Ask most people anywhere in the world what they want out of life and the reply will probably be: “to be happy.” Ed Deiner, an American psychology professor, has spent his whole professional life studying what makes people happy, comparing levels of happiness between cultures and trying to find out exactly why we enjoy ourselves.
Many people would say that this question does not need an answer. But Professor Deiner has one anyway. “If you’re a cheerful, happy person, your marriage is more likely to last, and you’re more likely to make money and be successful at your job. On average, happy people have stronger immune systems, and there is some evidence that they live longer.”
So who are the world’s happiest people? It depends on how the word is defined. There is individual happiness, the sense of joy we get when we do something we like. But there is also the feeling of satisfaction we get when we know that others respect us and approve of how we behave. According to Professor Deiner, the Western world pursues individual happiness while Asia prefers mutual satisfaction.
“In the West, the individualistic culture means that your mood matters much more than it does in the East. People ask themselves if they are doing what is fun or interesting. They become unhappy when they can’t do any of these things. If you ask people from Japan or China if they are happy, they tend to look at what has gone wrong in their lives. If not much has gone wrong, then they are satisfied.”
People from Spain and other Spanish-speaking countries had the happiest culture, Professor Deiner found. “The biggest cultural difference is to do with pride and shame. Hispanic (西班牙语言的) cultures report much more pride and much less shame than others.”
Income also made a big difference to people’s happiness, but only at the lowest levels. Average income earners in the US were much happier than people in poverty. But millionaires were only a little bit happier than people on average incomes. It seems that money makes us happy when we have enough to feel secure.
1.According to the passage, happy people enjoy the following benefits EXCEPT ______.
A. a long marriage
B. better health
C. profession success
D. respect from others
2.In Professor Deiner’s opinion, ______.
A. Asians focus more on others’ respect and approval than westerners
B. Westerners care more about mutual satisfaction than Asians
C. Asians have a culture to enjoy individual happiness
D. Westerners value individual happiness as much as mutual satisfaction
3.What can be inferred from the fifth paragraph?
A. Hispanic cultures lay stress on pride and shame.
B. Spanish people take too much pride in themselves.
C. Attitude towards pride and shame results in Spanish happiness.
D. If you are from Spain, you are the happiest.
4.In the last paragraph, the author seems to tell us ______.
A. poor people enjoy the same happiness as millionaires.
B. the higher income one gets, the happier life he lives
C. enough money can make us feel safe and happy
D. average income earners live the happiest life
5.The passage mainly discusses______.
A. Hispanic cultures
B. reasons for happiness
C. the happiest culture
D. benefits of happiness
One windy spring day, I observed young people having fun using the wind to fly their kites. Multicolored creations of varying shapes and sizes filled the skies like beautiful birds dashing and dancing in the exciting atmosphere above the earth. As the strong winds gusted against the kites, a string kept them in check.
Instead of blowing away with the wind, they arose against it to achieve great heights. They shook and pulled, but the controlling string and the clumsy tail kept them in tow(牵引), facing upward and against the wind. As the kites struggled and trembled against the string, they seemed to say, “Let me go! Let me go! I want to be free!” They flew beautifully even as they fought the forced restriction of the string. Finally, one of the kites succeeded in breaking loose. “Free at last,” it seemed to say. “Free to fly with the wind.”
Yet freedom from control simply put it at the mercy of an unsympathetic gentle wind. It flew ungracefully to the ground and landed in a twisted mass of weeds and string against a dead bush. “Free at last”. Free to lie powerless in the dirt, to be blown helplessly along the ground, and to settle down lifeless against the first roadblock.
How much like kites we sometimes are. There always exist misfortunes and restrictions, rules to follow from which we can grow and gain strength. Prohibition is a necessary counterpart to the winds of opposition. Some of us pulled at the rules so hard that we never fly fast to reach the heights we might have obtained. If we keep all the commandment(戒律), we will never rise high enough to get our tails off the ground.
Let us each rise to the great heights, recognizing that some of the prohibitions are actually the steady force that helps us climb and achieve.
1.In the passage the writer watched _____.
A. many young people enjoying the sunny day
B. many birds dashing and dancing in the sky
C. many young people flying multicolored kites
D. the strong winds blowing against the sky
2.What enables a kite fly gracefully in the sky according to the story?
A. The kite itself and strange shapes.
B. A long string and blowing wind.
C. A windy spring day and blue sky.
D. The size of the kite and a long string.
3.What didn’t happen to the freed kite?
A. It kept flying freely in the air.
B. It lay powerless in the dirt.
C. It was trapped in a dead bush.
D. It was blown helplessly around.
4.What is the purpose of the author in writing this passage?
A. To give up tips on how to fly kites effectively.
B. To warn us that freedom is actually powerless.
C. To explain that restrictions are really unnecessary.
D. To teach us a lesson that rules are important in life.
5.Which of the following is the best title of the passage?
A. Fly with Restrictions
B. Where to Fly
C. Why to Fly Kites
D. Fly to Freedom
It’s a tradition that dates back to the 1930s’ and it’s designed to give all children in Finland, no matter what background they’re from, an equal start in life.
The maternity(母性) package — a gift from the government — is available to all expectant mothers. It contains bodysuits, a sleeping bag, outdoor gear, bathing products for the baby as well as nappies, bedding and a small mattress.
With the mattress at the bottom, the box becomes a baby’s first bed. Many children, from all social backgrounds, have their first naps within the safety of the box’s four cardboard walls.
The tradition dates back to 1938. At first, the scheme was only available to families on low incomes, but that changed in 1949. In the 1930s Finland was a poor country and the infant death rate was high — 65 out of 1,000 babies died. But the figure decreased rapidly in the decades that followed. Over 75 years, the box has been an established part of the Finnish rite(仪式) of a passage to motherhood, uniting generations of women.
Reija Klemetti, a 49-year-old woman from Helsinki, remembers going to the post office to receive a box for one of her children. “My partner Milla and I were living in London when we had our first child, Jasper, so we weren’t eligible (有资格) for a free box. But Milla’s parents didn’t want us to miss out, so they bought one and put it in the post office. We couldn’t wait to open the box. There were all the clothes I had expected, with the addition of a snowsuit for Finland's cold winter.”
“We now live in Helsinki and have just had our second child, Annika. She did get a free box, from the Finnish government. This felt to me like evidence that someone cared — someone wanted our baby to have a good start in life,” Reija Klemetti said.
1.In Finland the maternity package is probably seen as a symbol of_____.
A. wealth
B. equality
C. pride
D. fame
2.The fourth paragraph implies that_____.
A. the rich refused to use the boxes
B. there were not enough boxes at first
C. the boxes were given to poor families only
D. the boxes helped cut down the death rate of babies
3.Why couldn’t Reija Klemetti get a free box when her first child was born?
A. They were not citizens of Finland.
B. They lived outside Finland.
C. They didn't apply for the box.
D. They had got one from their neighbors.
4.How did Reija Klemetti feel when she received the box from the post office?
A. Worried. B. Disappointed.
C. Puzzled. D. Excited.
5.What did Reija Klemetti want to tell us in the last paragraph？
A. A free box came at last.
B. She was longing for a free box for her child.
C. She returned to Finland to get a free box.
D. The free box gave her a feeling of warmth.
Dear Guest,
Welcome to Pacific International Apartments. At present we are updating our information folders in the rooms so as to assist you during your stay. Please note the following:
Phone number
Reception Dial 7
Housekeeping Dial 4
Apartment-to Apartment: Dial the Apartment number(except 1st floor Apartments: dial the Apartment number followed by the﹟key)
Outside line: Dial 0, wait for dial tone, and then the number required.
Please keep your key with you at all times. The main doors to the apartments are locked from 10:30pm— 07:00am, and you will need to swipe your key to gain access to the apartments.
Please see reception for any advice on tours and Sydney’s attractions, and please dial 7 if you require any further information.
We hope your stay with us is an enjoyable one.
Kind regards!
Paul Williams
Guest Services Manager
1.How can you dial from your room in Pacific to Room 115 on the 1st floor?
A. Just dial 115.
B. Dial 6, then 115.
C. Dial 115 and press the﹟key.
D. Press the﹟key, then dial 115.
2.A guest who wants to go back to his room in Pacific at 11:45 pm can _____.
A. open the main door with his key
B. dial 0, and phone the reception
C. go to his room via the reception
D. use the lifts
3.In case of fire in Pacific, guests should _____.
A. dial 7 and wait for the hotel security’s instructions
B. take their keys and leave Pacific by way of lifts
C. leave Pacific through the fire exits
D. be together with the Fire Brigade
4.What does the underlines word “evacuation” mean in English?
A. concentrating in a place
B. withdrawing from a place
C. searching for a place
D. taking up a place
5.This letter most probably appears in _____.
A. a guest’s room
B. the official guide
C. a staff member’s office
D. advertisements for hotel
Annie, a neighbor’s daughter, was away for her first semester at college this school year. She is a very sweet girl but just a bit shy. When her birthday came around, I found out she was feeling a bit .
Her family is quite poor and are tight, so there wouldn’t be any birthday visitors. I wanted to her a card and maybe a small gift to her day a bit. I got her school from her mom and planned to pick something up. Then I got a(n) !
I perhaps a bit more birthday cheer was needed here. I bought some balloons, birthday hats, and novelties at a store. I took a small and asked three other people in my area at work to “Happy Birthday” and send some birthday wishes to her. It was such fun making the recording! Other people what we were doing and their voices, so it really sounded like we had a party going on!
Then I bought her a small present and a card as planned. The real fun was packing them to be sent. I everything so it was like opening a mini birthday party! At the last minute I added a pack of cupcakes and a box of birthday candles sending them off. I got a call a few days later．Annie said her roommates and one of their neighbors in the got together with her and held a party for her the moment they arrived. She sounded so and I was so glad that she had some friends to her special day with.
It was such an easy and thing to do. The people who helped me make the tape still laugh and talk about it. And Annie me it was the most fun birthday she would remember!
1.A. lonely B. nervous C. happy D. bored
2.A. thoughts B. finances C. measures D. times
3.A. provide B. sell C. send D. draw
4.A. attract B. remember C. describe D. brighten
5.A. number B. campus C. address D. report
6.A. idea B. surprise C. chance D. message
7.A. decided B. thought C. wished D. concluded
8.A. another B. others C. other D. one
9.A. radio B. camera C. recorder D. phone
10.A. say B. sing C. repeat D. make
11.A. took out B. set out C. gave out D. found out
12.A. added B. devoted C. cleared D. lifted
13.A. suddenly B. originally C. finally D. carefully
14.A. collected B. paid C. arranged D. expected
15.A. until B. after C. unless D. before
16.A. dormitory B. home C. classroom D. office
17.A. familiar B. happy C. wonderful D. upset
18.A. help B. compare C. share D. witness
19.A. hard B. challenging C. fun D. time-consuming
20.A. warned B. convinced C. advised D. told
—Ken has gone to the Africa country to work as a volunteer.
— I would rather he _____there. The situation there is very tense.
A. didn’t go B. hadn’t gone
C. doesn’t go D. hasn’t go
