Question

Americans gave nearly $300 billion away last year. Do you know the reason? Beyond the noble goals of helping others, it is that giving will make them happier.

It is a fact that givers are happier people than non-givers. According to the Social Capital Community Benchmark Survey, a survey of 30,000 American households, people who give money to charity are 43% more likely than non-givers to say they are “very happy” about their lives. Similarly, volunteers are 42% more likely to be very happy then non-volunteers.

The happiness difference between givers and non-givers is not due to differences in their personal characteristics, such as income or religion. Imagine two people who are identical in terms of income and faith, as well as age, education, politics, sex, and family circumstances, but one donates money and volunteers, while the other does not. The giver will be, on average, over 40 percentage points more likely to be very happy than the non-givers.

A number of studies have researched exactly why charity leads to happiness. The surprising conclusion is that giving affects our brain chemistry. For example, people who give often report feelings of euphoria, which psychologists have referred to as the “Helper’s High”. They believe that charitable activity produces a very mild version of the sensations people get from drugs like morphine and heroin.

Of course, not only does giving increase our happiness, but also our happiness increases the possibility that we will give. Everyone prefers to give more when they are happy. Researchers have investigated this by conducting experiments in which people are asked about their happiness before and after they participate in a charitable activity, such as volunteering to help children or serving meals to the poor. The result is clear that giving has a strong, positive causal impact on our happiness, so does happiness on giving

1.According to Paragraph 2. We can learn that .

A. only those people who gave money to charity will be happy

B. more givers say they feel having happy lives than non-givers

C. those who donate money are happier than those who volunteer

D. 42% of the volunteers say they are as happy as the non-volunteers

2.What causes the happiness difference?

A. Income. B. Faith.

C. Education. D. Donation.

3.The underlined word “euphoria” in Paragraph 4 is closest in meaning to .

A. relaxation B. uncertainty

C. nervousness D. pleasure

4.If a person feels happy, he may .

A. ask for more donations

B. stop charitable activity

C. be likely to give more

D. cook food for the poor

5.Which of the following is the main theme of this passage?

A. Giving brings happiness.

B. Americans love donating.

C. The happiness difference.

D. Feelings of volunteers.

Answer 1

1.B

2.D

3.D

4.C

5.A

【解析】

試題分析：本文主要講述了，為他人付出能使人感到幸福。在背景相同的人中，進(jìn)行捐贈(zèng)和做自愿者工作的人比那些不做的人更幸福。為他人付出不緊能使自己感到幸福，而且越幸福就會(huì)就會(huì)越樂意為他人付出，這是個(gè)相互促進(jìn)的過程。

1.第二自然段“people who give money to charity are 43% more likely than non-givers to say they are “very happy” about their lives.”意思是向慈善機(jī)構(gòu)捐錢而感到幸福的人比那些什么都不做而感覺不到幸福的人多43%。故選擇B。

2.】細(xì)節(jié)理解題。第三自然段“one donates money and volunteers, while the other does not. The giver will be, on average, over 40 percentage points more likely to be very happy than the non-givers.”意思是一個(gè)人做捐贈(zèng)，另一個(gè)不做。因捐贈(zèng)而感到幸福的人比不做捐贈(zèng)的而感覺不到幸福的人平均多40%。故選擇D。

3. who give often report feelings of euphoria”意思是做捐贈(zèng)的人通常有“euphoria”感，而前文提到做捐贈(zèng)的人更快樂幸福，所以“euphoria”意思是快樂、幸福。故選擇D。

4.細(xì)節(jié)理解題。最后一自然段“not only does giving increase our happiness, but also our happiness increases the possibility that we will give.”意思是捐贈(zèng)不僅能增加我們的幸福感，而且能讓我們更樂意去捐贈(zèng)。故選擇C。

5. result is clear that giving has a strong, positive causal impact on our happiness, so does happiness on giving”翻譯為結(jié)果是顯然的，捐贈(zèng)能提高人的幸福感，感到幸福的人會(huì)做更多的捐贈(zèng)。故選擇A。

考點(diǎn)：考查議論文閱讀。