Doesmoneybuyhappiness?Not!Ah,b

更新 2022-09-03
科目英语
题型阅读理解
难度中等
浏览 1860

Does money buy happiness? Not! Ah, but would a little more money make us a little happier? Many of us smirk(傻笑，假笑) and nod. There is, we believe, some connection between financial fitness and emotional fulfillment. Three in four American college students—nearly double the 1970 proportion— now consider it “very important” or “essential” that they become “very well off financially”. Money matters.
But a surprising fact of life is that in countries where nearly everyone can afford life’s necessities, increasing wealth matters surprisingly little. The connection between income and happiness is “surprisingly weak,” observed University of Michigan researcher Ronald Inglehart in one 16-nation study of 170,000 people. Once comfortable, more money provides diminishing returns(报酬递减). The second piece of pie, or the second $100,000, never tastes as good as the first. Even lottery winners and the Forbes’ 100 wealthiest Americans surveyed by University of Illinois psychologist Ed Diener have expressed only slightly greater happiness than the average American. Making it big brings temporary joy. But in the long run wealth is like health: its complete absence can create suffering, but having it doesn’t guarantee happiness. Happiness seems less a matter of getting what we want than of wanting what we have.
Has our happiness, however, floated upward with the rising economic tide? Are we happier today than in 1940s, when two out of five homes lacked a shower or tub? Actually, we are not. Since 1957, the number of Americans who say they are “very happy” has declined from 35 to 32 percent. Meanwhile, the divorce rate has doubled, the teen suicide(自杀) rate has increased nearly three times, the violent crime rate has gone up nearly four times, and depression has mushroomed. Economic growth has provided no boost to human morale. When it comes to psychological well being, it is not the economy.
I call this soaring wealth and shrinking spirit “the American paradox.” More than ever, we have big houses and broken homes, high incomes and low confidence, secured rights and reduced civility. We are good at making a living but often fail at making a life. We celebrate our prosperity(繁荣) but long for a purpose. We treasure our freedoms but long for connection. In an age of plenty, we feel spiritual hunger.
Which of the following statements best expresses the author’s view?

A．The more money we earn, the less returns we have.

B．The more money we earn, the happier we would be.

C．In the long run, money cannot guarantee happiness.

D．In the long run, happiness grows with economy.

“The second $100,000 never tastes as good as the first” because _____.

A．it is not so fresh as the first $100,000

B．it is not so important as the first $100,000

C．profit brought by it is less than that from the first $100,000

D．happiness brought by it is less than that from the first $100,000

According to the passage, people do well in making a living but don’t _____.

A．have any primary aim	B．know how to spend money
C．know how to enjoy life	D．keep in touch with other people

The things that happened after 1957 are given to show that _____.

A．people’s spiritual needs cannot be fulfilled by wealth

B．family problems become more and more serious

C．young people are not happy about their life

D．social crimes have increased significantly

登录免费查看答案和解析

相关试题

The coyote (丛林狼), that clever animal of wide-open spaces, has come to the nation’s capital. In fact, coyotes have spread to every corner of the United States, changing their behaviors to fit new environments and causing researchers to deal with a troublesome new kind of creature: the city coyote.
The coyote originally lived in the middle of the continent. One of its most obvious characters is its smartness, which has made the animal a notorious (臭名昭著的) pest. Hunters trapped, shot and poisoned more than a million coyotes in the 1900s. It’s still one of America’s most hunted animals. Yet the coyote has survived. How has the coyote shown this extraordinary ability? “I guess if you wanted to use one word, it’d be ‘plasticity’,” says Eric Gese, an expert at Utah State University. Coyotes can live alone, in pairs, or in large packs like wolves; hunt at night or during the day; occupy a small region or an area up to 40 square miles; and live on all sorts of food, from lizards (蜥蜴) and shoes, to ants and melons.
Unbelievably people helped coyotes increase when they killed most of the wolves in the United States. The spreading of coyotes into city areas, though, is recent. They travel at night, crossing sidewalks and bridges, running along roads and ducking into culverts (钻入涵洞) and underpasses. No one knows why coyotes are moving into cities, but experts explain that cleverer, more human-tolerant (不怕人的) coyotes are teaching urban survival skills to new generations.
Occasionally, coyotes might attack human beings. There have been about 160 attacks on people in recent years. Therefore, people have been consistently told not to feed coyotes or leave pet food unsecured. That, plus a large trapping program in the neighborhood, has cut down on the coyote population.
63. The underlined word “plasticity” in Paragraph 2 refers to _____.
A. the ability to fit the environment                   B. notorious smartness
C. hunting ability                           D. being human-tolerant
64. The aim of the passage is to _____.
A. tell people how to fight against coyotes
B. tell us why the coyote is the most hunted animal
C. supply the reason why the coyote is a kind of notorious pest
D. explain how the coyote has spread to and survived in cities
65. According to the passage, coyotes _____.
A. originally lived in the west of the continent
B. sleep during the day but look for food at night
C. are teaching survival skills to their younger generations
D. suffered a population decrease because people killed wolves
66. According to the passage, to cut down the coyote population, people should ____________.
A. leave pet food secured       B. keep coyotes in small regions
C. force coyotes to live alone    D. avoid using trapping programmes

题型：未知
难度：未知

收藏答案/解析

Susan Sontag (1933 — 2004) was one of the most noticeable figures in the world of literature. For more than 40 years she made it morally necessary to know everything — to read every book worth reading, to see every movie worth seeing. When she was still in her early 30s, publishing essays in such important magazines as Partisan Review, she appeared as the symbol of American cultural life, trying hard to follow every new development in literature, film and art. With great effort and serious judgment, Sontag walked at the latest edges of world culture.
Seriousness was one of Sontag’s lifelong watchwords（格言）, but at a time when the barriers between the well-educated and the poor-educated were obvious, she argued for a true openness to the pleasures of pop culture. In ‘‘Notes on Camp”, the 1964 essay that first made her name, she explained what was then a little-known set of difficult understandings, through which she could not have been more famous. ‘“Notes on Camp”, she wrote, represents “a victory of ‘form’ over ‘content’ ,‘beauty’ over ‘morals’”.
By conviction（信念）she was a sensualist（感觉论者）, but by nature she was a moralist（伦理论者）, and in the works she published in the 1970s and 1980s, it was the latter side of her that came forward. In Illness as Metaphor — published in 1978, after she suffered cancer — she argued against the idea that cancer was somehow a special problem of repressed personalities （被压抑的个性）, a concept that effectively blamed the victim for the disease. In fact, re-examining old positions was her lifelong habit.
In America, her story of a 19th century Polish actress who set up a perfect society in California, won the National Book Award in 2000. But it was as a tireless, all-purpose cultural view that she made her lasting fame. “Sometimes,” she once said, “I feel that, in the end, all I am really defending ... is the idea of seriousness, of true seriousness.” And in the end, she made us take it seriously too.
58. The underlined sentence in Paragraph 1 means Sontag _____ .
A. was a symbol of American cultural life
B. developed world literature, film and art
C. published many essays about world culture
D. kept pace with the newest development of world culture
59. She first won her name through _____ .
A. her story of a Polish actress
B. her book Illness as Metaphor
C. publishing essays in magazines like Partisan Review
D. her explanation of a set of difficult understandings
60. According to the passage, Susan Sontag ______.
A. was a sensualist as well as a moralist
B. looked down, upon the pop culture
C. thought content was more important than form
D. blamed the victim of cancer for being repressed
61. As for Susan Sontag’s lifelong habit, she ______.
A. misunderstood the idea of seriousness             B. re-examined old positions
C. argued for an openness to pop culture       D. preferred morals to beauty
62. Susan Sontag’s lasting fame was made upon _____ .
A. a tireless, all-purpose cultural view     B. her lifelong watchword: seriousness
C. publishing books on morals             D. enjoying books worth reading and movies worth seeing

题型：未知
难度：未知

收藏答案/解析

IV.阅读理解（共17小题；每小题２分，满分34分）
Like cats, geckos（壁虎）always land on their feet. If they happen to fall from a wall or leaf they’ve been climbing, a quick move of the tail makes sure that they always land on their feet first, a new study finds.
Geckos are truly built for climbing: their feet have hairy toes that can fix themselves to a wall or other vertical（竖直的）surfaces. However, geckos’ feet can’t always keep hold and they may fall to the ground. When geckos fall or jump off a wall, they always land stomach-side down. Geckos’ long tails become necessary during their falls, the new study shows.
Researchers did an experiment. They placed geckos up-side-down on the underside of a leaf. When they lost their foothold and fell, the geckos pitched （倾斜）their tails for balance. They then rotated（旋转）their tails to make their bodies rotate. As soon as they were right-side up, they stopped rotating. On average, it only took the geckos about a tenth of a second to right themselves so that they would land on their feet.
Cats use a different way to land on their feet after a fall. As their tails don’t have the power like geckos’ tails, cats can’t use them to right themselves. Instead they twist their bodies around mid-air.
Engineers are trying to build a robot that imitates the geckos’ climbing ability. A tail will be fixed to the robot to allow it to keep balance.
54. What do we know about geckos?
A. Their toes make it possible for them to walk on walls.
B. Their tails can fix them to a wall or other vertical surfaces.
C. They often land on their backs when they jump off walls.
D. It takes them a second to right themselves in mid-air.
55. How do cats avoid their injury during a fall?
A. By twisting their bodies.                 B. By fixing their toes to the ground.
C. By using their tails to right themselves.        D. By landing upside-down.
56. Geckos’ special abilities have given engineers some new ideas to _________.
A. allow robots to climb vertical surfaces
B. reproduce geckos like robots
C. invent robots that can rotate on the ground
D. invent robots that can balance themselves using their tails
57. What is the text mainly talking about?
A. The interesting living habits of geckos.   B. The differences between cats and geckos.
C. Why geckos always land on their feet.      D. How geckos climb up vertical walls.

题型：未知
难度：未知

收藏答案/解析

If there is one thing that matters in high school－and for your whole life－it is friendships．
My latest novel，THE UNWRITTEN RULE，is about a girl，Sarah，who falls for her best friend Brianna’s boyfriend，Ryan，but it’s more about wrestling with feelings for a guy that you know you shouldn’t have．A lot of the book deals with friendship，the kind of lifelong friendship that means the world to you．．．and what happens when you realize that maybe it isn’t what you think it is．
Maybe your best friend isn’t your best friend．Maybe she isn’t even a friend at all．
Friendships are tricky things．You can he sure everything is fine，and that your friendship is going to last forever．．．and it can just end．No explanation，no anything．And it is not easy．In fact，I think losing a friend is worse than losing a boyfriend，especially when it is a friend you’ve had in your life for a long time．
One of the things that Sarah struggles with in THE UNWRITTEN RULE，beyond her feelings for Ryan，is her friendship with Brianna—how long they’ve been friends，how she understands Brianna in a way no one else does，and what to do when a crack appears in their friend ship，not because of Sarah’s feelings for Ryan，but because Sarah begins to wonder if maybe Brianna isn’t her best friend after all．
Having a friendship end is incredibly painful and one of the things I hated when I was younger—and that I still hate now—is how people say．“Oh，it’ll be okay．You’ll move on，you’ll be fine．”
It is true that you will eventually move on and that you will be fine．But you will also always carry that lost friendship with you．It may not take up all of your heart like it does at first，but it will take part of it．
And that，I think，is something no one ever talks about and that I wish we could — and would．
What do you do when someone you are friends with decides your friendship is over? How do you deal with it?
Maybe my latest novel can provide something for you．
47．From the passage we can infer that_____．
A．it may takes Sarah a long time to recover after she lost Brianna’s friendship
B．Sarah and Brianna are still best friends after a long period of time
C．Sarah does not value Brianna’s friendship at all
D．Ryan would feel puzzled about his real love
48．What do you think the book THE UNWRITTEN RULE is mainly about?
A．Friendship．    B．School life．   C．Love． D．Wrestling with feelings．
49．What’s the writer’s attitude towards friendship?
A．We will all lose some friends in our life．
B．Ending a friendship is worse than losing a boyfriend．
C．It’s usual when a crack appears．
D．You will eventually move on after you lose a friendship．
50．What do you think is the best title for the passage above?
A．My Latest Novel．    B．Tricky Friends．
C．Sarah and Brianna．    D．Unforgettable Friendship

题型：未知
难度：未知

收藏答案/解析

Here below are two pieces taken from a blog．
▲ Growing up as one of three girls I’ve always been keen on women’s issues．And now with three daughters to raise，I have the responsibility of ensuring that they grow up without any preconceived(预想的) ideas of their capabilities ＆ potential based on their gender．Earlier this year I read an article that indicated that women surpassed men in the workforce for the first time in history．That is a milestone! And while we still don’t have equality in leadership positions or pay (especially if you’re a mom)，we have made significant progress over the past couple of decades．All this prompted me to do some digging around to see what else I could learn．Here are some fun facts from the census bureau for you：
●29％ of women aged 25 or older had obtained a bachelors degree in 2008 vs．18％ in 1987．
●55％ of all college students were women in the Fall of 2008．
●60％ of women 20 years or older participate in the workforce today vs．34％ in 1950．
●14％ of the armed forces were women in 2008．compared to 2％ in 1950．
▲We’re all looking to stretch the value of our dollar as much as possible．Every day as you juggle the needs of your family，remember to eat right，take your vitamins and keep up with laundry and bills－you probably also look for budget friendly，family appropriate activities．A day trip to a national park is a great way to explore all the wonders of nature，without breaking the bank．Once or twice a month，my wife and I will prepare for a leisurely hike in one of our favorite parks close to home．The night before，she makes some homemade granola and I make sure our reusable water bottles are full and on ice．Next time you’re looking for an inexpensive adventure that your family isn’t soon to forget，take a hike! To find a national park near you，just visit www．nps．gov
43．According to the first blog，_____．
A．the blogger has three sisters
B．there are more women than men at work this year
C．14％ of women are working in the army
D．women has got equality in leadership position
44．What is mainly talked about in the first blog?
A．Responsibility． B．Women’s potential．   C．Workforce． D．Women’s issues．
45．The underlined words“breaking the bank”in the second blog means_____．
A．robbing the bank                  B．getting some money from the bank
C．using up the money in the bank      D．going to the bank
46．What’s the writer’s suggestion in the second blog?
A．We all have to think about the needs of our family．
B．All the wonders of nature are in the national park．
C．To go hiking once or twice a month will be an inexpensive adventure．
D．Each of us will have to make our budget friendly．

题型：未知
难度：未知

收藏答案/解析