Researchers found that people become happier and experience less worry after they reach the age of fifty.In fact, they say by the age of eighty-five, people are happier with their life than they were when they were eighteen years old.
The findings came from a survey of more than 340,000 adults in the United States.The Gallup(民意调查) Organization questioned them by telephone in 2008.At that time, the people were between the ages of eighteen and eighty-five.
The researchers asked questions about emotions like happiness, sadness and worry.They also asked about mental or emotional stress.
Arthur Stone at Stony Brook University in New York led the study.His team found that levels of stress were highest among adults between the ages of twenty-two and twenty-five.The findings showed that stress levels dropped sharply after people reached their fifties.Happiness was highest among the youngest adults and those in their early seventies.The people least likely to report feeling negative emotions were those in their seventies and eighties.
Researchers say they do not know why happiness increases as people get older.One theory is that, as people grow older, they grow more thankful for what they have and have better control of their emotions.They also spend less time thinking about bad experiences.
Professor Stone says the emotional patterns could be linked to changes in how people see the world, or maybe even changes in brain chemistry.
The researchers also considered possible influences like having young children, being unemployed or being single.But they found that influences like these did not affect the levels of happiness and well-being related to age.
The study also showed that men and women have similar emotional patterns as they grow older.However, women at all ages reported more sadness, stress and worry than men.
1.What can be the best title of the text?
A.Happiness Varies with Ages | B.Experience More, Worry Less |
C.The Older, the Wiser | D.Being Young, Being Happy |
2.We can learn from the research that _________.
A.only when people get older will they feel happier |
B.stress levels among the youngest are the highest |
C.older people tend to be grateful |
D.older people usually have no worries |
3.According to the research, when people get older, _________.
A.they miss the old days | B.they are physically weak |
C.they have better self-control | D.they are more emotional |
4.What would the author probably talk about next?
A.What influences happiness. | B.How to live better. |
C.How to keep happier. | D.Why women are less happier. |
5.The author is intended to _________.
A.advise how to reduce stress | B.introduce a scientific finding |
C.describe how to do research | D.talk about human emotions |
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题
Researchers found that people become happier and experience less worry after they reach the age of fifty. In fact, they say by the age of eighty-five, people are happier with their life than they were when they were eighteen years old.
Arthur Stone in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science at Stony Brook University in New York led the study. His team found that levels of stress were highest among adults between the ages of twenty-two and twenty-five. The findings showed that stress levels dropped sharply after people reached their fifties. Happiness was highest among the youngest adults and those in their early seventies. The people least likely to report feeling negative emotions were those in their seventies and eighties.
The findings appeared in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Researchers say they do not know why happiness increases as people get older. One theory is that, as people grow older, they grow more thankful for what they have and have better control of their emotions. They also spend less time thinking about bad experiences.
The researchers considered possible influences like having young children, being unemployed or being single. But they found that influences like these did not affect the levels of happiness and well-being related to age.
The study also showed that men and women have similar emotional patterns as they grow older. However, women at all ages reported more sadness, stress and worry than men.
1. What is the best title of the passage?
A. The older a person is, the more stressed he feels.
B. The more lighthearted a person is, the happier he is.
C. The older a person is the more clever he grows.
D. The older a person is, the happier he grows.
2. We can learn from the research that _________.
A. only when people get older, will they feel happier
B. older people usually have no worries in their life
C. stress levels among the youngest are the highest of all
D. older people are more likely to be thankful in life
3. According to the researchers, what is probably the reason why people grow happier when they get older?
A. When people get older, they can’t remember bad experiences.
B. When people get older, they have no young children to care about.
C. When people get older, they learn to adjust their feelings.
D. When people get older, they don’t care about their feelings.
4. What would the writer probably deal with in next paragraph?
A. Advice to the young people on how to keep happy.
B. Advice to the old people on how to live longer.
C. Why women at all ages are more sad, stressed and worried.
D. Why people will grow happier with their ages.
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
Researchers found that people become happier and experience less worry after they reach the age of fifty.In fact, they say by the age of eighty-five, people are happier with their life than they were when they were eighteen years old.
The findings came from a survey of more than 340,000 adults in the United States.The Gallup(民意调查) Organization questioned them by telephone in 2008.At that time, the people were between the ages of eighteen and eighty-five.
The researchers asked questions about emotions like happiness, sadness and worry.They also asked about mental or emotional stress.
Arthur Stone at Stony Brook University in New York led the study.His team found that levels of stress were highest among adults between the ages of twenty-two and twenty-five.The findings showed that stress levels dropped sharply after people reached their fifties.Happiness was highest among the youngest adults and those in their early seventies.The people least likely to report feeling negative emotions were those in their seventies and eighties.
Researchers say they do not know why happiness increases as people get older.One theory is that, as people grow older, they grow more thankful for what they have and have better control of their emotions.They also spend less time thinking about bad experiences.
Professor Stone says the emotional patterns could be linked to changes in how people see the world, or maybe even changes in brain chemistry.
The researchers also considered possible influences like having young children, being unemployed or being single.But they found that influences like these did not affect the levels of happiness and well-being related to age.
The study also showed that men and women have similar emotional patterns as they grow older.However, women at all ages reported more sadness, stress and worry than men.
1.What can be the best title of the text?
A.Happiness Varies with Ages | B.Experience More, Worry Less |
C.The Older, the Wiser | D.Being Young, Being Happy |
2.We can learn from the research that _________.
A.only when people get older will they feel happier |
B.stress levels among the youngest are the highest |
C.older people tend to be grateful |
D.older people usually have no worries |
3.According to the research, when people get older, _________.
A.they miss the old days | B.they are physically weak |
C.they have better self-control | D.they are more emotional |
4.What would the author probably talk about next?
A.What influences happiness. | B.How to live better. |
C.How to keep happier. | D.Why women are less happier. |
5.The author is intended to _________.
A.advise how to reduce stress | B.introduce a scientific finding |
C.describe how to do research | D.talk about human emotions |
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
—It seems that people are becoming more and more selfish.
—How much happier life would be if we ________to the values of the past!
A. would return B. had returned
C. return D. were to return
高三英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析
An international team of researchers from the University of Oxford have found that the way people use the Internet is closely tied to the seasonal movements in the natural world. Their online species searches follow the patterns of seasonal animal migrations (迁徙).
Migratory birds (候鸟) flood back to where they reproduce every spring. That migratory behavior is accompanied by some human behavior. “In English-language Wikipedia (维基百科), the online searches for migratory species tend to increase in spring when those birds arrive in the United States,” said the lead author John Mittermeier.
And not just birds. Mittermeier and his team surveyed nearly 2.5 billion Wikipedia search records, for 32,000 species, across 245 languages. They also saw variable search rates for insects, horsetails and flowering plants. Seasonal trends seemed to be widespread in Wikipedia behavior for many species of plants and animals.
This finding suggests new ways to monitor changes in the world’s biological diversity. It also shows new ways to see how much people care about nature, and which species and areas might be the most effective targets for conservation.
Mittermeier is encouraged by the search results. He commented, “I think there’s a concern among conservationists (生态环境保护者) that people are losing touch with the natural world and that they’re not interacting with native species anymore. And so in that sense, it was really exciting and quite unexpected for me to see people’s Wikipedia interest closely related to changes in nature.”
Richard Grenyer, Associate Professor from the University of Oxford, says search data is useful to conservation biologists, “By using these big data approaches, we can direct our attention towards the difficult questions in modern conservation: which species and areas are changing, and where are the people who care the most and can do the most to help.”
1.What have researchers found about species searches?
A. They strengthen ties among people.
B. They affect the animal movements.
C. They differ in language backgrounds.
D. They reflect animal migration seasons.
2.What is the purpose of writing Paragraph 3?
A. To summarize the research process.
B. To further support the research findings.
C. To show the variety of species searches.
D. To present researchers’ heavy work load.
3.How does Mittermeier feel about the search results?
A. Satisfied with Wikipedia’s service.
B. Worried about Wikipedia behavior.
C. Amazed at people’s care about nature.
D. Sad about people’s not getting close to nature.
4.Why does Richard think such search data is useful?
A. It helps to aim at conservation targets.
B. It increases interest in big data approaches.
C. It keeps track of trends in biologists’work.
D. It pushes people to solve difficult problems.
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
Over the last 70 years, researchers have been studying happy and unhappy people and finally found out ten factors that make a difference. Our feelings of well-being at any moment are determined to a certain degree by genes. However, of all the factors, wealth and age are the top two.
Money can buy a degree of happiness. But once you can afford to feed, clothe and house yourself, each extra dollar makes less and less difference.
Researchers find that, on average, wealthier people are happier. But the link between money and happiness is complex. In the past half-century, average income has sharply increased in developed countries, yet happiness levels have remained almost the same. Once your basic needs are met, money only seems to increase happiness if you have more than your friends, neighbors and colleagues.
“Dollars buy status, and status makes people feel better,” conclude some experts, which helps explain why people who can seek status in other ways-scientists or actors, for example-may happily accept relatively poorly-paid jobs.
In a research, Professor Alex Michalos found that the people whose desire-not just for money, but for friends, family, job, health-rose furthest beyond what they already had, tended to be less happy than those who felt a smaller gap(差距). Indeed, the size of the gap predicted happiness about five times better than income alone. “The gap measures just blow away the only measures of income.” Says Michalos.
Another factor that has to do with happiness is age. Old age may not be so bad. “Given all the problems of aging, how could the elderly be more satisfied?” asks Professor Laura Carstensen.
In one survey, Carstensen interviewed 184 people between the ages of 18 and 94, and asked them to fill out an emotions questionnaire. She found that old people reported positive emotions just as often as young people, but negative emotions much less often.
Why are old people happier? Some scientists suggest older people may expect life to be harder and learn to live with it, or they’re more realistic about their goals, only setting ones that they know they can achieve. But Carstensen thinks that with times running out, older people have learned to focus on things that make them happy and let go of those that don’t.
“People realize not only what they have, but also that what they have cannot last forever,” she says. “A goodbye kiss to a husband or wife at the age of 85, for example, may bring far more complex emotional responses than a similar kiss to a boy or girl friend at the age of 20.”
1.According to the passage, the feeling of happiness __________.
A.is determined partly by genes |
B.increases gradually with age |
C.has little to do with wealth |
D.is measured by desires |
2.Some actors would like to accept poorly-paid jobs because the jobs ____________.
A.make them feel much better |
B.provide chances to make friends |
C.improve their social position |
D.satisfy their professional interests |
3.Aged people are more likely to feel happy because they are more _________.
A.optimistic |
B.successful |
C.practical |
D.emotional |
4.Professor Alex Michalos found that people feel less happy if __________.
A.the gap between reality and desire is bigger |
B.they have a stronger desire for friendship |
C.their income is below their expectation |
D.the hope for good health is greater |
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
Over the last 70 years, researchers have been studying happy and unhappy people and finally found out ten factors that make a difference. Our feelings of well-being at any moment are determined to a certain degree by genes. However, of all the factors, wealth and age are the top two.
Money can buy a degree of happiness. But once you can afford to feed, clothe and house yourself, each extra dollar makes less and less difference.
Researchers find that, on average, wealthier people are happier. But the link between money and happiness is complex. In the past half-century, average income has sharply increased in developed countries, yet happiness levels have remained almost the same. Once your basic needs are met, money only seems to increase happiness if you have more than your friends, neighbors and colleagues.
“Dollars buy status, and status makes people feel better,” conclude some experts, which helps explain why people who can seek status in other ways-scientists or actors, for example-may happily accept relatively poorly-paid jobs.
In a research, Professor Alex Michalos found that the people whose desire-not just for money, but for friends, family, job, health-rose furthest beyond what they already had, tended to be less happy than those who felt a smaller gap(差距). Indeed, the size of the gap predicted happiness about five times better than income alone. “The gap measures just blow away the only measures of income.” Says Michalos.
Another factor that has to do with happiness is age. Old age may not be so bad. “Given all the problems of aging, how could the elderly be more satisfied?” asks Professor Laura Carstensen.
In one survey, Carstensen interviewed 184 people between the ages of 18 and 94, and asked them to fill out an emotions questionnaire. She found that old people reported positive emotions just as often as young people, but negative emotions much less often.
Why are old people happier? Some scientists suggest older people may expect life to be harder and learn to live with it, or they’re more realistic about their goals, only setting ones that they know they can achieve. But Carstensen thinks that with time running out, older people have learned to focus on things that make them happy and let go of those that don’t.
“People realize not only what they have, but also that what they have cannot last forever,” she says. “A goodbye kiss to a husband or wife at the age of 85, for example, may bring far more complex emotional responses than a similar kiss to a boy or girl friend at the age of 20.”
1.According to the passage, the feeling of happiness __________.
A.has little to do with wealth B.increases gradually with age
C.is determined partly by genes D.is measured by desires
2.Some actors would like to accept poorly-paid jobs because the jobs ____________.
A.make them feel much better B.improve their social position
C.provide chances to make friends D.satisfy their professional interests
3.Aged people are more likely to feel happy because they are more _________.
A.optimistic B.successful C.practical D.emotional
4.Professor Alex Michalos found that people feel less happy if __________.
A.the gap between reality and desire is bigger
B.they have a stronger desire for friendship
C.their income is below their expectation
D.the hope for good health is greater
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
Over the last 70 years,researchers have been studying happy and unhappy people and finally found out ten factors that make a difference.Our feelings of well-being at any moment are determined to a certain degree by genes.However,of all the factors,wealth and age are the top two.
Money can buy a degree of happiness.But once you can afford to feed,clothe and house yourself,each extra dollar makes less and less difference.
Researchers find that,on average,wealthier people are happier.But the link between money and happiness is complex.In the past half-century,average income has sharply increased in developed countries,yet happiness levels have remained almost the same.Once your basic needs are met,money only seems to increase happiness if you have more than your friends,neighbors and colleagues.
“Dollars buy status,and status makes people feel better,”conclude some experts,which helps explain why people who can seek status in other ways—scientists or actors,for example—may happily accept relatively poorly-paid jobs.
In a research,Professor Alex Michalos found that the people whose desires—not just for money,but for friends,family,job,health—rose furthest beyond what they already had,tended to be less happy than those who felt a smaller gap(差距).Indeed,the size of the gap predicted happiness about five times better than income alone.“The gap measures just blow away the only measures of income,”says Michalos.
Another factor that has to do with happiness is age.Old age may not be so bad.“Given all the problems of aging,how could the elderly be more satisfied?”asks Professor Laura Carstensen.
In one survey,Carstensen interviewed 184 people between the ages of 18 and 94,and asked them to fill out an emotions questionaire.She found that old people reported positive emotions just as often as young people,but negative emotions much less often.
Why are old people happier?Some scientists suggest older people may expect life to be harder and learn to live with it,or they’re more realistic about their goals,only setting ones that they know they can achieve.But Carstensen thinks that with time running out,older people have learned to focus on things that make them happy and let go of those that don’t.
“People realize not only what they have,but also that what they have cannot last forever,”she says.“A goodbye kiss to a husband or wife at the age of 85,for example,may bring far more complex emotional responses than a similar kiss to a boy or girl friend at the age of 20.”
1.According to the passage,the feeling of happiness ______.
A.is determined partly by genes
B.increases gradually with age
C.has little to do with wealth
D.is measured by desires
2.Some actors would like to accept poorly-paid jobs because the jobs ______.
A.make them feel much better
B.provide chances to make friends
C.improve their social position
D.satisfy their professional interests
3.Aged people are more likely to feel happy because they are more ______.
A.optimistic
B.successful
C.practical
D.emotional
4.Professor Alex Michalos found that people feel less happy if ______.
A.the gap between reality and desire is bigger
B.they have a stronger desire for friendship
C.their income is below their expectation
D.the hope for good health is greater
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
People tend to become more personal and hide less of themselves when using email . Researchers from Open University in Britain have found in a recent study that there are good reasons for this .
The team of researchers asked 83 pairs of students , all strangers to each other , to solve a problem . They had to discuss this question : If only five people in the world could be saved from a world disaster , who should they be ? The pairs of students had to talk over the problem either face to face or by computers . Dr. Johnson said , “They told their partners four times as much about themselves when they talked over the Internet as when they talked face to face . When the computers were fitted with cameras so that students could see each other , this limited the personal side of the conversation.”
Generally the information was not extremely personal . It was mainly about things such as where they went to school, or where they used to live . But some students discussed their love stories , and personal childhood experiences .
Dr. Johnson believes that emailing encourages people to focus on themselves . And when they do this , they become more open , especially if there are no cameras. “If you cannot see the other person, it becomes easier to talk about yourself . This is because you are not thinking what the other person is thinking of you. So emailing has become the modern way of talking,” said Dr. Johnson. However , this style of talking is not entirely new . “In the 19th century people started to use the ‘telegraph’ to communicate . Now the same kind of thing has happened and people ended up speaking more freely .”
Dr. Johnson thinks that emailers need to know about these effects of emailing , especially when they start work in a company . “If you don’t know about it , you could find yourself saying more about yourself than you wanted to .”
1.The subject discussed in this passage is ________ .
A.how people open up when emailing | B.how people do research studies |
C.how to communicate at work | D.how to discuss and solve a problem |
2.The reason that some couples talked freely about themselves is that ________ .
A.they didn’t talk about very personal things | B.they couldn’t see each other |
C.the cameras on the computers were turned on | D.they had to discuss a question |
3.What do the underlined words (in para. 4) refer to ?
A.The telegraph | B.The computer | C.Emailing . | D.Face-to-face talk . |
4..In the writer’s opinion , one should ________ .
A.focus on oneself when emailing | B.talk more freely in email than usual |
C.discuss any subject that one wants to | D.consider how one uses email at work |
________
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
People tend to become more personal and hide less of themselves when using email. Researchers from Open University in Britain have found in a recent study that there are good reasons for this.
The team of researchers asked 83 pairs of students, all strangers to each other, to solve a problem. They had to discuss this question: If only five people in the world could be saved from a world disaster, who should they be? The pairs of students had to talk over the problem either face to face or by computers. Dr. Johnson said, “They told their partners four times as much about themselves when they talked over the Internet as when they talked face to face. When the computers were fitted with cameras so that students could see each other, this limited the personal side of the conversation.”
Generally the information was not extremely personal. It was mainly about things such as where they went to school, or where they used to live. But some students discussed their love stories, and personal childhood experiences.
Dr Johnson believes that emailing encourages people to focus on themselves. And when they do this, they become more open, especially if there are no cameras. “If you cannot see the other person, it becomes easier to talk about yourself. This is because you are not thinking what the other person is thinking of you. So emailing has become the modern way of talking,” said Dr. Johnson. However, this style of talking is not entirely new. “In the 19th century people started to use the ‘telegraph’ to communicate. Now the same kind of thing has happened and people ended up speaking more freely.”
Dr. Johnson thinks that emailers need to know about these effects of emailing, especially when they start work in a company. “ If you don’t know about it, you could find yourself saying more about yourself than you wanted to.”
1. The subject discussed in this passage is _______.
A. how people open up when emailing B. how people do research studies
C. how to communicate at work D. how to discuss and solve a problem
2.The reason that some couples talked freely about themselves is that _______.
A. they didn’t talk about very personal things B. they couldn’t see each other
C. the cameras on the computers were turned on D. they had to discuss a question
3.What does the underlined sentence refer to?
A. The telegraph. B. The computer. C. Emailing. D. Face-to-face talk.
4.In the writer’s opinion, one should ______.
A. focus on oneself when emailing B. talk more freely in emails than usual
C. discuss any subject that one wants to D. consider how one uses email at work
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
Researchers found that walking around with a forced smile and fake (假的) happiness simply leads to people feeling unhappier. So, putting a brave face on your sadness could be harmful. The research also found that women suffered more than men when pretending to be happy.
Dr. Brent Scott, who led the study, said employers should take note because forcing workers to smile when dealing with the public can result in bad outcomes. He said, “Smiling for the sake of smiling can lead to emotional tiredness, and that’s bad for the organization.” He also said the research showed customer-service workers who had “fake smiles” throughout the day fell into a bad mood and didn’t want to work, so their productivity dropped.
The study is one of the first of its kind to examine emotional expressions over a period of time and compare the different effects on men and women. Dr. Scott’s team examined the effects of “surface acting”, or fake smiling, compared to “deep acting”, or making people smile by thinking of peasant memories.
Dr. Scott said, “Women were harmed more by surface acting, meaning their moods worsened even more than men’s. However, they were helped more by deep acting, which means their moods improved more by thinking of pleasant memories. ”
According to Dr. Scott, women tend to suffer more when pretending to be happy because they are expected to be more emotionally expressive than men. Therefore, forcing a smile while feeling down is more likely to go against their normal behavior and cause more harmful feelings.
Although deep acting can improve moods a little in the short term, Dr. Scott says, it’s not a long-term solution to feeling unhappy. “There have been some suggestions that if you do this over a long period you start to feel unreal. You’re trying to develop positive emotions, but at the end of the day you may not feel like yourself any more.”
1.According to the passage, Dr. Scott’s study ______.
A. is supported by some big employers in the USA
B. is meaningful as there haven’t been many similar ones
C. examined more women than men for a long time
D. aimed to make the employees more productive
2.Women suffer more from fake happiness mainly because ______.
A. they usually turn up shy in public places
B. they should be more emotionally expressive
C. they are often treated in a terrible way
D. they like thinking of pleasant memories
3.It is implied in the passage that deep acting _____.
A. doesn’t have any effect on men
B. cannot improve our moods in any case
C. harms our feelings in the long run
D. pleases people by feeling like another person
4.What is the best title for the passage?
A. Fake smiling makes people unhappy.
B. Women shouldn’t be forced to smile.
C. An important suggestion for workers.
D. Why people don’t want to work.
高三英语阅读理解困难题查看答案及解析