Finland is the happiest place on Earth, according to the 2018 World Happiness Report of 156 nations.
The report, released Wednesday by the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Solutions Network, ranks the countries of the world based on six different categories of well-being: income, freedom, trust, life expectancy, generosity and social support. This year's report also pays special attention to the happiness of each country’s immigrants.
The U.S. dropped four spots from 2017 and landed in 18th place, and last year’s winner, Norway, came in second place — followed by Denmark, Iceland and Switzerland.
“The top five countries all have almost equally high values for the six factors found to support happiness, and four of these countries—Denmark, Switzerland, Norway and now Finland — have been in first place in the six World Happiness Report rankings since the first report" in 2012, ”co-editor John Helliwell told CNN.“In a division with such excellent teams, changes in the top spot are to be expected."
Rounding out the top 10 happiest countries was Canada in sixth place, then New Zealand, Sweden and Australia. The order of the top 10 nations changed from the 2017 list but the countries did not, according to the report. They were also 10 of the 11 top spots in the immigrant happiness category (including Mexico — 24th overall, but 10th in immigration).
“The most striking finding of the report is the remarkable consistency between the happiness of immigrants and the locally born,” Helliwell said in a statement. “Although immigrants come from countries with very different levels of happiness, their reported life evaluations resemble those of other residents in their new countries. Those who move to happier countries gain, while those who move to less happy countries lose.”
Other major world powers placed in significantly low spots on the list. Germany came in 15th, the UK was 19th — followed by Japan in 54th place, Russia in 59th and China in 86th.
The report, based on surveys completed by citizen volunteers, came just under a week before World Happiness Day on March 20, when the UN declared to recognize “the relevance of happiness and well-being as universal goals and aspirations in the lives of human beings around the world and the importance of their recognition in public policy objectives”
1.The US ranked______ in 2017.
A. 14 B. 10
C. 18 D. 22
2.What is the most significant finding of the report?
A. That immigrants are different from residents in the country.
B. That immigrants come from countries with different levels of happiness.
C. That immigrants become happy when they leave the country.
D. That immigrants and locals feel the similar level of happiness.
3.What can be inferred from the last paragraph?
A. Happiness is no less important than any other aspect in life.
B. People’s happiness and well-being should be considered when it comes to policy-making.
C. The happiness report came under a week before World Happiness Day.
D. What the UN declared was beneficial to all human beings.
4.What is the best title of the passage?
A. World Happiness Day. B. Happiness — forever pursuit.
C. What's your happiness index(指数)? D. The 2018 World Happiness Report.
You probably know about the Titanic, but it was actually just one of three state-of-the art（最先进的）ocean ships back in the day. The Olympic class ships were built by the Harland & Wolff ship makers in Northern Ireland for the White Star Line company. The Olympic class included the Olympic, the Britannic and the Titanic. What you may not know is that the Titanic wasn’t even the flagship of this class. All in all, the Olympic class ships were marvels of sea engineering，but they seemed cursed to suffer disastrous fates.
The Olympic launched first in 1910, followed by the Titanic in 1911, and lastly the Britannic in 1914. The ships had nine decks, and White Star Line decided to focus on marking them the most luxurious ships on the water.
Stretching 269.13 meters, the Olympic class ship were wonders of naval technology, and everyone thought that they would continue to be so for quite some time. However, all suffered terrible accidents on the open seas. The Olympic got wrecked before the Titanic did, but it was the only one survive and maintain a successful career of 24 years. The Titanic was the first to sink after famously hitting a huge iceberg in 1912. Following this disaster, the Britannic hit a naval mine in 1916 and subsequently sank as well.
Each ship was coal-powered by several boilers constantly kept running by exhausted crews below deck. Most recognizable of the ship designs are the ship’s smoke stacks, but the fourth stack was actually just artistic in nature and served no functional purpose. While two of these ships sank, they were all designed with double hulls（船体）believed to make them “unsinkable”, perhaps a mistaken idea that led to the Titanic’s and the Britannic’s tragic end.
The Olympic suffered two crashes with other ships and went on to serve as a hospital ship and troop transport in World War I. Eventually, she was taken out of service in 1935, ending the era of the luxurious Olympic class ocean liners.
1.Which of the following statements is TRUE about the three Olympic class ships?
A. They performed marvelously on the sea.
B. They could all break the ice in their way.
C. They all experienced terrible misfortunes.
D. They were models of modern engineering.
2.What did White Star line have in mind when it purchased the three ships?
A. Their capacity of sailing across all waters.
B. The utmost comfort passengers could enjoy.
C. Their ability to survive disasters of any kind.
D. The long voyages they were able to undertake.
3. might have led to the tragic end of the Titanic and the Britannic?
A. Their unscientific designs
B. Their captains’ misjudgment
C. The assumption that they were built with the latest technology
D. The belief that they could never sink with a double-layer body
4.In the end the ship Olympic .
A. was used to carry troops
B. was sunk in World War I
C. was converted into a hospital ship
D. was retired after her naval service
Experience around food is about the place, the time and the people, and “the best meal” can be found in a fine dining restaurant or a crowded street market. How can you recreate that special moment influenced by place and time? Travel is becoming the most popular reason to visit many places around the world. Here are the places that consistently excite the senses.
South of France
Markets with fresh fruits and vegetables and butcher shops are abundant. Regional wines are excellent．And freshly baked French bread with French butter is what memories are made of. Take a chair in an ancient walled city for a meal with a view that you will never forget．
Barcelona
This bustling city filled with unique buildings is a city for lovers of history, architecture and food. Kiosko Universal, a counter restaurant at one corner of the market, prepares some of the simplest and best food we’ve ever had. Give yourself a week to explore and see everything the city offers. The city is not to be missed．
Italy
It’s hard to choose one place or city to visit. Some of our favorite places include the coastal regions on the Adriatic and Tuscany. Friuli stole our hearts last year with its many unique wines, small artisan food produces, and influences from neighboring countries like Austria and Germany．
Mexico City
From unbelievable food markets and casual street stands, Mexico City has become the place to travel for the food lovers. If you want to eat locally, order a Hurache，a street food specialty. All you will need is a local microbrew or Mezcal（龙舌兰酒）to wash it down．
1.Whatis Kiosko Universal?
A. A market. B. A butcher shop.
C. A restaurant. D. A street stand.
2.What do you need to help swallow Hurache when eating it?
A. Bread. B. Alcohol.
C. Juice. D. Fruit.
3.What do the four places have in common?
A. They are tourist attractions. B. They have ancient buildings.
C. They lie in Europe. D. They are noted for tasty food.
Winters are always long and cold in North China. The winter of 2008 was especially tough in onesouthwestern city,________it became extremely cold and itwas also a difficult time for me. What was worse, a(n)________injury happened to me and it might keep me in bedfor several months, “Just in time for the Spring Festival, ” my mother said to me, sighing. But how could I feel the________when the snow was so heavy and I had months of physical _______ahead?
One day I was doing my housework___there wasa tap against the window from a branch of the troublesomefruit tree. On hearing this, with my eyes closed, slowly, I began to recall the fall of 1995 when somebody placed apipe from my pump next to the_______.The earth was sowet that it ______immediately with most its bare rootsupward. Seeing this, my mother_______to pull it out, but I refused．“How hard it’s trying!” I said,________the direction of its strong holding of the earth. “It is ________of a chance to survive.”With tools, we _______dry soilaround the tree and put up some supports into the ground, making it________ upright.
Several months had passed before Icould be _______of it. Surprisingly, when spring returned, my “ rescue_______”had grown some leaves and many________. In 2009 that little rescue stick had grown into a toweringtree. What an unbelievable miracle of life!
The day before the Spring Festival, the _______ at thewindow was continuing, the more fierce wind, the ________sound, as if to remind me to look up and appreciate its powerful life.
That night I slept peacefully having a(n)________.In the dream some flowers were coming out________. The next morning I stood against the window._______the window was the tree bursting with life. Anyway, I had awonderful Spring Festival that year.
1.A. where B. which C. when D. that
2.A. admirable B. terrible C. favorable D. slight
3.A. duty B. joy C. cold D. failure
4.A. treatment B. report C. exercise D. experiment
5.A. while B. as C. when D. that
6.A. window B. tree C. branch D. wall
7.A. stood up B. came out C. got out D. fell down
8.A. decided B. pretended C. failed D. continued
9.A. attaching to B. watching over C. looking into D. pointing to
10.A. confident B. proud C. worthy D. certain
11.A. threw B. turned C. needed D. placed
12.A. bend B. drop C. stand D. swing
13.A. aware B. tired C. worthwhile D. proud
14.A. tool B. stick C. pipe D. pump
15.A. roots B. nuts C. flowers D. stems
16.A. tapping B. striking C. attacking D. hitting
17.A. more B. most C. better D. best
18.A. idea B. walk C. rest D. dream
19.A. politely B. shyly C. passively D. wildly
20.A. On B. Outside C. Inside D. Besides
在未给提示词的空白处仅填写 1个适当的单词，在给出提示词的空白处用括号内所给词的正确形式填空。
Daisy was a little girl longing to help endangered wildlife. One day, she found 1. flying carpet by her bed when she woke up. She 2. (beg) the carpet to take her to a distant land where she could find the animal 3. fur was used to make her sweater. So the carpet flew to Tibet with her.
In Tibet, she saw an antelope that told her they were being killed 4. mercy by people for their wool and were now an endangered species. 5. (feel) sad, Daisy traveled to Zimbabwe with the carpet to see the elephants there. Much to her relief, the 6. (Africa) living there protected the elephants well and their number was growing. Happy and 7. (satisfy), Daisy came to a thick rainforest, in which she saw a monkey rubbing a millipede insect over its body. Daisy asked the monkey 8. it was doing that. The monkey responded that it was protecting 9. (it) from mosquitoes, because the millipede contained a natural drug which affected mosquitoes.
10. (hope), no more endangered animals will be killed someday.
假如你是某国际学校的学生李华，你最近使用了一本XX英英词典，感觉非常实用，请你利用班会时间向同学们推荐它。内容要点如下：
1. 特色（如词汇量、用法、例句等方面）；
2. 使用心得。
注意：1.词数100左右；
2.可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯；
3.开头和结尾已经给出，不计入总词数。
Hello, everyone!
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
