Question

      Do you want to live with a strong sense of peacefulness, happiness, goodness, and self- respect? The collection of happiness actions broadly categorized as "honor" help you create this life of good feelings.

      Here's an example to show how honorable actions create happiness.

     Say a store clerk fails to charge us for an item. If we keep silent, and profit from the clerk's mistake, we would drive home with a sense of sneaky excitement. Later we might tell our family or friends about our good fortune. On the other hand, if we tell the clerk about the uncharged item, the clerk would be grateful and thank us for our honesty. We would leave the store with a quiet sense of honor that we might never share with another soul.

     Then, what is it to do with our sense of happiness?

     In the first case, where we don't tell the clerk, a couple of things would happen. Deep down inside we would know ourselves as a type of thief. In the process, we would lose some peace of mind and self-respect. We would also demonstrate that we cannot lie trusted, since we advertise our dishonor by telling our family and friends. We damage our own reputations by telling others. In contrast, bringing the error to the clerk's attention causes different things to happen. Immediately the clerk knows us to be honorable. Upon leaving the store, we feel honorable and our self-respect is increased.  Whenever we take honorable action we gain the deep internal rewards of goodness and a sense of nobility.

     There is a beautiful positive cycle that is created by living a life of honorable actions. Honorable thoughts lead to honorable actions. Honorable actions lead us to a happier existence. And it's easy to think and act honorably again when we're happy. While the positive cycle can be difficult to start, once it's started, it's easy to continue. Keeping on doing good deeds brings us peace of mind, which is important for our happiness.

1.According to the passage, the positive action in the example contributes to our

A. self-respect B. financial rewards C. advertising ability D. friendly relationship

2.The author thinks that keeping silent about the uncharged item is equal to___.

A. lying     B. stealing     C. cheating     D. advertising

3.The phrase "bringing the error to the clerk's attention" (in para. 5) means___.

A. telling the truth to the clerk B. offering advice to the clerk

C. asking the clerk to be more attentive D. reminding the clerk of the charged item

4.How will we feel if we let the clerk know her mistake?

A. We'll be very excited.         B. We'll feel unfortunate.

C. We'll have a sense of honor.    D. We'll feel sorry for the clerk.

5.Which of the following can be the best title of this passage.*

A. How to Live Truthfully        B. Importance of Peacefulness

C. Ways of Gaining Self-respect   D. Happiness through Honorable Actions

Answer

1.C 这是一道细节题。根据第一段中的“Today it seems that one of the best ways to protect your savings and even increase your wealth is to buy beautiful objects from the past.Here I am going to offer some advice on collecting antique clocks,which I personally consider are among the most interesting of antiques.”可判断出收藏古代的钟表可以致富。

2.A 这是一道细节推断题。根据第二段中的“Men can do nothing without its permission,and it fastens its young people’s wrists so that everywhere men go they are still under its control.”可判断出作者暗示人类使钟表的控制。it指的是钟表。

3.D 这是一道正误判断题。第三段中的“Certain men were very clever at measuring the time of day according to the beating of their own hearts.”和第四段中的“They learned to use the shadows cast by the sun.They marked the hours on candles,used sand in hour-glasses,and invented water-clocks.”可判断出人们曾经通过数自己的心跳、使用蜡烛、沙子和水和观察太阳的阴影来计算时间，但没有讲使奴隶整日整夜地忙碌，所以选项D是错误的。

4.C 这是一道猜义题。根据这句话中的palaces和museums可判断出stately homes指的是向公众开放的巨大的房子。

5.B 这是一道主旨题。这篇短文的第一段说明收藏古代的钟表可以致富。在最后一段，作者又对收藏古代的钟表的问题进行了讨论，最后以“After all,if you are going to be ruled by time,why not invest in an antique clock and perhaps make a future profit?”结束，说明这篇短文的目的是对收藏古代的钟表提供一些建议。