考研社会现象类阅读强化（上）
考研社会现象类阅读
1 The upstart science of happiness mixes psychology with economics. Its adherents start with copious survey data, such as those derived from the simple，casual question concerning happiness put to thousands of Americans every year or two since 1972： “Taken all together，how would you say things are these days-would you say that you are very happy，pretty happy or not too happy?”Some of the results are unsurprising: the rich report being happier than do the poor. But a paradox emerges that requires explanation： affluent countries have not got much happier as they have grown richer. From America to Japan, figures for well-being have barely changed.
2 The science of happiness offers two explanations for the paradox. Capitalism，it notes, is adept at turning luxuries into necessities-bringing to the masses what the elites have always enjoyed. But the negative aspect of this genius is that people come to take for granted things they once coveted from afar. Ornaments they never thought they could have become essentials that they can’t do without. People are stuck on a treadmill: as they achieve a better standard of living, they become accustomed to its pleasures.
3 Capitalism’s ability to take things down-market also has its limits. Many of the things people most prize-such as the top jobs, the best education, or an exclusive home address-are luxuries by necessity. An elite schooling, for example, cease to be so if it is provided to everyone. These “luxuries” as they are called, are in fixed supply: you can enjoy them only if others do not. The amount of money and efforts required to grab them depends on how much your rivals are putting in.
4 Take work, for instance. In 1930 John Maynard Keynes imagined that richer societies would become more leisured ones, liberated from toil to enjoy the finer things in life. Yet most people still put in a decent shift. They work hard to afford things they think will make them happy, only to discover the fruits of their labor sour quickly. They also aspire to a higher place in this fierce society, but in so doing force others in the rat race to run faster to keep up. So everyone loses.
5 Yet it is not self-evident that less work would mean more happiness. In America, when the working week has shortened, the gap has been filled by endless TV-watching. As for well-being, other studies show that elderly people who stop working tend to die sooner than their peers who labor on. Indeed, another side of happiness economics busies itself studying the non-monetary rewards from work: most people enjoy parts of their work, and some people love it.
26、The survey’s results about happiness suggest that____.
A. well-being can be measured by wealth
B. the richest countries are not the happiest
C. rises in wealth are not matched with increases in happiness
D. the poor are not necessarily less happy than the rich
参考答案：C
27、Capitalism’s ability to turn luxuries into necessities _____.
A. brings great pleasure to the masses
B. satisfies the wants of a small elite
C. bridges the gap between elite and mass consumption
D. makes people insensitive to happiness
参考答案：D
28、Which of the following is true according to Paragraph 3?
A. Luxuries moving down-market impact how happy people feel.
B. People tend to spend more money than their rivals to get luxuries.
C. Most people can obtain the top jobs.
D. Elite schools are open to any student.
参考答案：A
29、The author uses the example of work in the last two paragraphs to______.
A. demonstrate the benefits of richer and more leisured societies
B. illustrate the topic of what may make people happier
C. explain why everyone is a loser in this competitive world
D. emphasize the importance of hard work in our life
参考答案：B
30、What can be inferred from the last paragraph?
A. Watching TV gives Americans more pleasure than working.
B. Less work provides people with more happiness.
C. Old people who keep on working are more likely to die early.
D. Work can bring people more rewards besides money.
参考答案：D
ornament
We are even farther removed from the unfocused newspaper reviews published in England between the turn of the 20th century and the eve of World War II, at a time when newsprint was dirt-cheap and stylish arts criticism was considered an ornament to the publications in which it appeared. In those far-off days, it was taken for granted that the critics of major papers would write in detail and at length about the events they covered.
convet
v. 垂涎；觊觎；眼红
A simple desire of life will not distract their mind and convet others . They are satisfied in their spiritual world , loneliess but happy .
Its adherents start with copious survey data, such as those derived from the simple，casual question concerning happiness put to thousands of Americans every year or two since 1972： “Taken all together，how would you say things are these days-would you say that you are very happy，pretty happy or not too happy?
某追随者从大量的调查数据入手，比如，那些来自有关幸福的简单而随意的问题的调查数据。自1972年以来，每隔一两年就会有成千上万的美国人提出有关幸福的问题： 总的来说， 你觉得现如今自己生活得如何—非常幸福，基本幸福或者是不太幸福？
Capitalism，it notes, is adept at turning luxuries into necessities—bringing to the masses what the elites have always enjoyed.
它指出， 资本主义善于把奢侈品贬变成必需品，就是把那些精英阶层一贯享受得东西带给大众。
They work hard to afford things they think will make them happy, only to discover the fruits of their labor sour quickly.
他们为了能够买得起他们认为能带来幸福的东西而努力工作，到头来发现他们的劳动成果迅速地腐烂变质。
考研视频教程：您可进入👉本站首页👈
更多考研讲义：您可进入👉考研资料栏目👈