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 happiness of the younger surveyed.

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

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

1.According to the study, people are likely to be happier when they         .

A.have a lot of followers on social media

B.are satisfied with their work and lives

C.make friends with people who are older

D.have a small circle of people who understand them well

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.Superficial. B.Happy.

C.Lonely. D.Sad.

4.What is the main topic of the passage?

A.Different types of friends.

B.Changes in people's happiness levels.

C.The relationship between happiness and number of friends.

D.Interactions between old and young people.

Answer

1.D

2.A

3.B

4.C

【解析】

这是一篇说明文。一项研究发现那些拥有少量亲密朋友的人通常比那些拥有大量肤浅朋友的人更快乐。其中以老年人和年轻人作为比较发现，老年人的社交圈往往比年轻人小，但是他们的朋友质量却很高。研究结果表明，社会对老年人悲伤和孤独的偏见可能并不准确。事实上，老年人往往比年轻人更幸福。

1.细节理解题。根据第二段中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 friends.（研究人员发现，那些拥有少量亲密朋友的人通常比那些拥有大量肤浅朋友的人更快乐）可知根据这项研究，当人们有一小群了解他们的人的时候，他们可能会更快乐。故选D。

2.细节理解题。根据第四段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.（Bruine de Bruin发现，老年人的社交圈往往比年轻人小，但这些人往往与他们更亲密）可知老年人的朋友们似乎质量更高。故选A。

3.推理判断题。根据最后一段中In fact, older adults tend to report better well-being than younger adults（事实上，老年人往往比年轻人更幸福）可知Bruine de Bruin可能会用“幸福快乐”一词来形容老年人。故选B。

4.主旨大意题。根据第一段中But as it turns out, people are happiest when their friends are high quality - not high quantity.（但事实证明，人们最快乐的时候是他们的朋友质量高，而不是数量多）以及文章主要以老年人和年轻人朋友的数量和质量来说明了幸福与朋友数量之间的关系，故C选项“幸福与朋友数量的关系”符合文章主题，故选C。