评论
打印
(C)
We all dream of living a long, happy life, but where are the happiest places in the world?
A new map of 151 countries has revealed exactly which parts of the globe deliver long and happy lives for their citizens. The results may surprise you, with Costa Rica, Colombia and Vietnam topping the league. The UK features at position 44 - higher than Germany (47), Spain (62), Canada (65), Australia (76) and the US (105).
The map was made by the relocation website Movehub, using data from the latest Happy Planet Index (HPI) - a global measure of sustainable wellbeing（可持续幸福）.
The HPI measures life expectancy（平均寿命）, the level of well-being experienced and ecological（生态的） footprint. Each of the three aspects is given a traffic-light score based on thresholds for good (green), middling (amber) and bad (red) performance. These scores are combined to an expanded six-color traffic light for the overall HPI score, where, to achieve bright green – the best of the six colors, a country would have to perform well on all three individual components.
Experienced well-being: This was assessed using a question called the ‘Ladder of Life’. This asks respondents to imagine a ladder, where 0 represents the worst possible life and 10 the best possible life, and report the step of the ladder they feel they currently stand on.
Life expectancy: Alongside experienced well-being, the Happy Planet Index includes a universally important measure of health – life expectancy. We used life expectancy data from the 2011 UNDP Human Development Report.
Ecological Footprint: The HPI uses the Ecological Footprint promoted by the environmental charity WWF as a measure of resource consumption. It is a per capita（人均） measure of the amount of land required to sustain a country’s consumption pattern.
Two of the three main factors are directly about happiness. The third (Ecological footprint) is regarded as sustainable happiness. i.e. whether a country could sustain its citizens without any outside help. The idea is that if there was an incident which cut a country completely off from the outside world, or a country had to be completely self-sufficient, most of the developed world would be unable to do that.
The reason for some high-income nations to score significantly below other nations is the ecological footprint left on the planet. Mexicans and Canadians both appear to be happier than their US neighbor - most likely due to the country's ecological footprint.
74.According to the passage, the happiest places in the world are countries ______.
A. which deliver long, happy and sustainable lives for the people
B. which offer good medical care to help people live longer
C. which are wealthy enough to provide free social services
D. whose citizens are leading a happy and luxurious life
75.If a country whose traffic-light score of the experienced well-being is red, it means that ______.
A. people there are happy with their present situation
B. people’s previous life was much better
C. people are not very satisfied with their life
D. most people choose to be on the top of the ladder
76.What do the two underlined words “This” refer to?
A. Experienced well-being; A real ladder.
B. Experienced well-being; The question.
C. The Happy Planet Index (HPI);The “Ladder of Life”.
D. The individual component; The researcher.
77.If the U.S. footprint per capita is 9.0 gha（全球公顷）, while that of Switzerland is 5.6 gha, we can conclude that ______.
A. people in the U.S. are happier than those in Switzerland
B. the U.S is less dependent on outside help than Switzerland
C. the land in U. S. is more productive than that in Switzerland
D. people in U.S. consume more natural resources than those in Switzerland
Section C
Directions: Read the passage carefully. Then answer the questions or complete the statements in the fewest possible words.
Speed-reading is a crucial skill in the Internet age. We skim over articles, e-mails and tweets to try to grasp key words and the essential meaning of a certain text. Bombarded with information from our electronic devices, it would be impossible to cope if we read word by word, line by line.
But a new trend calls on people to unplug and enjoy reading slowly, using the linear pattern, left-to-right sequence.
A recent story from The Wall Street Journal reported on a book club in Wellington, New Zealand, where members meet in a cafe and turn off their smartphones. They sink into cozy chairs and read in silence for an hour.
Unlike traditional book clubs, the point of the Slow Reading Club isn’t exchanging ideas about a certain book, but to get away from electronic devices and read in a quiet, relaxed environment. According to the Journal, the Wellington Book Club is just one example of a movement initiated by book lovers who miss the old-fashioned way of reading before the Internet and smartphones.
Slow readers, such as The Atlantic’s Maura Kelly, say a regular reading habit sharpens the mind, improves concentration, reduces stress levels and deepens the ability to empathize（有同感，起共鸣）.
Some of these benefits have been backed up by science. For example, a study of 300 elderly people published by the journal Neurology last year showed that regular engagement in intellectual activities like reading slowed the rate of memory loss later in life.
Another study published last year in Science showed that reading novels helps people understand others’ mental states and beliefs, a crucial skill in building relationships.
Slow reading means a return to an uninterrupted, linear pattern, in a quiet environment free of distractions. Aim for 30 minutes a day, advises Kelly from The Atlantic. “You can squeeze in that half hour pretty easily if only during your free moments – whenever you find yourself automatically firing up your laptop to check your favorite site, or scanning Twitter for something to pass the time–you pick up a meaningful work of literature,” Kelly said. “Reach for your e-reader, if you like. Kindles make books like War and Peace less heavy, and also ensure you’ll never lose your place in the book.”
(Note: Answer the questions or complete the statements in NO MORE THAN TWELVE WORDS)
78.Speed-readers read an article by __________________________________________.
79.What do the members of the Wellington Book Club usually do?
____________________________________________________________________.
80.Slow reading will benefit people’s future life because it can _________________________.
81.According to Kelly, what are the two advantages of e-readers like Kindles?
____________________________________________________________________.
