Passage Three

The way people hold to the belief that a fun—filled，pain—free life equals happiness actually reduces their chances of ever attaining real happiness.If fun and pleasure are equal to happiness then pain must be equal to unhappiness.But in fact，the opposite is true：more often than not things that lead to happiness involve some pain.

As a result，many people avoid the very attempts that are the source of true happiness.They fear the pain inevitably brought by such things as marriage，raising children，professional achievement，religious commitment，self—improvement.

Ask a bachelor why he resists marriage even though he finds dating to be less and less satisfying.If he is honest he will tell you that he is afraid of making a commitment.For commitment is in fact quite painful.The single life is filled with fun，adventure，excitement.Marriage has such moments，but they are not its most distinguishing features.

Couples with infant children are lucky to get a whole night’S sleep or a three.day vacation.I don’t know any parent who would choose the fun to describe raising children.But couples who decide not to have children never know the joys of watching a child grow up or of playing with a grandchild.

Understanding and accepting that true happiness has nothing to do with fun is one of the most liberating realizations.It liberates time：now we can devote more hours to activities that can genuinely increase our happiness.It liberates money：buying that new car or those fancy clothes that will do nothing to increase our happiness now seems pointless.And it liberates US from envy：we now understand that all those who are always having SO much fun actually may not be happy at all.

21.According to the author，a bachelor resists marriage chiefly because __________ .

A.he is reluctant to take on family responsibilities

B.he believes that life will be more cheerful if he remains single

C.he finds more fun in dating than in marriage

D.he fears it will put an end to all his fun adventure and excitement

22.Raising children，in the author’S opinion，is __________ .

A.a moral duty B.a thankless job

C.a rewarding task D.a source of inevitable pain

23.From the last paragraph，we learn that envy sometimes stems from __________ .

A.hatred B.misunderstanding C.prejudice D.ignorance

24.To understand what true happiness is one must __________ .

A.have as much fun as possible during one’S lifetime

B.make every effort to liberate oneself from pain

C.put up with pain under all circumstances

D.be able to distinguish happiness from fun

25.What is the author trying to tell us?

A.Happiness often goes hand in hand with pain.

B.One must know how to attain happiness.

C.It is important to make commitments.

D.It is pain that leads to happiness.

Passage Four

Motherhood may make women smarter and may help prevent dementia(痴呆)in old age by bathing the brain in protective hormones(荷尔蒙)，U.S.researchers reported on Thursday.

Tests on rats show that those who raise two or more litters of pups do considerably better in tests of memory and skills than rats who have no babies，and their brains show changes that suggest they may be protected against diseases such as Alzheimer’S(早老痴呆症).University of Richmond psychology professor Craig Kinsley believes his findings will translate into humans.

“Our research shows that the hormones of pregnancy(怀孕)are protecting the brain，including estrogen(雌激素)，which we know has many neuroprotective(保护神经的)effects，”Kinsley said.

“It’S rat data but humans.are mammals just like these animals are mammals，”he added in a telephone interview.“They go through pregnancy and hormonal changes.’’

Kinsley said he hoped public health officials and researchers will look to see if having had children protects a woman from Alzheimer’S and other forms of age.related brain decline.

“When people think about pregnancy，they think about what happens to babies and the mother from the neck down，”said Kinsley，who presented his findings to the annual meeting of the Society of Neuroscience in Orland0，Florida.

“They do not realize that hormones are washing on the brain.If you look at female animals who have never gone through pregnancy，they act differently toward young.But if she goes through pregnancy.she will sacrifice her life for her infant—that is a great change in her behavior that showed in genetic alterations(改变)to the brain.”

26.How do scientists know“Motherhood may make women smarter”?

A.Some researchers have told them.

B.Many women say S0.

C.They know it by experimenting on rats.

D.They know it through their own experience.

27.What does the phrase“litters of pups’’mean in the seeond paragraph?

A.Baby rats. B.Animals.

C.Old rats.D.Grown up rats.

28.What can protect the brain of a woman according to the passage?

A.Estrogen. B.The hormones of pregnancy.

C.More exercise.D.Taking care of children.

29.“It’S rat data but humans are mammals just like these animals are mammals.”What does the sentence suggest?

‘A.The experiments on the rats have nothing to do with humans.

B.The experiments on the rats are very important for animals.

C.The experiments on the rats are much the same on humans.

D.The experiments on the rats are much the same on other animals.

30.Which title is the best for this passage?

A.Do You Want to Be Smarter?

B.Motherhood Makes Women Smarter

C.Mysterious Hormones。

D.An Important Study

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