Question

    In this digital age, people measure their popularity by the number of likes and followers they get on social media. But as it turns out, people are happiest when their friends are high quality – not high quantity.

Scientists from the University of Leeds, UK, studied data from two online surveys of nearly 1,500 people. Those who took the survey gave details about their age, social interactions, and how satisfied they were with their social lives. The researchers found that those who had a small number of close friends generally tended to be happier than those who had a large number of superficial(关系浅表的)friends.

“Loneliness has less to do with the number of friends you have, and more to do with how you feel about your friends,” said Wandi Bruine de Bruin, one of the researchers.

Bruine de Bruin found that older people tended to have smaller social circles than young people, but the people in these circles tended to be closer to them.

Younger people, on the other hand, tended to have bigger circles that were made up of “peripheral(次要的)others” – people who are not true friends, but just people they know. These people had no influence on the younger interviewees’ happiness.

The results of the study show that the opinion society has about old people being sad and lonely might not be accurate.

“The research shows that older adults’ smaller networks didn’t prevent social satisfaction and happiness. In fact, older adults tend to report better well-being than younger adults,” said Bruine de Bruin.

1.According to the study, people tend to be happier when they _____.

A.have a small circle of close friends

B.are satisfied with their work and lives

C.have a lot of followers on social media

D.make friends with people who are older

2.What do we know from Paragraphs 4 and 5?

A.Older people’s friends seem to be of higher quality.

B.Young people don’t need to make peripheral friends.

C.Older people’s happiness has nothing to do with their friends.

D.Both old and young people find it hard to make close friends.

3.Which word might Bruine de Bruin use to describe older adults?

A.Sad. B.Happy.

C.Lonely. D.Superficial.

4.What is the focus of the story?

A.Different types of friends.

B.Changes in people’s happiness levels.

C.Interactions between old and young people.

D.The relationship between happiness and number of friends.

Answer

1.A

2.A

3.B

4.D

【解析】

这是一篇说明文。文章介绍了人们在拥有的朋友质量高而不是数量多时更快乐。研究发现有着少数亲密朋友的人通常比那些有着大量肤浅朋友的人更快乐，而且孤独与朋友数量关系不大，与和朋友相处的感觉关系较大。但对于老年人来说，他们的幸福感和对孤独的看法却不太受社交圈大小的影响。

1.细节理解题。第二段第三句提到The researchers found that those who had a small number of close friends generally tended to be happier than those who had a large number of superficial（关系浅表的）friends.研究人员发现，那些有少数亲密朋友的人通常比那些有着大量肤浅朋友的人更快乐。A项提到人们拥有小圈子的亲密朋友会更快乐。A项符合文意，故选A。

2.推理判断题。第四段提到老年人的社交圈比年轻人小，但圈子里的人往往和老年人之间的关系更亲密。第五段提到Younger people, on the other hand, tended to have bigger circles that were made up of “peripheral（次要的）others”… had no influence on the younger interviewees’ happiness.年轻人的社交圈更大，但圈子里的人往往是由一些外围的人组成，而且这些外围的人对于年轻受访者的幸福感并没有影响。由此可知，老年人圈子小但是更快乐、幸福。A项提到老年人的朋友可能质量更高，A项符合文意，故选A。

3.推理判断题。最后一段最后一句提到In fact, older adults tend to report better well-being than younger adults.报告指出老年人往往比年轻人感到更加幸福。A. Sad悲伤的；B. Happy幸福的；C. Lonely孤独的；D. Superficial.肤浅的。B项符合文意，故选B。

4.主旨大意题。文章第一段通过网络上点赞数和关注数引入，得出people are happiest when their friends are high quality – not high quantity.人们交朋友更看重质量而不是数量。第二段是对该现象的实证调查，同时还有研究者表明，孤独与朋友数量多少无关，与和朋友相处的感觉有关。D项提到该研究是关于幸福与朋友数量的关系。D项符合文意，故选D。