Question

    Do you want to live with a strong sense of peacefulness, happiness, goodness, and self-respect? The collection of happiness actions broadly categorized（分类）as “honor” helps you create this life of good feelings.

Here’s an example to show how honorable actions create happiness.

Say a store clerk fails to charge（收费）us for an item. If we keep silent, and profit from the clerk’s mistake, we would drive home with a sense of sneaky excitement. Later we might tell our family or friends about our good fortune. On the other hand, if we tell the clerk about the uncharged item, the clerk would be grateful and thank us for our honesty. We would leave the store with a quiet sense of honor that we might never share with another soul.

Then, what is it to do with our sense of happiness?

In the first case, where we don’t tell the clerk, a couple of things would happen. Deep down inside we would know ourselves as a type of thief. In the process, we would lose some peace of mind and self-respect. We would also demonstrate（证明；表明）that we cannot be trusted, since we advertise our dishonor by telling our family and friends. We damage our own reputations by telling others. In contrast, bringing the error to the clerk’s attention causes different things to happen. Immediately the clerk knows us to be honorable. Upon leaving the store, we feel honorable and our self-respect is increased. Whenever we take honorable action we gain the deep internal rewards of goodness and a sense of nobility（崇高，高贵）.

There is a beautiful positive cycle that is created by living a life of honorable actions. Honorable thoughts lead to honorable actions. Honorable actions lead us to a happier existence. And it’s easy to think and act honorably again when we’re happy. While the positive cycle can be difficult to start, once it’s started, it’s easy to continue. Keeping on doing good deeds brings us peace of mind, which is important for our happiness.

1.According to the passage, the positive action in the example contributes to our       .

A.self-respect B.financial rewards

C.advertising ability D.friendly relationship

2.The author thinks that keeping silent about the unchanged item is equal to       .

A.lying B.stealing C.cheating D.advertising

3.The phrase “bringing the error to the clerk’s attention” in Paragraph 5 means       .

A.telling the truth to the clerk B.offering advice to the clerk

C.asking the clerk to be attentive D.reminding the clerk of the prices

4.How will we feel if we let the clerk know her mistake?

A.We’ll be very excited.

B.We’ll feel unfortunate.

C.We’ll have a sense of honor.

D.We’ll feel sorry for the clerk.

5.Which of the following can be the best title of this passage?

A.How We Can Live Truthfully

B.The Importance of Peacefulness

C.Ways of Gaining Self-respect

D.Happiness through Honorable Actions

Answer

1.A

2.B

3.A

4.C

5.D

【解析】

这是一篇议论文。文章指出过高尚的生活，造就美好的良性循环生活。高尚思想造就高尚行为，高尚行为造就幸福的存在。有了幸福感，再次思想高尚，行为得体就很容易。虽然良性循环很难开始，但一旦开始，就很容易继续下去。坚持做好事给我们带来内心的平静，这对我们的幸福很重要。

1.细节理解题。根据第五段中Upon leaving the store, we feel honorable and our self-respect is increased.当我们离开商店的时候，我们感到很荣幸，我们的自尊心也增强了。可知，根据文章例子中所讲的positive action有助于增加self-respect。故选A项。

2.细节理解题。根据第五段中In the first case, where we don’t tell the clerk, a couple of things would happen. Deep down inside we would know ourselves as a type of thief. 在内心深处，我们知道自己是一种小偷。可知，作者认为对没有收费的东西，保持沉默而不告诉收银员相当于偷了东西。故选B项。

3.词义猜测题。在第五段中，用了对比法，先讲如果不告诉收银员意味着什么，如果告诉收银员意味着什么，中间用了in contrast来连接，形成对比，再根据下一句Immediately the clerk knows us to be honorable. 店员马上就知道我们是诚实的。可知，此句意为“告知店员这个事实”。故选A项。

4.细节理解题。根据第三段中On the other hand, if we tell the clerk about the uncharged item, the clerk would be grateful and thank us for our honesty. We would leave the store with a quiet sense of honor 另一方面，如果我们告诉店员关于未付款的东西，店员会很感激，并感谢我们的诚实。 我们会带着一种安静的荣誉感离开商店。可知，如果我们让职员知道她的错误，我们会有荣誉感。故选C项。

5.主旨大意题。在文章中，happiness和honorable是文章中出现频率比较高的词，再根据最后一段中Honorable thoughts lead to honorable actions. Honorable actions lead us to a happier existence. And it’s easy to think and act honorably again when we’re happy. 高尚的思想导致高尚的行为。高尚的行为使我们的生活更幸福。当我们快乐的时候，我们很容易再次高尚地思考和行动。故标题用“ 通过高尚的行为获得幸福”最合适。故选D项。