Last year, CCTV journalists approached pedestrians with their cameras, held a microphone to their mouth and asked a simple question, “Are you happy?”
The question has caught many interviewees off guard. Even Mo Yan, who just won a Nobel Prize, responded by saying, “I don’t know”.
While the question has become a buzz phrase and the Internet plays host to heated discussions, we ask: What exactly is happiness? And how do you measure it?
In the 1776 US Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson set in writing the people’s unalienable right to “Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness”. 235 years on, Wen Jiabao told the nation, “Everything we do is aimed at letting people live more happily.” At National People’s Congress, officials agreed that increasing happiness would be a top target for the 12th five-year plan.
US psychologist Ed Diener, author of Happiness: Unlocking the Mysteries of Psychological Wealth, describes happiness as “ a combination of life satisfaction and having more positive than negative emotions”, according to US broadcasting network PBS. This may sound straightforward enough, but it still doesn’t explain what determines people’s happiness.
Many argue that happiness is elusive and that there is no single source. It also means different things to different people. For some, happiness can be as simple as having enough cash.
Researchers believe happiness can be separated into two types: daily experiences of hedonic (享乐的) well-being; and evaluative well-being, the way people think about their lives as a whole. The former refers to the quality of living, whereas the latter is about overall happiness, including life goals and achievements. Happiness can cross both dimensions.
Li Jun, a psychologist and mental therapy practitioner at a Beijing clinic, says, “Happiness can mean both the most basic human satisfaction or the highest level of spiritual pursuit. It’s a simple yet profound topic.”
Chen Shangyuan, 21, a junior English major at Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, said his idea of happiness always evolves. “At present it relates to how productive I am in a day,” he said. “It might be linked to job security or leisure time after I graduate.”
Then there is the question of measuring happiness. Does it depend on how many friends we have, or whether we own the latest smart phone? Is it even quantifiable?
Economists are trying to measure happiness in people’s lives. Since 1972, Bhutan’s GDP measurement has been replaced by a Gross National Happiness index. It is calculated according to the peoples’ sense of being well-governed, their relationship with the environment, their satisfaction with economic development, and their sense of national belonging.
In 2009, US economist Joseph Stiglitz proposed “to shift emphasis from measuring economic production to measuring people’s well-being”. But is well-being more easily measured? In the second paragraph, the writer gave an example to ________.
| A．support his idea that being famous is the reason to be happy |
| B．introduce his topic to be discussed |
| C．tell people winning a Nobel Prize is a great honor |
| D．show that the question was quite difficult |
From what Thomas Jefferson and Wen Jiabao mentioned in the passage, we know ________.
| A．people’s happiness is determined by great people |
| B．people’s happiness is an important target for the development of a country |
| C．people in all countries have the right to ask the government for a happy life |
| D．people both in China and America are living a happy life |
According to the passage, the writer may most likely agree that ________.
| A．CCTV journalists are concerned about people’s happiness out of sympathy |
| B．the question has led to heated discussions about who are the happiest people in China |
| C．Bhutan’s new index shows that people there are the happiest in the world |
| D．it is not easy for us to decide what determines people’s happiness |
What does the underlined word “elusive” in the sixth paragraph mean?
| A．available. | B．easy to get. | C．hard to describe. | D．unimaginable. |
The best title of the passage is ________.
| A．Are you happy? | B．The Measurement of Happiness |
| C．GDP and Happiness | D．The Secret of Happiness |
When an NBA player is young he thinks he can win the championship by himself. It is only later when he has aged and been through many battles that he learns an important lesson: there is no “I ” in “team”.
There is no better example of the value of teamwork than the Boston Celtics. Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett were all superstars on three different teams. Yet, none of them had any titles to show for it. Then, last season, they decided to sacrifice money and individual statistics to play together. Garnett and Allen joined Pierce on the Celtics and changed the NBA in the process.
It started in simple ways. Garnett and Allen are two of the most intense athletes in the world. They treat every second of every practice like it is the NBA championship. If you want to play alongside them then you will have to do the same. So, the young guys on the Celtics started giving their full effort too.
Pierce had been the star of the Celtics for many years. He used to shoot the ball many times a game. But with the addition of Allen and Garnett he shot less and focused on defense. His selflessness showed the young players that doing what made the team better was the only thing that mattered.
When the Celtics were winning and the game was almost over, Garnett, Pierce and Allen would come out of the game. But they wouldn’t just sit on the bench. Instead, they stood and cheered and screamed for their teammates. They wanted to support their friends and teammates.
Now, the guys who don't play know they can still affect the game by cheering so they scream and cheer when Garnett, Allen and Pierce are playing. The Celtics have developed a strong relationship. They are more than just teammates. They are brothers.
The result: the Boston Celtics won the championship and are considered the favorites to win the Eastern Conference championship again this year.
There is a saying that goes, "A successful team beats with one heart." If that is the case, the Celtics may have the biggest heart in the NBA.What does the passage mainly talk about?
| A．The stories of three famous basketball superstars. |
| B．A famous basketball team named the Boston Celtics. |
| C．The importance of teamwork among teammates. |
| D．Matches between the Boston Celtics and other teams. |
What does this sentence “there is no ‘I’ in ‘team’.” mean in Paragraph 1?
| A．"I" will be missing once "I" am on the court. |
| B．The cooperation of the teammates is more important than the individual. |
| C．"I" work so hard in a team that "I" will forget who "I" am |
| D．Surrounded by other players, "I" don’t seem to exist. |
Which of the following is NOT true about Pierce’s recent performance?
| A．He became an even better shooter with others’ help. |
| B．He focused much more attention on defense. |
| C．He created more chances for teammates. |
| D．He stood and cheered for his teammates |
Which of the following didn’t contribute to the success of the Boston Celtics?
| A．The whole team has become devoted to each and every stage of the game. |
| B．The cooperation and teamwork among the teammates in the match. |
| C．The influence of Garnett, Allen, Pierce and other teammates’ cheering. |
| D．The increasing frequency of team players on the bench |
Drinking Water: Bottled or From the Tap?
In America, people will include a case or two of bottled water when buying the week's groceries. When they are going to a soccer game or activity, it's common for them to grab a cold bottle of water out of the fridge with them．In fact, Americans buy more bottled water than any other nation in the world, about 29 billion bottles a year．
But all these plastic bottles use a lot of fossil fuels and pollute the environment．In order to make all the 29 billion bottles, producers use 17 million barrels of crude oil, which is enough to keep a million cars going for 12 months．
So why don't people drink water straight from the tap? Some people have a strong belief that bottled water is better than water out of the tap, but that's not necessarily true．In the US, the local governments make sure water from the tap is safe．There is also growing concern that chemicals in the bottles themselves may go into the water．
People love the convenience of bottled water．But maybe if they realized the problems it causes, they would try drinking from a glass at home or carrying water in a reusable steel container instead of plastic．
Some argue that plastic bottle recycling can help．Recycled bottles can be turned into items like carpeting or clothing．Unfortunately, only one in six bottles is recycled．The rest make it to landfills（垃圾填埋场）or end as trash in other places．Plastic bottles take hundreds of years for them to disintegrate．
Water is important for you, so keep drinking it．But think about how often you use water bottles, and see if you can make a change．
And yes, you can make a difference．Remember this: Recycling one plastic bottle can save enough energy to power a 60-watt light bulb for six hours．Why do Americans prefer bottled water?
| A．Bottled water is better than water from the tap． |
| B．Bottled water is cheaper than water from the tap． |
| C．Bottled water contains beneficial chemicals in it． |
| D．Bottled water is more convenient than water from the tap． |
What does the underlined word "disintegrate" in the fifth paragraph probably mean_____ .
| A．Be well recycled． | B．Become less poisonous． |
| C．Break into small pieces． | D．Go down below a surface． |
The author's intention of writing this passage is to recommend Americans_____.
| A．drink more water from the tap |
| B．send plastic bottles to landfills |
| C．use water bottles to power light bulls |
| D．buy bottles filled with water from the tap |
Back those photos up
The images were striking. Homes on the East Coast were washed away by Superstorm Sandy. People were in tears, picking up faded photographs, among their only remaining possessions.
If that doesn’t move you to get serious about safekeeping your lifetime of memories, what will? The digital age offers tools never imaginable before—including one-click access to a lifetime of family photos.
Here is a brochure on how to back up (存) your photos and save them online, where they can live forever and be accessible in good times and bad.
Scanning
The first step for those old photos is to scan them and save them to a digital format. Most printers come with scanners these days, so that’s an easy but extremely time-consuming step.
Storing the photos
With your scans in place, import the photos into your computer, and back them up.
You could make multiple copies of the disks and spread them to loved ones. Or you could choose external(外接的) hard drives or USB thumb drive, and add your photo and video collection from your computer.
Online backup
If you need lots of space, look at a pure online backup service, Caronite.
Caronite backs up 300 million files daily. Once you sign up, it starts to pick up everything you have on your hard drive. But photo collection on your computer’s main hard drive charges for $59 a year.
Cloud Storage
For folks who don’t need automatic backup, but instead want to take a more active approach, Dropbox, Google Drive and Microsoft’s SkyDrive let you store files online by yourself, share and instantly access them. All offer free options—2GB of free storage for Dropbox, 5GB for Google and 7GB for SkyDrive. But if you want more, you need to pay.
Bottom Line
The hard drive or flash drive is the cheapest and easiest. But drives can fail. Online services are more expensive, but more secure. With more of us switching back and forth between our computers, such services are the best way to get access to our data from wherever we are.Why does the author mention Superstorm Sandy?
| A．To tell the background of the scanning photos. |
| B．To attract the readers’ interest in the backups. |
| C．describe a severe natural disaster. |
| D．To win the readers’ sympathy. |
What can we know from the passage?
| A．Scanning photos takes little time but costs a lot. |
| B．Caronite charges for backing up photos from hard drive. |
| C．Google Drive offers unlimited free photo storage on line. |
| D．The hard drive or flash drive is the cheapest and safest. |
Which of the following allows storing files automatically?
| A．Caronite. | B．Dropbox. | C．SkyDrive. | D．Flash drive. |
What’s the passage mainly about ?
| A．tell real stories about storage services |
| B．introduce some of the storage services |
| C．describe the functions of storage services |
| D．argue about the advantage of storage services |
As societies develop, their members start to see things not so much according to what they need, but according to what they want. When people have enough money, these wants become demands.
Now, it' s important for the managers in a company to understand what their customers want if they are going to develop effective marketing strategies (策略). There are various ways of doing this. One way at supermarkets, for example, is to interview customers while they're doing their shopping. They can be asked what they prefer to buy and then the results of the research can be studied. This provides information on which to base future marketing strategies. It' s also quite normal for top managers from department stores to spend a day or two each month visiting stores and mixing freely with the public, as if they were ordinary customers, to get an idea of how customers act.
Another way to get information from customers is to give them something. For example, some fast food restaurants give away tickets in magazines or on the street that permit customers to get part of their meal for nothing. As well as being a good way of attracting customers into the restaurants to spend their money, it also allows the managers to get a feel for where to attract customers and which age-groups to attract.
Another strategy used at some well-known parks such as Disneyland is for top managers to spend at least one day in their work, touring the park dressed as Mickey Mouse or something like that. This provides them with a perfect chance to examine the scene and watch the customers without being noticed.The text is designed for _______
| A．customers | B．salesmen | C．researchers | D．managers |
Which of the following can help managers get useful information?
| A．Visiting customers themselves. |
| B．Giving customers free food on the street. |
| C．Visiting parks as ordinary customers. |
| D．Asking customers questions at supermarkets. |
What does the word "this" underlined in the last sentence refer to?
| A．Visiting Disneyland. | B．Wearing attractive clothes. |
| C．Acting Mickey Mouse. | D．Dressing up and walking around. |
The main idea of the text is _________.
| A．how to find out customers' social needs |
| B．how to develop marketing strategies |
| C．how to do market research |
| D．how to encourage customers to spend more money |
Do you like sitting on the edge of your seat? How about falling off it laughing? If so, "Rush Hour 1" is the perfect movie for you. Although it didn’t get the best reviews, it is perfect for those who like a good comedy.
Just as in the first "Rush Hour," Inspector Lee (Jackie Chan) and LAPD Detective James Carter (Chris Tucker) are partners. This time, they are on vacation in China and Carter is looking for a good time, but they are on the job again when a bombing at the American Embassy kills two customs agents. Lee and Carter go to look for a suspect named Ricky Tan. For Lee this is a serious case because Tan killed his father. Will Carter and Lee be able to capture Tan?
Another reason to see this movie perhaps is for the thrilling action, which includes karate fights with Jackie Chan. One of my favorite scenes shows Carter and Lee in a massage parlor (店堂) when everything goes crazy.
"Rush Hour 2" is, of course, really funny with Chris Tucker in the lead role. Chan and Tucker have many clever jokes and remarks. Some of the jokes aren’t enjoyed by the critics, but most will find them entertaining.
With no doubt, the movie was great. I was filled with anxiety about what was going to happen next. Many critics say that sequels (续集) are not as good as the original but this one is great. I especially enjoyed it because the special effects are minimal so everything looks as though it actually happened. The lighting effect is great as well as the sound.
So, if you are looking for a great action movie that leaves you at the edge of your seat and makes you laugh quite a bit, you should rush to see “Rush Hour 2.”According to the author, "Rush Hour 2" is a perfect movie particularly ______.
| A．full of special effects |
| B．with the best actors |
| C．full of humors |
| D．with great lights |
In "Rush Hour 2”, the two leading roles are on duty again because ______.
| A．their vocation in China is limited to a short term |
| B．inspector Lee doesn’t want to have a good time |
| C．the American Embassy in China was attacked |
| D．a suspect named Ricky Tan killed Lee’s father |
In Rush Hour series, the following are usually included EXCEPT _____.
| A．thrilling actions | B．maximal special effects |
| C．karate fights | D．clever jokes and remarks |
If "Rush Hour 3" is shot, what kind of the movie will it be? ______.
| A．Stage tragedy | B．Action movie |
| C．Soap opera | D．Situational comedy |