Page 69 - 新英语进阶·高中·拓展阅读提优篇

Unit 8 生命的意义与价值 61

C

阅读下面的短文,从每题所给的 A、B、C 和 D 四个选项中选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项。

What kind of life do you want? A happy one or a meaningful one?

“Can t I have both?” you might ask. “Aren t the two supposed to be 1 ? Surely someone leading

a meaningful life will be happy, or one can find meaning in the pursuit of happiness. ”

2 , however, this doesn t appear to be the case. A new study suggests that a happy life and a

meaningful life are 3 the same thing, and that you might be better off 4 just one.

The Atlantic News reported that researchers asked nearly 400 U.S. citizens aged 18 to 78 whether they

thought their lives were meaningful and happy. These people were asked about their 5 toward

meaning, happiness and many other aspects of life.

The researchers found that a meaningful life and a happy life do have something 6 , but they are

7 different—living a happy life is connected with being a “taker”, while living a meaningful life is

connected with being a “giver”.

Happiness, the researchers found, usually 8 getting what we want, which is why the pursuit of

happiness often leads to 9 behaviour. Animals have needs and desires and thus can feel happy too.

What makes humans 10 is not the pursuit of happiness, but rather the pursuit of meaning.

We often derive meaning from helping others or making a 11 for some “ greater good”. And

sacrifice often comes at the expense of happiness. That s because people who do meaningful things usually

have higher levels of 12 in their lives than happy people. For example, 13 in poor, rural schools

might be meaningful, but it might also be difficult and draining.

Experiencing hardship and negative events, the study found, reduces your happiness but increases

your 14 that you re living a meaningful life. No one knows this better than Viktor Frankl, an Austrian-

Jewish writer who 15 the horrors of a Nazi concentration camp. “If there is meaning in life at all,” he

once wrote, “then there must be meaning in suffering. ” (江苏省泰州市姜堰区高三上学期期中考试)

1. A. connected B. separated C. varied D. divided

2. A. Fortunately B. Occasionally C. Importantly D. Sadly

3. A. aside from B. far from C. along with D. together with

4. A. quitting B. kicking C. abandoning D. picking

5. A. tips B. tricks C. attitudes D. opinions

6. A. in use B. in store C. in common D. in order

7. A. necessarily B. needlessly C. potentially D. essentially

8. A. contributes to B. relates to C. leads to D. refers to

9. A. generous B. troublesome C. violent D. selfish

10. A. outstanding B. intelligent C. different D. various

11. A. mistake B. sacrifice C. compromise D. fortune

12. A. academy B. intelligence C. energy D. stress

13. A. studying B. pouring C. volunteering D. participating

14. A. meaning B. profit C. capacity D. sense

15. A. lived through B. looked through C. put through D. cut through