Question

    In effect, many people avoid the very attempts that are the source of true happiness. They fear the pain inevitably brought by such things as marriage, raising children, professional achievement, religious commitment and self-improvement.

Ask a bachelor (单身汉) why he resists marriage even though he finds dating less and less satisfying. If he is honest he will tell you that he is afraid of making a commitment. For commitment is in fact quite painful. The single life is filled with fun, adventure and excitement. Marriage has such moments, but they are not its most distinguishing features.

Couples with infant children are lucky to get a whole night's sleep or a three-day vacation. I don't know any parent who would choose the word fun to describe raising children. But couples who decide not to have children never know the joys of watching a child grow up or of playing with a grandchild.

Understanding and accepting that true happiness has nothing to do with fun is one of the most liberating realizations. It liberates time: now we can devote more hours to activities that can genuinely increase our happiness. It liberates money: buying that new car or those fancy clothes that will do nothing to increase our happiness now seems pointless. And it liberates us from envy: we now understand that all those who are always having so much fun actually may not be happy at all.

1.According to the author, a bachelor resists marriage chiefly because _______ .

A.he is unwilling to take family responsibilities

B.he believes that life will be more cheerful if he remains single

C.he finds more fun in dating than in marriage

D.he fears it will put an end to all his fun adventure and excitement

2.Raising children, in the author's opinion, is _______ .

A.a moral duty B.a thankless job

C.a rewarding task D.a source of inevitable pain

3.To understand what true happiness is one must _______ .

A.have as much fun as possible during one's lifetime

B.make every effort to liberate oneself from pain

C.put up with pain under all circumstances

D.be able to distinguish happiness from fun

4.What is the author trying to tell us?

A.Happiness often goes hand in hand with pain.

B.One must know how to make money.

C.It is not important to make commitments.

D.It’s pain that leads to happiness.

Answer

1.A

2.C

3.D

4.A

【解析】

这是一篇说明文。文章介绍了快乐与痛苦总是相伴而行，并进行了举例说明，最后作者阐述要理解并接受真正的快乐，要能够区分出快乐和乐趣。

1.细节理解题。根据第二段的Ask a bachelor (单身汉) why he resists marriage even though he finds dating less and less satisfying. If he is honest he will tell you that he is afraid of making a commitment. For commitment is in fact quite painful.可知，一个单身汉害怕结婚的原因是他害怕做出承诺，害怕承担责任。故选A。

2.推理判断题。根据第三段一整段的内容可知，作者认为没有哪个父母会选择“乐趣”这个词来形容养育孩子。但那些决定不要孩子的夫妇永远不会知道看着孩子长大或和孙子孙女玩耍的乐趣。由此可推测出，作者认为养育孩子是值得的，有回报的。故选C。

3.细节理解题。根据最后一段的Understanding and accepting that true happiness has nothing to do with fun is one of the most liberating realizations.可知，如果想知道什么是真正的快乐，我们要能够区分快乐和乐趣。故选D。

4.推理判断题。文章首先介绍了快乐与痛苦总是相伴而行，接着进行了举例说明，最后作者阐述要理解并接受真正的快乐，就要能够区分出快乐和乐趣。由此可知，作者写这篇文章的目的是要告诉我们快乐常与痛苦相伴而行。故选A。