When asked about happiness, we usually think of something extraordinary, an absolute delight, which seems to get rarer the older we get.
For kids, happiness has a magical quality. Their delight at winning a race or getting a new bike is unreserved (毫无掩饰的).
In the teenage years the concept of happiness changes. Suddenly it’s conditional on such things as excitement, love and popularity. I can still recall the excitement of being invited to dance with the most attractive boy at the school party.
In adulthood the things that bring deep joy—love, marriage, birth—also bring responsibility and the risk of loss. For adults, happiness is plicated (复杂的).
My definition of happiness is “the capacity for enjoyment”. The more we can enjoy what we have, the happier we are. It’s easy to overlook the pleasure we get from the pany of friends, the freedom to live where we please, and even good health.
I experienced my little moments of pleasure yesterday. First I was overjoyed when I shut the last lunch-box and had the house to myself. Then I spent an uninterrupted morning writing, which I love. When the kids and my husband e home, I enjoyed their noise after the quiet of the day.
Psychologists tell us that to be happy we need a mix of enjoyable leisure time and satisfying work. I don’t think that my grandmother, who raised 14 children, had much of either. She did have a network of close friends and family, and maybe this what satisfied her.
We, however, with so many choices and such pressure to succeed in every area, have turned happiness into one more thing we’ve got to have. We’re so self-conscious about our “right” to it that it’s making us miserable. So we chase it and equal it with wealth and success, without noticing that the people who have those things aren’t necessarily happier.
Happiness isn’t about what happens to—it’s about how we see what happens to us. It’s the skillful way of finding a positive for every negative. It’s not wishing for what we don’t have , but enjoying what we do possess.
【小题1】As people grow older, they .A．feel it harder to experience happinessB．associate their happiness less with othersC．will take fewer risks in pursuing happinessD．tend to believe responsibility means happiness【小题2】What can we learn about the author from Paragraphs 5 and 6?A．She cares little about her own health.B．She enjoys the freedom of traveling.C．She is easily pleased by things in daily life.D．She prefers getting pleasure from housework.【小题3】What can be inferred from Paragraph 7?A．Psychologists think satisfying work is key to happiness.B．Psychologists’ opinion is well proved by Grandma’s case.C．Grandma often found time for social gatherings.D．Grandma’s happiness came from modest expectations of life.【小题4】People who equal happiness with wealth and success .A．consider pressure something blocking their wayB．stress their right to happiness too muchC．are at a loss to make correct choicesD．are more likely to be happy【小题5】What can be concluded from the passage?A．Happiness lies between the positive and the negativeB．Each man is the master of his own fate.C．Success leads to happiness.D．Happy is he who is content.A
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(答案→)A
解析：
【文章大意】文章介绍了什么是幸福以及如何获得幸福。文章最后一段提出了获得幸福的方法。
【小题1】文中第一段的“…which seems to get rarer the older we get”意思是“随着年龄的增大，幸福越来越少”，结合选项，只能填A。B错在less with others，是自己；C错在文中没有提及fewer risks；D项中的意思，第一段根本没有表达。
【小题2】第五段介绍了幸福的定义，第六段作者举了一个有幸福感的例子：作者那天一个人在家里静静地写作，她感到很幸福，孩子回来之后的吵闹声她也很喜欢（First I was overjoyed when I shut the last lunch-box and had the house to myself. Then I spent an uninterrupted morning writing, which I love. When the kids and my husband e home, I enjoyed their noise after the quiet of the day.）。只有C概括了作者在文中所表达的意思。
【小题3】A选项错在只提到了satisfying work，而没有提到enjoyable leisure time；作者用了“I don’t think that my grandmother…had much of either.”否认了心理学家的看法，排除B和C。
【小题4】答案在第八段（We’re so self-conscious about our “right” to it that it’s making us miserable. So we chase it and equal it with wealth and success, without noticing that the people who have those things aren’t necessarily happier.），选项B和D中提到了文中所出现的单词，结合原文，发现D和第八段中的最后一句话意思相反，故选B。
【小题5】最后一段就阐述了如何获得幸福：在逆境中找到积极的因素(It’s the skillful way of finding a positive for every negative.)以及知足常乐(enjoying what we do possess)。符合这个意思的只有D：知足者常乐，这是倒装句。B的意思是每个人都是自己命运的主人。