Top Four Ways to Build a Wonderful Life
1. Live Below Your Means
There will always be temptation to give up the future for immediate pleasure. We all want to buy that new piece of technology, treat ourselves to an expensive night on the town, or take out a loan for the flashy car we can’t afford. It might feel great at the time but unwise spending hurts a lot later on. Enjoy life’s simple pleasures and save as much as you can. Expensive things don’t create lasting happiness and security. Careful spending will bring you greater leisure and enjoyment in the long run.
2. Put Your Money to Work
Saving is great, but to make the most of your money you need to put it to work. Good investments can be the difference between retiring in your 40’s or in your 60’s. A post today at The Simple Dollar really got me thinking. According to Trent’s estimates, if a person in their early 20’s invests 20% of their income in an S&P index fund, the interest they earn will equal their current salary when they reach their early 40’s. They could retire without a drop in income! Wise investing is the surest path to financial independence and it’s something everyone can work on. It’s definitely an area I’ll be devoting more attention to in my personal life.
3. Educate Yourself
To be happy we need continuous growth. The best way to grow is life-long education. This doesn’t mean you need to pursue a doctorate or spend 2 hours reading every day. Self-education can be anything that takes you out of your comfort zone. The important part is keeping an open mind and searching for fresh ideas and perspectives. Education builds over time. It might feel like the bits of wisdom you acquire don’t mean much, but over the years they add up to form a wiser, kinder, more interesting person.
4. Develop Lasting Personal Relationships
Suppose you had everything you wanted. Would you be happy without anyone to share it with? The personal relationships we develop with friends and family members are the greatest source of happiness in our lives. Don’t forget about them. Taking the time to cultivate and enjoy personal relationships is essential to long-term happiness. Without the people you care about you’ll probably be miserable, no matter how successful you become.
According to the passage, in order to achieve financial independence after retirement, we’d better ________.
A.get along well with our family and friends |
B.bring ourselves leisure as well as enjoyment |
C.invest our money wisely when we are young |
D.learn some new skills and try to find a new job |
From the passage we can infer that some people try to ________.
A.gain happiness by buying themselves expensive things |
B.save everything they can to help those in need |
C.devote more attention to their personal life |
D.take out a loan to promote technology |
The author of the passage may agree that the key to self-education is________.
A.gaining as many degrees as possible |
B.being open to new ideas and views |
C.only focusing on very big events |
D.creating long-term happiness |
The above passage is written in order to ________.
A.explain what true happiness is about |
B.offer ways to achieve a happy and successful life |
C.introduce different definitions about happiness |
D.persuade readers to find out the meaning of life |
---What do you think of the decision made at the meeting yesterday?
---I think it could lead to serious for the future of the factory.
A.tendency | B.consequences |
C.circumstances | D.existence |
She is to household dust, so she often wears a hat when cleaning the house.
A.allergic | B.sensible |
C.impressive | D.beneficial |
Robert is said abroad, but I don’t know what country he studied in.
A.to have studied | B.to study |
C.to be studying | D.to have been studying |
If you your teacher’s advice, you would not have failed the exams last week.
A.take | B.were taking | C.took | D.had taken |
---What do you think of ________ gifted chemist from London?
---Well, sometimes his behavior is beyond ________ comprehension.
A.a, the | B.the / | C.the the | D.a / |
__________ is always the husband who __________ first when a quarrel comes about between the young couple.
A.It, gives away | B.This, gives out |
C.It, gives in | D.That, gives off |
What on earth did you tell her? The __________ on her face suggested that she was more than angry.
A.impression | B.sight | C.appearance | D.Expression |
---Linda, I called you this morning, but nobody answered the phone.
--- I am sorry.I football with my friends then.
A.play | B.played |
C.am playing | D.was playing |
--- How do you study English?
---I study English talking with foreign students
A.by | B.in | C.at | D.On |
When my son unexpectedly volunteered for the Marines(美国海军陆战队), I was busy writing my novels and giving little thought to the men and women in the army .
My son John Schaeffer, recently came home from the Middle East. He slowly appeared from a broken car. John all night from a base near Washington, he had landed the day before. He did not want me to him there. “I need time to myself,” my son said calling from Kuwait on the way home.
I gave my wife a head start. Mother son. “I was so worried,” Genie said. She pulled away to look up again and again to he was really there.
My wife gave me a great gift: alone with my boy. John was tired and lay on his bed. I lay down next to him and was grasping his hand the whole time. I just wanted to be certain that the nightmares I’d had about John being killed were .
I kept holding my son, the way I when he was two and came into our bed after a dream. I asked John if he’d rather sleep than talk, and he said there would be time for later.
With the over, under and around me came incredible tiredness. I slept with his voice dying away. It was the first good I’d had in months. I woke and John was asleep next to me. Sitting by his bed watching him breathe, I found myself praying and for all the fathers, mothers, sons, daughters, husbands and wives of those who were not coming home. For the first time in my life, I was weeping for .
Before my son went to war I would never have shed tears for them. My son me. He taught me that our men and women in uniform are not the “ ”. They are our sons, daughters, brothers and sisters. Sometimes shedding tears for strangers is a holy . Sometimes it’s all we can do.
A.angry B.alive C.frightened D.excited
A.drove B.was driving C.had driven D.would have driven
A.when B.where C.which D.who
A.meet B.congratulate C.permit D.accept
A.once B.when C.unless D.since
A.abandoned B.patted C.concluded D.embraced
A.make sure B.set down C.get across D.make sense
A.period B.chance C.time D.moment
A.expanded B.stretched C.extending D.spreading
A.facts B.truth C.proofs D.lies
A.used to B.ought to C.should D.must
A.happy B.cheerful C.scary D.dull
A.advice B.discussion C.talk D.sleep
A.chat B.worries C.meeting D.curiosity
A.conversation B.observation C.sleep D.difficulty
A.crying B.cursing C.screaming D.regretting
A.friends B.neighbors C.strangers D.soldiers
A.persuaded B.changed C.frightened D.accused
A.another B.other C.others D.one
A.function B.adventure C.duty D.shame
If it ___ rain tomorrow, we’ll go hiking.
A. won’t B. doesn’t C. didn’t
She doesn’t like pop music, ___?
A. does she B. is she C. doesn’t she
—You’re in a hurry. Where are you going?
— To the cinema. Sue ___ for me outside.
A. waits B. waited C. is waiting
I’m busy now. I ___ to you after school this afternoon.
A. talk B. talked C. will talk