People who are too happy die younger than their more downbeat（pessimistic） peers(同龄人), claims new research.
A study which followed children from the 1920s to old age showed that people who were rated 'highly cheerful' by teachers at school died younger than their more reserved classmates。
This was because people who were too happy were more likely to suffer from mental disorders such as bipolar, making them less fearful and more likely to take risks that increase the chance of having a fatal accident.
Being too cheerful - especially at inappropriate times - can also rouse anger in others, increasing the risk of a person coming to harm.
Researchers from a variety of universities worldwide also discovered that trying too hard to be happy often ended up leaving people feeling more depressed than before, as putting an effort into improving their mood often left people feeling cheated.
And magazine articles offering tips on how to be happy were also blamed for worsening depression.
One study saw participants asked to read an article offering ways to improve your mood, and follow one of the tips to see how effective it was.
Participants then took the advice offered - such as watching an upbeat film - often concentrated too hard on trying to improve their mood rather than letting it lift naturally。
This meant that by the time the film had ended, they often felt angry and cheated by the advice given, putting them in a far worse mood than when they had started watching.
However, results of the study, published in the journal Perspectives on Psychological Science, revealed that the key to true happiness was much more simple: meaningful relationships with friends and family members.
Study co-author Professor June Gruber, from the department of psychology at Yale University in the United States, said of people who actively tried to be happy: 'When you're doing it with the motivation or expectation that these things ought to make you happy, that can lead to disappointment and decreased happiness. '
'The strongest predictor of happiness is not money, or external recognition through success or fame. It's having meaningful social relationships.'
She added: 'That means the best way to increase your happiness is to stop worrying about being happy and instead divert your energy to nurturing the social bonds you have with other people.'People who are too happy die younger than their more downbeat（pessimistic） peers because________.
| A．because they are more likely to suffer from mental disorders. |
| B．because they have more chance of having traffic accidents. |
| C．because they have meaningful social relationship. |
| D．because they stop worry about being happy. |
What does the underlined word in Paragraph 2 mean?
| A．happy | B．unwilling to show feelings | C．angry | D．narrow-minded |
The most important factor(因素) of true happiness is __________.
| A．to have meaningful relationships with friends and family members. |
| B．to stop worry about being happy. |
| C．to devote your energy to developing the social bonds. |
| D．to have feeling of success. |
Which of the following sentences is correct according to the passage?
| A．magazine articles offering tips on how to be happy can help you reducing depression. |
| B．trying too hard to be happy often leaves people feeling more depressed than before. |
| C．When you're doing things with the motivation or expectation, that can lead to disappointment and decreased happiness. |
| D．The strongest factor of happiness is external recognition through success. |
A HALF - EMPTY BASKET
Once there was a poor farmer and his farm belonged to(属于) a rich man. One day he brought a basket of apples to the rich man’s house. On the doorsteps, he met two monkeys dressed like children. They jumped onto the basket to eat the apples and threw some on the ground. The farmer politely took off his hat and asked the monkeys to get off. They obeyed(服从) and the farmer went into the house. He asked to see the rich man. A servant took him to the room where the rich man was sitting.
"I have brought you the basket of apples you asked for," he said.
"But why have you brought a half-empty basket?" the rich man asked.
"I met your children outside, and they stole(偷) some of the apples."Why did the farmer bring apples to the rich man? Because
| A．his farm belonged to the rich man | B．he liked the rich man |
| C．he was poor | D．the rich man’s children liked apples |
What did the monkeys do when the farmer was on the doorsteps?
| A．They jumped and jumped. | B．They played. |
| C．They ate some of the apples. | D．They ran away. |
The monkeys left the basket because
| A．they had thrown apples on the ground |
| B．the farmer had politely asked them to get off |
| C．they were afraid of the hat |
| D．the farmer was angry wit h them |
How did the rich man feel when he saw the basket? He felt .
| A．pleased | B．unhappy | C．excited | D．moved |
The clock struck eleven at night. The whole house was quiet. Everyone was in bed except me. Under the strong light, I looked sadly before a huge pile of troublesome stuff they call “books”.
I was going to have my examination the next day. "When can I go to bed?" I asked myself. I didn’t answer, in fact I dared not.
The clock struck 12."Oh, dear!" I cried, "ten more books to read before I can go to bed!” We pupils are the most wretched creatures in the world. Dad does not agree with me on this. He did not have to work so hard when he was a boy ."
The clock struck one. I was quite hopeless now. I forgot all I had learnt. I was too tired to go on. I did the only thing I could. I prayed, “Oh, God, Please help me pass the exam tomorrow. I do promise to work hard afterwards, Amen.” My eyes were heavy, so heavy that I could hardly open them. A few minutes later, with my head on the desk, I fell asleep.When the author was going over his lessons, all the others in the house were_____ .
| A．outside | B．working in bed |
| C．asleep | D．quietly laughing at him |
Reviewing his lessons didn’t help him because ________. .
| A．it was too late at night |
| B．he was very tired |
| C．his eyes l ids were so heavy that he couldn’t keep them open |
| D．he hadn’t studied hard before the examination |
What do you suppose happened to the author？
| A．He went to a church to pray again | B．He passed the exam by luck |
| C．He was punished by his teacher | D．He failed in the exam |
The best title for the passage would be __________ .
| A．Working Far into the Night | B．The Night Before the Examination |
| C．A Slow Student | D．Going Over My Lessons |
Jean Driscoll can go faster in her wheelchair than the world’s best marathoners(马拉松运动员) can run!
In April, Jean finished the Boston Marathon in 1 hour 34 minutes 22 seconds. That’s about 33 minutes faster than the winning male runner! She competed on the track, too. She was second in the 800 meter wheelchair race at the 1992 Olympics.
Jean doesn’t like to be told she’s brave. “I’m in sports because I’m a competitive person!” Jean was born with spina befida(脊柱裂), a birth illness that damages the spine（脊椎）. She began to use a wheelchair to get around in high school. Then she tried wheelchair race and was amazed.” Players crashed into each other and fell out of their chairs,” she says, “It was fun.”
Jean tried other wheelchair sports. At the University of Illinois, her wheelchair basketball team won two national titles.
Now Jean coaches and teaches. She tries to get people to set goals. “When I sign my a utograph（亲笔签名）,says Jean, “I write, dream big and work hard.”What made Jean take part in sports?
| A．She was competitive. | B．She was brave. |
| C．She was strong. | D．She was disabled. |
What kind of education did she receive?
| A．High school. | B．Junior middle school. |
| C．Primary school. | D．High education. |
What is Jean’s advice on how to succeed?
| A．Work hard. | B．Hope for the best. |
| C．Have great wishes and work hard. | D．Dream a lot. |
When I was about 12, I had an enemy, a girl who liked to point out my shortcomings(缺点). Wee k by week her list grew: I was very thin, I wasn’t a good student, I talked too much, I was too proud, and so on. I tried to hear all this as long as I could. At last, I became very angry. I ran to my father with tears in my eyes.
He listened to me quietly, then he asked. “Are the things she says true or not? Janet, didn’t you ever wonder what you’re really like ? Well, you now have that girl’s opinion. Go and make a list of everything she said and mark the points that are true. Pay no attention to the other things she said.”
I did as he told me. To my great surprise, I discovered that about half the things were true. Some of them I couldn’t change (like being very thin), but a good number I could—and suddenly I wanted to change. For the first time I go to fairly clear picture of myself.
I brought the list back to Daddy. He refused to take it.“That’s just for you,” he said.“You know better than anyone else the truth about yourself. But you have to learn to listen, not just close your ears in anger and feeling hurt. When something said about you is true, you’ll find it will be of help to you. Our world is full of people who think they know your duty. Don’t shut your ears. Listen to them all, but hear the truth and do what you know is the right thing to do.”
Daddy’s advice has returned to me at many important moments. In my life, I’ve never had a better piece of advice.What did the father do after he had heard his daughter’s complaint?
| A．He told her not to pay any attention to what her“enemy” had said. |
| B．He criticized (批评) her and told her to overcome her shortcomings. |
| C．He refused to take the list and have a look at it. |
| D．He told her to write down all that her“enemy” had said about her and pay attention only to the things that were true |
What does “Week by week her list grew” mean?
| A．Week by week she discovered more shortcomings of mine and pointed them out to me. |
| B．She had made a list of my shortcomings and she kept on adding new ones to its that it was growing longer and longer. |
| C．I was having more and more shortcomings as time went on. |
| D．Week by week, my shortcomings grew more serious. |
Why did her father listen to her quietly?
| A．Because he believed that what her daughter’s “enemy” said was mostly true. |
| B．Because he had been so angry with his daughter’s shortcomings that he wanted to show this by keeping silent for a while. |
| C．Because he knew that his daughter would not listen to him at that moment. |
| D．Because he wasn’t quite sure which girl was telling the truth. |
Which do you think would be the best title for this passage?
| A．Not an Enemy, but the Best Friend | B．The Best Advice I’ve Ever Had |
| C．My Father | D．My Childhood |
Growing up, I remember my father as a silent, serious man—not the sort of person around whom one could laugh. As a teenager arriving in America, knowing nothing, I wanted a father who could explain the human journey. In college, when friends called home for advice, I would sink into deep depression for what I did not have.
Today, at twenty-seven, I have come to rediscover them in ways that my teenage mind would not allow—as adults and as friends with their own faults and weaknesses.
One night after my move back home, I overheard my father on the telephone. There was some trouble. Later, Dad shared the problem with me. Apparently my legal training had earned me some privileges in his eyes. I talked through the problem with Dad, analyzing the purposes of the people involved and offering several negotiation strategies(策略).He listened patiently before finally admitting, “I can’t think like that. I am a simple man.”
Dad is a brilliant scientist who can deconstruct the building blocks of nature. Yet human nature is a mystery to him. That night I realized that he was simply not skilled at dealing with people, much less the trouble of a conflicted teenager. It’s not in his nature to understand human desires.
And so, there it was—it was no one’s fault that my father held no interest in human lives while I placed great importance in them. We are at times born more sensitive, wide-eyed, and dreamy than our parents and become more curious and idealistic than them. Dad perhaps never expected me for a child. And I, who knew Dad as an intelligent man, had never understood that his intelligence did not cover all of my feelings.
It has saved me years of questioning and confusion. I now see my parents as people who have other relationships than just Father and Mother. I now overlook their many faults and weaknesses, which once annoyed me.
I now know my parents as friends: people who ask me for advice; people who need my support and understanding. And I have come to see my past clearer.What was the author’s impression of her father when she was a teenager?
| A．Friendly but irresponsible. |
| B．Intelligent but severe. |
| C．Cold and aggressive. |
| D．Caring and communicative. |
Why did the author feel depressed when her friends called home?
| A．She did not have a phone to call home. |
| B．Her father did not care about her human journey. |
| C．Her father was too busy to answer her phone. |
| D．Her father could not give her appropriate advice. |
After the author overheard her father on the telephone, _________ .
| A．he blamed her for impoliteness. |
| B．he rediscovered human nature. |
| C．he consulted with her about his problem. |
| D．he changed his attitude towards the author. |
Which of the following is the best title of this passage?
| A．My Parents as Friends. |
| B．My Parents as advisers. |
| C．My father—a serious man. |
| D．My father—an intelligent scientist. |