What makes us happy?

There has long been a notion that money buys happiness. However, although“we really, really tried that for a couple of generations, it didn’t work,”said Francine Jay, author of The Joy of Less, A Minimalist Living Guide: How to Declutter, Organize, and Simplify Your Life.

Thanks to a travel-inspired revelation（启发），Jay has been happily living a simpler life for 12 years.“I always packed as lightly as possible, and found it delighting to get by with just a small carry-on bag,”she told CNN.“I thought if it feels this great to travel lightly, how amazing would it be to live this way? I wanted to have that same feeling of freedom in my everyday life.”

Jay decided to get rid of all her unnecessary possessions and live with just the essentials.“I wanted to spend my time and energy on experiences, rather than things.”

Jay is a follower of a movement called“minimalism（极简主义）”. Growing numbers of people have been attracted to this life-style all over the world. Minimalists are typically progressive and concerned about the environment, Leah Watkins, a lead researcher at Otago University in New Zealand, told Stuff magazine in March.

But many simply experienced unhappiness caused by owning too many possessions. Depression with the materialism of our world isn’t new. English romantic poet William Wordsworth summed up how dispiritingthis was back in 1802, at the beginning （令人消沉的）of the industrial age, when he wrote:“Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers”. His preference was to go back to nature. Closer to our own times, the hippiesof the 1960s （嬉皮士）also sought to“drop out”of modern life.

And for many minimalists, their key is to unload. Without objects, they“believe people are forced more and more into the present moment and that’s where life happens,”wrote Stuff.

But does simplicity ever feel like a sacrifice?

“It’s eliminating the excess—unused items, unnecessary purchases—from your life. Well, I may have fewer possessions, but I have more space…Minimalism is making room for what matters most,”said Jay.

And“the real questions”，according to Duane Elgin, US social scientist, are“what do you care about?”and“What do you value?”

He told CNN:“It’s important for people to realize minimalism isn’t simply the amount of stuff we consume. It’s about our families, our work, our connection with the larger world, our

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spiritual dimension. It’s about how we touch the whole world. It’s a way of life.” 40．What was the author’s main purpose in writing the text? A．To argue whether money buys happiness. B．To recommend one of Francine Jay’s books. C．To explore the trend of minimalism. D．To give tips on how to lead a happy life. 41．What inspired Francine Jay to live a simple life? A．A book she came across.

B．A follower of minimalism she met on a trip. C．The pleasure she enjoyed from travelling lightly. D．Her desire to keep up with modern life.

42．According to Leah Watkins, a typical minimalist tends to ___. A．be in love with materialism B．like saving and visiting nature often C．be disappointed with his or her current life

D．be environmentally friendly and live with fewer things

43．Which of the following would Duane Elgin probably agree with? A．Minimalism is a healthy lifestyle that is in conflict with modern life B．Minimalism means people have to sacrifice some pleasure to live simply C．Minimalism limits people’s freedom to enjoy their lives to the fullest. D．Minimalism enables people to reflect on what truly counts in their lives.

44．Summary Writing

My neighbour’s children love playing hide-and-seek as all children do, but no one imagines that a game they played last week would be reported in the local newspaper.

One afternoon, they were playing in the vacant lot down by the corner. Young Paul, who is only five years old, found the perfect place to hide. His sister, Natalie, had shut her eyes and was counting to ten when Paul noticed the mail box at the corner and that the metal door was standing open. The mailman had just taken several bags of mail and had carried them to his truck which was standing a few feet away. Paul climbed into the mail box and pulled the door closed so hard that it locked. Soon realizing what he had done, he became frightened and started crying. At that time, Natalie was looking for him everywhere but could not find him. It

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was lucky that she happened to stand at the corner for a minute and heard her brother’s cries. She immediately ran to tell the mailman who hurried back from his truck to unlock the metal door. Paul was now free, but he had such a bad fright that he could not stop crying. The mailman, however, soon found a way of making him laugh again. He told him that the next time he wanted to hide in a mail box, he should remember to put a stamp on himself! Verb-filling

45．I can see no point in ________(alter) your appearance because it’s your inner-self that really counts.

46．Alice happened ________(see) the film so I had to ask someone else to join me last night. 47．He’s put forward a suggestion that everyone ________(do) some aerobics at least twice a week.

48．Potts never denied ________(trick) into doing something silly on last April Fool’s Day. 49．Seated in the studio today ________(be) a writer and lecturer to help answer these questions.

50．Hardly ________(he, enter) the office when everyone proceeded to greet him merrily.

Word Transformation

51．A joke can be defined as something you say that causes ________（laugh）. 52．We have received no news from him since his ________（depart）from Shanghai. 53．There’s strong ________between heavy rain and relatively few violent crimes （associate）recorded including domestic abuse.

54．________（emotion）eating can ruin your weight-loss efforts, which often leads to eating too much—especially too much of high-calorie, sweet and fatty foods.

55．With the patients ________optimistic about their life, they feel much better after （increase）the clown doctor program.

56．This list has 30 words from all around the world with no exact English ________（equivalent）but you may find them interesting.

Translation

57．如果你想来做志愿者，请跟我们联系来获得更多的细节。（contact） 58．以貌取人是很傻的；相反，我们应该判断整个人。（judge）

59．Potts先生不仅认为同事们是他的下级还每天戴个难看的绿帽子来上班。（Not only…） 60．黄色使人们想到阳光和假期，因此许多旅行社通常使用黄色是很自然的事。（natural）

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