Question

Are people less happy or happier when they get older? If your answer is“happier”， then you are right，based on a study published seven years ago．It found that people become happier and experience less worry after age fifty．In fact，it found that by the age of eighty-five，people are happier with their life than they were at eighteen．

The finding came from a Gallup survey of more than three hundred and forty thousand adults in the United States in 2008．At that time，people were between the ages of eighteen and eighty-five．

Arthur Stone in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science at Stony Brook University in New York led the study．His team found that levels of stress were the highest among adults between the ages of twenty-two and twenty-five．Stress levels dropped sharply(急剧)after people reached their fifties．

Levels of happiness were the highest among the kids and those in their early seventies．

The survey also found that men and women have similar emotional patterns(情感模式)as they grow older．However, women at all ages reported more sadness，stress and worry than men did．

So why would happiness increase with age? One theory(推测)is that，as people get older, they become more thankful for what they have and have better control of their emotions．They also spend less time thinking about bad experiences．

1.How many adults were included in the survey?

A．300        B．40，000       C．340，000       D．103

2.What can you learn from the findings of the survey?

A．People become happier and feel less worried before age 50．

B．People are happier with their life at 18 than they were at 85．

C．Adults between the ages of 22 and 25 have the least stress．

D．The kids and those in their early seventies feel the happiest．

3.Why does happiness increase with age?

A．People aren’t able to control their emotions better．

B．It takes them less time to think about bad experiences．

C．People become less thankful for what they have．

D．Women feel sadder, more stressed and worried than men．

4.Which of the following is the best title of this passage?

A．Differences Between Stress and Happiness

B．Differences Between Age and Happiness

C．Relationship Between Stress and Happiness

D．Relationship Between Age and Happiness

Answer

1.C

2.D

3.B

4.D

【解析】

试题分析：本文揭示了不同年龄段的人压力与快乐指数之间的关系。调查数据表明：22-25年龄段压力最大，50岁以后压力水平急剧下降；孩子和70多岁快乐指数最高；性别之间情感模式随年龄增长相似，但所有年龄段的女性压力伤感焦虑水平高于男性。最后得出结论，随年龄增长，人们感恩心增加，情感日趋成熟。

1.C细节理解题。根据第二段…three hundred and forty thousand adults。故选C。

2.D细节理解题。根据短文第四段Levels of happiness were the highest among the kids and those in their early seventies．故选D。

3.B细节理解。根据最后一段..as people get older, they become more thankful for what they have and have better control of their emotions．They also spend less time thinking about bad experiences． 随年龄增长，人们感恩心增加可知，故选B。

4.

考点：社会科学类短文阅读。