2017pets3公共英語三級閱讀理解考前沖刺練習（3）
2017pets3公共英語三級閱讀理解考前沖刺練習（3）
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.
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
[答案]A
【精析】根據(jù)文中第三段第二句If he is honest he will tell you that he is afraid of making a commitment. For commitment is in fact quite painful.可知單身漢不愿意結(jié)婚的主要原因是他不愿承擔婚姻的責任，故A正確。
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
[答案]C
【精析】根據(jù)文中第四段But couples who decide not to have children never know the joys of watching a child grow up or of playing with a grandchild.可推測出作者對撫養(yǎng)孩子這件事是持贊賞的態(tài)度的，
From the last paragraph, we learn that envy sometimes stems from ______.
A. hatred B. misunderstanding
C. prejudice D. ignorance
[答案]B
【精析】根據(jù)文中最后一段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.可知整天很開心的人不一定幸福，我們認為他們幸福只是我們自己的誤解，所以我們會忌妒，就是源于誤解。故選B。
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
[答案]D
【精析】根據(jù)文中最后一段Understanding and accepting that true happiness has nothing to do with fun is one of the most liberating realizations.可知理解和接受真正的幸福與開心無關(guān)，明白了這一點是最具有解放意識的，所以區(qū)別開幸福與開心才能理解什么是真正的幸福，故選D。
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.
[答案]A
【精析】根據(jù)文中第一段more often than not things that lead to happiness involve some pain�？芍腋？偸桥c痛苦相伴的，故選A。
