The way people hold to the belief that a fun-filled, painfree life equals happiness actually
reduces their chances of ever attaining real happiness. If fun and pleasure are equal to
happiness then pain must be equal to unhappiness. But in fact, the opposite is true: more
often than not things that lead to happiness involve some pain.
As a result, many people avoid the very attempts that are the source of true happiness.
They fear the pain inevitably brought by such things as marriage, raising children, professional
achievement, religious commitment, self-improvement.
Ask a bachelor why he resists marriage even though he finds dating to be less and less
satisfying. lf he is honest he will tell you that he is afraid of making a commitment. For
commitment is in fact quite painful. The single life is filled with fun, adventure, excitement.
Marriage has such moments, but they are not its most distinguishing features.
Couples with infant children are lucky to get a whole night"s s1eep or three-day vacation.
I don"t know any parent who would choose the word fun to describe raising children.But
couples who decide not to have children ever know the joys of watching a child grow up
or of playing with a grandchild.
Understanding and accepting that true happiness has nothing to do with fun is one of the
most liberating realizations. It liberates time: now we can devote more hours to activities that
can genuinely increase our happiness. It liberates money: buying that new car or those fancy
clothes that will do nothing to increase our happiness now seems point1ess. And it liberates
us from envy: we now understand that all those who are always having so much fun actually
may not be happy at all.
( )1. A.look forward ( )2. A.wide ( )3. A.watch ( )4. A.whispered ( )5. A.expressing ( )6. A.unnecessary ( )7. A.silence ( )8. A.folded ( )9. A.volunteers ( )10. A.confidently ( )11. A.idea ( )12. A.make ( )13. A.decision ( )14. A.as a result ( )15. A.achieved ( )16. A.predicted ( )17. A.correspond to ( )18. A.but ( )19. A.searching ( )20. A.regards | B. set out B. deep B. discuss B. commented B. explaining B. impossible B. intention B. covered B. hunters B. curiously B. thought B. expect B. feeling B. in other words B. absorbed B. grasped B. head for B. so B. digging B. proves | C. set about C. large C. introduce C. lectured C. telling C. unbelievable C. recreation C. removed C. contributors C. immediately C. goal C. cause C. chance C. now and then C. controlled C. realized C. live up to C. and C. arranging C. occurs | D. give in D. shallow D. instruct D. volunteered D. arguing D. incorrect D. imagination D. deleted D. visitors D. strictly D. belief D. force D. direction D. all the way D. decided D. depended D. fall short of D. or D. discovering D. matters |
阅读理解 | |||
Autumn means different things to different people.It all depends on your personality, said British naturalist Richard Mabey."Personality shapes your view of the season, " he said."You may see it as a fading away, a packing up (结束), or as a time of packing in another sense-the excited gathering of resources before a long journey." If this is true, perhaps it tells us a little about, for instance, Thomas Hood, the 19th century English poet.About November, he wrote: No warmth, no cheerfulness, no healthful ease No shade, no shine, no butterflies, no bees November! On the other hand, another English poet John Keats, already sensing he was seriously ill, was inspired by a late September day to pen one of the most famous poems in the English language, To Autumn.He wrote to a friend afterwards that there was something comforting and healing about it. According to Richard Mabey, Keats has the biological evidence on his side.Autumn is not a time of slowing down, but a time of new beginnings and great movements of creatures.For example, just at the moment that Keats"s "gathering swallows" (in To Autumn) are departing for Africa, millions of creatures are fleeing from the frozen north like Iceland, Greenland and Russia to winter along the east and south coasts of Britain.According to scientists, before falling, the leaves transfer their chlorophyll (叶绿素) and carbohydrates into the woody parts of the tree for safekeeping over winter.What remains are the natural antioxidants (防老剂) in the leaves:the yellow and orange carotenoids (类胡萝卜素), and another protective chemical specially produced for autumn, the brightred anthocyanin (花青素). High color is not a signal of deterioration (退化) and decline, but of detox (排毒的) ability and good health. A century after Keats, the American poet Loren Eiseley wrote in his journal:"Suppose we saw ourselves burning like maples in a golden autumn, and that we could disintegrate (分解) like autumn leaves...dropping their substance like chlorophyll.Would_not_our_attitude towards_death be_different? " | |||
1. From Thomas Hood"s poem, we may infer that________. | |||
A. he suffered a lot from cold November B. he missed the shining summer days very much C. he had a negative attitude towards autumn D. he enjoyed butterflies and bees very much | |||
2. Which word can best describe John Keats"s attitude towards autumn? | |||
A. Optimistic. B. Fearful. C. Doubtful. D. Realistic. | |||
3. In autumn, leaves turn yellow before falling because________. | |||
A. they can"t bear the freezing B. they can"t get enough water from the woody part C. chlorophyll and carbohydrates have been lost through leaves D. chlorophyll and carbohydrates have come back to the woody part | |||
4. What does the underlined sentence mean? | |||
A. Man can never live long, just as leaves must leave the tree annually. B. Man is different from autumn leaves, which will come again the next spring. C. Man should treat death calmly, just like autumn leaves fall to the ground. D. Man should have a positive attitude towards death, quite different from autumn leaves. | |||
阅读理解 | |||
When you are little,it"s not hard to believe you can change the world.I remember my enthusiasm when,at the age of 12,I addressed the people at the Rio Earth Summit."I am only a child," I told them."Yet I know that if all the money spent on war was spent on ending poverty and finding environmental answers,what a wonderful place this world would be.At school you teach us not to fight with others,to work things out,to respect others,to clean up our mess,not to hurt other creatures,to share,not to be greedy.Then why do you go out and do the things you tell us not to do.You grownups say you love us,but I challenge you,please,to make your actions reflect your words." I spoke for six minutes and received a standing ovation.Some of the people even cried.I thought that maybe I had reached some of them,that my speech might actually spur (刺激) action.Now,ten years from Rio,after I"ve sat through many more conferences,I"m not sure what has been achieved.My confidence in the people in power and in the power of an individual"s voice to reach them has been deeply shaken. When I was little, the world was simple. But as a young adult, I"m learning that as we have to make choices-education,career,lifestyle-life gets more and more complicated.We are beginning to feel pressure to produce and be successful.We are taught that economic growth is progress,but we aren"t taught how to seek a happy,healthy way of living.And we are learning that what we wanted for the future when we were 12 was idealistic and naive (天真的). Today I"m no longer a child,but I"m worried about what kind of environment my children will grow up in. I know change is possible,because I am changing,still figuring out what I think.I am still deciding how to live my life.The challenges are great,but if we accept individual responsibility and make choices,we will rise to the challenges, and we will become part of the positive tide of the change. I hope this goal will be met through our common efforts.Thank you all. | |||
1.The purpose of what the speaker said at the age of 12 was to________. | |||
A.end poverty and make schools beautiful B.find environmental answers and show off C.focus people"s attention on some social problems D.find a wonderful place and clean it up | |||
2.What does the underlined word "ovation" in the second paragraph refer to? | |||
A.A long period of laughing. B.A cold and unfriendly welcome. C.An expression used for greeting. D.Great applause or cheering. | |||
3.The information in the text is presented mainly through________. | |||
A.question and answer B.a personal lecture C.cause and effect D.listing steps in a process | |||
4.Which of the following best describes the speaker? | |||
A.He is an experienced educator. B.He is an impolite man. C.He is a man of great worries. D.He is a man of social responsibility. |