Researchers found that people become happier and experience less worry after they reach the age of fifty. In fact, they say by the age of eighty-five, people are happier with their life than they were when they were eighteen years old.
The findings came from a survey of more than 340,000 adults in the United States. The Gallup(民意调查) Organization questioned them by telephone in 2008. At that time, the people were between the ages of eighteen and eighty-five.
The researchers asked questions about emotions like happiness, sadness and worry. They also asked about mental or emotional stress.
Arthur Stone at Stony Brook University in New York led the study. His team found that levels of stress were highest among adults between the ages of twenty-two and twenty-five. The findings showed that stress levels dropped sharply after people reached their fifties. Happiness was highest among the youngest adults and those in their early seventies. The people least likely to report feeling negative emotions were those in their seventies and eighties.
Researchers say they do not know why happiness increases as people get older. One theory is that, as people grow older, they grow more thankful for what they have and have better control of their emotions. They also spend less time thinking about bad experiences.
Professor Stone says the emotional patterns could be linked to changes in how people see the world, or maybe even changes in brain chemistry.
The researchers also considered possible influences like having young children, being unemployed or being single. But they found that influences like these did not affect the levels of happiness and well-being related to age.
The study also showed 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.
1. What can be the best title of the text?
A. Happiness Varies with Ages
B. Experience More, Worry Less
C. The Older, the Wiser
D. Being Young, Being Happy
2.We can learn from the research that _________.
A. only when people get older will they feel happier
B. stress levels among the youngest are the highest
C. older people tend to be grateful
D. older people usually have no worries
3.According to the research, when people get older, _________.
A. they miss the old days
B. they are physically weak
C. they have better self-control
D. they are more emotional
4.What would the author probably talk about next?
A. What influences happiness.
B. How to live better.
C. How to keep happier.
D. Why women are less happier.
5.The author is intended to _________.
A. advise how to reduce stress
B. introduce a scientific finding
C. describe how to do research
D. talk about human emotions
To us it seems so natural to put up an umbrella to keep the water off when it rains, But actually the umbrella was not invented as protection against the rain, Its first use was as a shade against the sun!
Nobody knows who first invented it, but the umbrella was used in very ancient times . Probably the first to use it were the Chinese in the 11th century B C.
We know that the umbrella was used in ancient Egypt and Babylon as a sunshade. And there was a strange thing connected with its use: it became a symbol of honor. In the Far East in ancient times, the umbrella was allowed to be used only by those in high office.
In Europe, the Greeks were the first to use the umbrella as a sunshade. And the umbrella was in commonly used in ancient Greece. But it is believed that the first persons in Europe to use the umbrella as protection against the rain were the ancient Romans.
During the Middle Ages, the use of the umbrella practically disappeared. Then it appeared again in Italy in the late sixteenth century. And again it was considered as a symbol of power. By 1680, the umbrella appeared in France and later in England.
By the eighteenth century, the umbrella was used against rain throughout most of Europe.
Umbrellas have hot changed much in style during all this time, though they have become much lighter in weight. It wasn’t until the twentieth century that women’s umbrellas began to be made , in a whole variety of colors.
1.According to this passage, the umbrella was probably first invented in ancient_______.
A．China B．Egypt C．Greece D．Rome
2.Which of the following statements is not true about the umbrella?
A．No one exactly knows who the inventor of the umbrella was
B．The umbrella was first invented to be used as protection against the sun.
C．The umbrella changed much in style in the eighteenth century
D．In Europe, the Greeks were the first to use the umbrella as a sunshade.
3.A strange feature of the umbrella’s use is that it was used as__________.
A．protection against rain B．a shade against the sun
C．a symbol of honor and power D．women’s decoration (装饰)
4.In Europe, the umbrella was first used against the rain_______________.
A.during the Middle Ages B.by the 18th C.in Rome D.in Greece
5.This passage talks mainly about_______________.
A．when and how the umbrella was invented
B．why the umbrella was so popular in Europe
C．the development of the umbrella
D．The history and use of the umbrella
It was a cold winter’s night when I stopped for gas on my way home from work. I was tired and had a slight 16 .
I worked in a 17 doctor’s office and this was one of those days when the unexpected happened, making the schedule run 18 than usual. It seemed I was going to be late 19 home and my husband, being the 20 person, would be ready to pronounce me late once again. Maybe if I hurried, I could still _21 __it home.
I was heading inside to 22 for my gas when I noticed an older couple at the counter. I heard them asking for 23 to the local hospital. It was the same hospital that I had just _24_ a few minutes ago.
The young man at the counter was trying to be 25 in explaining how to get there, with two other people making 26 . One of them was 27 trying to give them a whole different route back. It was then that I walked over to the couple and said, “Would you like to follow me to the 28 ?”
A look of 29 crossed the woman’s face.
“I’m going right by there,” I said, which wasn’t a (an) 30 since I had just made up my mind to do 31 that.
I got in my car and began the journey back. I was trying to watch to be sure they were right 32 me. It took only fifteen minutes to get there as rush hour traffic was beginning to 33 . I felt better than I had all day and my headache was nearly gone.
Later, as I arrived home, my husband 34 me, “So you aren’t ever late any more.”
I said, “Sometimes it’s 35 to be late.”
1.A. break B. cold C. fever D. headache
2.A. foreign B. common C. noisy D. busy
3.A. later B. earlier C. easier D. simpler
4.A. getting B. cooking C. calling D. working
5.A. tough B. generous C. punctual D. rough
6.A. get B. take C. arrive D. make
7.A. pay B. charge C. wait D. search
8. A. opinions B. trouble C. directions D. instructions
9.A. reached B. visited C. called D. left
10.A. skilled B. helpful C. experienced D. active
11.A. comments B. promises C. jokes D. offers
12. A. only B. still C. even D. ever
13. A. station B. office C. hospital D. hotel
14.A. happiness B. relief C. sadness D. peace
15.A. lie B. fact C. reason D. duty
16. A. partly B. voluntarily C. exactly D. perfectly
17.A. across B. before C. beside D. behind
18. A. go up B. die down C. take up D.get through
19.A. teased B. yelled C. joked D. laughed
20.A. possible B. special C. good D. safe
Though ______money,he managed to start his own business.
A. lacked B. lacking in C. lacking D. lacked of
I had not been invited to the party,so I felt______and a bit hurt.
A. left out B. left behind C. left behind D. left off
The wild flowers looked like a soft blanket _______the desert.
A. covering B. covered C. cover D. to cover
