There is a Web site called the “World Database of Happiness.” It combines and analyzes the results of hundreds of surveys from around the world that have been conducted on life satisfaction. Most of the findings are predictable, but a few are surprising.
The database makes it clear that there is not a strong connection between material wealth and general contentment. It is a cliché to say that money can’t buy happiness, but the old saying seems to be supported by research. Many people still cling to the belief that gaining riches will be the answer to all their problems, yet they are probably mistaken.
Studies have been carried out on people who acquired sudden wealth, such as lottery winners. In most cases, after the initial joy had worn off, people were not left with a sense of lasting happiness. In fact, they tended to revert to the way they felt before they became rich. Previously contented people continue to be contented, while those who were miserable before sink back into misery.
If material wealth does not bring happiness, then what does? Perhaps happiness has something to do with where you live. The authorities at the World Database on Happiness have surveyed levels of happiness in different countries. Apparently, people in America, Canada, and Singapore are very happy; people living in India and Russia, not surprisingly, are not happy.
Other surveys consistently point to the importance of relationships. Family relationships in particular seem to be the key to long-term contentment. The Web site suggests that falling in love and having children are two of the situations that bring the greatest happiness.
Nowadays people look to technology as an alternative source of satisfaction. People increasingly spend more time alone watching TV or surfing the Internet rather than spending time with family. Can technology truly make people happy? It is too difficult to tell, but one thing is sure: If the Web site’s research is accurate, time spent with your family is a better investment than time spent making money. Which description is right according to the passage?
| A．The material wealth and general contentment are strongly connected with each other. |
| B．The more one’s wealth is, the happier he will be. |
| C．Many people have wrong concept towards the relation between love and money. |
| D．Money can solve all the problems. |
Which factor can bring lasting happiness definitely according to the study?
| A．Sudden wealth. | B．Surfing the Internet. |
| C．Family relationship. | D．Winning lottery. |
If you get extra money, ______.
| A．you will be happy permanently |
| B．you will be happy temporarily |
| C．your life will be the same regardless of the extra money. |
| D．you will change your life style for a long run. |
What’s the author’s attitude towards technology according to the passage?
| A．Technology is the key to happiness. |
| B．Technology has nothing to do with happiness. |
| C．Technology can guarantee the long-term contentment. |
| D．The author is not sure about the relationship between technology and happiness. |
What is the best title of the passage?
| A．Love or money? |
| B．Love and technology |
| C．Material wealth can guarantee happiness |
| D．Studies on sudden wealth |
In most parts of the world, many students help their schools make less pollution. They join “environment clubs(俱乐部)”. In an environment club, people work together to make our environment clean.
Here are some things students often do.
No-garbage (垃圾) lunches. How much do you throw away after lunch? Environment clubs ask students to bring their lunches in bags that can be used again. Every week they will choose the classes that make the least garbage and report them to the whole school.
No-car day. On a no-car day, nobody comes to school in a car. Not the students and not the teachers! Cars give pollution to our air, so remember: walk, jump, bike and run. Use your legs! It’s lots of fun..
Turn off the water! Did you know that some toilets can waste twenty to forty cubic(立方)meters of water an hour? In a year, that would fill a small river! In environment clubs, students mend those broken toilets. We love our environment. Let’s work together to make it clean.The writer wrote the passage to ask the students to ____________.
| A．clean school | B．make less pollution |
| C．join clubs | D．help teachers |
Environment clubs ask students __________.
| A．to run to school every day |
| B．to take exercise every day |
| C．not to forget to take cars |
| D．to use lunch bags |
After students mend toilets, they save ___________.
| A．a small river | B．a club |
| C． water in cubic meters | D．a toilet |
From the passage we know the students usually have lunch ____________.
| A．at school | B．in shops |
| C．in clubs | D．at home |
Which of the following statements is true?
A.On No-car day, only the teachers can go to school in their cars.
B.In the clubs, students usually work together to make the earth less polluted.
C.The water in the toilet can fill a river.
D.D. Students can take their lunch in paper, so they can throw it after lunch.
London Underground
The world’s first subway was built in London in 1863. At the time，the government was looking for a way to reduce traffic problems in the city of London. The poor areas of the city were so crowded with people that it was almost impossible for horse carriages to get through. The city officials were interested in trying to make it possible for workers to live outside of London and travel easily to work each day. If people had a cheap and convenient way that they could depend on to go to and from work， they would relocate their homes outside of the city. This would help ease(减轻) the pressure of too many people living in the poor parts of London. From these problems，the idea of the London Underground，the first subway system，was born.
The plans for building the Underground met with several problems and delays， but the fast track was finally opened in January 1863. A steam train pulled the cars along the fast underground track which was 6 kilometers (3.7 miles) long. About 30，000 people got on the subway the first day. Riders were treated to comfortable seats (standing up while the train was moving was not allowed),and pleasant decorations inside each of the cars. However，the smoke from the engine soon filled the air in the tunnels with ash and soot(煤灰)，as well as chemical gases. Fans had to be put in the tunnels later to keep the air clean enough for people to breathe. Even with its problems，riding in the Underground did catch on. It carried 9 million riders in its first year.What led the British government to build the London Underground？
| A．Traffic jams and pollution. |
| B．Population and pollution. |
| C．Overcrowding and traffic jams. |
| D．The poverty and subway problems. |
How did the London Underground solve the smoke problem？
| A．It made the tunnels larger. |
| B．It put fans in the tunnels. |
| C．It cleaned the chemical gases in the tunnels. |
| D．It reduced the number of passengers riding in the train. |
The underlined phrase “catch on” most probably means “______”.
| A．be troublesome |
| B．become popular and fashionable |
| C．keep up with |
| D．seize |
Which of the following is TRUE？
| A．To relocate the workers’homes outside London，the government built the subway. |
| B．There were so many problems and delays that in 18th century the first subway opened. |
| C．The subway greatly eased the pressure of traffic. |
| D．There were not enough seats for the passengers the first day the subway opened. |
It seems that the writer is going to talk about ______in the next paragraph.
| A．more problems with subways |
| B．subways around the world later on |
| C．the history and culture of London |
| D．the Beijing subway |
We often think of future. We often wonder what the world would be like in a hundred years’time.
Think of space，perhaps a permanent(永久的) station on the moon will have been set up. Perhaps people will be able to visit the moon as tourists. Cheap rockets for space travel will have been developed，permitting long journeys throughout the solar system(太阳系). When that time comes，people will be taking holidays in space and visiting other planets. Great progress will have been made in medicine，too. Perhaps a cure will have been discovered for the most terrible of all diseases—cancer. Pollution is a problem we must solve. In a hundred years’time it will have been controlled.
All the world will have been developed — even Antarctica. There will be large cities in Antarctica. We already have supersonic(超音速的) flight，but in a hundred years’time we will have supersonic land travel as well.
We will have used up most of earth’s land to build our cities， so floating cities will have been built. The Japanese already have plans for cities of this kind. And there will be cities under the sea. The first of these will have been completed.We will have developed ______ in a hundred years’time，permitting long journeys all over the solar system.
| A．cheap rockets for space travel | B．a plane |
| C．a spaceship | D．a satellite |
Man will also have supersonic land travel ______.
| A．in a year | B．about half a century later |
| C．in the year 2050 | D．about a century later |
The last paragraph mainly talks about ______.
| A．we’ll make good use of space on the earth |
| B．cities under the sea |
| C．Japan will first build floating cities |
| D．earth’s land is in danger |
The best title for the passage is ______.
| A．Travel in the Future | B．Future Life |
| C．Where to Live in the Future | D．Space Travel |
Apple a day may poison children
Children who eat an apple or pear a day may be exceeding(超过) the pesticide(杀虫剂) safety limit because of remains on the fruit，according to research.
Using data of the British Department of Environment on pesticides on fruit collected from supermarkets，scientists thought that each day some children would get a poisonous level of pesticides.
The research，published on Sunday，says the government repeatedly claims that the levels of pesticide are safe because，instead of measuring individual apples， researchers buy 10，crush them and take an average reading to see if they are safe. This is the internationally agreed method of checking remains.
But government figures show that the pesticide is not averagely spread across the batch(一批)，and one or two apples could contain 90% or more of the pesticide in the batch.
It used mathematical modeling to measure exposure(暴露) to pesticides for children aged between 18 months and four years old. The pesticides involved can destroy children’s hormones and some are suspected(怀疑) of causing cancer.
The good news for British fruit growers is that samples grown in this country had lower residue level than imported fruit，so buying home-produced fruit will reduce the danger，said Emily Diamand，one of the Earth’s senior food researchers and one of the authors of the report.The reason why “Apple a day may poison children” is that ______.
| A．there are some pests in the apple |
| B．children would get a poisonous level of pesticides because of the remains on the apple |
| C．there are always more pesticides on the apples produced in Britain |
| D．the apple is too hard for children to eat |
The internationally agreed method of checking remains is to buy ______.
| A．two apples，crush them and take an average reading to see if they are safe |
| B．five apples，crush them and test to see if they are safe |
| C．ten apples，crush them and take an average reading to see if they are safe |
| D．eighty apples，and then test them by crushing |
The underlined word “residue” can be replaced by ______.
| A．remains | B．pesticide |
| C．poison | D．medicine |
Which of the following is NOT true？
| A．The remains of the pesticides can do harm to the children’s health. |
| B．The remains of the pesticides can do harm to the children’s hormones. |
| C．Some remains of the pesticides are suspected of causing cancer. |
| D．For safety，we had better not import apples from Britain. |
Everyone wants to achieve true happiness in life.But the biggest factor holding most of us back is actually our ownselves.The Huffington Post released a list of seven mistakes we need to let go of in order to become happier people.Let’s take a look.
1.Placing too much emphasis on fulfillment (成就感)
Those who put a lot of pressure on themselves to be happy feel more lonely on a daily basis than those who do not,according to research conducted at the University of Denver,US.
2.Keeping it all in
Keeping it all together during tough times can hurt you.Crying is the body’s emotional response to outside triggers (诱因).By suppressing it,you may be damaging your mental and physical health.
3.Looking at your smartphone all the time
Connecting with others may be the key to happiness,but a recent University of Michigan study found that the more time participants spent on social networking sites,the less happy they felt.
4.Not moving
It’s no secret that a healthy lifestyle is a big part of happiness.Something as simple as a walk can help you increase your creativity and expose you to essential vitamins.
5.Not reflecting on the past
In a 2013 study on nostalgia (怀旧) and emotion,participants reported a higher sense of physiological comfort when they looked back on the past.Affection for heartwarming memories helps people relate their past experiences to the present in order to create a greater sense of meaning.
6.Resisting change
A study on the psychology of choices shows that the human brain naturally tries to avoid loss—but that resistance can cause stress.Whether it’s fear of the unknown or fear of losing what you currently have,the pressure to hold on to the present can harm your future life satisfaction.
7.Not being mindful
Setting aside time for meditation (沉思) allows your body to relax,cultivates an attitude of gratitude and lowers your stress level,according to researchers at University of California,Los Angeles,US.What is the main purpose of the article?
| A．To inform readers of the benefits of being happy. |
| B．To explain why our happiness depends on our own actions. |
| C．To point out the things we do that prevent us from being happy. |
| D．To discuss some typical characteristics of happy people. |
The underlined word “suppressing” in the third paragraph is closest in meaning to .
| A．speaking of | B．holding back |
| C．thinking about | D．taking no notice of |
According to the article,to be a happy person,it is important for us to .
| A．set goals and achieve as much as we can |
| B．avoid recalling the past |
| C．do exercise in our spare time |
| D．spend more time on social networking sites |
According to the article,meditation is helpful mainly because .
| A．it increases our creativity |
| B．it makes us less afraid of the unknown |
| C．it helps us relax and thus reduce our stress |
| D．it allows us to relate our past experiences to the present |
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