Over the last 70 years, researchers have been studying happy and unhappy people and finally found out ten factors that make a difference. Our feelings of well-being at any moment are determined to a certain degree by genes. However, of all the factors, wealth and age are the top two.
Money can buy a degree of happiness. But once you can afford to feed, clothe and house yourself , each extra dollar makes less and less difference.
Researchers find that, on average, wealthier people are happier. But the link between money and happiness is complex. In the past half-century, average income has sharply increased in developed countries, yet happiness levels have remained almost the same. Once your basic needs are met, money only seems to increase happiness if you have more than your friends, neighbors and colleagues.
“Dollars buy status, and status makes people feel better,” conclude some experts, which helps explain why people who can seek status in other ways---scientists or actors, for example—may happily accept relatively poorly-paid jobs.
In a research, Professor Alex Michalos found that the people whose desires—not just for money, but for friends, family, job, health—rose furthest beyond what they already had, tended to be less happy than those who felt a smaller gap. Indeed, the size of the gap predicted happiness about five times better than income alone. “The gap measures just blow away the only measures of income.” Says Michalos.
Another factor that has to do with happiness is age. Old age may not be so bad. “Given all the problems of aging, how could the elderly be more satisfied?” asks Professor Laura Carstensen.
In one survey, Carstensen interviewed 184 people between the ages of 18 and 94, and asked them to fill out an emotions questionnaire. She found that old people reported positive emotions just as often as young people, but negative emotions much less often.
Why are old people happier? Some scientists suggest older people may expect life to be harder and learn to live with it, or they’re more realistic about their goals, only setting ones that they know they can achieve. But Carstensen thinks that with time running out, older people have learned to focus on things that make them happy and let go of those that don’t. “People realize not only what they have, but also that what they have cannot last forever,” she says. “A goodbye kiss to a husband or wife at the age of 85, for example, may bring far more complex emotional responses than a similar kiss to a boy or girl friend at the age of 20.
【小题1】According to the passage, the feeling of happiness ________.

A．is determined partly by genes	B．increases gradually with age
C．has little to do with wealth	D．is measured by desires

【小题2】Some actors would like to accept poorly-paid jobs because the jobs_____.

A．make them feel much better	B．provide chances to make friends
C．improve their social position	D．satisfy their professional interests

【小题3】Aged people are more likely to feel happy because they are more______.

A．optimistic

B．successful

C．practical

D．emotional

【小题4】Professor Alex Michalos found that people feel less happy if _______.

A．the gap between reality and desire is bigger

B．they have a stronger desire for friendship

C．their income is below their expectation

D．the hope for good health is greater

Even before my father left us, my mother had to go back to work to support our family. Once I came out of the kitchen, complaining, “Mom, I can’t peel(剥……的皮) potatoes. I have only one hand.”
Mom never looked up from sewing. “You get yourself into that kitchen and peel those potatoes,” she told me. “And don’t ever use that as an excuse for anything again!”
In the second grade, our teacher lined up my class on the playground and had each of us race across the monkey bars, swinging from one high steel rod to the next. When it was my turn, I shook my head. Some kids behind me laughed, and I went home crying.
That night I told Mom about it. She hugged me, and I saw her “we’ll see about that” look. The next afternoon, she took me back to school. At the deserted playground, Mom looked carefully at the bars.
“Now, pull up with your right arm,” she advised. She stood by as I struggled to lift myself with my right hand until I could hook the bar with my other elbow(肘). Day after day we practiced, and she praised me for every rung I reached. I’ll never forget the next time, crossing the rungs, I looked down at the kids who were standing with their mouths open.
One night, after a dance at my new junior high, I lay in bed sobbing. I could hear Mom come into my room. “Mom,” I said, weeping, “none of the boys would dance with me.”
For a long time, I didn’t hear anything. Then she said, “Oh, honey, someday you’ll be beating those boys off with a bat.” Her voice was faint. I peeked(窥视) out from my covers to see tears running down her cheeks. Then I knew how much she suffered on my behalf（利益）. She had never let me see her tears.
【小题1】 Which of the following expressions can be used most suitably to describe Mom’s attitude when she made the child to peel potatoes?

A．Cruel.	B．Serious.
C．Cold.	D．Strict

【小题2】 What does the sentence “I saw her ‘we’ll see about that’ look” imply(暗示)?

A．Mom believed every aim could be achieved if you stuck to it.

B．The race across monkey bars was not difficult enough for a child to give up.

C．Mom was determined to prove she herself was better than the teacher.

D．What the child had said brought Mom great attraction and curiosity.

【小题3】 When the child looked down at the kids, they were standing with their mouths open because _________.

A．they felt sorry for what they had done before

B．they were afraid the author might fall off and get hurt

C．they were astonished to find the author’s progress

D．they wanted to see what the author would do on the bars

【小题4】The most probable conclusion we can draw after reading the passage is ______.

A．the last incident was sad enough to make Mom weep

B．the child’s experience reminded Mom of that of her own

C．Mom could solve any problem except the one in the last paragraph

D．in fact Mom suffered more in the process of the child’s growth

If I have to choose three critical factors in achieving success in my career, these would be my choices—belief, action and discipline.

Belief

       In order to achieve success in your career, you have to first believe. You need to believe that you can achieve it. You need to have faith in your goals and your path to success. Once your mind is convinced that you can do it, everything is possible. Belief is the “mind and heart” part of the three critical success factors.

Action

       Nothing moves until you do something. Believing alone is not going to achieve anything. It must be followed up with concrete action. Your plan for career success is nothing unless you act upon it wholeheartedly. When you act upon what you believe, there is focus. And there is energy. That energy propels (drive forward) you to greater heights. Action is the “hands and legs” part of the three critical success factors.

Discipline（自制力）

       Action in itself is not enough to increase the chances of success. But disciplined action would do that. One of the main reasons why people fail is that there is no discipline in their action. They give themselves excuses when they cannot consistently go ahead with their plans. You need some form of sacrifice（牺牲）if you want to achieve success in your career. That sacrifice takes discipline. Discipline also ensures that you can be persistent（坚持的）, especially when you’re faced with challenges after challenges in your journey to success. Discipline is the “untiring, determined hands and legs” part of the three critical success factors.

       When what you think, feel and do become one, there is nothing that can stop you from achieving career success

Topic	How can you 1___________in your career?
2________.	Belief	1. You need to feel 3________.  About your goals and your path to success. 2. Once you are convinced that you can do it, nothing is 4________   .
	Action	1. You must act on your plan for career success5__________ and soul. 2. You must devote all your 6 ______________so that you can reach greater heights.
	Discipline	1. It means that you must7______________yourself. 2. You need to 8______________ something when you gain something. 3. You must be persistent when you are faced with9 ________________.
10________	If you combine all the three factors, you are sure to achieve career success.

I didn’t realize how short I was until I started school. There, a few kids picked on(欺负)me, calling me names. Then I knew. After that, I began to hate the first day of school each year. I didn’t know who was new and would stare at me as I struggled to climb the school bus stairs. Some of the kids would point and say, “Look at that kid. Look at her.”

As time went on, I just tried to smile and accept the fact that I was going to be noticed my whole life. I was determined to make my uniqueness an advantage rather than a disadvantage. My friends became increasingly protective. They’d help me up the bus steps. If people were cruel, they would take them aside and correct them.

What I lacked in height, I made up for in personality----my ability to laugh, even at myself. For example, one time I was reaching into the washing machine at my parents’ house to grab the wet clothes. I fell all the way in and yell for Mother, who was sitting nearby reading the paper. Watching feet flying everywhere, she laughed quietly and said, “I should leave you in there.” I laughed with her.

I’m 47 now, and the stares have not decreased as I’ve grown older. People ask my friends if I live in a dollhouse. They look in disbelief when they see me get out of my car on the driver’s side. During those times, I try to keep a good attitude. When people are rude, I remind myself, “Look what else I have----a great family, nice friends…”

What is the main idea of the second and third paragraphs?

A. How the writer changed her disadvantage to advantage.

B. The writer’s friends and mother loved her deeply.

C. The writer had many friends helping her.

D. The writer had the ability to laugh.

By saying “the stares have not decreased” in the last paragraph, the author suggests that____.

A. she is able to live a happy life like a normal person

B. she isn’t afraid of being noticed by others any more

C. some people still don’t treat her as a normal person

D. more and more people treat her with respect now

How is the author feeling now about her situation?

A. Quite optimistic.

B. Very satisfied.

C. Deeply upset.

D. Rather anxious.

We can infer that the author believes that_________.

A. society should help the disabled as much as possible

B. only your parents and friends can help you

C. what people say about you is none of your business

D. all people should be treated with respect

Some people bring out the best in you in a way that you might never have fully realized on your own. My mom was one of those people.

My father died when I was nine months old, making my mom a single mother at the age of eighteen. While I was growing up, we lived a very hard life. We had little money, but my mom gave me a lot of love. Each night, she sat me on her lap and spoke the words that would change my life, “Kemmons, you are certain to be a great man and you can do anything in life if you work hard enough to get it.”

At fourteen, I was hit by a car and the doctors said I would never walk again. Every day, my mother spoke to me in her gentle, loving voice, telling me that no matter what those doctors said, I could walk again if I wanted to badly enough. She drove that message so deep into my heart that I finally believed her. A year later, I returned to school — walking on my own!

When the Great Depression (大萧条) hit, my mom lost her job. Then I left school to support the both of us. At that moment, I was determined never to be poor again.

Over the years, I experienced various levels of business success. But the real turning point occurred on a vacation I took with my wife and five kids in 1951. I was dissatisfied with the second-class hotels available for families and was angry that they charged an extra $2 for each child. That was too expensive for the average American family. I told my wife that I was going to open a motel (汽车旅馆) for families that would never charge extra for children. There were plenty of doubters at that time.

Not surprisingly, mom was one of my strongest supporters. She worked behind the desk and even designed the room style. As in any business, we experienced a lot of challenges. But with my mother’s words deeply rooted in my soul, I never doubted we would succeed. Fifteen years later, we had the largest hotel system in the world — Holiday Inn. In 1979 my company had 1, 759 inns in more than fifty countries with an income of $ 1 billion a year.

You may not have started out life in the best situation. But if you can find a task in life worth working for and believe in yourself, nothing can stop you.

What Kemmons’ mom often told him during his childhood was ______.

A. encouraging  B. caring              C. moving            D. interesting

According to the author, who played the most important role in making him walk back to school again?    

A. Doctors.          B. Mom.    C. Nurses.            D. Friends.             

What caused Kemmons to start a motel by himself?

A.  His mom’s support.  B. His previous business success of various levels.

C. His terrible experience in the hotel.   D. His wife’s suggestion.

Which of the following best describes Kemmons’ mother?

A. Modest, helpful, and hard-working.    B. Careful, helpful and beautiful.

C. Loving, supportive and strong-willed.  D. Strict, sensitive and supportive.