I live in Hollywood. You may think people in such an attractive, fun-filled place are happier than others. If so, you have some mistaken ideas about the nature of happiness.

Many intelligent people still equate happiness with fun. The truth is that fun and happiness have little or nothing in common. Fun is what we experience during an act. Happiness is what we experience after an act. It is a deeper, more long-lasting emotion. Going to an amusement park or ball game, watching a movie or television, are fun activities that help us relax, temporarily forget our problems and maybe even laugh. But they do not bring happiness, because their positive effects end when the fun ends.

I have often thought that if Hollywood stars have a role to play, it is to teach us that happiness has nothing to do with fun. These rich, beautiful individuals have constant access to exciting parties, fancy cars, expensive homes, everything that spells “happiness”. But in memoir(回忆录) after memoir, celebrities reveal the unhappiness hidden beneath all their fun: depression, alcoholism, drug addiction, broken marriages, troubled children, and long-time loneliness.

The way people hold on to the belief that a fun-filled, pain-free life equates happiness actually decreases their chances of ever attaining real happiness. If fun and pleasure are equated with happiness, then pain must be equated with unhappiness. But, in fact, the opposite is true: More times than not, things that lead to happiness involve some pain.

As a result, many people avoid the very efforts that are the source of true happiness. They fear the pain inevitably brought by such things as marriage, raising children, professional achievement, religious commitment, charitable work and self-improvement.

1.According to the passage, “fun activities” ____________.

A. are the things we do before we find happiness    

B. may help us relax and forget our problems sometimes

C. will lead us to the true happiness

D. could provide long-last positive effects

2. In the author’s opinion, those Hollywood stars ____________.

A. possess happiness because they are rich and famous

B. experience almost all kinds of happy things

C. tell us happiness isn’t equal to fun using their own stories

D. have to suffer a lot before they become successful

3. It is difficult for people to find real happiness because ____________.

A. they believe happiness is the fun life without pain

B. they find pain equals unhappiness

C. they fear to lose what they already have in life

D. They are afraid all their efforts were in vain

4.The main purpose of the text is to ____________.

A. describe the difference between happiness and fun

B. show the true meaning of happiness

C. encourage people to pursue fun activities

D. advise people to find their real life

 

How could I turn down an opportunity for a weeklong cruise on a luxury motorsailer in the Andaman Sea? Without a second thought, I packed my bags and jumped on a plane to Singapore, and the following day I found myself looking out the airplane window at the beautiful waters surrounding the island of Langkawi off the coast of Malaysia.
The last time I was in Langkawi was in 2001, when it was relatively quiet. Langkawi has come a long way since then; there are 4, 5, and even 6-star hotels, as well as spas, golfing, horseback riding and even a cable car taking visitors to the highest point on the island.
At the Langkawi International Airport I met my shipmates and we were driven to Pantai Tengah with a quick pit stop for sunblock and duty-free goodies. Many other shopping opportunities abound since Langkawi was designated as a duty-free zone in 1987 to entice tourists to the island.
A luxurious yacht tender picked us up. Phillipe, the first mate, maneuvered the tender between sailboats and as we went around a small island there she was, S/V Blue Gold. This majestic 10-passenger sailboat—all 165 feet of her—had been built in Italy and recently underwent a full retrofit. Once aboard, the crew welcomed us with refreshments and big smiles. Before we got too comfortable and settled into the plush comforts of the boat, Alain, the captain, took us on a tour of Blue Gold’s impressive accommodations. The master suite had a king-size bed, with a lounge area and “his & hers” wardrobes. The VIP cabin had a queen-size bed, also with a lounge area. Both had ensuite bathrooms.
The first evening aboard was the perfect start to our voyage—a small cocktail party followed by a light meal of seared tuna salad. It was exactly what our jet-lagged bodies craved, and we all slept very well aboard what would become our new home for the next 7 days.
In the morning after breakfast, we sailed to Pulau Ta Ngah (also spelled “Pulau Tengah”; pulau means island in Malay). In the 1970s the site had been a Vietnamese refugee transit camp. Not long after the end of the war, the camp was shut down and the island was gazetted as a marine park by the Malaysian government. Officially “uninhabited,” it does boast a golf course, but we were unable to determine if it was still in operation. The most intriguing event on the island occurs in July when the giant leatherback turtles lay their eggs on a beach on Ta Ngah.
【小题1】Where is Langkawi?

A．In Pulau Ta Ngah

B．In Malaysia

C．In the Atlantic Ocean

D．In The Arctic

【小题2】We know from the passage Langkawi________.

A．has become prosperous in the past decade

B．was a noisy industrial city twenty years ago

C．has no three-star hotels nowadays

D．is best known for its horse riding races

【小题3】S/V Blue Gold is __________.

A．a small island with most beautiful sceneries we have ever seen

B．a luxurious 6-star hotel with best food and service

C．a VIP cabin with 9 queen-size beds and ensuite bathrooms

D．a splendid boat with comfortable accommodations

【小题4】It is implied that _________.

A．many people go golfing on Pulau Ta Ngah every year

B．the Vietnamese War broke out in 1970

C．the author liked the party and meal provided in the voyage

D．people living on Pulau Ta Ngah must have earned a lot of money

【小题5】The article is probably part of __________.

A．a news report

B．a travel story

C．an advertisement

D．an operating manual

第三部分：阅读理解（共15小题，每小题2分，满分30分）

阅读下列短文，然后从各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C、D）中，选出最佳选项。

Thirty years ago I worked in a company. My job was to sell the cars. I was young and strong and I had been to most parts of the world and I spent one fifth of my time in the trains or planes. I liked such a life and sometimes I called myself “traveler”.

But one day I got into trouble. It was a cold morning. It blew heavily and the ground was covered with thick snow outside. I was still in bed though it was nine. I finished a long journey the day before and decided to have a good rest. Suddenly the telephone rang and my manager told me to fly to New York to take part in an important meeting. I had to get up and after a quick breakfast I hurried to the airport. The taxi went slowly and I missed the first flight. I had to take the next one. It meant I would wait for nearly five hours in the waiting-room. But five hours later a passenger said the information showed there was a bomb in our plane and the policemen were looking for it. And another five hours passed and most passengers lost their patience before we were allowed to get on the plane. At the entrance each passenger and their baggage had to be examined. A young man who seemed a soldier shouted at the policemen at the entrance, “If I had a gun in my baggage, I would shoot you two hours ago!”

56．The writer called himself “traveler” because he________

A．sold cars for his company       B．often took trains and cars

C．traveled all over the world       D．liked traveling in many places

57．He didn’t get up until the phone rang because he________

A．felt very cold outside           B．wanted to have a rest that day

C．was going to have a meeting     D．was waiting for the manager’s call

58．The taxi went slowly because________

A．there was much snow on the road

B．it was very cold that morning

C．the driver didn’t know he would fly to New York

D．the manager told him not to hurry

59．The young man became angry because he________.

A．wouldn’t be examined

B．had a gun in his baggage

C．waited for a long time at the airport

D．hated the policemen at the entrance

 

－Did you enjoy your journey to the town?

一        ．We had driven more than 3 hours before we found the right way．

A．Absolutely        B．No way          C．Not at all         D．Quite a lot

 

“It hurts me more than you”, and “This is for your own good”—these are the statements my mother used to make years ago when I had to learn Latin, clean my room, stay home and do homework.
That was before we entered the permissive period in education in which we decided it was all right not to push our children to achieve their best in school. The schools and the educators made it easy for us. They taught that it was all right to be parents who take a let-alone policy. We stopped making our children do homework. We gave them calculators, turned on the television, left the teaching to the teachers and went on vacation.
Now teachers, faced with children who have been developing at their own pace for the past 15 years, are realizing we’ve made a terrible mistake. One such teacher is Sharon Klompus who says of her students “so passive” and wonders what has happened. Nothing is demanded of them, she believes. Television, says Klompus, contributes to children’s passivity. “We’re talking about a generation of kids who’ve never been hurt or hungry. They have learned somebody will always do it for them, instead of saying ‘go and look it up’, you tell them the answer. It takes greater energy to say no to a kid.”
Yes, it does. It takes energy and it takes work. It’s time for parents to end their vacation and come back to work. It’s time to take the car away, to turn the TV off, to tell them it hurts you more than them but it’s for their own good. It’s time to start telling them no again.  
【小题1】We learn from the passage that the author’s mother used to lay emphasis on（强调）    .

A．his learning a foreign language

B．his ability to control behavior

C．his natural development

D．his school education

【小题2】According to the author, “the permissive period” in Paragraph 2 means a time   .

A．when children are allowed to do what they wish to

B．when everything can be taught at school

C．when every child can be educated

D．when children are permitted to receive education

【小题3】What is the main idea of the passage?

A．Parents should leave their kids alone

B．Kids should have more activities at school.

C．It’s time to be stricter with our kids.

D．Parents should set a good example to their kids.