As a professor of business and government policy,I've long been interested inthe pursuit of happiness as a national concept.According to hundreds of reliable surveys of thousands of people across the land,happy people increase our prosperity and strengthen our communities.They make better citizens —and better citizens are vital to making our nation healthy and strong.So when  Ichanced upon data a couple of years ago saying that certain Americans wereliving in a manner that facilitated happiness —while others were  not —I jumped on it. I wanted to be able to articulate which personal lifestyles and publicpolicies would make us the happiest nation  possible.I also wanted to know which of my own values were the most conducive to happiness.I had always thought that _marching to the beat of my own drummer_ and making up my ownvalues as I went along were the right things to do,and that tradition alvalues,to put it bluntly,were for fools. Turns out that I was in for some surprises.You might suspect that Americansare getting happier all the time.After all,many(though clearly not all)aregetting richer,and this should make them better able and equipped to follow their dreams.On the other hand,there's a lot of talk about the good olddays,when kids could play outside without any  worry about being kidnapped.Andthere's a great deal of stress in this country right now,due to financial concerns,negative workplace environments,and chronic health problems,among other pressing issues.But average happiness levels in America have stayed largely constant for many years.In 1972,30 percent of the population said they were very happy with their lives, according to the National Opinion ResearchCenter's General Social Survey.In 1982,31 percent said so,and in 2006,31percent said so as well.The percentage saying they were not too happy was similarly constant,generally hovering around 31 percent. The factors that add up to a happy life for most people are not what wetypically hear about.Things like winning the lottery and earning a master's degree don't make people happy over the long haul.Rather,the key to happiness,and the difference between happy and unhappy Americans,is a life that reflects values and practices like faith,hard work,marriage, charity,and freedom. 

A. How to promote prosperity.

B.How to improve the community.

C.What makes people good citizens.

D.What contributes to a happy nation.

A. holding the traditional values

B.doing things at one's own will

C.catching the rhythms of music

D.playing one's favorite instrument

A. people were in better physical conditions

B.everything was much better than now

C.there were more financial concerns

D.people had more dreams

A. fallen despite economic boom

B.remained roughly unchanged for decades

C.experienced sharp decrease over the years

D.improved constantly although not obviously

A. winning a lottery doesn't bring sustained happiness

B.hard work can give people a sense of achievement

C.hard work is a virtue which people are proud of

D.winning a lottery mainly depends on sheer luck

  You don't have to be a botany expert to decipher what it means when somebody sends you a rose.Every year on Feb.14,millions of people exchange the flower to express their love —and an estimated 250 million roses were produced for Valentine's Day in 2018,according to the Society of American Florists. 

  But the rose's life as a symbol didn't begin with romance.In Victorian England, women's roles in society were limited by custom and norms.Withinthose strictures,learning the language of flowers —the notion that each and every flower has its own  meaning — was one activity deemed domestically appropriate for them.And for ladies in that situation, its communicative possibilities also held an appeal that other domestic arts lacked;“thepossibility that some women sought methods of covert communication andexpression  exists,”Mary Brooks wrote in Silent Needles,Speaking Flowers. 

  The early popularization of this practice is credited to Lady Mary Wortley Montagu,the wife of a British ambassador to Turkey in the 18th century.Enthralled by a Turkish version of flower language,Lady Montagu wrotea series of letters home to England in 1716.She described the Turkish tradition as a way of assigning meaning to objects in order to send secret love letters.Montagu's letters,published in 1763,wrote of her perceptions ofthis practice:“There is no color,no flower,no weed,no fruit,or herb that hasnot a verse belonging to it:and you may quarrel,criticize,or send letters of passion,friendship,or courtesy,or even of news,without ever inking your fingers,"she wrote.But the Lady was actually incorrect in her interpretation. In spite of Montagu's misunderstanding,word of the concept spread.Langage desFleurs, a dictionary for the language of flowers by Charlotte de Latour,waspublished in France in 1819,a century after Montagu's

discovery.Nine editionsof the English translation of the book,which alphabetically defined eachflower,were printed within three decades of its publication.De Latour'stranslated Language of Flowers covered most popular flowers we buy,sell andgive today,from the mistletoe's importance during Christmas to the musk rose'ssymbolization of “capricious beauty”.

   In de Latour's chapter on the rose,the flower is not only defined as meaning“love”,but the plant itself is romanticized.“Who that ever could sing has not sung the Rose!The poets have not exaggerated its beauty,or completed it spanegyric,"she wrote.Nature seems to have exhausted all her skill in the freshness,the beauty of form,the fragrance,the delicate color,and the gracefulness which she has bestowed upon the Rose.

A. make a decision

B.represent a message in code

C.conduct an action

D.discover the meaning of something

A. an appropriate activity for women in Victorian England

B.a way to express their romantic ideas explicitly

C.a symbol of romantic lifestyle

D.a kind of domestic art form

A. She was the British ambassadress to Turkey in 1716.

B.She had a clear and correct understanding of flower language.

C.She wrote a book about the language of flowers in the 18th century.

D.She thought almost all feelings could be conveyed without a word.

A. The beauty of rose is usually exaggerated by poets and singers.

B.Roses are the essential decorations during the Christmas season.

C.Rose is finally romanticized in de Latour's dictionary of flower language.

D.Nowadays,it's very common for us to buy and give roses to our friends.

A. Flower and Its History

B.Rose and Its Language

C.The Culture of Flowers

D.The Portrait of Roses

  In life,once on a path,we tend to follow it,for better or worse.What's sad is that even if it's the latter,we often accept it anyway because we are so accustomed to the way things are that we don't even recognize that they couldbe different.This is a phenomenon psychologists call functional fixedness. 

  This classic experiment will give you an idea of how it works and a sense of whether you may have fallen into the same trap:People are given a box of tacksand some matches and asked to find a way to attach a candle to a wall so that it bums properly.Typically,the subjects try tacking the candle to the wall orlighting it to affix it with melted wax.The psychologists had,of course,arranged it so that neither of these obvious approaches would work.The tacks are too short,and the paraffin doesn't bind to the wall.So how can you accomplish the task?The successful technique is to use the tack box as acandle-holder.You empty it,tack it to the wall,and stand the candle insideit.To think of that,you have to look beyond the box's usual role as a_receptacle_ just for tacks and re-imagine it serving an entirely new purpose.That is difficult because we all suffer to one degree or another from functional fixedness.The inability to think in new ways affects people inevery corner of society. 

  The political theorist Hannah Arendt coined the phrase frozen thoughts to describe deeply held ideas that we no longer question but should.In Arendt's eyes,the complacent reliance on such accepted“truths”also made people blind to ideas that didn't fit their worldview,even when there was ample evidence forthem. 

  Frozen thinking has nothing to do with intelligence,she said.“It can be foundin highly intelligent people.”Arendt was particularly interested in theorigins of evil,and she considered critical thinking to be a moral imperative—in its absence,a society could go the way of Nazi Germany. \

  Fortunately,psychologists have found that anyone can unfreeze his or herthinking.One of the most effective ways is to introduce a little discord toone's intellectual interactions. What this all means is that,as difficult asit can sometimes be,talking to people who disagree with you is good for you rbrain.So if you hate conspiracy theories and run into someone who believes that we faked the moon landing,don't walk away.Have tea with him or her.It can broaden your thinking in countless ways. 

A. we always follow the worse path in life

B.it is essential for us to lead a different kind of life

C.it is difficult for us to adapt to something different

D.we seldom make changes to the ways that things are

A. the paraffin can attach the candle to the wall

B.functional fixedness leads to the failure of some subjects

C.psychologists hope that the subjects stick to functional fixedness

D.tacking the candle to the wall is the only way to complete the task

A. container

B.support

C.stand

D.ornament

A. One can get rid of frozen thinking if he is wise and rational.

B.We should be capable of questioning every idea in our minds.

C.Some ideas are so deeply held in our minds that we never question them.

D.Critical thinking is quite often developed among highly intelligent people.

A. We should make friends with those who agree with us.

B.We should walk away from people who hate interactions.

C.We should listen to different ideas in order to think creatively.

D.We should have tea with someone who believes in conspiracy theories.

  “In the beginning was Apple.All things were made by it;and without it was not anything made that was made.”If technophiles were to write their own Testament,these might be the opening lines.Apple's ability to redefine the appeal of whole categories of computing has attracted the unerring faith ofmillions of followers.Apple has popularized existing technologies fourtimes:with the Macintosh computer in 1984,the iPod in 2001,the iPhone in 2007and the iPad in 2010.Recently _the faithful_ have prayed that Apple will pullit off again with its smartwatch.Many firms already make wrist-based devicesthat measure sleep patterns and exercise,but so far the category has remaineda niche plaything for geeks and athletes. 

  On March 9th the firm gathered its flock to share details about the AppleWatch,which will go on sale next month.Tim Cook,its boss,called it "the most advanced timepiece ever created”.In addition to telling the time,it can respond to voice commands,measure its wearer's heart rate,act like a creditcard at payment points and provide alerts for incoming calls and e-mails.Itcan display many of the apps that are popular on smartphones,such as those ofsocial networks,without the hassle of having to pull out a phone. 

  The launch of the Apple Watch points to a broader story:high  expectations that wearable technology will soon take off.Some 21m wearable devices were soldlast year,according to IDC,a research firm;wrist-worn wearables,including watches,were the majority. Wearables have so far lacked the elegant design and ease of use that helped smartphones ring in such success.Even the fashion models who were hired to demonstrate Google Glass struggled to make it look stylish.Most companies arefocusing on the engineering challenges in front of them and paying too litle attention to the “cultural engineering”that needs to happen for wearables to become accepted.Apple has hired fashion-conscious executives from luxurybrands like Burberry and Yves Saint Laurent to make its watch attractive,but it is not yet obvious that it has cracked the cool code. 

  But the biggest challenge facing wearables is the absence to date of a“killerapp”. Watches do not yet provide much more than smartphones  currently do,andsome models offer far less.Moving beyond phones'capabilities will take time.Itwill also depend on getting developers to build apps that will make the most of  wearables'possibilities. 

A. tell us what kind of products Apple can produce

B.show us the achievements that Apple has made

C.explain the reason why Apple is so successful

D.define the business scope of Apple

A. people who have religious faith

B.people who are dedicated to a religion

C.people who are loyal to a certain brand

D.people who accept the leadership of another

A. carry out voice commands

B.make payment as a credit card

C.inform the wearer of incoming calls

D.measure the wearer's blood pressure

A. Most of the wearables are quite expensive.

B.Most wearable producers lack fashion-consciousness.

C.Most of the wearables do not have a fashionable look.

D.Most wearable producers pay too much attention to cultural engineering.

A. They have dominated the market.

B.They have already had elegant designs.

C.They can provide more functions than smartphones.

D.They need further improvement to become accepted.

“Junk food”is difficult to define.White sugar is probably the nearest contender for the title.It contains plenty of calories for energy but not muchelse,and is often described as an “empty  calorie”food.Alcohol is also high incalories,but beer and wine contain some of the B vitamins and wine is a goodsource of iron,so even a teetotaler could not describe all alcohol asuseless,nutritionally speaking.Calories measure the energy we derive from the food we eat,and sugar and alcohol are sometimes described as having a high energy density. There is a limit to the amount of energy we need each day(2,000-2,200 calories is the average for women and 2,500-

3,000 for men)and ifwe eat too much sugar and alcohol there is no appetite left for the vitamin-rich foods we need—fish,meat,fruit and vegetables.Buying vitamins can bepredicted by psychological as well as nutritional motives and it is prudent to investigate why we think we need them and what benefits we expect from them before we rush off to the health shop to make our purchases. Most of us buy vitamins for one of three reasons.Either we believe that they are prophylactic,that is they will ward off advancing ill,or they are therapeutic and will deal with the  ills we have already,or finally we may believe they are wonder drugs and will lift us into a state of super health,with all its attendant delights.We are protected from some of these wild imaginings by the laws which control advertising but even without false promises we still believe that  vitamins will“do us good”.Belief is a very potent state of mind and the power of the placebo pill is never underestimated in clinical trials used to test new drugs.A placebo is a harmless substancegiven to one group of patients in the trial and it is similar in taste and appearance to a new drug which is given to a second group ofpatients.Theoretically the drug should cure or relieve any symptoms and the placebo should have no effect.Often these trials produce surprising resultsand the placebo group recovers as well as the group taking the new drug.It isa“mind over matter”philosophy and for some of us it works. Vitamin pills can sometimes fall into this category. Vitamins B and C cannot be retained in the body,so if we take more than weneed of these,they are soon excreted in the urine.The possible exception hereis the theory about the increased body “pool”of vitamin C,but even this is limited and is still largely unproven. Taking too much of the fat solublevitamins can be dangerous and vitamins A and D should never be  taken indiscriminately.Vitamin E has not been found to have any toxic effect inlarge doses,but neither do there seem to be any noticeable benefits.