[整理]英语阅读5.docVIP

2014高考英语阅读理解巩固练习精品题（44）及答案 阅读理解（共15小题；每小题2分，满分30分） 阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A,B,C,D）中，选出最佳选项。 【江苏省常州市北郊高级中学2013模拟】A 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 connected? Surely someone who leads a meaningful life will be happy, or one can find meaning in the pursuit of happiness?” Sadly, however, this doesn’t appear to be the case. A new study suggests that a happy life and a meaningful life are far from the same thing, and that you might be better off picking just one. The Atlantic News reported that researchers asked nearly 400 US citizens aged 18 to 78 whether they thought their lives were meaningful and happy. These people were asked about their attitudes toward meaning, happiness and many other aspects of life including stress levels, spending patterns and family life. The researchers found that a meaningful life and a happy life do have something in common, but they are essentially 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 relates to getting what we want, which is why the pursuit of happiness often leads to selfish behavior. Animals have needs and desires and thus can feel happy too. What makes humans different is not the pursuit of happiness, but rather the pursuit of meaning. We often derive (得到) meaning from helping others or making a sacrifice 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 stress in their lives than happy people. For example, volunteering in poor, rural schools might be meaningful, but it might also be difficult and draining (令人精疲力竭的). Experiencing hardship and negative events, the study found, reduces your happiness but increases your sense that you’re living a meaningful life. No one knows this better than Viktor Fran