Are people less happy or happier when they get older? If your answer is “happier”, then you are right, based on a study published five years ago. It found that people generally become happier and experience less worry after age fifty. In fact, it found that by the age of eighty-five, people are happier with their life than they were at eighteen.
The findings came from a Gallup survey of more than three hundred and forty thousand adults in the United States in 2008. At that time, the people were between the ages of eighteen and eighty-five.
Arthur Stone in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science at Stony Brook University in New York led the study. His team found that levels of stress were the highest among adults between the ages of twenty-two and twenty-five. Stress levels dropped sharply after people reached their fifties.
Levels of happiness were the highest among the kids and those in their early seventies.
The survey also found that men and women have similar emotional patterns as they grow older. However, women at all ages reported more sadness, stress and worry than men did.
So why would happiness increase with age? One theory is that, as people get older, they become more thankful for what they have and have better control of their emotions. They also spend less time thinking about bad experiences.
Title: Relationship Between Age and 1.
The elements of the survey | Time: 2008 Place: in the United States Researcher: Arthur Stone and his 2. Targets: 340,000 adults |
The 3. of the survey | Generally people become happier and feel 【小题4 worried after age 50. By the age of 85, people are happier with their life than they were at 18. Adults between the ages of 22 and 25 have the __4. stress. The kids and those in their early 5. feel the happiest. Men and women have similar emotional patterns as they grow older. However, women feel sadder, more 6. and worried than men do. |
Conclusion | Happiness 7. with age. That’s because people become more thankful for what they have and control their emotions __8. as they get older. It also 9. them less time to think about bad experiences. |
stop smoking; because of; are made to; such as; have no choice |
From January1, 2009 Hong Kong banned(禁止）smoking in most public places. The places include restaurant, workplaces, schools or karaoke bars. And from July1, 2009, it banned some other public places 1. nightclubs, bars or bathhouses. Even smoking in some outdoor places is against the law. For example, beaches, sports ground, museums and most areas of public parks. Hong Kong hopes the ban can prevent people from smoking passively. What’s passive smoking? When people smoke in a restaurant or on a bus, others 2. breathe the smoke too. They don’t want to smoke but they 3. . It does harm to people’s health. And it’ll be better if more people in Hong Kong give up smoking 4. the ban.
If someone breaks the ban, he will have to pay up to HK$5, 000. Now more and more citizen begin to 5. . Today’s Hong Kong is becoming more and more attractive.
1. The teacher devoted his lifetime to (teach) his students.
2. While (watch) the programme, the children felt excited.
3. When we got to the cinema, the film (begin). We missed the first part.
4. When I was young, my teacher told me that the earth (go) around the sun.
5.Titanic is a romantic film (direct) by James Cameron
6.We all know there are lots of (advantage) of living on Mars. So we won’t move out of Earth to Mars.
7. I love watching foreign films, because they always have (surprise) endings.
8.Many people mourned the (lose) of Mandela, who used to be a famous leader of South Africa, on December 6th.
9.The river smells terrible. (pollute).
10.In some ways, are equal to animals. (human)
1. I have no (选择) but to do my homework.
2. When we listen to light music, we usually feel (放松的).
3.It’s said that the old man was （指控）with murder and arrested.
4. CZ 12，or Chinese Zodiac（《十二生肖》），is Jackie Chan's last big (动作) film.
5.Young children should have good (习惯), such as getting up early, eating a healthy diet, and so on.
Some of the greatest problems we face today are the destruction (破坏) of our environ
-ment. Brown clouds, polluted water, endangered wild animals…, these problems seem so huge.
So my family does what we can. We take cloth bags to stores instead of using plastic bags. We walk where we don’t have to drive.
But does it do any good? When I am the only one in line at the market with cloth bags, am I doing any good? Does my walking to stores make any real difference to the world?
I recently learned something about flamingos (火烈鸟) which like to get together in groups of a thousand or more. Every year, when the time comes for migration (迁徙), a few of them first take off from the lake. But none of the others seem to notice, so the small group returns. However, the next day they try again. This time few more fly along with them, but most of them still pay no attention, so they return again. They try for several times. Every time a few more birds join in but, since the thousands of others still take no notice, the great migration plan once more stopped.
Then one day something changes. The same small group of birds once again starts flying and a small number more join in just as before, then more. Finally, they all take flight and the migration really begins. What a spectacular sight it must be—thousands of flamingos taking off into the sky at once!
A few can make a difference. Even if you’re the one to take the first step, and continue trying, others will someday take notice and together we will solve even our greatest problems. 
1.Where would you most probably read this passage?
A. A guidebook.B. A movie poster.
C. A personal blog(博客). D. A geology(地质) magazine.
2.Why does the writer use cloth bags in stores?
A. Because he wants to do some good to the environment.
B. Because he thinks plastic bags are more expensive.
C. Because there are only cloth bags in stores.
D. Because all the people use cloth bags in stores.
3. What does the underlined word “spectacular” in Paragraph 5 probably mean?
A. Curious. B. Surprising.
C. Terrible. D. Fantastic.
4.Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
A. Even if we can walk there, we still drive over.
B. Flamingos like to get together in groups of a thousand or more.
C. Brown clouds and polluted water are the only problems we face today.
D. When a few of the flamingos first take off from the lake, all the others follow at once.
5.What’s the writer’s purpose of writing this article?
A. To show that the writer loves to see the migration of flamingos.
B. To tell readers to continue trying and it can make a difference.
C. To introduce a special kind of flamingo to readers.
D. To show that there’re many problems in the world.
Youth, friendship and love are the main themes of this year’s Chinese movies, such as So Young(《致青春》) and American Dreams in China(《中国合伙人》). Tiny Times(《小时代》), one of the most popular movies this summer, also has the same features.
The movie was based on author and director Guo Jingming’s novel of the same name. It tells a story about four girls who come from different backgrounds and of different personalities. Since it was shown on June 27, Tiny Times has made 483 million yuan at the box office. The sequel(续集) of it was shown on Aug 8 and it has also been a big box office hit.
Cao Yuhan, 13, a high school student at Beijing Jianhua Experimental School, is a big fan of the movie. “I’m deeply touched by their friendship,” Cao said. “When Nan Xiwang is in trouble, the other three girls try their best to help her, even running barefoot in the snow. However, not everyone has had good things to say. The people’s Daily said that the film went too far in encouraging youths to become materialistic(物质至上主义的). Film commentator Raymond Zhou wrote on his online blog that “Buying luxury goods seems as a way to express love or friendship, and the word ‘money’ is repeated over and over again. Song Kexin, 14, a high school student at Zhida Middle School in Taiyuan, Shanxi, shows a typical example of a fan’s attitude(态度). And that’s to look for the positive value. “That movie is a little far from our daily life. My friends and I are not having parties every day,” Song said, “But I admire Tang Wanru’s optimistic attitude. She’s always looking at the bright side of life. I should learn from her.”
1. Which is NOT one of the main themes of this year’s Chinese movies?
A. Youth B. Love
C. War D. Friendship
2. According to the article, the movie Tiny Times ________.
A. is more popular than the other two movies
B. was made from Guo Jingming’s novel
C. tells about four girls with similar personalities
D.opened in Chinese cinemas on August 8
3.What does film commentator Zhou Liming think of the movie?
A. The four girls’ friendship is touching.
B. It encourages the young to work hard.
C. It has many advertisements for luxury goods.
D. It shows money expresses love or friendship.
4.Song Kexin admires Tang Wanru because of Tang’s ________.
A. optimistic attitude B. rich family background
C. good looks D. excellent grades at school
5.The passage mainly talks about _______.
A. youth, friendship and love
B. this year’s Chinese movies
C. student’s attitude toward movies
D. Tiny Times and audience’s comments
