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Happiness is U-shaped, for we are happier at the start and end of our lives but hit a slump when we are middle-aged, British and US researchers say.
Economists from the University of Warwick, central England, and from Dartmouth College, New Hampshire, looked at data on the mental health of two million people from 80 countries.
In Britain, the probability of depression for men and women peaks at around 44 years of age, Warwick University said in a press release.
In the United States, though, there was a big difference between men and women.
Among women, unhappiness peaked at around the age of 40, whereas among men, it was about 50.
But the U-shape of happiness is constant around the world, and mid-life depression takes place regardless of marital status, changes in job or income.
The study appears in Social Science & Medicine, published by the Dutch publishing house Elsevier.
"It happens to men and women ,to single and married people, to rich and poor and to those with and without children." said co-author Andrew Oswald.
One possibility may be that people realize they won't achieve many of their aspirations at middle age, the researchers said.
Another reason could be that after seeing their fellow middle-aged peers begin to die, people begin to value their own remaining years and embrace life once more.
But the good news is that if people make it to aged 70 and are still physically fit, they are on average as happy and mentally healthy as a 20-year old.
"For the average persons in the modern world, the dip in mental health and happiness comes on slowly, not suddenly in a single year," Oswald said. "Only in their fifties do people emerge from this low period,"
Title: People happiest at start and end of lives, but slump in middle
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Theme |
Happiness is in the (1) of U, for we are happier when are young and old but unhappy when we are middle-aged. |
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Findings |
For (2) men and women, depression is most (3) to peak when they are about 44 years old. |
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For American people, men and women are very (4) . Most women feel (5) at around the age of 40. Among men, unhappiness peaks at about 50. |
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The U-shape of happiness is constant around the world, and mid-life depression (6) regardless of marital status, changes in job or income. |
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(7) |
Possibly because people realize they are (8) to achieve many of their aspirations at middle age. |
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Possibly because after they have seen their fellow middle-aged peers’ deaths, people begin to value their own years (9) and embrace life once more. |
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Good news |
If people are still in good (10) when they reach 70, they are on average as happy and mentally healthy as a 20-year old. |
They were going to Fort Lauderdale — three boys and three girls — and when they boarded the bus, they were carrying sandwiches and wine in paper bags, dreaming of golden beaches and sea tides as the gray, cold spring of New York went behind them.
As the bus passed through New Jersey, they began to notice Vingo. He sat in front of them, completely in silence.
Deep into the night, outside Washington, the bus pulled into Howard Johnson’s, and everybody got off except Vingo. The young people began to wonder about him. When they went back to the bus, one of the girls sat beside him and introduced herself.
“Want some wine?” she said. He smiled and took a swig from the bottle. He thanked her and became silent again. After a while, she went back to the others, and Vingo nodded in sleep.
In the morning, they awoke outside another Howard Johnson’s, and this time Vingo went in. The girl insisted that he join them. He ordered black coffee and some cookies as the young people talked about sleeping on beaches. When they returned to the bus, the girl sat with Vingo again, and after a while, slowly and painfully, he began to tell his story. He had been in prison in New York for the past four years, and now he was going home.
“Are you married?”
“I don’t know.”
“You don’t know?” she said.
“Well, when I was in prison I wrote to my wife,” he said, “I told her that I was going to be away for a long time, and that if she couldn’t stand it, if the kids kept asking questions, and if it hurt her too much, well, she could jus forget me. I’d understand. Get a new man, I said — she’s a wonderful woman. I told her she didn’t have to write me. And she didn’t. Not for three and a half years.”
“And you’re going home now, not knowing?”
“Yeah. Well, last week, when I was sure the parole (假释) was coming through, I wrote her again. We used to live in Brunswick, just before Jacksonville, and there’s a big oak (橡树) just as you come into town. I told her that if she didn’t have a new man and if she’d take me back, she should put a yellow handkerchief on the tree, and I’d get off and come home. If she didn’t want me, forget it — no handkerchief and I’d go on through.”
“Wow,” the girl exclaimed, “Wow.”
She told the others, and soon all of them were in it, looking at the pictures Vingo showed them of his wife and three children.
Now they were 20 miles from Brunswick, and the young people took over window seats on the right side, waiting for the approach of the great oak. Vingo stopped looking, tightening his face, as if protecting himself against still another disappointment.
Then Brunswick was ten miles, and then five. Then, suddenly, all of the young people were up out of their seats, shouting and crying.
Vingo sat there astonished, looking at the oak. It was covered with yellow handkerchiefs — 20 of them, 30 of them, maybe hundreds, flying in the wind. As the young people shouted, Vingo slowly rose from his seat and made his way to the front of the bus to go home.
1.At the beginning of the story, the young boys and girls ______.
A. showed a great interest in Vingo B. didn’t notice Vingo at all
C. wanted to offer help to Vingo D. didn’t like Vingo at all
2.The underlined part “Howard Johnson’s” is most probably a(n) ______.
A. bus station B. apartment C. hospital D. restaurant
3.How did Vingo feel on the way home?
A. Ashamed. B. Relaxed. C. Nervous. D. Disappointed.
4.The paragraphs following this passage would most probably talk about ______.
A. Vingo’s experience in prison
B. the young people’s travel to Fort Lauderdale
C. Vingo’s three lovely children
D. the dialogue between Vingo and his family
High-quality customer service is preached(宣扬) by many, but actually keeping customers happy is easier said than done.
Shoppers seldom complain to the manager or owner of retail store, but instead will alert their friends, relatives, co-workers, strangers and anyone who will listen.
Store managers are often the last to hear complaints, and often find out only when their regular customers decide to frequent their competitors, according to a study jointly conducted by Verde group and Wharton school.
“Storytelling hurts retailers and entertains consumers.” Said Paula Courtney, president of the Verde group. “The store loses the customer, but the shopper must also find a replacement.”
On average, every unhappy customer will complain to at least four other, and will no longer visit the specific store for every dissatisfied customer, a store will lose up to three more due to negative reviews. The resulting “snowball effect” can be disastrous to retailers.
According to the research, shoppers who purchased clothing encountered the most problems. Ranked second and third were grocery and electronics customers.
The most common complaints include filled parking lots, cluttered(塞满了的) shelves, overloaded racks, out-of-stock items, long check-out lines, and rude salespeople.
During peak shopping hours, some retailers solved the parking problems by getting moonlighting local police to work as parking attendants. Some hired flag wavers to direct customers to empty peaking spaces. This guidance got rid of the need for customers to circle the parking lot endlessly, and avoided confrontation between those eyeing the same parking space.
Retailers can relieve the headaches by redesigning store layouts, pre-stocking sales items, hiring speedy and experienced cashiers, and having sales representatives on hand to answer questions. Most importantly, salespeople should be diplomatic and polite with angry customers.
“Retailers who’re responsive and friendly are more likely to smooth over issues than those who aren’t so friendly.” Said professor Stephen Hoch. “Maybe something as simple as a greeter at the store entrance would help.”
Customers can also improve future shopping experiences by filing complaints to the retailer, instead of complaining to the rest of the world. Retailers are hard-pressed to improve when they have no idea what is wrong.
1.Why are store managers often the last to hear complaints?
A. Few customers believe the service will be improved.
B. Customers would rather relate their unhappy experiences to people around them.
C. Customers have no easy access to store managers.
D. Most customers won’t bother to complain even if they have had unhappy experiences.
2.Shop owners often hire moonlighting police as parking attendants so that shoppers .
A. can find their cars easily after shopping B. won’t have trouble parking their cars
C. can stay longer browsing in the store D. won’t have any worries about security
3.What contributes most to smoothing over issues with customers?
A. Design of the store layout. B. Hiring of efficient employees.
C. Manners of the salespeople. D. Huge supply of goods for sale.
4.To achieve better shopping experiences, customers are advised to .
A. voice their dissatisfaction to store managers directly
B. shop around and make comparisons between stores
C. settle their disputes with stores in a diplomatic way
D. put pressure on stores to improve their service
In our culture, the sources of what we call a sense of “mastery” — feeling important and worthwhile — and the sources of what we call a sense of “pleasure”— finding life enjoyable — are not always the same．Women often are told “You can’t have it all.” Sometimes what the speaker really is saying is: “You choose a career, so you can’t expect to have closer relationships or a happy family life.” or “You have a wonderful husband and children — what’s all this about wanting a career?” But women need to understand and develop both aspects of well-being, if they are to feel good about themselves.
Our study shows that, for women, well-being has two aspects．One is mastery, which includes self-respect, a sense of control over your life, and low levels of anxiety and depression．Mastery is closely related to the “doing” side of life, to work and activity．Pleasure is the other aspect, and it is made up of happiness, satisfaction and optimism．It is tied more closely to the “feeling” side of life．The two are independent of each other．A woman could be high in mastery and low in pleasure, and vice versa（反之亦然）．For example, a woman who has a good job, but whose mother has just died, might be feeling very good about herself and in control of her work life, but the pleasure side could be damaged for a time.
The concepts of mastery and pleasure can help us identify the sources of well-being for women, and correct past mistakes．In the past, women were encouraged to look only at the feeling side of life as the source of all well-being．But we know that both mastery and pleasure are important．And mastery seems to be achieved largely through work．In our study, all the groups of employed women were valued significantly higher in mastery than women who were not employed.
A woman’s well-being is developed when she takes on multiple roles．At least by middle adulthood, the women who were involved in a combination of roles — marriages, motherhood, and employment — were the highest in well-being, in spite of warnings about stress and strain.
1.It can be inferred from the first paragraph that ________.
A．for women, a sense of “mastery” is more important than a sense of “pleasure”
B．for women, a sense of “pleasure” is more important than a sense of “mastery”
C．women can’t have a sense of “mastery” and a sense of “pleasure” at the same time
D．a sense of “mastery” and a sense of “pleasure” are both necessary to women
2.The author’s attitude towards women having a career is________.
A．negative B．positive
C．indifferent D．realistic
3.One can conclude from the passage that if a woman takes on several social roles, ________.
A．it will be easier for her to overcome stress and strain
B．she will be more successful in her career
C．her chances of getting promoted will be greater
D．her life will be richer and more meaningful
4.Which of the following can be considered as a source of “pleasure” for women?
A．Family life B．Multiple roles in society
C．Regular employment D．Freedom from anxiety
More than 1.5 billion people around the world live without electricity. Finding better ways to bring light to the poor is the goal of researchers like Professor Irvine. In the late 1990s, he was working in Nepal when his return flight was canceled. A delay gave him time to take a fourteen-day hiking trip in the Himalayas.
One day he looked in the window of a school and noticed how dark it was. This is a common problem for millions of children around the world. Many families use kerosene oil (煤油) lamps. There are many problems with these lamps. They produce only a small amount of light. They are dangerous to breathe. And they are a big fire danger, causing many injuries and deaths each year. Kerosene costs less than other forms of lighting, but it is still costly in poor countries. Professor Irvine says many people spend over 100 dollars a year on the fuel.
When he returned to Canada, he began researching ways to provide safe and clean lighting. He began experimenting with light-emitting diodes (发光二极管), LEDs, at his lab. As a professor of renewable energy, he already knew about the technology. Light-emitting diodes are small glass lamps that use much less electricity than traditional bulbs (灯泡) and last much longer. He used a one-watt bright white LED made in Japan. He found it on the Internet and connected it to a bicycle-powered generator (发电机). He remembers thinking it was so bright that a child could read by the light of a single diode.
In 2000, after much research and many experiments, he returned to Nepal to put the systems into homes. Now the homes of 25,000 people in 51 countries have been equipped with it. “The one-time cost of our system which basically lives forever, as well as the solar panel — is less than one hundred dollars. So, one year of kerosene would pay for a solid-state lighting system,” he said. Now his aim is to develop a lower-cost lighting system. In January, Irvine is leaving the University of Calgary. He has also decided to start his own company in India.
1.We can learn from the second paragraph that kerosene oil lamps ______.
A. cost more than other forms of lighting
B. have damaged children’s eyesight
C. have wasted only a little fuel
D. have a lot of disadvantages
2.Irvine connected a white LED to a bicycle-powered generator to prove ______.
A. whether it can work without electricity
B. whether it can work well with less electricity
C. whether it can last longer than a generator
D. whether it is brighter than a traditional bulb
3.We can learn from the text that Irvine ______.
A. likes India rather than Nepal
B. is good at making new kinds of bulbs
C. is giving up his job in the university
D. is to earn much money from his company
I believe honesty is one of the greatest gifts. I know they call it a lot of fancy names these days, like (36) and straightforward. And it's still what （37）a man a good citizen. This is my secret, and I try to live by.
I've been in the taxi business for thirty-five years, (38) there is a lot about it that is not so good. Taxi drivers have to be rough and tumble(乱作一团) fellows to be able to take it in New York. You've got to be (39) to fight the New York traffic eight hours a day.
Because taxi drivers are tough, people get the (40) impression that they are bad. Taxi drivers are just like other people. Most of them will act as (41) fellows. You read in the papers almost every week (42) a taxi driver turns in money or jewels or like that people leave in their (43). If they weren't honest, you wouldn't be reading those stories in the papers. One time, I found an emerald（翡翠的） ring in my car. I remembered helping a lady with a lot of suitcases that day, so I went back to where I had (44). It took me almost two days to wait for her in order to return her (45) to her. I didn't get as much as “thank you.” (46), I felt good because I had done what was right. I think I felt better than she (47).
I was born and raised in Ireland until I was nineteen years old. I came to this country in 1913 where I (48) several jobs to earn a few dollars before joining the army in World War I. After being discharged(退伍), I bought my own car and have owned one ever since. It hasn't been too easy (49), but my wife takes care of our money and we have a good bit (50) for a rainy day(一时之需). In all my years of driving a taxi, I have never had (51) with the public, not even with drunks. Even if they get a little headstrong(顽固的) once in a while, I just agree with them and then they behave themselves.
People ask me about tips. As far as I know, (52) everyone will give you something, because most Americans are (53) generous. I always try to be nice to everyone, whether they (54) or not. I believe in God and try to be a good member of my parish（教区）. I try to act toward others like I think God wants me to act. I have been trying this for a long time, and the (55) I try, the easier it gets.
1.A.dishonor B. dishonesty C. upright D. faithful
2.A. takes B. becomes C. makes D. has
3.A. know B. known C. knew D. knowing
4.A. generous B. tough C. mild D. warm-hearted
5.A. right B. proper C. bad D. wrong
6.A. rude B. honest C. good D. tough
7.A. when B. what C. which D. where
8.A. houses B. cars C. pockets D. rooms
9.A. picked her up B. dropped her off C. dropped her down D. pull her down
10.A. ring B. suitcase C.car D. emerald
11.A. So B. Still C. But D. Though
12.A. was B. did C .has D. is
13.A. made B. put C. held D. took
14.A. at one time B. some time C. in no time D. at times
15.A. put off B. put up C. put on D. put away
16.A. trouble B. difficult C. word D. anything
17.A. especially B. specially C. particularly D. practically
18.A. never B. seldom C. rather D. fairly
19.A.tip B. advised C. suggested D. ask
20.A. longer B. harder C .better D. shorter
