Happiness is U-shaped, for we are happier at the start and end of our lives but hit a slump when we are middle-aged, British and US researchers say.

Economists from the University of Warwick, central England, and from Dartmouth College, New Hampshire, looked at data on the mental health of two million people from 80 countries.

In Britain, the probability of depression for men and women peaks at around 44 years of age, Warwick University said in a press release.

In the United States, though, ________________________between men and women. Among women, unhappiness peaked at around the age of 40, whereas among men, it was about 50.

But the U-shape of happiness is constant around the world, and mid-life depression occurs regardless of marital status（婚姻状况）, changes in job or income.

The study appears in Social Science & Medicine, published by the Dutch publishing house Elsevier.

"It happens to men and women, to single and married people, to rich and poor, and to those with and without children.” said co-author Andrew Oswald.

One possibility may be that people realize they won't achieve many of their ambitions at middle age. The researchers said.

Another reason could be that after seeing their fellow middle-aged peers begin to die, people begin to value their own remaining years and embrace life once more.

But the good news is that if people make it to aged 70 and are still physically fit, they are on average as happy and mentally healthy as a 20-year old.

"For the average persons in the modern world, the dip in mental health and happiness comes on slowly, not suddenly in a single year," Oswald said. "Only in their fifties do people emerge from this low period.”

1. Which sentence in the passage is the closest in meaning to the following one?

There are chances that the middle-aged people will realize their ideal is likely to be unattainable.

__________________________________________________________________________

2. Fill in the blank in Paragraph 3 with a proper sentence．（within 10 words）

__________________________________________________________________________

3. How do you understand the sentence that “Happiness is U-shaped”? （within 20 words）

__________________________________________________________________________

4. Is mid-life depression a common Phenomenon in the world? How do you know? （within 15 words）

__________________________________________________________________________

5. Translate the underlined sentence in the last paragraph into Chinese

__________________________________________________________________________

Most people think their time problems are outer, and that they are caused by the telephone, meetings, visitors, and delayed information or decisions. Although these problems often have a bad effete on them, as when people call or drop in, we usually contribute to them. We fail to have calls screened by a skillful secretary or assistant, or we leave our door open, actually assuring constant interruptions.

In almost all cases, it is possible to influence, if not control, it usually can cause problems, such as, slowness and indecision, lack of self-discipline, the inability to delegate, or the tendency to fight fires, to act without thinking, and to jump from task to task without finishing any of them.

Time is constant that cannot be changed. The clock cannot be slowed down or speeded up. Thus we cannot manage time itself. We can only manage our activities with respect to time.

The same skills are needed as those used in managing others—the abilities to plan, organize, delegate, direct, and control. Time management is simply self-management. It is impossible to be effective in any position without controlling one’s time effectively.

Successful time management does not mean working harder, but working smarter. All kinds of management skills must be used in the home and office to get most value from time. You must think ahead about what to do, and timely than others, making it get maximum results in the shortest possible period.

1.According to the writer, time problems             .

A．are caused by the telephone, meetings and visitors

B．are caused by delayed information or decisions

C．can be solved by self-management

D．can’t be controlled

2.Which of the following is NOT mentioned as tile internally generated time wasters?

A．slowness and indecision.

B．Lack of self-discipline.

C．Jumping from task to task without finishing any of them.

D．Working hard.

3.It can be concluded from the passage that the abilities to plan, organize, delegate, direct and control should      .

A．be used in managing others’ activities

B．be used in managing one’s own activities

C．not be used in time management

D．be used in managing both others’ and one’s activities

4.We can also draw a conclusion that the key to successful time management is        .

A．working harder and harder

B．clever self-management

C．thinking of what to do, and how and when to do it

D．employing a skillful secretary

 

One of my next-door neighbors is a sweet 92-year-old Polish lady. A few days ago, I came back home from a trip. As I was  1 my clothes in my room, I heard a(n)       2  ,violent knock on the door. It was 10:30 pm, and I wasn’t sure who it could be. I went downstairs and  3  the peephole（猫眼）, and saw that it was our sweet next-door neighbor.

I quickly   4  the door, and she seemed really distressed and kept 5 , “please help me, I need your help. The fire alarm won’t go off. Please help me.” I  6  told her that everything would be okay, and  7  her to her house to see what was going on  8  the fire alarm.

She  9 that the alarm had been going on and off inconsistently for the past two hours, and that her  10  to call her daughter to come and fix it was fruitless. So I took a chair from her dining room table,  11  it, and looked at the fire alarm.

After twisting the fire alarm off, I blew into it, because sometimes  12 causes it to make strange noises. She seemed  13 but was exactly shaking out of fear. I asked her  14 she was okay, and she said she was 15  , so I gave her a hug. I felt her shaking in my embrace, and held her _16_ for a few minutes until she stopped shaking and sighed a breath of relief.

We then  17 and talked for ten minutes, until I felt that she was okay, and safe to sleep. She was so generous with  18 for being with her, but I thanked her for  19 me that hugs are indeed good tools! So, sometimes, a(n) 20  hug is a good and powerful way to hold someone going through a difficult period.

1.                A．collecting       B．designing       C．unpacking D．setting

 

2.                A．continual       B．flexible         C．rhythmic  D．impressive

 

3.                A．looked through   B．made out       C．cut up    D．turned to

 

4.                A．closed         B．moved         C．locked   D．opened

 

5.                A．thinking        B．repeating       C．complaining   D．screaming

 

6.                A．frequently      B．briefly          C．immediately   D．roughly

 

7.                A．required        B．accompanied    C．inspected D．observed

 

8.                A．for            B．to             C．by   D．with

 

9.                A．predicted       B．warned         C．mentioned    D．proved

 

10.               A．attempt        B．suggestion      C．responsibility   D．permission

 

11.               A．pressed        B．revolved        C．crashed   D．climbed

 

12.               A．power         B．dust           C．paper D．switch

 

13.               A．determined     B．terrified        C．relieved   D．devoted

 

14.               A．when          B．how           C．why  D．if

 

15.               A．afraid          B．tired           C．sleepy D．pleased

 

16.               A．casually        B．tightly          C．automatically   D．abruptly

 

17.               A．broke down     B．sped up        C．sat down   D．turned around

 

18.               A．suffering       B．regret          C．shame D．gratitude

 

19.               A．advising        B．reminding       C．encouraging    D．advocating

 

20.               A．simple         B．special         C．official    D．sudden

 

 

One of my. next-door neighbor is a sweet 92-year-old Polish lady. A few days ago, I came back from a trip. As I was  16 . my clothes in my room, I heard a(n)  17  , frantic(发疯的) knock on the door. It was 10:30 pm, and I wasn’t sure who it could be. I went downstairs and  18  the peephole, and saw that it was our sweet next-door neighbor.

I quickly  19  the door, and she seemed really distressed and kept  20 , Please help me. I need your help. The fire alarm won’t go off. Please help me.” I  21  told her that everything would be okay, and  22  her to her house to see what was going on  23  the fire alarm.

She  24  that the alarm had been going on and off inconsistently(反复无常的) for the past two hours, and that her  25  to call her daughter to come and fix it was fruitless. So I took a chair from her dining room table,  26  it, and looked at the tire alarm.

After twisting the fire alarm off, I blew into it, because sometimes  27  causes it to make strange noises. She seemed  28  but was literally shaking out of fear. I asked her  29  she was okay, and she said she was  30  , so I gave her a hug. I felt her shaking in my embrace, and held her  31  for a few minutes until she stopped shaking and sighed a breath of relief.

We then  32  and talked for ten minutes, until I felt that she was okay. and safe to sleep. She was so generous with  33  for being with her, but I thanked her for  34  me that hugs are indeed good tools! So, sometimes, a(n)  35  hug is a good and powerful way to hold someone going through a difficult period.

1.A. collecting           B. designing                         C. unpacking                        D. setting

2.A. constant             B. flexible                    C. rhythmic                          D. impressive

3.A. looked through          B. made out                         C. cut off                               D. turned to

4.A. closed                          B. moved                              C. locked                              D. opened

5.A. thinking              B. repeating                         C. complaining           D. screaming

6.A. frequently                   B. briefly                               C. immediately           D. roughly

7.A. required            B. accompanied                  C. inspected                         D. observed

8.A. for                       B .to                                       C. by                             D. with

9.A. predicted                    B. warned                   C. mentioned                       D. proved

10.A. attempt            B. suggestion                       C. responsibility                  D. permission

11.A. pressed            B. revolved                          C. crashed                            D. climbed

12.A. power                         B. dust                                   C. paper                                D. switch

13.A. determined               B. terrified                           C. relieved                           D. devoted

14.A. when                          B. how                                   C. why                                   D. if

15.A. afraid                          B. tired                                  C. sleepy                               D. pleased

16.A. casually                      B. tightly                               C. automatically                   D. abruptly

17.A. broke down               B. sped up                            C. sat down                          D. turned around

18.A. suffering                   B. regret                              C. shame                    D. gratitude

19.A. advising            B. reminding                       C. encouraging                   D. advocating

20.A. simple                        B. special                             C. official                             D. sudden

 

Happiness is U-shaped, for we are happier at the start and end of our lives but hit a slump when we are middle-aged, British and US researchers say.

Economists from the University of Warwick, central England, and from Dartmouth College, New Hampshire, looked at data on the mental health of two million people from 80 countries.

In Britain, the probability of depression for men and women peaks at around 44 years of age, Warwick University said in a press release.  

In the United States, though, ________________________between men and women. Among women, unhappiness peaked at around the age of 40, whereas among men, it was about 50.

But the U-shape of happiness is constant around the world, and mid-life depression occurs regardless of marital status(婚姻状况), changes in job or income.

The study appears in Social Science & Medicine, published by the Dutch publishing house Elsevier.  

"It happens to men and women, to single and married people, to rich and poor, and to those with and without children." said co-author Andrew Oswald.

One possibility may be that people realize they won't achieve many of their ambitions at middle age. The researchers said.

Another reason could be that after seeing their fellow middle-aged peers begin to die, people begin to value their own remaining years and embrace life once more.

But the good news is that if people make it to aged 70 and are still physically fit, they are on average as happy and mentally healthy as a 20-year old.

"For the average persons in the modern world, the dip in mental health and happiness comes on slowly, not suddenly in a single year," Oswald said. "Only in their fifties do people emerge from this low period.  

1.Which sentence in the passage is the closest in meaning to the following one?

 There are chances that the middle-aged people will realize their ideal is likely to be unattainable. 

_________________________________________________________________________

2.Fill in the blank in Paragraph 3 with a proper sentence．(within 10 words)

                                                                         

3.How do you understand the sentence that “Happiness is U-shaped”? (within 20 words)

_________________________________________________________________________

4.Is mid-life depression a common Phenomenon in the world ? How do you know?(within 15 words) 

_________________________________________________________________________

5.Translate the underlined sentence in the last paragraph into Chinese

_________________________________________________________________________