The Happiest Cities On Earth
If you’re looking for a cheery destination for your next vacation, consider these four spots and get ready to take notes on how to really live the good life.
Singapore
With one of the highest population densities（密度）in the world and residents known for being workaholics, it’s hard to imagine the city-state of Singapore having one of the happiest populations on earth. And yet in a recent survey, 95% of them said they were either very happy or quite happy.
They give their city high marks for cleanliness and safety—subways are pristine (洁净的) and unfailingly arrive on time, and police are seen as helpful and good at their jobs. What’s more, they feel they can count on their neighbours—all 5.1 million of them.
Arhus, Denmark
The residents of Arhus cheerfully part with 68% of their income in taxes, knowing that in return they will be guaranteed free healthcare, free daycare, and a top-notch (第一流的) education for their children.
An energetic city of 300,000 with a lively cultural scene and a diverse number of religions represented, the sense of equality (the range in incomes is narrow), as well as easy access to the nearby sea and surrounding countryside, make Arhus seem more like a small town.
San Luis Obispo, CA
According to a 2008 Gallup-Healthways study, people who live in San Luis Obispo are more likely than residents of other U.S. cities to smile and experience joy and are less likely to experience pain or depression. About 64,000 of the 260,000 people in the greater metropolitan area (都市区), located halfway between Los Angeles and San Francisco, volunteer at over 11,000 non-profit organizations.
Few journeys to work are longer than 10 minutes (one reason its members rank in the upper third for job satisfaction), so “it’s easy to be involved,” resident Pierre Rademaker said. Business signs are unobtrusive (不显眼的) by law, fewer than 11% of residents smoke—the lower rate in the U.S.—there are lots of bike lanes, and the city’s plaza draws crowds of people for free concerts on summer Fridays. What’s not to love?
Monterrey, Mexico
The people of Monterrey don’t enjoy high household incomes or access to good healthcare. Instead, there’s a profound sense of gratitude for the new political freedom enjoyed since the oppressive Institutional Revolutionary Party lost power in 2000—the first time in nearly a century—as well as an emphasis on social life over work.
Another reason Monterrey residents may be so happy is their faith in God and family, and their ability to tough it out through bad times.
“We laugh at sickness, poverty and even death,” says Basanez, a political scientist who lives in Monterrey. “We even have a holiday to celebrate death. November 2, the Day of the Dead, is one of the biggest holidays of the year.”
1.According to the passage, what do the residents in the four cities have in common?
A. All the residents can make great fortunes by working hard.
B. The residents there are mostly educators.
C. All the residents enjoy enough material wealth.
D. The majority of the residents are satisfied with their current life.
2.According to the passage, we can infer that _______.
A. the people of Singapore expect their neighbours to come to their help when necessary
B. the people of Monterrey even observe one’s death on a special day of a year
C. the residents of Arhus happily pay 68% of their income for their children’s education fee
D. the people who live in San Luis Obispo have job satisfaction because they can enjoy good working conditions
3.According to the passage which of the following statements is NOT TRUE?
A. The people of Monterrey didn’t enjoy political freedom until 2000.
B. The residents in Singapore feel happy because of its low population density.
C. The people of San Luis Obispo can enjoy free concerts in summer.
D. Arhus is handy to the seaside and countryside.
4.What can we learn from the underlined part “the sense of equality”?
A. The residents of Arhus have no racial discrimination.
B. Arhus is considered as a family sharing everything with each other.
C. There is no wide gap between the rich and the poor in Arhus.
D. The residents of Arhus can depend on their neighbours to help.
1.D
2.A
3.B
4.C
【解析】
试题分析：本文介绍了世界上最适合旅游的，当地人满意度最高的四个地方，并且详细描述了这四个地方的特色。
1.D推理题。根据文章中对这4各地方的描述可知这些地方都有很多的特色之处，而且当地的人对于本地教育，环境等都很满意。根据the city’s plaza draws crowds of people for free concerts on summer Fridays. What’s not to love?和in a recent survey, 95% of them said they were either very happy or quite happy.故D正确。
2. A推理题。根据文章第2段最后一句What’s more, they feel they can count on their neighbours—all 5.1 million of them.可知他们都很信赖他们的邻居，认为邻居在必要的时候能够来帮助他们。故A正确。
3.B细节题。根据文章第二段第一句With one of the highest population densities（密度）in the world and residents known for being workaholics可知新加坡是世界上人口密度做大的国家之一。故B项的说法是错误的。
4.C推理题。根据横线后面的括号(the range in incomes is narrow)可知划线部分是指收入之间的差距是很小的。故C正确。
考点：考察信息筛选类短文阅读
阅读快车系列答案科目：高中英语 来源： 题型：阅读理解
阅读下面短文，从短文后各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出可以填入的空白处的最佳选项，并从答题卡上将该选项涂黑。
It was a busy morning, about 8:30, when an elderly gentleman in his 80s came to the hospital. I heard him saying to the nurse that he was in a hurry for appointment （约会）at 9:30.
The nurse had him take a 36 in the waiting area, 37 him it would be at least 40 minutes 38 someone would be able to see him .I saw him 39 his watch and decided, since I was 40 buy-my patient didn’t 41 at the appointed hour ,I would examine his wound, While taking care of his wound ,I asked him if he had another doctor’s appointment.
The gentleman said no and told me that he 42 to go to the nursing home on eat breakfast with his 43 .He told me that she had been 44 for a while and that she had a special disease, I asked if she would be 45 if he was a bit late. He replied that she 46 knew who he was ,that she had not been able to 47 him for five years now. I was 48 and asked him,” And you 49 go every morning, even though she doesn’t know who you are?”
He smiled and said .”She doesn’t know me, but I know who she is” I had to hold back 50 as he left.
Now I 51 that in marriages, true love is 52 of all that, The happiest people don’t 53 have the best of everything; they just 54 the best of everything they have .55 isn’t about how to live through the storm, but how to dance in the rain.
A.breath B. test C. seat D. break
A.persuading B. promising C. understanding D. telling
A. if B. before C. since D. after
A. taking off B. fixing C. looking at D. winding
A. very B. also C. seldom D. not
A. turn up B. show off C. come on D. go away
A. needed B. forgot C . agreed D. happened
A. daughter B. wife C. mother D. sister
A late B. well C. around D. there
A. lonely B. worried C. doubtful D. hungry
A. so far B. neither C. no longer D. already
A. recognize B. answer C. believe D. expect
A. moved B. disappointed C. surprised D .satisfied
A. only B. then C. thus D. still
A. curiosity B. tears C. words D. judgment
A. realize B. suggest C. hope D. prove
A. agreement B. expression C. acceptance D. exhibition
A. necessarily B. completely C. naturally D. frequently
A. learn B. make C. favor D. try
A. Adventure B. Beauty C. Trust D .Life
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科目：高中英语 来源：2010年海南省海口市高考调研考试英语 题型：阅读理解
It was graduation day at 
the university where I work and a beautiful day quite unlike the first graduation I attended as a young professor. On that cold day years ago, as we watched the students walking into the hall, one of my colleagues turned to me and said, "Graduation will be one of the happiest and one of the saddest time of your life." At my inquiry, he answered, "Because the students you have gotten to know have to leave."
As years went by, my previous confusion about my colleague's words no longer existed. When I came across naughty students, I have had to rethink why I chose to be a teacher. It obviously isn't the money. Once a former computer science student of mine called me, asking me if I wanted to have a change. He was working at Nintendo Corporation. His salary was higher than my current one, though I have more education and have worked for over a decade. With my programming skills, he said he could get me hired. I thanked him, but declined his kind offer.
A few days before this current graduation, while working on final grades, I found a note a student 
had slipped in with her homework. She thanked me for being her teacher and said the things she had learned in my class — not about math, but about life — would be things she would remember long after the math skills had faded away. As I finished reading, I remembered why I had become a teacher.
Now, on this sunny graduation day, as I again observed the sea of blue hats and gowns, I did so with renewed dedication (奉献) and a deeper sense of satisfaction — I will always be grateful that I am a teacher.
【小题1】Hearing his colleague's description of graduation for the first time, the author .
| A．quite agreed with his colleague | B．thought it very funny |
| C．was very puzzled | D．was very sad. |
| A．wanted to inform the author of his present job |
| B．tried to persuade the author to work with him |
| C．wanted the author to share his joy and satisfaction |
| D．thought the author wasn't fit to be a teacher |
| A．university colleagues | B．life memories |
| C．graduates' clothes | D．decorations in the hall |
| A．express his devotion to being a teacher |
| B．compare two different graduation ceremonies |
| C．talk about the meaning of graduation |
| D．give advice on how to be a good teacher |
| A．he was only a young professor |
| B．he didn't do well in his work |
| C．he taught his students more about life than math |
| D．salaries for different careers are different |
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科目：高中英语 来源：浙江省宁波市20092010学年八校联考高二下学期期末考试试题（英语） 题型：完型填空
第二节完型填空（共20小题；每小题1分，满分20分）
阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从第21—40各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卷上将该项涂黑。
A group of class friends, highly established in their careers, got together to visit their old university professor. Conversation soon 41 into complaints about pressure in work and life.
While the guests were talking, the professor went to the 42 and prepared coffee. Then he 43 with a large pot of coffee and a variety of cups — porcelain (瓷) , plastic, glass, crystal, some 44 looking, some expensive, some delicate (精致) — telling them to 45 themselves to the coffee.
When all the students had a cup of coffee 46 hand, the professor said, “If you noticed, all the nice-looking, expensive cups were taken up, 47 behind the plain and cheap ones. While it is 48 for you to choose the best for yourselves, that is the 49 of your problems and pressure. Be assured that the cup itself 50 no quality to the coffee. In most cases it is just more expensive and in some cases even hides what we drink. Though 51 all of you really wanted was coffee, not the cup, you 52 the best cups directly. And then you began 53 each other’s cups.”
The professor paused and then went on, “Now consider this: Life is the coffee and the jobs, money and 54 in society are the cups. They are just tools to hold and 55 life and they do not change the 56 of life. Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we 57 to enjoy the coffee God has 58 for us. God brews the coffee, not the cup…Enjoy your coffee!
The happiest people don’t have the best of everything. They just 59 the best use of everything.
Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly. Leave the 60 to God.
41. A. stopped B. looked C. became D. turned
42. A. kitchen B. bedroom C. study D. living-room
43. A. went B. got C. returned D. turned
44. A. plain B. clean C. ugly D. fine
45. A. enjoy B. help C. offer D. devote
46. A. for B. by C. in D. with
47. A. falling B. leaving C. hiding D. keeping
48. A. natural B. formal C. necessary D. important
49. A. answer B. cause C. result D. reason
50. A. adapts B. puts C. applies D. adds
51. A. as B. that C. what D. which
52. A. cared for B. called for C. looked for D. went for
53. A. facing B. eyeing C. smelling D. tasting
54. A. condition B. attitude C. position D. situation
55. A. contain B. include C. control D. experience
56. A. quality B. color C. cost D. style
57. A. manage B. start C. hope D. fail
58. A. shown B. taken C. sent D. provided
59. A. keep B. make C. take D. hold
60. A. complex B. remains C. rest D. complaints
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科目：高中英语 来源：20102011学年山东省兖州市高二下学期期中考试英语题 题型：阅读理解
How often one hears children wishing they were grown-ups and old people wishing they were young again. Each age has its pleasures and its pains, and the happiest person is the one who enjoys what each age gives him without wasting his time in useless regrets.
Childhood is a time when there are few responsibilities to make life difficult. If a child has good parents, he is fed, looked after and loved, whatever he may do. It is impossible that he will ever again in his life be given so much without having to do anything in return. In addition, life is always presenting new things to the child — things that have lost their interest for older people because they are too well-known. But a child has his parents. He is not so free to do what he wishes to do; he is continually being told not to do things or being punished for what he has done wrong.
When the young man starts to earn his own living, he can no longer expect others to pay for his food, his clothes, and his room, but has to work if he wants to live comfortably. If he spends most of his time playing about in the way that he used to as a child, he will go hungry. And if he breaks the laws of society as he used to break the laws of his parents, he may go to prison. If, however, he works hard, keeps out of trouble and has good health, he can have the great happiness of building up for himself his own position in society.
1. According to the second paragraph, the writer thinks that __________.
|
A．if much is given to a child, he must do something in return |
|
B．a child is always loved whatever he does |
|
C．life for a child is comparatively easy |
|
D．only children are interested in life |
2. After a child grows up, he __________.
|
A．will have little time playing |
|
B．has to be successful in finding a job |
|
C．can still ask for help in time of trouble |
|
D．should be able to take care of himself |
3. Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage?
|
A．Life is less interesting for old people. |
|
B．People are often satisfied with their life. |
|
C．Adults are free to do what they want to do. |
|
D．Adults should no longer rely on others. |
4.The underlined word "responsibilities" in the second paragraph means __________.
|
A．jobs |
B．duties |
C．suggestions |
D．desires |
5. The main idea of the passage is __________.
|
A．life is not enjoyable since each age has some pains |
|
B．young men can have the greatest happiness if they work hard |
|
C．childhood is the most enjoyable time in one's life |
|
D．one is the happiest if he can make good use of each age in his life |
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科目：高中英语 来源：20102011学年内蒙古高一下学期期末考试英语题 题型：完型填空
Mom, Dad, I’m going to college! Can you believe it? I never thought it could happen. 16 middle school and part of high school, I 17 to keep up. I was not a bad student，but I just didn’t understand 18 they were teaching because I have a learning 19 . I wanted to show everyone I could graduate and go to 20 . I wanted to make something of myself, and 21 I wasn’t a failure.
22 the time came to choose a college, I wasn’t sure which would be the best for me. I knew I didn’t 23 to go to a big school, which narrowed (缩小) my 24 to a small college which could be 25 for me with a learning disability. I looked in Florida and found three schools. I 26 two, but they just didn’t 27 . Then I visited Beacon College. Beacon is mainly for students who have learning disabilities and it has small classes.
The day when I was 28 by Beacon College was the happiest day of my life. I received the call from the school 29 me I was accepted just as I was sitting down for dinner. My family was so 30 , and I was ready to pack that night and move to Florida. The expectation of going to college 31 the rest of my senior year.
The closer the time came, the more nervous I became about being in a(n) 32 place. Finally my parents and I packed the car and 33 Florida. After a two-day drive, we arrived. “Welcome to Beacon College! It is so nice to see you!” I heard 34 from the teachers and students, as we were introduced. I felt so 35 to hear those cheerful voices. I knew I had found a perfect（理想的）school. I had found my home for the next four years.
1.A.During B. Through C. Until D. Under
2.A. struggled B. started C. forgot D. turned
3.A. how B. that C. why D. what
4. A. experience B. advantage C. disability D. habit
5. A. work B. college C. hospital D. home
6. A. believe B. prove C. feel D.imagine
7. A. Because B. After C. When D. Before
8. A. want B. manage C. decide D. refuse
9.A. plans B. decisions C. choices D. purposes
10. A. honorable B. imaginable C. suitable D. comfortable
11. A. expected B. left C. visited D. dreamed
12. A. work B. fit C. match D. satisfy
13.A. asked B. invited C. admitted D. attracted
14. A. telling B. warning C. advising D. reminding
15. A. worried B. surprised C. frightened D. excited
16.A. stopped B. lasted C. saw D. held
17. A. old B. famous C. familiar D. new
18. A. cared for B. looked for C. headed for D. asked for
19.A. day and night B. over and over C. more or less D. up and down
20.A. warm B. cold C. sad D. sorry
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