I used to think the whole purpose of life was pursuing happiness. Everyone said the path to happiness was success, so I searched for that ideal job, that perfect boyfriend, and that beautiful apartment. But instead of ever feeling fulfilled, I felt anxious and lost. Eventually. I decided to go to graduate school for positive psychology to learn what truly makes people happy.
And what's the difference between being happy and having meaning in life? Many psychologists describe happiness as a state of comfort and ease, feeling good in the moment. Meaning, though, is deeper. The famous psychologist Martin Seligman says meaning comes from belonging to and serving something beyond yourself and from developing the best within you. Our culture is obsessed with happiness, but I came to see that seeking meaning is the more fulfilling path.
There are four pillars of a meaningful life.
The first pillar is belonging. Belonging comes from being in relationships where you're valued for who you are and where you value others as well. For many people, belonging is the most essential source of meaning.
For others, the key to meaning is the second pillar: purpose. Finding your purpose is not the same thing as finding that job that makes you happy. A doctor told me her purpose is healing sick people. Many parents tell me, “My purpose is raising my children.” The key to purpose is using your strengths to serve others. Without something worthwhile to do, people flounder, thus losing the aim of life.
The third pillar of meaning is also about stepping beyond yourself, but in a completely different way: transcendence (超然). Transcendent experiences can change you. Transcendent states are those rare moments when you're lifted above the hustle and bustle of daily life, your sense of self fades away, and you feel connected to a higher reality. For me, I’m a writer, and it happens through writing. Sometimes I get so in the zone that I lose all sense of time and place.
The fourth pillar is storytelling, the story you tell yourself about yourself. Creating a narrative from the events of your life brings clarity. It helps you understand how you became you. But we don’t always realize that we're the authors of our stories and can change the way we’re telling them. Your life isn't just a list of events. You can edit, interpret and retell your story, even as you're constrained by the facts.
That’s the power of meaning. Happiness comes and goes. But when life is really good and when things are really bad, having meaning gives you something to hold on to.
1.What can we know from the first two paragraphs？
A.Life might be fulfilled by landing ideal jobs．
B.Life dilemma is challenging for us to get out of．
C.Meaning is highly valued in our culture．
D.Happiness is what most people try to achieve．
2.Which word is the closest to the underlined word?
A.Confused B.Distracted
C.Disappointed D.Saddened
3.Which pillar can describe an artist obsessed with her work despite repeated failures?
A.Belonging B.Purpose
C.Transcendence D.Storytelling
4.The passage aims to tell us that _______________．
A.meaning is superior to happiness
B.meaning is the way to success
C.chasing meaning can make people happy
D.meaning has deeper psychological significance
高三英语阅读理解困难题
I used to think the whole purpose of life was pursuing happiness. Everyone said the path to happiness was success, so I searched for that ideal job, that perfect boyfriend, and that beautiful apartment. But instead of ever feeling fulfilled, I felt anxious and lost. Eventually. I decided to go to graduate school for positive psychology to learn what truly makes people happy.
And what's the difference between being happy and having meaning in life? Many psychologists describe happiness as a state of comfort and ease, feeling good in the moment. Meaning, though, is deeper. The famous psychologist Martin Seligman says meaning comes from belonging to and serving something beyond yourself and from developing the best within you. Our culture is obsessed with happiness, but I came to see that seeking meaning is the more fulfilling path.
There are four pillars of a meaningful life.
The first pillar is belonging. Belonging comes from being in relationships where you're valued for who you are and where you value others as well. For many people, belonging is the most essential source of meaning.
For others, the key to meaning is the second pillar: purpose. Finding your purpose is not the same thing as finding that job that makes you happy. A doctor told me her purpose is healing sick people. Many parents tell me, “My purpose is raising my children.” The key to purpose is using your strengths to serve others. Without something worthwhile to do, people flounder, thus losing the aim of life.
The third pillar of meaning is also about stepping beyond yourself, but in a completely different way: transcendence (超然). Transcendent experiences can change you. Transcendent states are those rare moments when you're lifted above the hustle and bustle of daily life, your sense of self fades away, and you feel connected to a higher reality. For me, I’m a writer, and it happens through writing. Sometimes I get so in the zone that I lose all sense of time and place.
The fourth pillar is storytelling, the story you tell yourself about yourself. Creating a narrative from the events of your life brings clarity. It helps you understand how you became you. But we don’t always realize that we're the authors of our stories and can change the way we’re telling them. Your life isn't just a list of events. You can edit, interpret and retell your story, even as you're constrained by the facts.
That’s the power of meaning. Happiness comes and goes. But when life is really good and when things are really bad, having meaning gives you something to hold on to.
1.What can we know from the first two paragraphs？
A.Life might be fulfilled by landing ideal jobs．
B.Life dilemma is challenging for us to get out of．
C.Meaning is highly valued in our culture．
D.Happiness is what most people try to achieve．
2.Which word is the closest to the underlined word?
A.Confused B.Distracted
C.Disappointed D.Saddened
3.Which pillar can describe an artist obsessed with her work despite repeated failures?
A.Belonging B.Purpose
C.Transcendence D.Storytelling
4.The passage aims to tell us that _______________．
A.meaning is superior to happiness
B.meaning is the way to success
C.chasing meaning can make people happy
D.meaning has deeper psychological significance
高三英语阅读理解困难题查看答案及解析
To the mom I used to be:
Two years ago, you were happy and whole. You had a plan for life — start a new business, get involved in the Parent-teacher Association, teach your sons how to ride bicycles, spend as much time with your friends and parents as possible, watch your children mature and grow old with your husband. You were a “glass half full” person who often felt so much joy. You always looked forward, smiled and danced.
Two years ago, on December 14, 2012, the world changed and you changed with it. Disturbed young men with access to high-powered guns went to your sons’ school and killed six educators and twenty first-graders. Your eldest son Jake survived, but was changed by the day he discovered some monsters are real. He describes it as the day “when evils came to my school.” Your youngest son, Dylan, whom you thought of as a pure love, with his charming eyes and infectious giggle(微笑)，was killed. Shot multiple times, he died instantly in the arms of his special-education assistant who also died while trying to protect him.
The tragedy changed all your life, not only because of losing your child, but because of the hole inside you that can never be filled. Your eldest son has been forced to grow up too fast because of the loss of his brother. The pain has altered the lines on your husband’s face. The way you look at the world has changed. Your interactions with friends and family seem foreign.
… …
But the things have moved on with hopefulness. You are now someone far more realistic. You control your feelings because you fear if you really let it out, you would never recover. It would destroy you. You know what you should do is try everything to protect more children. You’re fighting a good fight, what the whole society really needs.
With love,
Nicole Hockley, Dylan’s mom
1.Saying a "glass half full" person, the author means she ________.
A. was once an optimistic mom
B. was always a very busy mom
C. was living a life to the fullest
D. got drunk with half a glass of beer
2.The letter tends to indicate that Dylan ________.
A. might have some mental disability
B. has become childish since his teacher died
C. should have been protected from being killed
D. was then studying in the same class as his brother
3.Which can best describe Dylan's mom's attitude towards life today?
A. Negative. B. Positive. C. Hopeless. D. Depressed.
4.The author writes the letter mainly to ________.
A. tell herself not to forget the bitterly painful past
B. praise the educators' brave deeds in time of danger
C. tell the readers how the shooting has changed her family
D. describe the bad effects of school violence on students
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
---I don’t think your children could have been used to the quick pace of life while working in Shenzhen, _____they?
---_____. They thought of returning to Changchun.
A. had ; Yes B. do ; Yes C. have ; No. D. were ; No
高三英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析
I realized the purpose of the whole experience: I needed to learn to open my heart and give love without requiring anything _____.
A．by design B．for once C．in return D．as a consequence
高三英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析
This place was darker than I expected, and, in spite of the rain, dirtier. Used to the life of rural Puerto Rico(波多黎各), I had to adjust to the similarly arranged, aggressive two-dimensionality of New York. Everywhere I looked, my eyes met gray and brown straight-edged buildings with sharp corners and deep shadows. Every few blocks there was a cement(水泥) playground surrounded by chain-link fence.
A girl came out of the building next door, a jump rope in her hand, and she hopped over. “Are you Hispanic?” she asked. “No, I’m Puerto Rican.” “Same thing. Puerto Rican, Hispanic. That’s what we are here.” She skipped a tight circle, stopped abruptly, and shoved the rope in my direction. “Want a turn?”
“Sure.” I hopped on one leg, then the other. “So, if you’re Puerto Rican, they call you Hispanic?”
“Yeah. Anybody who speaks Spanish.”
I jumped a circle, as she had done, but faster. “You mean, if you speak Spanish, you’re Hispanic?”
“Well, yeah. No . . . I mean your parents have to be Puerto Rican or Cuban or something.”
“Okay, your parents are Cuban, let’s say, and you’re born here, but you don’t speak Spanish. Are you Hispanic?”
“I guess so,” she finally said. “It has to do with being from a Spanish country. I mean, you or your parents, like, even if you don’t speak Spanish, you’re Hispanic, you know?” She looked at me uncertainly. But I didn’t know. I’d always been Puerto Rican, and it hadn’t occurred to me that in New York I’d be someone else.
Later, I asked. “Are we Hispanics, Mami?” “Yes, because we speak Spanish.” “But a girl said you don’t have to speak the language to be Hispanic.” “What girl? Where did you meet a girl?” “Outside. She lives in the next building.” “Who said you could go out to the sidewalk? This isn't Puerto Rico. Something could happen to you.”
I listened to Mami’s lecture with depressed eyes and the necessary respect. But inside, I quaked. Two days in New York, and I’d already become someone else. It wasn’t hard to imagine that greater dangers lay ahead.
1.The first paragraph suggests that the author experienced New York as .
A. mysterious and unknowable
B. regular and depressing
C. orderly and appealing
D. impressive and dangerous
2.For the author, being considered Hispanic represents .
A. a restriction to be overcome
B. an opportunity for self-redefinition
C. the loss of her former identity
D. an unavoidable result of movement to a new place
3.The mother refers to “Puerto Rico” in order to impress upon the author that .
A. she should not miss her birthplace
B. New Yorkers may not like newcomers
C. different rules apply to life in New York
D. life was more restricted in Puerto Rico
4.The author’s mood can best be described as
A. angry and confused B. fearful and uncertain
C. excited but lonely D. worried and resistant
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
The way of life he was used to _______ when he came to study in America.
A．change B．changed C．changing D．being changed
高三英语单项填空简单题查看答案及解析
He also hopes that he always has the courage to pursue his love of music, ________ what others think.
A.apart from B.in spite of C.regardless of D.in addition to
高三英语单项填空简单题查看答案及解析
— I think Nelson Mandela is a modern hero. He devoted his whole life to the struggle for racial equality in South Africa. ________
— I can totally take your opinion.
A.What’s your opinion? B.Could you tell me why?
C.How could he make it? D.How do you like his behavior?
高三英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析
When I see you, the world stops ____ the only purpose in life was for me to please you．
A. even though B. in case C. as if D. so that
高三英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析
The purpose of Internet is not to make life more difficult,but _____it easier.
A.make B.to make C.making D.made
高三英语单项填空简单题查看答案及解析