The pursuit of happiness 对幸福的追求

章登军

本文是一篇议论文。作者结合自己的生活体验，分析了幸福的根源，并介绍了让自己幸福、快乐的各种方法，还举例说明了人们不快乐的原因。

Despite the countless differences between peoples characters and careers， or their likes and their dislikes， it seems that we are all connected in this wonderful life by one thing， namely， seeking happiness.

Happiness means， naturally， different things to different people. For myself， happiness means horse riding， Cadburys Creme Eggs and spending time with my friends. Some people are at their happiest at home， while others find their happiness through travelling far?off foreign lands. Happiness can be as simple as a surprise bunch of fresh flowers or a really strong coffee， just when you need it most. Sometimes， happiness comes from spending time with loved ones; for others， its having a well?earned quiet night at home， with nothing but a comfortable bed for company.

Since it comes in so many shapes and sizes， its sometimes easy to take happiness for granted.  It is especially true if its been “one of those days”. Maybe you overslept， missed the bus and had to walk to school in the rain， only to be told that you were late. Or perhaps， because of work， you had to cancel plans with friends， despite looking forward to seeing them for ages. Forgotten keys， delayed flights， an argument with your parents， illness and injury are all very frustrating， and understandably guaranteed to make you feel unhappy.

Luckily， there are a few simple， scientifically proven ways to make the glass seem half?full again. To start with， things like trying out cycling or walking instead of driving to work and listening to music are great moodboosters（情绪助推器）. Volunteering and getting involved in a charity are two ways in which you can become happier through helping others. Last， but certainly not least， try hugging your way to happiness; its been suggested that we humans need a minimum（最少的） of five hugs a day. If youve been having a bad day， theres nothing better than a good old bear hug.

[Reading][Check]

1. What would be the main idea of paragraph 2？

A. Happiness comes from different things.

B. Fresh flowers can give you a surprise.

C. Some people enjoy themselves at home.

D. It is pleasant to spend time with close friends.

2. The underlined part “one of those days” may refer to a day when           .

A. it is easy to be happy

B. you go to work on time

C. you have a coffee at home

D. you tend to be sad at your life

3. To tell us that people are easy to take happiness for granted， the writer           .

A. performs an experiment

B. provides some examples

C. tells an interesting story

D. brings up some problems

4. Where does the text probably come from？

A. A scientific report.             B. An advertisement.

C. A guidebook.                 D. A novel.

[Language][Study]

Difficult sentence

Maybe you overslept， missed the bus and had to walk to school in the rain， only to be told that you were late. 也许你睡过头了，错过了公共汽车，不得不在雨中步行去学校，结果被告知你迟到了。

【点石成金】句中的“only to be told”为动词不定式作结果状语，常表示出乎意料的事或事与愿违的结果。