Spending as little as $5 a day on someone els...

Spending as little as $5 a day on someone else could significantly boost happiness, the team at the University of British Columbia and Harvard Business School found on Thursday.

Their experiments on more than 630 Americans showed they were measurably happier when they spent money on others—even if they thought spending the money on themselves would make them happier.

“We wanted to test our theory that how people spend their money is at least as important as how much money they earn,” said Elizabeth Dunn, a psychologist at the University of British Columbia. They asked their 600 volunteers first to rate their general happiness, report their annual (yearly) income and detail their monthly spending including bills, gifts for themselves, girls for others and donations to charity.

“Regardless of how much income each person made, those who spent money on others reported greater happiness, while those who spent more on themselves did not,” Dunn said in a statement.

Dunn’s team also surveyed 16 employees at a company in Boston before and after they received an annual profit-sharing bonus of between $3,000 and $8,000. “Employees who devoted more of their bonus to pro-social spending experienced greater happiness after receiving the bonus and the manner in which they spent that bonus was a more important predictor of their happiness than the size of the bonus itself” they wrote in their report, published in the journal Science.

　They gave their volunteers $5 or $20 and half got clear instructions on how to spend it. Those who spent the money on someone or something else reported feeling happier about it.

“These findings suggest that very minor alterations (changes) in spending allocations (shares)—as little as $5—may be enough to produce real gains in happiness on a given day，”Dunn said.

1. What is the general idea of the passage?

A. The more you earn, the greater happiness you will get.

B. Spending more money on yourself will make you happier.

C. Money can buy happiness, but only if you spend it on someone else.

D. You can spend only 5$ a day to get happiness.

2.The underlined word “boost” in the first paragraph probably means_______.

A. help to find     B. help to bring    C. help to increase     D. help to get

3.Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage?

A. Those who spend more money on others can get much more bonus.

B. People usually think spending money on themselves will make them happier.

C. Very small changes in spending your money may be enough to gain happiness.

D. Researchers think that how people spend their money is at least as important as how much money they earn.

4.It can be inferred from the 6th paragraph that ______.

A. the volunteers not given 5$ or 20$ spent their own money on themselves.

B. those who spent the money on someone or something else felt happier about it.

C. the volunteers were given 5$ or 20$ as a reward for the experiment.

D. half of the volunteers could spend the money as they liked.

高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

Spending as little as $5 a day on someone else could significantly boost happiness, the team at the University of British Columbia found.

Their experiments on more than 630 Americans showed they were measurably happier when they spent money on others even if they thought spending the money on themselves would make them happier.

“We wanted to test our theory that how people spend their money is at least as important as how much money they earn,” said Elizabeth Dunn, a psychologist at the University of British Columbia. They asked their 600 volunteers first to rate their general happiness, report their annual income and detail their monthly spending including bills, gifts for themselves, gifts for others and donations to charity.

“No matter how much income each person made, those who spent money on others reported greater happiness, while those who spent more on themselves did not,” Dunn said in a statement.

Dunn’s team also surveyed 16 employees at a company in Boston before and after they received an annual profit-sharing bonus of between $3,000 and $8,000. “Employees who devoted more of their bonus to prosocial spending experienced greater happiness after receiving the bonus, and the manner in which they spent that bonus was a more important predictor of their happiness than the size of the bonus itself,” they wrote in their report, published in the journal Science.

They gave their volunteers $5 or $20 and half got clear instructions on how to spend it. Those who spent the money on someone or something else reported feeling happier about it.

“These findings suggest that very minor changes in spending allocations-as little as $5 may be enough to produce real gains in happiness on a given day,” Dunn said.

1.What is the general idea of the passage?

A．The more you earn, the greater happiness you will get.

B．Spending more money on yourself will make you happier.

C．Money can buy happiness, but only if you spend it on someone else.

D．You can spend only $5 a day on someone else to get happiness.

2.The underlined work “boost” in the first paragraph probably means ________ .

A．help to find        B．help to increase     C．help to bring       D．help to get

3.Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage?

A．Those who spend more money on others can get much more bonus.

B．People usually think spending money on themselves will make them happier.

C．Very small changes in spending your money may be enough to gain happiness.

D．Researchers think that how people spend their money is at least as important as how much money they earn.

4.Dunn is ________ .

A．a reporter in a journal                    B．a volunteer in the experiment

C．an employee in a company                D．a psychologist at a university

5.It can be inferred from the 6th paragraph that ________ .

A．the volunteers not given $5 or $20 spent their own money on themselves

B．those who spent the money on someone or something else felt happier about it

C．the volunteers were given $5 or $20 as a reward for the experiment

D．half of the volunteers could spend the money as they liked

高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

Do you want to put a smile on someone’s face? Maybe make their day a little bit brighter? 1. In fact, many things can be done as a part of your normal routine and cost little or nothing. Try out one or more of the following ways today to put smiles on their faces.

2. Handwritten notes that are given to encourage someone, not just for thanking someone for a gift, are rare. That makes handwritten notes even more special. Start a new practice of sitting down and writing an encouraging note on a regular basis.

Take a friend out to lunch or invite him or her to your home for a meal. 3. If you feel like being more adventurous, throw a party for several of your friends.

Deliver a meal to someone you know that is sick or having a rough time. We have all been sick and know the last thing you want to do is being out of bed. There are also times when life is tough. 4.

Ask a friend if you can take care of their kids for a day or an evening. If you have been a parent, you know the value of being able to have a few hours of “adult time” without worrying about the children. 5. Offer to do it when the parents want to relax themselves.

Besides, there is one more way that can’t be ignored. Give a real smile to everyone you meet. You will experience how easy it is to get others to smile!

A. Thank everyone that supports you.

B. Write an encouraging note to others.

C. Helping others will be rewarded with more smiles.

D. Don’t wait to be asked to baby-sit when it is required.

E. It doesn’t have to take much time or money on your part.

F. You can be a great help by providing a meal that can be enjoyed.

G. You will get to know each other even better than you do right now.

高二英语七选五中等难度题查看答案及解析

Sweetest Day is celebrated on the third Saturday in October as a day to make someone happy. It is an occasion which offers all of us an opportunity to remember not only the sick，the aged，and children who have lost their parents，but also friends，workmates，relatives and neighbors whose helpfulness and kindness we have enjoyed.

Over 60 years ago，when a Cleveland man noticed that some people，such as children who lost their parents and patients who lay in bed，too often felt forgotten and neglected，he developed in his mind the idea of showing them that they were remembered. He did this by giving them small gifts. With the help of his friends and neighbors，he gave those people small gifts on a Saturday in October. During the years that followed，other Clevelanders began to take part in the celebration，which came to be called "Sweetest Day". Over time，the Sweetest Day's idea of spreading cheer to the poor，the sick and children who had lost their parents was broadened（扩大）to include everyone，and became an occasion for remembering others with a kind act or a small gift. Soon the idea spread to other cities all over the USA.

Sweetest Day is not based on any single group's religious beliefs or on a family relationship. It is a reminder（提醒人记忆之物）that a thoughtful word or deed enriches life and gives it meaning. Because of many people remembering to take the form of gift giving，Sweetest Day offers us the opportunity to show others that we care，in a positive way.

1.What can we learn from the first paragraph？

A. Sweetest Day is a day to bring happiness to others.

B. Sweetest Day is just an occasion for caring about disabled people.

C. Sweetest Day is an occasion for lovers to express love.

D. Sweetest Day is celebrated on the third Sunday in October.

2.Which of the following has little relationship to Sweetest Day?

A. Visiting sick people in the hospital.

B. Visiting children who have lost their parents.

C. Giving friends small gifts.

D. Giving flowers to sweethearts.

3.The underlined word "neglected" in the second paragraph means" __________".

A. remembered B. hated

C. paid little or no attention to D. disappointed

4.What do most people usually do to show their care to others according to the passage？

A. Give them some money.

B. Give them gifts.

C. Send them their regards.

D. Offer help directly.

高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

There will be days when you do not have much to do. Perhaps because you are waiting for someone else in a different department or a different company to respond to a request. As the clock ticks past 5 pm, there may be no purpose in staying at your desk. But you can see you hard at work and, more important. they can see you. So you make an effort to look busy.

Some of this may he a self-perpetuating(白生自存）cycle. If bosses do not like to go home before their workers, and workers fear leaving before their bosses, everyone is trapped. Staff may feel that they will not get a pay rise, or a promotion, if they are not seen to be putting in maximum effort. This is easily confused with long hours. Managers, who are often no good at judging employees 'performance, use time in the office as an alternative.

The consequence is often wasted effort. Rather than work hard, you work hard to make bosses think that you are. Leaving a jacket on your office chair, walking around purposefully with a notebook or clipboard and sending out emails at odd hours are three of the best-known tricks. After a while this can result in collective self-cheat that this pretence is actual work.

But presenteeism(出勤）has more serious consequences. As well as reducing productivity, this can increase medical expenses for the employer. According to a study, these costs can be six times higher for employers than the costs of absenteeism among workers. To take one example, research published in the British Medical Journal found that Japanese employees with lower-back pain were three times more likely to turn up for work than in Britain. As a result, those workers were more likely to experience greater pain and to suffer from depression. What could be more upset than being in pain while feeling trapped at work?

None of this is to say that employers haven't the right to expect workers to be in the office for an acceptable proportion of time. Unavoidably there will be a need for some(preferably short)meetings. Dealing with colleagues face-to-face creates a feeling of trust and friendship, allows for a useful exchange of ideas and enables workers to have a better sense of their needs.

But modern machinery like smartphones and laptops is portable. It can be used as easily at home as in the office. Turing an office into a prison, with prisoners allowed home for the evenings, does nothing for the creativity that is increasingly demanded of office workers as routine tasks are automated. To be productive you need presence of mind, not being present in the flesh.

1.Why do employees still stay at their desk after work?

A.To keep their bosses company.

B.To get more overtime allowance.

C.To put extra efforts into their work.

D.To give their bosses a good impression.

2.One of the consequences of presenteeism is that___________?

A.employers will pay workers higher wages

B.workers will suffer physically and mentally

C.workers will perform their job more efficiently

D.the effort put in by workers will finally pay off

3.Working in the office for some time can help_________?

A.build better social bonds

B.bring bosses more profits

C.organize a meeting efficiently

D.satisfy workers 'material needs

4.What would the author probably agree with?

A.Presenteeism can't help develop creativity.

B.Absence from work reduces productivity.

C.Presence at work will be more joyful.

D.Technology makes life puzzling.

高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

Children like to imagine they are someone else in a game. As a parent you might never guess how it can benefit your child. It helps your child：

Develop Social Skills

As children play pretend games，they explore relationships between family members，friends and co­workers and learn more about how people interact.Playing doctors，they imagine how physicians care for their patients.Imaginative play helps develop empathy(移情) with others.If children can imagine how it feels to be left out of a game or to lose a pet，they are better able to help those in need.They become more willing to play fair，to share，and to cooperate.

Build Self­confidence

Young children have very little control over their lives.Imagining oneself as a builder of skyscrapers or a super hero defending the planet is inspiring to children.It helps them develop confidence in their abilities and their potential.

Promote Intellectual Growth

Using imagination is the beginning of abstract thought.Children who can see a king's castle in a mound of sand or a delicious dinner in a mud pie are learning to think symbolically.This skill is important in school where a child will have to learn that numbers symbolize groups of objects，letters symbolize sounds，and so on.

Practice Language Skills

Kids who pretend with their friends do a lot of talking.This helps increase their vocabulary，improve sentence structure and develop communication skills.

Get Rid of Fears

Pretending can help children get rid of their fears and worries.When children role­play the big，bad monster under the bed，they gain a sense of control over him and he doesn't seem quite so big or so bad.

1.Which of the following can help children develop social skills in a game?

2.Why can imagination build children's self­confidence?

3.Which of the following is NOT true according to the article?

4.The best title for this passage probably is________.

高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

Children like to imagine they are someone else in a game. As a parent you might never guess how it can benefit your child. It helps your child:

Develop Social Skills

As children play pretend games, they explore relationships between family members, friends and coworkers and learn more about how people interact. Playing doctor, they imagine how physicians care for their patients. Imaginative play helps of a game or to lose a pet, they are better able to help those in need. They become more willing to play fair, to share, and to cooperate.

Build Self-confidence

Children have very little control over their lives. Imagining oneself as a builder of skyscrapers or a super hero defending the planet is inspiring to children. It helps them develop confidence in their abilities and their potential.

Promote Intellectual Growth

Using imagination is the beginning of abstract thought. Children who can see a king’s castle in a mound of sand or a delicious dinner in a mud pie are learning to think symbolically(象征性地). This skill is important in school where a child will have to learn that numbers symbolize groups of objects, letters symbolize sounds, and so on.

Practice Language Skills

Kids who pretend with their friends do a lot of talking. This helps increase their vocabulary, improve sentence structure and develop communication skills.

Get Rid of Fears

Pretending can help children get rid of their fears and worries. When children role-play the big, bad monsters under the bed, they gain a sense of control over him and he doesn’t seem quite so big or so bad.

1.What can help children develop social skills in a game?

A. Pretending to be a super hero.

B. Preparing a delicious dinner with mud.

C. Helping a doctor to attend patients.

D. Pretending to be a doctor.

2.Why can imagination build children’s self-confidence?

A. It makes them feel as if they were much more powerful than they really are.

B. It helps them protect people and make much greater progress.

C. It helps them gain control over themselves.

D. It makes them more willing to play fair.

3.Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?

A. While playing pretend games, children learn to get along with others.

B. Playing pretend games helps children to do well while they are in school.

C. Playing pretend games only helps children psychologically.

D. Playing pretend games is good for children’s development.

4.The best title for this passage probably is “________”.

A. Benefits of Playing pretend games

B. Tips on How to Improve Your Children’s Imagination

C. Advantages of Playing Outdoors

D. Skills in Playing pretend games

高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

If ______ to look after luggage for someone else, inform the police at once.

A. asked B. to ask　 C. asking　 D. having asked

高二英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析

WASHINGTON — Money can buy happiness, but only if you spend it on someone else, according to researchers.

Spending as little as $5 a day on someone else could significantly boost happiness, the team at the University of British Columbia and Harvard Business School found on Thursday.

Their experiments on more than 630 Americans showed they were measurably happier when they spent money on others --- even if they thought spending the money on themselves would make them happier.

“We wanted to test our theory that how people spend their money is at least as important as how much money they earn,” said Elizabeth Dunn, a psychologist at the University of British Columbia.

They asked their 600 volunteers first to rate their general happiness, report their annual income and detail their monthly spending including bills, gifts for themselves, gifts for others and donations to charity.

“Regardless of how much income each person made, those who spent money on others reported greater happiness, while those who spent more on themselves did not,” Dunn said in a statement.

Dunn’s team also surveyed 16 employees at a company in Boston before and after they received an annual profit-sharing bonus of between $3,000 and $8,000.

“Employees who devoted more of their bonus to pro-social spending experienced greater happiness after receiving the bonus, and the manner in which they spent that bonus was a more important predictor of their happiness than the size of the bonus itself,” they wrote in their report, published in the journal Science.

“Finally, participants who were randomly (随机地) required to spend money on others experienced greater happiness than those required to spend money on themselves,” they said.

They gave their volunteers $5 or $20 and half got clear instructions on how to spend it. Those who spent the money on someone or something else reported feeling happier about it.

“These findings suggest that very minor adjustment in spending allocations (分配) --- as little as $5 --- may be enough to produce real gains in happiness on a given day,” Dunn said.

This could also explain why people are no happier even though US society is richer.

“Indeed, although real incomes have increased dramatically in recent decades, happiness levels have remained largely flat within developed countries across time,” they wrote.

1.

Dune’s experiment on 630 Americans was to ________.

A. help people make careful plans for their money                 B. encourage people to be generous to others

C. see how to spend money is important to happiness               D. test whether $5 is enough to buy happiness

2.

What can we conclude according to the experiment?

A. Happiness largely depends on the size of your bonus money.

B. Happiness, as a matter of fact, has nothing to do with money.

C. The more money you give away, the happier person you will be.

D. Spending money for the good of society will make you happier.

3.

How many different ways are used by the researchers to test their theory?

A. Two.               B. Three.             C. Four.            D. Five.

4.

The last sentence of the passage means _______.

A. happiness does not necessary increase as money grows

B. people in richer countries actually have more problems

C. fast economic growth has a bad effect on people’s life

D. great increase of income contributes to keeping happiness level stable

高二英语阅读理解简单题查看答案及解析

How to Keep Your Job for a Long Time

Work Hard.

Many bosses don’t mind you spending a little time on some little things，but they do focus on your job attitude and the wealth you can create for this company. When it comes to making lay­off decisions，the company will also choose the most productive employees to keep the job instead of the workers who are always late to work，leave early every day and do nothing important to the company.1.________

Be a Team Player.

2．________As an employee，you should work in a team with others，and learn from others. You should get along well with others.

Be Flexible.

3．________When the company needs someone to change shifts，work weekends，put in some overtime，or work a different schedule，you can think about it if your personal schedule permits.

4．________

You should be making yourself available to take on some additional tasks or help with projects that you might not have otherwise had to do. Maybe there is no additional pay，but it is also very helpful to increase your own value. Maybe due to this additional help，your boss begins to take advantage of you and give you more important work.

Don’t Complain.

If you don’t like your job，I can guarantee there are plenty of other people who would jump at the chance to get it. You should be really careful about complaining.5.________

A．Or your job security may be indirectly affected.

B．You should not gossip about other workers.

C．Make Yourself Available.

D．So you should remember to work hard.

E．Team spirit is an important quality for everyone.

F．Flexibility is a very important component to your job.

G．You become someone that they can rely on.

高二英语信息匹配中等难度题查看答案及解析