Question

Top Four Ways to Build a Wonderful Life

1. Live Below Your Means

There will always be temptation to give up the future for immediate pleasure. We all want to buy that new piece of technology, treat ourselves to an expensive night on the town, or take out a loan for the flashy car we can’t afford. It might feel great at the time but unwise spending hurts a lot later on. Enjoy life’s simple pleasures and save as much as you can. Expensive things don’t create lasting happiness and security. Careful spending will bring you greater leisure and enjoyment in the long run.

2. Put Your Money to Work

Saving is great, but to make the most of your money you need to put it to work. Good investments can be the difference between retiring in your 40’s or in your 60’s. A post today at The Simple Dollar really got me thinking. According to Trent’s estimates, if a person in their early 20’s invests 20% of their income in an S&P index fund, the interest they earn will equal their current salary when they reach their early 40’s. They could retire without a drop in income! Wise investing is the surest path to financial independence and it’s something everyone can work on. It’s definitely an area I’ll be devoting more attention to in my personal life.

3. Educate Yourself

To be happy we need continuous growth. The best way to grow is life-long education. This doesn’t mean you need to pursue a doctorate or spend 2 hours reading every day. Self-education can be anything that takes you out of your comfort zone. The important part is keeping an open mind and searching for fresh ideas and perspectives. Education builds over time. It might feel like the bits of wisdom you acquire don’t mean much, but over the years they add up to form a wiser, kinder, more interesting person.

4. Develop Lasting Personal Relationships

Suppose you had everything you wanted. Would you be happy without anyone to share it with? The personal relationships we develop with friends and family members are the greatest source of happiness in our lives. Don’t forget about them. Taking the time to cultivate and enjoy personal relationships is essential to long-term happiness. Without the people you care about you’ll probably be miserable, no matter how successful you become.

1.According to the passage, in order to achieve financial independence after retirement, we’d better ________.

A. get along well with our family and friends

B. bring ourselves leisure as well as enjoyment

C. invest our money wisely when we are young

D. learn some new skills and try to find a new job

2.From the passage we can infer that some people try to ________.

A. gain happiness by buying themselves expensive things

B. save everything they can to help those in need

C. devote more attention to their personal life

D. take out a loan to promote technology

3.The author of the passage may agree that the key to self-education is ________.

A. gaining as many degrees as possible

B. being open to new ideas and views

C. only focusing on very big events

D. creating long-term happiness

4.The above passage is written in order to ________.

A. explain what true happiness is about

B. offer ways to achieve a happy and successful life

C. introduce different definitions about happiness

D. persuade readers to find out the meaning of life

Answer 1

1.C

2.A

3.B

4.B

【解析】

试题分析: 本文叙述了为了打造精彩的生活本文给出了一些建议:一是要量力而行。二是自我教育。三是建立长期的人际关系。四是朝一个你怀有激情的梦想努力。五是保持身材

1.C 推断题。根据第二段提到Wise investing is the surest path to financial independence and it’s something everyone can work on. It’s definitely an area I’ll be devoting more attention to in my personal life明智的投资更能确保经济的独立，每个人都可以做到，这绝对是个人生活中必须关注的，故选C项。

2.A 推断题。根据第一段提到Expensive things don’t create lasting happiness and security昂贵的物品并不能带来持久的幸福和安全，故选A项。

3.B 推断题。根据第三段提到The important part is keeping an open mind and searching for fresh ideas and perspectives最重要的是思想开放，寻找新鲜的想法，故选B项。

4.B 写作意图；文章的四个段落都是用来向读者介绍一些创造美好生活的技巧和方法的，故选B项。

考点：教育类阅读。