Being able to count at least ten people as friends makes us happy,but those with five or fewer are likely to be miserable,researchers say.
Their study of hundreds of men and women also found that people who feel satisfied with their lives always have lots of close friends and regularly make new ones.
While it is not clear whether our friends make us happy or we make friends because we are happy,the researchers say it is clear that we should maintain our friendships. Psychologist Richard Tunney said,“Whatever the reason is,actively working on friendships in the same way as to maintain a marriage is a prerequisite(必备条件) to happiness.”
Dr.Tunney,of Nottingham University,quizzed more than 1,700 people about their satisfaction with their lives and the state of their friendships.Those with five friends or fewer had just a 40 percent chance of being happy. .
In other words they were more likely to be unhappy than happy.Ten was the first number at which people were more likely to be happy than unhappy.The happiest people were those with dozens of friends,according to the study,which was carried out for the National Lottery(彩票).
For women,this meant having 33 friends;for men,the number was 49. Dr.Tunney said,“People who were extremely satisfied with their lives had twice the number of friends of people who were extremely dissatisfied.” Women tended to have fewer friends than men but formed tighter relationships.
Interestingly,the study found that childhood friends are no more likely to make us happy than people we become close to later in life.Lottery winners,however,have a different opinion on life.They are always happier than others despite spending their time with a small circle of old friends.This could be because they trust people they’ve known for a long time.What’s the best title for this passage?
| A.The Secret to Happiness Is to Make New Friends |
| B.Having at Least 10 Good Friends Makes People Happy |
| C.Why Most People Like to Make Friends Regularly |
| D.Men’s and Women’s Friends Are Different |
Which of the following opinions may Richard Tunney NOT agree with?
| A.People with few friends are sure to be unhappy. |
| B.Our friends can make us happy. |
| C.Happiness may come from a good marriage life. |
| D.We may become happier if we have more friends. |
According to the passage,lottery winners ________.
| A.enjoy making new friends |
| B.make new friends easily |
| C.like staying with old friends |
| D.have no time to make friends |
We can conclude from the passage that ________.
| A.it’s enough for one person to have ten friends |
| B.unhappy people must have few friends |
| C.childhood friends make people happier than adulthood ones |
| D.friendships play a major role in people’s life |
When I was 13, my bedroom walls were covered with posters of the Monkees and Beatles. I wrote fan letters and daydreamed about meeting the objects of my affections. I begged my parents to attend every rock concert and watch every TV show featuring my favorite celebrities (名人) ; my friends and I discussed for hours all the things we would say and do when we met our favorite movie stars and pop singers. I drove my mother crazy! But after a few years, my obsession (迷恋) stars faded as I matured and gained the confidence to socialize with "real" boys.
In the 35 years since I was a teenager, celebrity worship (崇拜) has increased among teens due to the explosion of television celebrity gossip shows, and instant access to celebrity news on the Internet. It's no wonder that many teens are obsessed with stars when news programs often are filled with entertainment stories and the lives of celebrities.
Celebrity worship syndrome (综合征) is now considered a personality disorder. While it is normal for teenagers to follow the lives of their favorite stars, parents should try to monitor everything their child finds interesting. Parents should take action if they suspect a teen is too obsessed with celebrities and showing little interest in school or withdrawing from the family. When teens talk a lot about celebrities and view them as just means of entertainment, this is considered normal celebrity worship. However, when a teenager is obsessed with a star and often expresses a desire to have a close personal relationship with a celebrity or feels they have a special connection to a star, this may be the time for concern.
Recent studies have shown that teens who develop an unhealthy obsession with celebrities often suffer from low self confidence and depression. Teens who are overly obsessed with stars often have damaged relationships with their parents.We learn from the second paragraph that ____.
| A.teens today are not so obsessed with celebrities |
| B.the author is surprised at celebrity worship |
| C.the media greatly contributes to celebrity worship today |
| D.celebrities expose their lives too much |
Parents should become concerned when their children ____.
| A.talk a lot about celebrities with others |
| B.put up celebrity posters in their bedrooms |
| C.ask to go to their favorite star's concert |
| D.desire a close personal relationship with their favorite star |
The last paragraph implies that ____.
| A.parents should not care too much about a child's celebrity worship |
| B.children can normally get out of celebrity worship when they are older |
| C.children with celebrity worship usually have high opinion of themselves |
| D.celebrity worship syndrome can be a serious problem if left overlooked |
What is most likely to be talked about in the paragraph following the passage?
| A.The harm of celebrity worship syndrome. |
| B.What to do with children's celebrity worship syndrome. |
| C.More signs of celebrity worship syndrome. |
| D.Who will suffer most from celebrity worship syndrome. |
For the last couple of weeks, I had been stuck in front of my computer working on a project that was very important to me. My every waking hour was consumed by the project and although I imagined that I would feel happy after completing parts of the project, I was confused to find that instead, I was feeling rather depressed. I tried a range of methods to help cheer myself up. I had a relaxing bath, cooked a delicious meal to enjoy with my family and even watched a lighthearted movie, but to no avail. It was only when I turned to meditation(沉思)for a solution that the answer came to me: turn to nature!
The very next day, I grabbed my camera and a bottle of water and set off to spend a few hours walking in a nature reserve, even though it was pouring with rain. Within a couple of minutes I felt alive again. To be honest, I felt like a young school girl again and had to stop myself from hopping along the path singing, "I'm singing in the rain", a song I used to sing when I was a child. I think as adults we often try too hard to control our inner children and as a result we restrain(限制) our own spirits, which only leads to depression and stress.
Interestingly, it has been shown that people who spend 40 minutes walking in a nature reserve have a drop in their blood pressure levels, but this does not happen when they spend a similar amount of time walking in a busy city centre.
If you feel a little low in spirit and know that you have spent too much time indoors, relax completely, remove your shoes and let your inner child come out and play.The author walked in a nature reserve in the rain in order to__________.
| A.take photos |
| B.cheer herself up |
| C.hop along the path |
| D.find a solution to the project |
The underlined part "to no avail" in Paragraph 1 probably means " __________".
| A.uninteresting | B.unrelated |
| C.unsuccessful | D.unexpected |
In the author's opinion, __________.
| A.a bath can make people relaxed |
| B.adults should express their inner feelings freely |
| C.walking in a busy city centre harms people's health |
| D.depression is usually caused by hard work |
The last paragraph mainly serves as a(n) __________.
| A. suggestion | B.explanation |
| C.introduction | D.reminder |
After I made it to the city center, I started to feel it might be easy for a foreigner to deal with the great size of Beijing. With growing confidence, I decided to take the subway to the hotel, not realizing that the network didn’t go that far. Impressed with the cleanliness of the station, I bought a ticket and boarded the first train that came along.
After a few minutes I asked in English of course a young man seated next to me where I should get off closest to the Friendship Hotel. Wearing a smart business suit and tie, he would surely speak English, wouldn’t he? Unfortunately, he couldn’t understand me but seemed very friendly. I showed him the room card with all the information of the Friendship Hotel in Chinese characters. He looked at it, and then his eyes moved quickly to the carriage (车厢) subway map. Next, he raised three fingers of his right hand.
In Australia, raising fingers at someone is not usually nice, but this man wasn’t smiling. At the next station he showed me two fingers. Now in Australia, that’s really rude, but I got the message. When we stopped at the third station, he didn’t just point to the door, but got up, took me out of the train, and led me to the top of the stairs, and out onto the street. Then he stopped a taxi and told the driver where to take me.
All this came from a man who couldn’t speak my language, and I couldn’t speak his. I was now speechless, especially when he refused my offer of money. I felt a little embarrassed having even thought he would accept a tip.
This experience made it clear I had to learn some Chinese quickly or my adventures might start turning into bad luck.The author decided to take the subway because ________.
| A.he lived near the city center |
| B.the network covered most of the stops |
| C.he believed in his ability to deal with the trip |
| D.he had a good impression of its cleanliness |
Having been shown the room card, the young man_________.
| A.understood the author well |
| B.still remained puzzled |
| C.answered the author directly |
| D.pointed at the subway map |
Which of the following can’t be used to describe the young man?
| A.helpful | B.rude |
| C.warmhearted | D.caring |
The author’s purpose of writing this passage is mainly to ________.
| A.prove the importance of being careful |
| B.appreciate the kindness of the young man |
| C.complain some cultural misunderstanding |
| D.describe one of his adventurous experiences |
You may have noticed something different when you ate at your favorite restaurant. Or perhaps you picked up on it while looking through your social media apps (社交媒体软件) . You guessed it ---we’re becoming a foodie (吃货) culture.
For some, that means photographing every dish, but others are taking it one step further. Sophia Hampton, a senior at Staples High School in US, chooses to make her own food. She has been published in Future Chefs, a cookbook of recipes (食谱) by teens.
Hampton’s best advice for those who want to be foodies is to get in the kitchen.
“Start cooking,” she said. “There are so many resources online, like recipes and articles about food. Go to your local farmers’ market and start cooking with them.
Besides blogs and online resources, there are also hands-on cooking classes for students. The Chopping Block, a Chicago cooking school, offers many different classes for teens, including courses on chocolate and French food.
By attending cooking classes, surfing online and going to restaurants, you can find endless recipes. But sometimes becoming a real foodie means being behind a camera. As our food-loving culture becomes more popular and teen-friendly, social media apps like Facebook, have become major players in food culture.
“Getting involved in foodie culture is as easy as having a camera and a social media app,” one foodie said. “I always go to streets and farmers’ markets to take beautiful pictures of food. Wherever food prices are expensive, the photos are free.”What does Hampton advise those who want to be foodies to do?
| A.Post their recipes online. |
| B.Cook food by themselves. |
| C.Eat at their favorite restaurant. |
| D.Take photos of every dish they eat. |
Where can students find new recipes, according to the article?
①cooking classes ②online resources
③new restaurant④public libraries
| A.①②③ | B.①③④ | C.②③④ | D.①②④ |
What has made foodie culture more popular, according to the article?
| A.People’s growing interest in traditional culture. |
| B.The convenience of getting different food. |
| C.The use of cameras and social media. |
| D.The drop in food prices. |
The average British 22 year-old has more than 1,000 online friends on sites like Facebook, compared to those in their fifties who have fewer than 20, according to a new study.
The “Facebookgeneration gap” has been highlighted in a new piece of research which shows that the average 22 year-old claims to have 1,000 or more friends on sites like Facebook.
People in their twenties have more than 50 times as many digital friends as those who are over 50 years old, despite the popularity of sites like Facebook with the older generations, says a study conducted by consumer research group Intersperience.
The news comes during the same week Facebook's second-in command, Sheryl Sandberg, is visiting the UK to deliver a speech at the London School of Economics.
Facebook's chief operating officer is going to speak about how the social web has transformed people's friendships and relationships.
The survey found that there was a clear link between people's age and the number of online friends they have.The researchers found that those aged 13 to 16, have an average of 450 friends on social networks, with girls having slightly more friends that boys.People in their thirties tend to have between 100 and 200 friends, while those in their forties have between 50 and 100.
However, those using sites such as Facebook over the age of 50, tended to have 20 or less friends.The oldest person surveyed was 70 years old.
Paul Hudson, Intersperience's chief executive, said: "Our research underlines fundamental (根本的)changes taking place in British society as a result of finally entering the digital age.Half of the UK population are on Facebook now.In a social media context, a 'friend' means something different to a 20 year old than to a 50 year old."
He added: “Social networking activity is just one example of how different groups are adapting to the digital age at different paces.In this case, age is the determining factor - however in other instances it is not.”Which is the determining factor in social networking activity?
| A.Gender | B.Age | C.Relationship | D.Pace |
What can we learn from the survey?
| A.The older a person is, the less online friends he may have |
| B.Girls have remarkably more friends than boys |
| C.People in their thirties tend to have between 50 and 100 friends |
| D.The link between people’s age and the number of online friends they have is not clear |
According to the passage, the following statements are True except.
| A.The oldest people surveyed is 70 |
| B.Paul Hudson will deliver a speech at the London School of Economics |
| C.Different groups are adapting to the digital age at different paces |
| D.Facebook is popular in UK now |
What’s the main idea of the passage?
| A.Social networking activity |
| B.The digital age |
| C.“Facebook generation gap”—Facebook generation has more than 1,000 friends |
| D.Changes taking place in British society |