Question

The Secret to Happiness

A new report makes it clear that when it comes to the life satisfaction of UK citizens, the ball is in the government’s court. For some time, sensible people have been arguing that governments need to focus less on economic growth and more on the wellbeing（幸福）of citizens. Be careful what you wish for.

In response to this demand, from 2011 David Cameron instructed the Office for National Statistics to gather data on people’s self-reported happiness and life satisfaction. Little practical good has come from this so far, but a new report by George Bangham for the Resolution Foundation is one of the best attempts to make useful sense of the data. He concludes: “The best prospects for policymakers targeting future increases in national wellbeing lie in raising job quality, raising incomes, particularly at the lower end, and policies to improve security in the housing market.”

The age correlation（相关）turns out to be certainly linked to politics, despite the fact that no political party can make a difference to your date of birth. The happiness of pensioners is not just a function of their age, but of policy. On average, 70-year-old boomers today are the most affluent retirees in history, often owning their own homes and in receipt of generous pensions. People of 70 are not going to be as content in 30 or 40 years’ time if they are unable to retire, don’t own their homes and have small incomes.

However, there is one respect in which teens and recent retirees are remarkably similar. Compared to other age groups, they tend to inhabit a sweet spot of having high degrees of freedom. The typical 16-year-old has new freedoms without ever having had any serious responsibilities. The typical 70-year-old, having experienced a lifetime of work and family duties, has a very different kind of freedom, one born from relief.

Besides，it should not surprise us to find that people tend to be happier when they have fewer worries. But this, too, has important political implications. If the government is really interested in raising overall national happiness, it has to make sure as many citizens as possible feel secure in their health, their housing and their incomes. Different states’ records in achieving this is one important reason why Nordic countries repeatedly score highly in international life satisfaction surveys and North America underperforms relative to its GDP.

Whichever way you look at it, there is no escaping the conclusion that increasing wellbeing across society requires joined-up, long-term policy efforts. This is exactly what the Resolution Foundation recommends.

1.What can be conveyed from the sentence “the ball is in the government’s court” in Paragraph 1?

A. The government officials are fond of playing ball games.

B. The government determines national happiness.

C. The government makes citizens feel happy.

D. The government is in a ball game.

2.What does the underlined word “affluent” in Paragraph 3 probably mean?

A. Responsible. B. Careful.

C. Honest. D. Rich.

3.According to the author, the secret to happiness is freedom and _________.

A. income B. health

C. security D. destiny

4.What is the author’s attitude to the function of government on national happiness?

A. Negative. B. Positive.

C. Doubtful. D. Unsatisfactory.

Answer

1.B

2.D

3.C

4.B

【解析】

这是一篇说明文。文章通过论述，告诉读者：提高全社会的福祉需要共同的、长期的政策努力。政府在提高全民幸福感方面起着关键作用。

1.推理判断题。根据第一段中的“For some time, sensible people have been arguing that governments need to focus less on economic growth and more on the wellbeing（幸福）of citizens.”可知，一段时间以来，明智的人们一直认为，政府需要少关注经济增长，多关注公民的福祉。由此可知，公民是否幸福取决于政府对此的关注度。故“the ball is in the government’s court”想表达的意思应该是“公民的幸福取决于政府”，故B选项正确。

2.词义猜测题。根据后文的“often owning their own homes and in receipt of generous pensions”可知，第一批“婴潮者”现在70来岁，他们拥有自己的房子并领取可观的退休金。由此推知，这些人生活很富足，故划线单词意思为“富有的”，D选项正确。

3.细节理解题。根据倒数第二段中的“If the government is really interested in raising overall national happiness, it has to make sure as many citizens as possible feel secure in their health, their housing and their incomes.”可知，如果政府真的对提高整体国民幸福感兴趣，就必须确保尽可能多的公民在健康、住房和收入方面感到安全。由此可知，安全感是衡量人们是否幸福的一个关键标准。故C选项正确。

4.观点态度题。根据第一段中的“A new report makes it clear that when it comes to the life satisfaction of UK citizens, the ball is in the government’s court”可知，政府决定着公民们的幸福感。第二段到第四段对此进行了具体阐述。最后一段中的“there is no escaping the conclusion that increasing wellbeing across society requires joined-up, long-term policy efforts.”得出结论，提高全社会的福祉需要共同的、长期的政策努力。综上，整篇文章一直在强调政府在公民的幸福方面起着关键作用。故作者对此持积极态度。B选项正确。