Ask most people anywhere in the world what they want out of life and the reply will probably be: "to be happy." Ed Deiner, an American psychology professor, has spent his whole professional life studying what makes people happy, comparing levels of happiness between cultures and trying to find out exactly why we enjoy ourselves. Many people would say that this question does not need an answer. But Professor Deiner has one anyway. "If you're a cheerful, happy person, your marriage is more likely to last, and you're more likely to make money and be successful at your job. On average, happy people have stronger immune systems, and there is some evidence that they live longer." So who are the world's happiest people? It depends on how the word is defined. There is individual happiness, the sense of joy we get when we do something we like. But there is also the feeling of satisfaction we get when we know that others respect us and approve of how we behave. According to Professor Deiner, the Western world pursues individual happiness while Asia prefers mutual satisfaction. "In the West, the individualistic culture means that your mood matters much more than it does in the East. People ask themselves if they are doing what is fun or interesting. They become unhappy when they can't do any of these things. If you ask people from Japan or China if they are happy, they tend to look at what has gone wrong in their lives. If not much has gone wrong, then they are satisfied." People from Spain and other Spanish-speaking countries had the happiest culture, Professor Deiner found. "The biggest cultural difference is to do with pride and shame. Hispanic   cultures report much more pride and much less shame than others." Income also made a big difference to people's happiness, but only at the lowest levels. Average income earners in the US were much happier than people in poverty. But millionaires were only a little bit happier than people on average incomes. It seems that money makes us happy when we have enough to feel secure. According to the passage, happy people enjoy the following benefits EXCEPT   _  . A) a long marriage B) better health C) profession success D) respect from others
D

Researchers claimed that waitresses who wear red get up to 26 percent extra in tips than they would wearing other colors. However, the team finds that the sexes tip very differently--with the bigger tips coming only from male customers. No matter what color they wear, female diners will give the same kind of amounts for service every time. Yet men, whether they realize it or not, add anything between 15 and 26 percent more to a waitress in red than they would if it was the same waitress wearing a different color. The test was simple. Take 11 waitresses in five restaurants over a six-week period and ask them to wear the same kind of T-shirt every day but change the colors. Previous research has suggested waitresses could earn more if they acted charmingly or wore more make-up than their colleagues. But this study, by the Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Research, only changed the color of the T-shirt. Every other aspect from make-up to behavior remained the same. When wearing either black, white, green, blue or yellow T-shirts, the size of the tips from both male and female customers was almost _ . But when they wore red, the size of the tips went up by between 15 and 26 percent from male customers, yet stayed the same from female ones. A total of 272 restaurant customers were studied by researchers Nicolas Gueguen and Celine Jacob for the international journal of the tourism industry. Even as a T-shirt, it shows just how much the color red is thought, by men, to increase the physical and sexual attractiveness of woman, said the researchers. The researchers wrote: As red color has no negative effect on women customers, it could be in their interest to wear clothes at work. What is the main idea of the passage? A) People tip differently if waitresses wear different make-up. B) Waitresses who wear red get more tips than they would wearing other colors. C) Male customers are more interested in the red color. D) Red color has no negative effect on female customers.
B

I had an experience once which taught me something about the ways people made a bad situation worse by blaming themselves. One January, I officiated  at two funerals for two elderly women. Both died a natural death. At the first home, the son of the deceased  woman said, "If only I had sent my mother to Florida and gotten her out of this cold and snow, she would be alive today. It's my fault that she died." At the second home, the son said, "If only I had not insisted her going to Florida, she would be alive today. That long airplane ride was more than she could take. It is my fault." When things don't turn out as we would like them to, we tend to assume that had we done things differently, the story would have had a happier ending. Any time there is a death, the survivors will feel guilty. Because the course of action they took turned out bad, they believe that the opposite course, for example, keeping mother at home, would have turned out better. After all, how could it have turned out any worse? There seem to be elements involved in our readiness to feel guilty. The first lies in our belief that the world makes sense----there is a reason for everything that happens. The second is the thought that we are the cause of what happens, especially the bad things that happen. The roots of this feeling may lie in our childhood. A baby comes to think that the world exists to meet his needs, and that he makes everything happen in it. He wakes up in the morning and calls the rest of the world to its tasks. He cries, and someone comes to attend to him. When he is hungry, people feed him, and when he is wet, people change him. Very often, we do not completely abandon that childish thought that our wishes cause things to happen. What is true about the two deceased elderly women? A) They died from accidents. B) They both died of old age. C) They died due to lack of care by family members. D) They weren't accustomed to the change in life.
B

People in the United States honor their parents with two special days:Mother's Day, on the second Sunday in May, and Father's Day, on the third Sunday in June. These days are set aside to show love and respect for parents. They raise their children and educate them to be responsible citizens. They give love and care. These two days make us think about the changing roles of mothers and fathers. More mothers now work outside the home. More fathers must help with child care. These two special days are celebrated in many different ways. On Mother's Day people wear carnations. A red one symbolizes a living mother. A white one shows that the mother is dead. Many people attend religious services to honor parents. It is also a day when people whose parents are dead visit the cemetery .On these days families get together at home, as well as in restaurants. They often have outdoor barbecues for Father's Day. These are days of fun and good feelings and memories. Another tradition is to give cards and gifts. Children make them in school. Many people make their own presents. These are valued more than the ones bought in stores. It is not the value of the gift that is important, but it is "the thought that counts". Greeting card stores, florists, candy makers, bakeries, telephone companies, and other stores do a lot of business during these holidays. Which of the following is NOT a reason for children to show love and respect for parents? A) Parents bring up children. B) Parents give love and care to children. C) Parents educate children to be good persons. D) Parents pass away before children grow up.

D