Question

When asked about happiness, we usually think of someth.ng extraordinary, an absolute delight, which seems to get rarer the older we get.

For kids, happiness has a magical quality. Their delight at winning a race or getting a new bike is unreserved (毫无掩饰的).

In the teenage years the concept of happiness changes. Suddenly it's conditional on such things as excitement, love and popularity. I can still recall the excitement of being invited to dance with the most attractive boy at the school party.

In adulthood the things that bring deep joy—love, marriage, birth—also bring responsibility and the risk of loss. For adults, happiness is complicated(复杂的).

My definition of happiness is "the capacity for enjoyment". The more we can enjoy what we have, the happier we are. It's easy to overlook the pleasure we get from the company of friends, the freedom to live where we please, and even good health.

I experienced my little moments of pleasure yesterday. First I was overjoyed when I shut the last lunch-box and had the house to myself. Then I spent an uninterrupted morning writing, which 1 love. When the kids and my husband came home, 1 enjoyed their noise after the quiet of the day.

Psychologists tell us that to be happy we need a mix of enjoyable leisure time and satisfying work. I don't think that my grandmother, who raised 14 children, had much of either. She did have a network of close friends and family, and maybe this is what satisfied her.

We, however, with so many choices and such pressure to succeed in every area, have turned happiness into one more thing we've got to have. We're so self-conscious about our "right" to it that it's making us miserable. So we chase it and equal it with wealth and success, without noticing that the people who have those things aren't necessarily happier.

Happiness isn't about what happens to us―it's about how we see what happens to us. It's the skillful way of finding a positive for every negative. It's not wishing for what we don't have, but enjoying what we do possess.

51. As people grow older, they ______.

A. feel it harder to experience happiness

B. associate their happiness less with others

C. will take fewer risks in pursuing happiness

D. tend to believe responsibility means happiness

53. What can we learn about the author from Paragraphs 5 and 6?

A. She cans little about ha own health

B. She enjoys the freedom of trawling

C. She is easily pleased by things in daily life.

D. She prefers getting pleasure from housework

53. What can be inferred from Paragraph 7?

A. Psychologists think satisfying work is key to happiness

B. Psychologists* opinion is well proved by Grandma's case.

C. Grandma often found time for social gatherings

D. Grandma's happiness came from modest expectations of life,
54. People who equal happiness with wealth and success

A. consider pressure something blocking their way

B. stress their right to happiness too much

C. arc at a loss to make correct choices

D. arc more likely to be happy

55. What can be concluded from the passage?

A. Happiness lies between the positive and the negative.

B. Each nun is the master of his own fate

C. Success leads to happiness.

D. Hippy is he who is content.

Answer 1

【语篇解读】本文是一篇议论文。首段开门见山提出幸福是随着年龄的增长越来越难有的一种感觉，随后从儿童、少年、成年人、自身以及心理学家们的角度来界定何谓幸福。文章最后点明观点。

段落	关键词	大意推测
第一部分（Para. 1）	get rarer, the older	开门见山提出问题：谈谈幸福 年龄越大，幸福感越稀有
第二部分（Para. 2-7）	for kids; the teenager; the adults; my definition of happiness，psychologists	不同人群对幸福的界定： 儿童，青少年，成年人，我以及心理学家们对幸福的界定
第三部分（Para. 8-9）	so self-conscious, making us miserable, chase it and equal it with wealth and success, enjoying what we do possess.	得出结论： 如此下意识的的；使我们很痛苦；追求它，把它等同于财富和成功，享受我们所拥有的。

【解析】

51.A。细节判断题。难度：较易。找到题干关键词get older,定位在第一段。根据which seems to get rarer the older we get.（我们年龄越大，幸福感越稀有），锁定正确答案A.（觉得很难体验到幸福）。

52.C。细节理解题。难度：中等。找到题干的题眼：Para.5and 6.通读两个段落，第五段主要在谈论作者对幸福界定：享受我们所拥有的就是幸福；第六段现身说法，从独享独处到享受一家人热热闹闹的场景，告诉我们：幸福很容易，就在我们身边。因此，正确答案：她很容易感受日常生活中的事物带来的幸福，选项C.

53.D。推理判断题。难度：较难。题干的题眼为Para.7.通读完整个段落，找到结论性句子She did have a network of close friends and family, and maybe this is what satisfied her（尽管她没有休闲的娱乐时间没有满意的工作，但她的确有亲近的朋友与家人圈，这可能是她幸福的地方吧）。由此可断定Grandma的幸福来自于对生活的适度期望。

干扰项排除：选项A（哲学家们认为令人满意的工作是幸福的关键）。由本段的第一句就知道这个说法很片面；选项B（奶奶的个案有力地证明了心理学家们的观点）。从本段的第二句话可以看出这个说法正好与作者的观点相反；选项C（奶奶经常会找到参加社交的时间）文中并未提及，作者只是提及奶奶有自己的朋友圈，但这不能表明奶奶总能有时间参加社交。

54.B。细节判断题。难度：较易。找到题干的关键词equal，定位在para.8，根据We’re so self-conscious about our right to it that it’s making us miserable. So we chase it and equal it with wealth and success……（我们如此看重对于幸福的权利以至于它使得我们很痛苦，因此，我追求它，把它等同于财富和成功），因此，锁定答案stress their right to happiness too much（过分强调对于幸福的权利）。

55.D。主旨概括题。难度：较难。对于议论文的文章，重点在首末段。首段可能抛出问题或者提出某个观点；末段进行总结概括。本文的首段提出：人们对于幸福的感受，随着年龄的增长感受幸福的机会越稀有。属于开篇提出问题。末段末句It's not wishing for what we don’t have ,but enjoying what we do possess（幸福不是渴望我们没有的；而是享受我们所真正拥有的）。锁定答案D。

【难句学习】

1. When asked about happiness, we usually think of something extraordinary, an absolute delight, which seems to get rarer the older we get.

翻译：当被问及幸福的时候，我们通常会想起不平凡的事物或者绝对的喜悦，这种幸福感随着我们年龄的增大感受的机会越稀少。

分析：句子的主干是we usually think of something extraordinary, an absolute delight；when引导的是时间状语从句，从句省略了we are；which引导的是非限制性定语从句，先行词为happiness。

2. It's not wishing for what we don’t have ,but enjoying what we do possess

翻译：幸福不是渴望我们没有的；而是享受我们所真正拥有的。

分析：本句是由连词not……but……（不是……而是……）引导的。两个what从句分别做wish for与enjoy的宾语从句。