Question

【題目】 Does owning the latest iPhone, designer dress or expensive shoes really make you happy? It’s an age-old question, but one psychologist(心理學家) thinks he might have the answer.

Dr. Thomas Gilovich, psychology professor at Cornell University, has studied the topic for over 20 years. According to Dr. Gilovich, “We buy things to make us happy, and we succeed, but only for a while. New things are exciting to us at first, but then we adapt to them.” In other words, once the excitement of our newest buying wears off, we begin looking for something else to buy to make us happy.

Dr. Gilovich found that our satisfaction with possessions( 物 品 ) fades over time. Yet our happiness over things we’ve experienced increases. For that reason, he noted that we are spending our money on the wrong things.

A study out of San Francisco State University agrees. The research showed that those people who spent money on experiences instead of possessions were happier. They also thought their money was better invested(投資).

Why experiences are the better investment? “ A trip, adventure, or hobby is more likely to bring people closer together and unite them over a shared interest,” According to Gilovich. As a result, these experiences typically create a positive link and good feelings toward the other person or people.

Also, your experiences become a part of you. You might be someone who loves taking cooking lessons. More than likely, you’ll become known by friends and family as a great cook. They won’t know you as someone who owns the latest kitchen equipment.

Moreover, experiences provide lasting memories. Planned experiences are always something we expect. Then when the moment arrives, if we enjoy ourselves in the activity, we’re left with beautiful memories. These memories will often last a lifetime. Even our worst trips, on many occasions, are later remembered with laughter.

Most of us have limited resources. Why not spend them on things that will make the greatest influence on our lives--meaningful experiences?

【1】The writer raises a question at the beginning of this article in order to________.

A.lead into the topicB.know about the answer

C.make a surveyD.divide the article into two parts

【2】The underlined phrase “adapt to” in paragraph two may mean________

A.pay attention toB.look forward to

C.get used toD.stick to

【3】The following pie charts show how the four people spent their money in 2019. According to the article, who might live a much happier life than the other three?

A.MaryB.Stacy

C.MichaelD. Andrew

【4】What’s the purpose of this passage?

A.To tell people to stop buying expensive things.

B.To encourage people to spend money on meaningful experiences.

C.To advise people to take cooking lessons in their free time.

D.To explain why experiences can make people happier.

Answer 1

【答案】

【1】A

【2】C

【3】B

【4】B

【解析】

本文介紹了把錢花費在經(jīng)歷上的人過著更快樂的生活。因為你的經(jīng)歷會成為你的一部分，此外，經(jīng)歷提供了持久的記憶。

【1】推理判斷題。根據(jù)“Does owning the latest iPhone, designer dress or expensive shoes really make you happy? It’s an age-old question, but one psychologist(心理學家) thinks he might have the answer.”可知，文章的開頭用問題，是為了引出話題。故選A。

【2】詞義猜測題。A. pay attention to注意，B. look forward to期望，C. get used to習慣，D. stick to堅持。根據(jù)“In other words, once the excitement of our newest buying wears off, we begin looking for something else to buy to make us happy.”可知，換句話說，一旦我們對新買的東西的興奮感消退，我們就會開始尋找其他能讓我們開心的東西。因此，我們已經(jīng)習慣了這種興奮感。故選C。

【3】推理判斷題。根據(jù)“The research showed that those people who spent money on experiences instead of possessions were happier.”可知，那些把錢花在經(jīng)歷上而不是擁有上的人更快樂。從圖中可知，Stacy把47%的金錢花費在旅行這種經(jīng)歷上，比花費在衣服，食物和房子這些物質上都多，因此她過得更高興。故選B。

【4】推理判斷題。根據(jù)本文介紹了把錢花費在經(jīng)歷上的人比把錢花費在物品的擁有上的人更快樂，因此本文的目的是想要鼓勵人們把錢花費在有意義的體驗和經(jīng)歷上。故選B。