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(社会地位)，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(差距)．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．

 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.”

1.According to the passage，the feeling of happiness _________.   

A．has little to do with wealth       B．increases gradually with age

C．is measured by desires           D．is determined partly by genes

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

3.Aged people are more likely to feel happy because they are more _________.   

A．optimistic      B．practical      C．successful     D．emotional

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

 

Of the 7,000 languages spoken in the world today, linguists (语言学家) say, nearly half are likely to disappear this century. In fact, one falls out of use about every two weeks.

    Some languages die out in an instant, at the death of the only surviving speaker. Others are lost gradually in bilingual (双语的) cultures, as local tongues are edged out by the dominant (占主导地位的) language at school, in the marketplace and on television.

    New research, supported by the National Geographic Society and the Living Tongues Institute for Endangered Languages, has found the five regions where languages are disappearing most rapidly. They are northern Australia, central South America, North America's upper Pacific coastal zone, eastern Siberia, and Oklahoma and the southwestern United States.

K. David Harrison, an associate professor of linguistics at Swarthmore College, US, said that more than half the languages had no written form and were vulnerable to loss and being forgotten." Their loss leaves no dictionary, no text, or no record of the accumulated knowledge and history of a disappeared culture.

    Harrison and other researchers started their rescue project last year. They have been trying to identify and record endangered languages. They interviewed and made recordings of the few remaining speakers of a language and collected basic word lists. The individual projects, some lasting three to four years, involve hundreds of hours of recording speech, developing grammar and preparing children's readers in the obscure (逐渐没落的) language. The research has concentrated on preserving entire language families.

    "These are probably languages that cannot be brought back, but at least we made records of them," said Gregory Anderson, director of the Living Tongues Institute, in Oregon, US.

1.What does the passage mainly tell us?          

A. Many languages are quickly disappearing.

B. Some languages are disappearing because they are hard to remember.

C. Chinese is one of the languages that are disappearing.

D. Thanks to some researchers, many endangered languages have been rescued.

2.What does the word vulnerable in the fourth paragraph mean?  

A. easy to remember.                         B. easy to forget.

C. likely to be damaged.                     D. likely to be protected.

3.Which of the following is true according to the fifth paragraph?  

A. Harrison and other researchers are trying to find out why some languages died out.

B. Harrison and other researchers tried to start a rescue project.

C. Harrison and other researchers have concentrated on preserving all the languages.

D. Harrison and other researchers have done some rescue work on the obscure languages.

4.One of the things that Harrison and other researchers did was         .   

A. to have more people speak the disappearing language

B. to make records of the disappearing language

C. to limit dominant languages

D. to publish a dictionary of the disappearing language

5.What do you think is the suggested reason for some languages disappearing?     

A. Local tongues are gradually edged out by the dominant language at school, in the marketplace and on television.

B. The number of people who speak the languages are small.

C. There are no dictionaries for the languages.

D. No one make records of the languages, so they gradually disappear.

 

Some children are natural-born bosses. They have a strong need to make decisions，manage their environment，and lead rather than follow. Stephen Jackson，a Year One student，“operates under the theory of what's mine is mine and what's yours is mine，” says his mother. “The other day I bought two new Star Wars light sabers (剑). Later，I saw Stephen with the two new ones while his brother was using the beat-up ones.”
“Examine the extended family，and you'll probably find a bossy grandparent，aunt，uncle or cousin in every generation. It's an inheritable trait，” says Russell Barkley，a professor at the Medical University of South Carolina. Other children who may not be particularly bossy can gradually gain dominance (支配地位) when they sense their parents are weak，hesitant，or in disagreement with each other.
Whether it's inborn nature or developed character at work，too much control in the hands of the young isn't healthy for children or the family. Fear is at the root of a lot of bossy behavior，says family psychologist John Taylor. Children，he says in his book From Defiance to Cooperation，“have secret feelings of weakness” and “a desire to feel safe.” It's the parents' role to provide that protection.
When a “boss child” doesn't learn limits at home，the stage is set for a host of troubles outside the family. The overly willful and unbending child may have trouble obeying teachers or coaches，for example，or trouble keeping friends. It can be pretty lonely as the top dog if no one likes your bossy ways.
“I see more and more parents giving up their power，” says Barkley，who has studied bossy behavior for more than 30 years. “They bend too far because they don't want to be as strict as their own parents were. But they also feel less confident about their parenting skills. Their kids，in turn，feel more anxious.”
【小题1】Bossy children like Stephen Jackson_________.

A．make good decisions	B．show self-centeredness
C．lack care from others	D．have little sense of fear

【小题2】The underlined phrase “inheritable trait” in Paragraph 2 means ___________.

A．inborn nature	B．developed character
C．accepted theory	D．particular environment

【小题3】The study on bossy behavior implies that parents_________.

A．should give more power to their children

B．should be strict with their children

C．should not be so anxious about their children

D．should not set limits for their children

【小题4】What is the passage mainly about？

A．How bossy behavior can be controlled.

B．How we can get along with bossy children.

C．What leads to children's bossy behavior.

D．What effect bossy behavior brings about.

Young women are more adventurous than young men when travelling abroad in gap years．One in three female backpackers visits more than three countries during a year out and travels alone, according to new research．
By contrast, the majority of their male counterparts（地位相当者） visit only one country and tend to travel in groups, says a survey by the Gap Year company, which provides information and services for students considering taking a year out．
More women than men say that their prime reason for taking time off is to see the world and experience different cultures．Men are more likely to rank “having fun” higher on their list of priorities．Women are more likely to value the challenge of a foreign trip, and many cited reasons such as learning a language and meeting new people．
The more adventurous gap years taken by women seem to work to their benefit; more than three quarters of those surveyed have reported increased confidence, self-reliance（自立） and independence, whereas only half of the men had that experience．
The research also shows that women are more likely to do voluntary work while travelling, with more than one in ten helping with teaching or development projects．One of the reasons given for this is a wish to see the country in an authentic light．
A greater proportion of women than men face objections or criticism from their families over their gap­year plans．Among the men surveyed, lack of money is the main barrier to travel．
Carolyn Martin, a doctor from London,is a typically confident female traveller．Starting in Cape Town, she travelled around southern Africa and Australia with a string of unusual and sometimes dangerous jobs．
“I had one job chasing elephants off the runway in Africa by banging a stick against a pan，” she recalled．“It was OK but one day I did get chased by one．”
She said that she had travelled alone because “you meet more people”．
【小题1】By referring to “gap year” the writer means ________．  

A．a gap you come across after leaving high school

B．a time when you are caught in a dilemma between work and study

C．a period after you find a job upon your graduation from college

D．a year off between high school and college for certain purposes

【小题2】In the third paragraph, the underlined word “priorities” most probably means ________

A．selections

B．attractions

C．preferences

D．projects

【小题3】Which of the following statements is TRUE?

A．Men students will travel less during the gap year because of their part-­time jobs．

B．Women students will travel more but face more objections．

C．The article suggests that women travelling alone will have dangerous experiences．

D．Men students prefer to travel inside their own country to going abroad．

【小题4】Which of the following would be the best title of the passage?

A．Girls Get the Best out of Gap Years

B．Boys Lack Courage in Gap Years

C．For Fun or for Adventure?

D．Young Women Are More Adventurous