The right to pursue happiness is issued to us all with our birth, but no one seems quite sure what it is.
A holy man in India may think that happiness is in himself. It is in needing nothing from outside himself. If wanting nothing, he lacks nothing. We westerners, however, are taught that the more we have from outside ourselves, the happier we will be, and then we are made to want. We are even told it is our duty to want. Advertising, one of our major industries, exists not to satisfy these desires but to create them---and to create them faster than any man’s money in his pocket can satisfy them. Here, obviously someone is trying to buy the dream of happiness and spending millions upon millions every year in the attempt. Clearly the happiness-market is not running out of customers.
I doubt the holy man’s idea of happiness, and I doubt the dreams of the happiness-market, too. Whatever happiness may be, I believe, it is neither in having nothing nor in having more, but in changing --- in changing the world and mankind into pure states.
To change is to make efforts to deal with difficulties. As Yeats, a great Irish poet once put it, happiness we get for a lifetime depends on how high we choose our difficulties.
It is easy to understand. We even demand difficulty for the fun in our games. We demand it because without difficulty there can be no game. And a game is a way of making something hard for the fun of it. The rules of the game are man-made difficulties. When the player ruins the fun, he always does so by refusing to play by the roles. It is easier to win at chess if you are free, at your pleasure, to cast away all the rules, but the fun is in winning within the rules.
The same is true to happiness. The buyers and sellers at the happiness-market seem to have lost their sense of the pleasure of difficulty. Heaven knows what they are playing, but it seems a dull game. And the Indian holy man seems dull to us, I suppose, because he seems to be refusing to play anything at all.
The western weakness may be in the dreams that happiness can be bought while eastern weakness may be in the idea that there is such a thing as perfect happiness in man himself. Both of them forget a basic fact: no difficulty, no happiness.Who shares the same idea of happiness with the author?
A.The Indian holy man | B.The great Irish poet Yeats |
C.Advertisers | D.The buyers and sellers at the happiness-market |
What does “happiness-market” mean in the second paragraph?
A.It means a place in which people can buy things happily |
B.It means a market which lacks happy customers |
C.It means a pure state for the world and mankind |
D.It means a market where people try to buy happiness with money. |
According to the passage, which of the following is Right?
A.The Indian holy man is much happier than westerner. |
B.The westerners understand happiness better than the Indian holy man. |
C.There is no fun without playing by the rules |
D.Both the eastern weakness and western weakness are the same. |
I was appreciating my family photos on my computer, admiring my two beautiful babies, when I found a disturbing trend: my laptop was in almost all the pictures. There was my daughter, 8 months old, playing at my feet while I was typing away on the couch. There was me and my son, with the laptop at my side as I held him in my arms.
I’d heard about the Internet addiction before, but always assumed I was something limited to socially challenged guys who played too much World of Warcraft (a computer game). Now it seemed my Internet “habit” is slowly but surely crossing the line. Sometimes I find myself up at midnight, surfing the Web while my family are sleeping. I read news, keep up with friends and write my blog … just for something to do.
It turns out that I’m not the only mama who is addicted to the computer. These moms are contributing to a growing global addiction. There’s a movement among psychiatrists (doctors who specialize in mental diseases) to recognize the Internet addiction as an official mental disorder. And a recent Stanford University national survey found that 14 percent of Internet users find it hard to stay away from it for several days at a time; 9 percent try to hide their “unnecessary Internet use” from their loved ones; 8 percent admit they use the Web as a way to escape problems.
You’re likely not the kind of addict who doesn’t bathe and abuses drugs to help her stay “up” for more online time. You may have noticed, though, that going online has become a necessary part of your life, which, at least, means a load of clothes go unwashed.
It may also mean you’re missing much time with you baby – something you probably do care about.From Paragraph 1, we can conclude that _______.
A.the author was busy taking care of her babies |
B.the author’s job had something to do with computers |
C.the author was not good at taking photos of her babies |
D.the author looked after her babies while using the computer. |
The author used to think that the Internet addiction is ________.
A.using the web at midnight | B.keeping up with friends online |
C.spending too much time online | D.being addicted to computer games |
In medical terms, the Internet addiction is ________.
A.a personal life habit | B.a way to escape problems |
C.an official mental disorder | D.the unnecessary use of the Internet |
What does the author want to express in the last but one paragraph?
A.Many women still can control their online time. |
B.The Internet addiction influences housewives’ lives a lot. |
C.Going online has become a necessary part of women’s lives. |
D.Many people don’t realize that they are addicted to the Internet. |
Anyone for kimchi(韩国泡菜)? Around 2,000 women made the traditional dish last week in Seoul, the capital of the Republic of Korea(ROK).
More than 270 tons of kimchi were produced and handed out to needy neighbours.
In the ROK, kimchi is more than a dish to be eaten with every meal, even though Koreans are said to eat about 40 pounds(around 18kg) of kimchi per person each year.
According to Korean.net, the country’s official multilingual website, kimchi represents
“the spirit” of the Koreans.
Kimchi traditionally has a rosy color. Korea.net says: “The color red wards off (避开) evil spirits. The color represents the spirit of the Korean people and kimchi is more than just a food. It’s a culture.”
A meal without kimchi is unthinkable. So what is kimchi?
Joan Raymond, food writer for US website health.com, writes: “It’s a reddish, fermented (发酵的) cabbage dish , made with a mix of garlic salt, vinegar, chili peppers and other spices.
It is served at every meal, either along with or mixed with rice and noodles. It is part of a high-fiber, low fat diet, which has kept obesity(肥胖) at bay.”
Kimchi is used in everything from soups to pancakes and as a topping (配料) on pizza and burgers.
Health.com named kimchi in its list of the world’s top five healthiest foods as it is rich in vitamins, aids digestion and may even reduce the risk of cancer.
A study conducted by Seoul National University claimed that chickens infected with the H5N1 virus (bird flu) recovered after eating food containing the same bacteria found in kimchi.
When Koreans pose for photos, they say “kimchi”, instead of “cheese”.According to the article, which of the following statements is TRUE?
A.Kimchi contains something that can kill the H5N1 virus. |
B.Kimchi is rated as the healthiest food in the world. |
C.Kimchi is a cultural treasure for Koreans. |
D.Each person eats 40 pounds of kimchi per month. |
What does the underlined phrase “keep... at bay” mean?
A.predict | B.prevent | C.overcome | D.develop |
What does the article mainly talk about?
A.The nutritional value of kimchi. |
B.Ways of making kimchi. |
C.The origin of kimchi. |
D.Kimchi and what it means to Koreans. |
If you're like a lot of married guys, you don't need to be reminded about men being from Mars or women from Venus. Chances are that you're all too familiar with the feeling that you and your wife are from different worlds. The way to have a successful marriage is through communication, common ground and understanding. Here are some pointers to guide you in the right direction.
Pointer 1. Realize nobody can wave a magic wand to make you and your wife completely understand each other all the time. Accept the difference.
Pointer 2. Rather than ending up in an endless back and forth, forget about the issue for a minute. Instead, think about how you feel she's acting toward you and ask her if that's how she feels about you. Switching the focus to that shared feeling can help your wife see things from your point of view.
Pointer 3. Rather than feel offended if you find out she's not as into your favorite hobby as you thought, appreciate the effort she put into making you happy. Swallow your pride and try to take part in some of her hobbies, too, even if you might be a little put off at first. While you're not going to be trying on makeup with her, you could try baking a recipe together.
Pointer 4. If either of you is always giving everything and getting nothing in return, there's going to be bitterness. The best marriages are built on compromise. You knew you were going to have to give and take for your marriage to work; now it's time to make it happen.The best subtitle of Pointer 3 is ________.
A.Find out her hobbies |
B.Swallow your pride (at least sometimes) |
C.Don’t get offended |
D.Try to make up |
According to the last paragraph, it’s important for the husband and wife to__________.
A.give and take |
B.get everything and return nothing |
C.live and let live |
D.forgive and forget |
Which of the following is NOT good for keeping a successful marriage?
A.Try to understand each other all the way. |
B.Don't play the blame game. |
C.Focus on the feeling to get past the disagreement. |
D.She won't always understand you (but that's OK). |
Researchers found that people become happier and experience less worry after they reach the age of fifty. In fact, they say by the age of eighty-five, people are happier with their life than they were when they were eighteen years old.
Arthur Stone in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science at Stony Brook University in New York led the study. His team found that levels of stress were highest among adults between the ages of twenty-two and twenty-five. The findings showed that stress levels dropped sharply after people reached their fifties. Happiness was highest among the youngest adults and those in their early seventies. The people least likely to report feeling negative emotions were those in their seventies and eighties.
The findings appeared in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Researchers say they do not know why happiness increases as people get older. One theory is that, as people grow older, they grow more thankful for what they have and have better control of their emotions. They also spend less time thinking about bad experiences.
The researchers considered possible influences like having young children, being unemployed or being single. But they found that influences like these did not affect the levels of happiness and well-being related to age.
The study also showed that men and women have similar emotional patterns as they grow older. However, women at all ages reported more sadness, stress and worry than men.What is the best title of the passage?
A.The older a person is, the more stressed he feels. |
B.The more lighthearted a person is, the happier he is. |
C.The older a person is, the more clever he grows. |
D.The older a person is, the happier he grows. |
We can learn from the research that _________.
A.only when people get older, will they feel happier |
B.older people usually have no worries in their life |
C.stress levels among the youngest are the highest of all |
D.older people are more likely to be thankful in life |
According to the researchers, what is probably the reason why people grow happier when they get older?
A.When people get older, they can’t remember bad experiences. |
B.When people get older, they have no young children to care about. |
C.When people get older, they learn to adjust their feelings. |
D.When people get older, they don’t care about their feelings. |
What do you think the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences is?
A.A Gallup organization. |
B.A popular science magazine. |
C.A university in New York. |
D.A research institution |
What would the writer probably deal with in next paragraph?
A.Advice to the young people on how to keep happy. |
B.Advice to the old people on how to live longer. |
C.Why women at all ages are more sad, stressed and worried. |
D.Why people will grow happier with their ages. |
Lynn is the publisher of Indiana Living Green magazine, a local Indiana-based publication focusing on all issues related to leading a sustainable lifestyle. Her knowledge, passion and unwavering dedication to this cause are both inspiring and admirable and are the reasons I recommend her for the Heart of Green Local Hero.
Lynn's interest in sustainable living has expanded over the years from simple recycling and wildlife gardening to encouraging others to appreciate nature and do what each can to care for the environment.
Lynn has been instrumental in bringing her green consciousness to Indiana by way of Indiana Living Green magazine over the past two years. Indiana Living Green is the only local publication solely focused on green living and sustainability.
In addition to her role as publisher of Indiana Living Green magazine, Lynn is also a Habitat Steward Host for National Wildlife Federation, editor of Hoosier Organic Gardener, the newsletter of the Indiana Organic Gardeners Association, and a member of Garden Writers Association.
Lynn Jenkins deserves to be publicly recognized for all that she is and all that she has done and continues to do to educate and empower each of us to improve our individual lives, communities and our Earth. Which of the following is NOT true of Lynn Jenkins?
A.She is the publisher of the magazine Indiana Living Green. |
B.She won the award the Heart of Green Local Hero. |
C.She is a member of Garden Writers Association. |
D.She encourages people to love and protect nature. |
The underlined word in the third paragraph probably means ________.
A.mainly | B.simply | C.earnestly | D.seriously |
What is the purpose of the writing?
A.To recommend Lynn Jenkins for the Heart of Green Local Hero. |
B.To call on readers to protect the environment and live green. |
C.To introduce the readers to the Heart of Green Local Hero. |
D.To advertise for Indiana Living Green and its publisher. |