The Secret to Happiness
A new report makes it clear that when it comes to the life satisfaction of UK citizens, the ball is in the government’s court. For some time, sensible people have been arguing that governments need to focus less on economic growth and more on the wellbeing（幸福）of citizens. Be careful what you wish for.
In response to this demand, from 2011 David Cameron instructed the Office for National Statistics to gather data on people’s self-reported happiness and life satisfaction. Little practical good has come from this so far, but a new report by George Bangham for the Resolution Foundation is one of the best attempts to make useful sense of the data. He concludes: “The best prospects for policymakers targeting future increases in national wellbeing lie in raising job quality, raising incomes, particularly at the lower end, and policies to improve security in the housing market.”
The age correlation（相关）turns out to be certainly linked to politics, despite the fact that no political party can make a difference to your date of birth. The happiness of pensioners is not just a function of their age, but of policy. On average, 70-year-old boomers today are the most affluent retirees in history, often owning their own homes and in receipt of generous pensions. People of 70 are not going to be as content in 30 or 40 years’ time if they are unable to retire, don’t own their homes and have small incomes.
However, there is one respect in which teens and recent retirees are remarkably similar. Compared to other age groups, they tend to inhabit a sweet spot of having high degrees of freedom. The typical 16-year-old has new freedoms without ever having had any serious responsibilities. The typical 70-year-old, having experienced a lifetime of work and family duties, has a very different kind of freedom, one born from relief.
Besides，it should not surprise us to find that people tend to be happier when they have fewer worries. But this, too, has important political implications. If the government is really interested in raising overall national happiness, it has to make sure as many citizens as possible feel secure in their health, their housing and their incomes. Different states’ records in achieving this is one important reason why Nordic countries repeatedly score highly in international life satisfaction surveys and North America underperforms relative to its GDP.
Whichever way you look at it, there is no escaping the conclusion that increasing wellbeing across society requires joined-up, long-term policy efforts. This is exactly what the Resolution Foundation recommends.
1.What can be conveyed from the sentence “the ball is in the government’s court” in Paragraph 1?
A. The government officials are fond of playing ball games.
B. The government determines national happiness.
C. The government makes citizens feel happy.
D. The government is in a ball game.
2.What does the underlined word “affluent” in Paragraph 3 probably mean?
A. Responsible. B. Careful.
C. Honest. D. Rich.
3.According to the author, the secret to happiness is freedom and _________.
A. income B. health
C. security D. destiny
4.What is the author’s attitude to the function of government on national happiness?
A. Negative. B. Positive.
C. Doubtful. D. Unsatisfactory.
高三英语阅读理解困难题
The Secret to Happiness
A new report makes it clear that when it comes to the life satisfaction of UK citizens, the ball is in the government’s court. For some time, sensible people have been arguing that governments need to focus less on economic growth and more on the wellbeing（幸福）of citizens. Be careful what you wish for.
In response to this demand, from 2011 David Cameron instructed the Office for National Statistics to gather data on people’s self-reported happiness and life satisfaction. Little practical good has come from this so far, but a new report by George Bangham for the Resolution Foundation is one of the best attempts to make useful sense of the data. He concludes: “The best prospects for policymakers targeting future increases in national wellbeing lie in raising job quality, raising incomes, particularly at the lower end, and policies to improve security in the housing market.”
The age correlation（相关）turns out to be certainly linked to politics, despite the fact that no political party can make a difference to your date of birth. The happiness of pensioners is not just a function of their age, but of policy. On average, 70-year-old boomers today are the most affluent retirees in history, often owning their own homes and in receipt of generous pensions. People of 70 are not going to be as content in 30 or 40 years’ time if they are unable to retire, don’t own their homes and have small incomes.
However, there is one respect in which teens and recent retirees are remarkably similar. Compared to other age groups, they tend to inhabit a sweet spot of having high degrees of freedom. The typical 16-year-old has new freedoms without ever having had any serious responsibilities. The typical 70-year-old, having experienced a lifetime of work and family duties, has a very different kind of freedom, one born from relief.
Besides，it should not surprise us to find that people tend to be happier when they have fewer worries. But this, too, has important political implications. If the government is really interested in raising overall national happiness, it has to make sure as many citizens as possible feel secure in their health, their housing and their incomes. Different states’ records in achieving this is one important reason why Nordic countries repeatedly score highly in international life satisfaction surveys and North America underperforms relative to its GDP.
Whichever way you look at it, there is no escaping the conclusion that increasing wellbeing across society requires joined-up, long-term policy efforts. This is exactly what the Resolution Foundation recommends.
1.What can be conveyed from the sentence “the ball is in the government’s court” in Paragraph 1?
A. The government officials are fond of playing ball games.
B. The government determines national happiness.
C. The government makes citizens feel happy.
D. The government is in a ball game.
2.What does the underlined word “affluent” in Paragraph 3 probably mean?
A. Responsible. B. Careful.
C. Honest. D. Rich.
3.According to the author, the secret to happiness is freedom and _________.
A. income B. health
C. security D. destiny
4.What is the author’s attitude to the function of government on national happiness?
A. Negative. B. Positive.
C. Doubtful. D. Unsatisfactory.
高三英语阅读理解困难题查看答案及解析
—It’s reported that the new underground line has been completed．
—Yes but it hasn’t been made clear________ it’s to be opened to traffic．
A．that B．who C．what D．when
高三英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析
It was never clear _____the man hadn’t reported the accident sooner.
A.that B.how C.when D.why
高三英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析
It was never clear ________ the man hadn't reported the accident sooner.(2011·江苏)
A．that B．how C．when D．why
高三英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析
It was never clear ________ the man hadn't reported the accident sooner.(2011·江苏)
A．that B．how C．when D．why
高三英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析
It was never clear _______ the man hadn’t reported the accident sooner.
A.that B.how C.when D.why
高三英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析
It was never clear ________ the man hadn't reported the accident sooner.
A.that B.how C.when D.why
高三英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析
Susan made______ clear to me that she wished to make a new life for herself.
A. that B. this
C. it D. her
高三英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析
Susan made______ clear to me that she wished to make a new life for herself.
A. that B. this C. it D. her
高三英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析
Susan made______ clear to me that she wished to make a new life for herself.
A. that B. this C. it D. her
高三英语单项填空简单题查看答案及解析