Question

    Money can buy happiness. 1.What would bring you greater, longer-lasting happiness: purchasing an expensive item you've been eyeing or booking the vacation you've been dreaming about?

2.New things are exciting to us at first, but then we adapt to them. Over time, the satisfaction with material objects decreased. Even though new cars may make us happy in the short-term, the freshness quickly wears off.

Spending money on experiences-travel, outdoor activities, concerts, classes, movies-brings us more joy than buying material things. One reason is that our experiences are a bigger part of our identity than our possessions. You can really like your material stuff. You can even think that part of your identity is connected to those things.  3.

In contrast, your experiences really are part of you. We are the sum total of our experiences.

Another reason we value experiences even after they're over is that even negative experiences can become positive over time. 4.Why? Because even unpleasant experiences can later become funny stories or be looked at as character-building opportunities.

Shared experiences are also looked upon more favorably because they connect us to others more than shared consumption does. We feel more connected to people who have also backpacked through Europe than people who happen to have purchased the same iPhone. 5.

A.But how you spend it matters.

B.Yet they remain separate from you.

C.You could use the material item every day.

D.One of the enemies of happiness is adaptation.

E.Just talking about them made their evaluation improve.

F.Spending money on experiential purchases makes people more generous.

G.If weighing your options, buying experience promises promotion of well-being.

Answer

1.A

2.D

3.B

4.E

5.G

【解析】

本文为议论文。讨论了金钱可以买来快乐，正确方式是把钱消费在增加人生经历上而不是购买物质财富上。

1.根据后文What would bring you greater, longer-lasting happiness: purchasing an expensive item you've been eyeing or booking the vacation you've been dreaming about?可知什么会给你带来更大、更持久的快乐：买一件你一直关注的昂贵物品，还是预订你一直梦想的假期？由此可知，后文问了两种不同的花钱方式，所以本句说明怎样花钱很重要。故A选项“但你如何消费很重要”符合上下文语境。故选A。

2.根据后文New things are exciting to us at first, but then we adapt to them. Over time, the satisfaction with material objects decreased. Even though new cars may make us happy in the short-term, the freshness quickly wears off.可知新事物一开始让我们兴奋，但随后我们会适应它们。随着时间的推移，对实物的满意度下降。尽管新车可能会让我们在短期内感到快乐，但新鲜感很快就会消失。由此可知，本段是在说明人们对新事物的适应，后文中adapt可对应到D选项中adaptation。故D选项“幸福的敌人之一是适应”符合上下文语境。故选D。

3.根据上文One reason is that our experiences are a bigger part of our identity than our possessions. You can really like your material stuff. You can even think that part of your identity is connected to those things.可知一个原因是我们的经历比我们的财产更重要。你可以真正喜欢你的物质生活。你甚至可以认为你身份的一部分与那些事情有关。由此可知，本段说明经历给人们带来的快乐更大的第一个原因。通过对比购买物质和购买经历，可以看出经历可以成为人本身的一部分，而物质与人本身是分离的。故B选项“他们却与你隔绝”符合上下文语境。故选B。

4.本段说明购买经历更重要的第二个原因。即使当时的负面经历，多年后会变为积极的。即使只是谈论负面经历也会让它们的价值得以提升，因为谈论它们就像讲有趣的故事，或者变为陶怡情操的机会。故E选项“仅仅是谈论他们就使他们的评估得到了改善”符合上下文语境。故选E。

5.根据上文We feel more connected to people who have also backpacked through Europe than people who happen to have purchased the same iPhone.可知我们觉得，与那些碰巧买了同一款iPhone的人相比，那些也曾背包旅行过欧洲的人更有联系。由此可知，本段说明购买经历的另一个好处。购买经历比物质消费更能让我们与别人交往。两者相比较购买经历更有助于提升幸福指数。故G选项“如果权衡你的选择，购买体验可以促进幸福感”符合上下文语境。故选G。