Last year, CCTV journalists approached pedestrians with their cameras, held a microphone to their mouth and asked a simple question, “Are you happy?”
The question has caught many interviewees off guard. Even Mo Yan, who just won a Nobel Prize, responded by saying, “I don’t know”.
While the question has become a buzz phrase and the Internet plays host to heated discussions, we ask: What exactly is happiness? And how do you measure it?
In the 1776 US Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson set in writing the people’s unalienable right to “Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness”. 235 years on, Wen Jiabao told the nation, “Everything we do is aimed at letting people live more happily.” At National People’s Congress, officials agreed that increasing happiness would be a top target for the 12th five-year plan.
US psychologist Ed Diener, author of Happiness: Unlocking the Mysteries of Psychological Wealth, describes happiness as “ a combination of life satisfaction and having more positive than negative emotions”, according to US broadcasting network PBS. This may sound straightforward enough, but it still doesn’t explain what determines people’s happiness.
Many argue that happiness is elusive and that there is no single source. It also means different things to different people. For some, happiness can be as simple as having enough cash.
Researchers believe happiness can be separated into two types: daily experiences of hedonic (享乐的) well-being; and evaluative well-being, the way people think about their lives as a whole. The former refers to the quality of living, whereas the latter is about overall happiness, including life goals and achievements. Happiness can cross both dimensions.
Li Jun, a psychologist and mental therapy practitioner at a Beijing clinic, says, “Happiness can mean both the most basic human satisfaction or the highest level of spiritual pursuit. It’s a simple yet profound topic.”
Chen Shangyuan, 21, a junior English major at Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, said his idea of happiness always evolves. “At present it relates to how productive I am in a day,” he said. “It might be linked to job security or leisure time after I graduate.”
Then there is the question of measuring happiness. Does it depend on how many friends we have, or whether we own the latest smart phone? Is it even quantifiable?
Economists are trying to measure happiness in people’s lives. Since 1972, Bhutan’s GDP measurement has been replaced by a Gross National Happiness index. It is calculated according to the peoples’ sense of being well-governed, their relationship with the environment, their satisfaction with economic development, and their sense of national belonging.
In 2009, US economist Joseph Stiglitz proposed “to shift emphasis from measuring economic production to measuring people’s well-being”. But is well-being more easily measured?
1. In the second paragraph, the writer gave an example to ________.
A. support his idea that being famous is the reason to be happy
B. introduce his topic to be discussed
C. tell people winning a Nobel Prize is a great honor
D. show that the question was quite difficult
2.From what Thomas Jefferson and Wen Jiabao mentioned in the passage, we know ________.
A. people’s happiness is determined by great people
B. people’s happiness is an important target for the development of a country
C. people in all countries have the right to ask the government for a happy life
D. people both in China and America are living a happy life
3.According to the passage, the writer may most likely agree that ________.
A. CCTV journalists are concerned about people’s happiness out of sympathy
B. the question has led to heated discussions about who are the happiest people in China
C. Bhutan’s new index shows that people there are the happiest in the world
D. it is not easy for us to decide what determines people’s happiness
4.What does the underlined word “elusive” in the sixth paragraph mean?
A. available. B. easy to get. C. hard to describe. D. unimaginable.
5.The best title of the passage is ________.
A. Are you happy? B. The Measurement of Happiness
C. GDP and Happiness D. The Secret of Happiness
Don't you just love ice skating every winter? I am sure, that since winter is approaching, your skates are set to come out, just waiting to be used. Impress your friends with your new trick on how to ice-skate backwards with the help of these tips. Skating backwards on ice is a bit difficult but once you master the basic, there' s nothing like it. Follow the steps given below and you will be able to skate backwards in no time.
Stand Straight
The first thing that you need to do is, stand straight. If you feel that you are falling backwards, then just put your chin up and slightly bend your knees. Don't worry; this happens to all.
Confidence is What You Need
The most important step while learning how to skate backwards, is having enough confidence in yourself and in what you are doing. How can you achieve this? By practice. Just practice rolling backwards down a gentle slope every single day or just by pushing off from a wall or something of that sort. But before you do that, make sure that the place where you are practicing is free from any kind of debris（碎片）because otherwise, you could end up in the hospital due to some accident. While going backwards, just get used to the feeling of moving backwards. One of the important ice skating tips and techniques is that if you feel that you are losing your balance, then scissor (做剪式运动) your skates. Keep practicing this till you are confident about it.
Maintain Speed
Confident now? Great! Now the next step is to maintain your speed. While rolling in a straight line with one skate, with the other try sculling (滑浆), that is, keep pushing yourself backwards with an outwards stroke (滑动). Now bring the skate which you were using to scull, and then again, repeat the same process. Make sure that you put most of your weight on the skate which is moving straight and not the one with which you are sculling. Now, try the same thing using the other foot. Again keep doing this till you are confident enough.
Increase Your Speed Now
Once you are confident that you can scull with either foot, the next thing that you have to do is increase your speed. Try some of your own tricks now. Scull with either foot or with both at the same time.
Scull and Be Aware
While you keep one foot straight, keep sculling with the other. You can do that simultaneously with both feet. Concentrate on what you are doing but don't get so involved that you don't see where you are going. If you are not watching your back, you might just bang against something or someone.
1.According to the text, confidence comes from ________ .
A. constant exercise B. strict coaches C. high speed D. good techniques
2.Which is the right order of ice-skating backwards?
a. Increasing your speed. b .Being able to scull with one foot.
c. Being about to stand straight. d. Trying some different tricks.
A. c→a→d→b B. c→b→d→a C. c→b→a→d D. a→c→b→d
3. In the last paragraph the author mainly wants to express _________.
A. one must be brave to learn to ice-skate backwards
B. skating and keeping cautious are both important
C. it’s difficult to concentrate when ice-skating backwards
D. it' s a common thing to hit someone when ice skating backwards
4.The purpose of the text is _______ .
A. to offer some advice on ice-skating backwards
B. to introduce the culture of ice-skating backwards
C. to explain advantages of ice-skating backwards
D. to compare different ways of ice-skating backwards
Dear Guys,
I’d like to talk to you about the shame you subjected me to last night. Let me first refresh your memory: You, a group of fit, young men, were playing soccer on the field across from my apartment building. I, a better-than-average looking young woman, was walking along the sidewalk with my groceries. That’s when your ball came flying over the fence and landed in front of me.
One of you approached and asked politely if I would throw the ball back to you. Fighting the urge to drop my bags and run screaming down the street, I reluctantly agreed.
Before I continue, let me explain something that I didn’t have a chance to mention last night: I hate sports. More specifically, I hate sports involving balls. This results from my lack of natural ability when it comes to throwing, catching and hitting. I’m bad at aiming too. So you can understand why I’d be nervous at what I’m sure seemed to you like a laughably simple request. However, wanting to appear agreeable, I put my bags down, picked up the ball and, eyes half-shut, and threw it as hard as I could.
It hit the middle of the fence and bounced back to me.
Trying to act casually, I said something about being out of practice, then picked up the ball again. If you’ll remember, at your command, I agreed to try throwing underhand. While outwardly I was smiling, in my head, I was praying, Oh God, oh please oh please oh please. I threw the ball upward with all my strength, terrified by what happened next.
The ball hit slightly higher up on the fence and bounced back to me.
This is the point where I start to take issue with you. Wouldn’t it have been a better use of your time, and mine, if you had just walked around the fence and took the ball then? I was clearly struggling; my smiles were more and more forced. And yet, you all just stood there, motionless.
Seeing that you weren’t going to let me out of the trouble, I became desperate. Memories of middle school softball came flooding back. I tried hard to throw the ball but it only went about eight feet, then I decided to pick it up and dash with ball in hand towards the baseline, while annoyed thirteen-year-old boys screamed at me that I was ruining their lives. Children are cruel. Being a big girl now, I pushed those memories aside and picked up the soccer ball for the third time. I forced a good-natured laugh while crying inside as you patiently shouted words of support over the fence at me.
“Throw it granny-style!” one of you said.
“Just back up a little and give it all you’ve got!” another offered.
And, most embarrassing of all, “You can do it!”
I know you thought you were being encouraging, but it only served to deepen the shame.
Anyway, I accepted your ball-throwing advice, backed up, rocked back and forth a little, took a deep breath and let it fly.
It hit the edge of the fence and bounced back to me.
I surprised myself --- and I’m sure you as well --- by letting out a cry, “DAMN IT!!!” I then willed myself to have a heart attack and pass out in front of you just so I’d be put out of my misery. Alas, the heart attack didn’t happen, and you continued to look at me expectantly, like you were content to do this all night. I had become a sort of exhibition for you. I could feel your collective thoughts drifting through the chain-link: “Can she really not do it? But I mean, really?”
Unfortunately for you, I wasn’t really game to continue your experiment. Three failed attempts at a simple task in front of a group of people in a two-minute period was just enough blow for me for one night. I picked up the ball one last time, approached the fence and grumbled, “Please just come get the damn ball.”
And you did. And thanks to you, I decided at that very moment to never throw anything ever again, except disrespectful glances at people who play sports.
Sincerely, Jen Cordery
1. The writer agreed to throw the ball because _______.
A. she needed to have a relax carrying the heavy groceries
B. she wanted to refresh her childhood memories
C. she could not refuse the polite request from the young man
D. she had fallen in love with the young man at first sight
2.Which of the following is closest in meaning to the underlined word “game”?
A. anxious B. brave C. afraid D. curious
3.Why did the writer mention her middle school memory?
A. To explain why she failed the attempts to throw the ball back.
B. To complain that she had not mastered the ball throwing skills.
C. To show how cruel those 13-year-old boys were.
D. To express her dislike towards softball.
4.What the boys said before the writer’s third attempt actually made the writer ________.
A. inspired B. encouraged C. embarrassed D. depressed
5.What’s the writer’s purpose in writing this open letter?
A. To express her regret over what she did the day before.
B. To announce that she would never play ball games again.
C. To explain her own inability to throw the ball over the fence.
D. To criticize the young men for their cruelty to her dignity.
根据以下提示，结合事例，用英语写一篇短文。
Encouragement from a friend plays a very important role in motivating you to solve the problems you are facing. It helps you fight the difficulties and get out of an unfavorable situation you are stuck in.
注意：
（1）无须写标题，文章开头已经给出，不得照抄英语提示语；
（2）除诗歌外，文体不限；
（3）词数为120左右。
Encouragements can serve as a ray of hope during difficult times.
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
下面短文中有10处语言错误。请在有错误的地方增加、删除或修改。
增加：在缺词处加一个漏词符号（∧），并在其下面写出该加的词。
删除：把多余的词用斜线（＼）划掉。
修改：在错的词下划一个横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意：1.每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；
2.只允许修改10处，多者（从十一处起）不计分。
It is real a good chance to have met all of you here. We have spent several precious weekend in learning in the English Club. Although we have been members for a short period of times, we have made a great progress. That is because we are all very much active and the activities are not only enjoyable and also helpful. Besides, the foreign teachers here work hard and try his best to make the activities lively and interested. I am very pleased to say that all of us greatly improved our spoken English so far. I am looking forward to see all of you again in the near future!
根据短文内容，请从以下选项中选出符合各段意思的小标题，选项中有一项是多余选项。
A. Learn about the Country
B. Learn about the University
C. Be Prepared for Adjustments
D. Know What to Do in an Emergency
E. Ensure You Have All the Documents（文件）
F. Develop Good Communication Skills
Studying Abroad
Are you planning to pursue a course from a foreign university? Well, then you certainly come to the right place. These tips for studying abroad will surely make you feel at home in a new city. Just have a look!
1._____________________________
Before you leave for your destination country, make sure that you are well aware of its culture, customs and traditions. Every country has its own culture, which may be different from yours. Therefore, if you wish to get adjusted to the local way of living in a short time, you must be aware of what the people eat, how they dress up and also what their sensibilities are. Also, you can catch a few of the commonly used words of the local language there. In this way, not only will you be able to make yourself feel at home in the new city, but also will be spared from experiencing a major culture shock.
2._____________________________
This is perhaps the most important thing to keep in mind before you set off to foreign shores to study. Make note of all the essential papers you would need before and during your stay abroad, especially the passport and the visa. It is recommended that you make copies of both, your passport and visa, in case you might be required to get a new one during the course of your stay there. Also, at least one other member of your family should have a passport made so that you can have somebody by your side if you fall sick or in case of other emergencies. Also, it is a good idea to carry a few copies of your photo, in case you need to use one. Another thing that’s necessary is to get a health insurance to cover the expenses of a medical emergency abroad.
3.__________________________
When you decide to pursue a course abroad, it is extremely important that you should research well. Don’t just follow advertisements and choose one blindly. Instead, talk to people who have completed their studies from that country or who are planning to move to the same country. This way you’ll get some reliable information.
4.____________________________
Not only will it make it easier for you to face personal interviews but also to interact with the local people and follow students. The more you speak to people, the more you’ll end up making friends quickly. What a way to drive the blues away!
5.___________________________
Get the details of the Embassy（大使馆）in the city you’re moving to, including the phone number and register yourself and your family members with the Embassy. This way you’ll know whom to reach out to in case you are in trouble in a foreign location.
