family and stay active. Making money for the sake of making money does not make people happy.
Ideally, these questions should be answered when you're still young and just starting out. Don't wait until your midlife crisis to realize that half your life has passed you by and you're still unhappy.
【小题1】What is the main idea of the passage?

根据中文意思完成下列句子（每小题1分, 满分10分）。

1.I ________ painting or drawing________ _________(发现……非常令人放松), but it is very stressful to wait for exam results.

2.Usually, it’s ____ ________ _______(如此拥挤以至于)I can’t find anywhere to sit.

3.They have already expressed a keen interest in working in design after their tennis careers_______ _______ _______ _______(结束).

4.On this day, the moon______ ________ _______ ______(据说是) its biggest and brightest.

5.In 1983, there are only 200 computers__________ _____ ______ ___________(与因特网连接).

6.With the progress of new medical research, ______ ____________ _______(我有信心) people like me would be able to walk again one day.

7.The famous classical pianist surprised his fans last week by giving a concert ____________classical music _______(把……与……相结合)Chinese folk music.

8.They______ _________ ______(穿着) beautiful costumes, skipping back and forth to the rhythm of loud drums.

9.This was the house Papa talked about when he_________ ______(梦想) being rich.

10.In the painting, a young woman sits alone and____ ______ ______ _________(陷入沉思).

I live in Hollywood. You may think people in such an attractive, 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 abiding 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, celebrities reveal the unhappiness hidden beneath all their fun: depression, alcoholism, drug addiction, broken marriages, troubled children and profound loneliness.

The way people stick to the belief that a fun-filled, pain-free life equates happiness actually reduces their chances of ever obtaining real happiness. If fun and pleasure are equated with happiness, then pain must be equated with unhappiness. But, in fact, the opposite is true: More times than not, things that lead to happiness involve some pain.

As a result, many people avoid the very endeavors that are the source of true happiness. They fear the pain inevitably brought by such things as marriage, raising children, professional achievement, religious commitment, civic or charitable work, and self-improvement.

1.What does the author want to tell us? He wants to tell us             .

2.What is many intelligent people’s viewpoint about happiness?

3.What does the underlined word “equate” in the second paragraph mean? It means    .

4.According to the passage, the author may agree        .

Who says Americans worship the almighty (全能的) dollar? It's not true. Having enough free time is more important to most Americans than being rich, according to a new survey.
Only 13 percent of more than 2,400 people questioned in the telephone survey ranked being wealthy as most important to them, while 67 percent ranked free time as their top priority (优先考虑的事), higher than having a successful career, getting married, and having children. "Everyone wants free time to do the things they want to do, young, middle-aged or old," said Richard Morin, of the Pew Social ~ Demographic Trends Project, which conducted the survey. "So our desire to play unites us."
The survey also showed that people who were educated in university valued career success over wealth, so did middle-aged people. Not surprisingly, those who didn't have money, ranked wealth very highly. This included minorities, first generation Americans and less educated people. The survey also revealed that a disproportionate (不成比例的) number of people under the age of 30 and retired people in the group made $ 20,000 or less a year. But the emphasis on wealth lessens with age, with younger people putting value on it but hardly any seniors. "It just diminishes (减弱) with time as the reality sets in that you would never be rich," Morin said. "But also, as for old people the reality sets in that you don't have to be rich to lead a very comfortable and fulfilling life. "
While wealth was not at the top of people's list of priorities, 43 percent still said it was somewhat important.
【小题1】The survey showed that the majority of American people ranked ______ as the most important.

Recently a professor of philosophy(哲学)in the United States has written a book called Money and the Meaning of Life. He has discovered that how we deal with money in our day to day life has more meaning than we usually think. One of the exercises he has asked his students to do is to keep a record of every penny they spend for a week. From the way they spend their money, they can see what they really value(重视)in life．
The professor says our relation with others often becomes clearly defined(明确)when money enters the picture. You might have wonderful friendship with somebody and you think that you are very good friends. But you will know him only when you ask him to lend you some money．If he does，it brings something to the relationship that seems stronger than ever before. Otherwise it can suddenly weaken the relationship if he doesn’t．
Since money is so important to us, we consider those who are rich to be very important. The professor interviews some rich people in his research for his book．
Question:  What is the most surprising thing you have discovered about being rich?
Answer :  The most surprising thing is why people give me so much respect(尊重). I am nothing．I don’t know much．All I am is rich．
People just have an idea of making more and more money, but what is it for? How much money do I need for any given purpose in my life? In his book，the professor uncovered an important need in modern society：to bring back the idea that money is a tool rather than the end．Money plays an important role in the material world，but expecting money to give happiness may be missing the meaning of life.
【小题1】.
The students are asked to keep a record of every penny they spend to______.

A．learn how to spend money	B．learn how to make more money
C．know what to write in a record	D．know what is important in life