2014年英语二阅读理解Text1

第一段

①What would you do with $590m? This is now a question for Gloria Mackenzie, an 84-year-old widow who recently emerged from her small, tin-roofed house in Florida to collect the biggest undivided lottery jackpot in history.②If she hopes her new-found fortune will yield lasting feelings of fulfilment, she could do worse than read Happy Money by Elizabeth Dumn and Michael Norton.

单词&词组

1. a question for sb.  某人面对的问题

2. widow  n. 寡妇；孀妇

3. emerge  v. 开始被认知

4. tin-roofed  铁皮房顶的

5. undivided  a. 未分开的；完整的

6. lottery  n. 彩票

7. jackpot  n. 头奖；最高奖

8. fortune  n. 财富

9. yield  v. 产生；生产

10. could do worse than  不妨试试……

本段翻译

你会用5.9亿美元做什么?这是如今摆在歌莉娅·麦肯齐面前的问题。她是一位84岁寡居老人，住在佛罗里达一间狭窄铁皮屋里，最近因独揽史上最高金额彩票头奖并现身领奖而为人所关注。如果她希望这笔新到手的财富能够产生长久满足感，倒不妨读读伊丽莎白·邓恩与迈克·诺顿合著的《快乐金钱》。 

第二段

①These two academics use an array of behavioral research to show that the most rewarding ways to spend money can be counterintuitive.②Fantasies of great wealth often involve visions of fancy cars and extravagant homes.③Yet satisfaction with these material purchases wears off fairly quickly.④What was once exciting and new becomes old-hat; regret creeps in.⑤It is far better to spend money on experiences, say Ms. Dumn and Mr. Norton, like interesting trips, unique meals or even going to the cinema.⑥These purchases often become more valuable with time-as stories or memories-particularly if they involve feeling more connected to others.

单词&词组

1. academic  n. 高校老师；高校科研人员

2. an array of  一系列

3. rewarding  a. 有益的；值得的

4. counterintuitive  a. 违反直觉的

5. vision  n. 想象；幻想

6. fancy  a. 昂贵的；精致的

7. extravagant  a. 奢侈的

8. wear off fairly quickly  很快消失殆尽

9. creep in  悄然而至

10. it is far better to do sth.  做……则要好许多

本段翻译

这两位学者运用一系列行为研究表明，最有意义的花钱方式可能是与直觉相反的。对于巨额财富的幻想通常会伴随着对炫车豪宅的憧憬。然而，这些物质购买所带来的满足感会消失得相当快。曾经令人兴奋又新奇的东西变得陈旧过时，懊悔悄然而至。远不如把钱花在“体验”上，邓恩女士和诺顿先生说道，比如说有趣的旅行、独特的餐食、甚至是去看电影。随着时间的流逝，这些体验往往会变得更加珍贵—以记忆或故事的形式——尤其是当它们让人感觉到自己与他人联系更紧密时。

第三段

①This slim volume is packed with tips to help wage slaves as well as lottery winners get the most “happiness bang for your buck.”②It seems most people would be better off if they could shorten their commutes to work, spend more time with friends and family and less of it watching television (something the average American spends a whopping two months a year doing, and is hardly jollier for it).③Buying gifts or giving to charity is often more pleasurable than purchasing things for oneself, and luxuries are most enjoyable when they are consumed sparingly.④This is apparently the reason McDonald's restricts the availability of its popular McRib-a marketing trick that has turned the pork sandwich into an object of obsession.

单词&词组

1. be packed with  挤满；塞满

2. wage slave  薪奴，靠工资吃饭的人

3. bang for your buck  所做的努力值得；钱花得合算

4. be better off  过得更好

5. commute n. 通勤；上下班路程

6. whopping  a. 巨大的；很大的（数字等）

7. sparingly  ad. 节俭地；慎用地；爱惜地

8. be jolly for  因为……感到高兴的、愉快的
   

9. restrict the availability of sth.  限制对……的获取

10. an object of obsession  令人痴迷之物

本段翻译

这本薄薄的书卷中写满了建议，既给彩票赢家，也给薪奴“从财富中获取最大快乐”提供了帮助。似乎大部分人都能通过缩短通勤时间，多陪家人朋友，少看电视(美国人年均竟然有两个月的时间在看电视，却并没有因此更快乐)过得更好。给他人买礼物或捐款给慈善机构通常比给自己买东西更令人愉悦，有节制地消费奢侈品才能带来最大快乐。显然这正是麦当劳限量供应大受欢迎的烤汁猪排堡的原因所在——这一营销手段已将这种猪肉三明治变成了令人痴迷之物。

第四段

①Readers of Happy Money are clearly a privileged lot, anxious about fulfilment, not hunger.②Money may not quite buy happiness, but people in wealthier countries are generally happier than those in poor ones.③Yet the link between feeling good and spending money on others can be seen among rich and poor people around the world, and scarcity enhances the pleasure of most things for most people.④Not everyone will agree with the authors’ policy ideas, which range from mandating more holiday time to reducing tax incentives for American homebuyers.⑤But most people will come away from this book believing it was money well spent.

单词&词组

1. privileged  a. 荣幸的，幸运的

2. a privileged lot  特权群体；幸运群体

3. scarcity  n. 不足；缺乏

4. mandate  v. 批准；授权

5. incentive  n. 激励

6. come away  离开时留下（印象）

本段翻译

《快乐金钱》的读者显然属于一个幸运的群体，渴望得到满足感，而不是担心挨饿。金钱或许不能真正买到幸福，但富裕国家的人们总体上比贫穷国家的人们更幸福。然而，全世界范围内，无论穷人还是富人中，都可以看到“将钱用到别人身上”和“感觉愉悦”的联系，且对大部分人来讲，稀缺性提升了大部分事物的愉悦感。并非所有人都会赞同作者从“增加假日时间”到“降低对美国购房者的税收刺激”等政策理念。但大部分人读完此书后都会认为，它非常值得购买。

五道题

21. According to Dumn and Norton, which of the following is the most rewarding purchase?

[A] A big house.   

[B] A special tour.  

[C] A stylish car.  

[D] A rich meal.

22. The author's attitude toward Americans’ watching TV is ________.

[A] critical   

[B] supportive   

[C] sympathetic  

[D] ambiguous

23. McRib is mentioned in Paragraph 3 to show that ________.

[A] consumers are sometimes irrational

[B] popularity usually comes after quality

[C] marketing tricks are after effective

[D] rarity generally increases pleasure

24. According to the last paragraph, Happy Money ________.

[A] has left much room for readers’ criticism

[B] may prove to be a worthwhile purchase

[C] has predicted a wider income gap in the US

[D] may give its readers a sense of achievement

25. This text mainly discusses how to ________.

[A] balance feeling good and spending money

[B] spend large sums of money won in lotteries

[C] obtain lasting satisfaction from money spent

[D] become more reasonable in spending on luxuries

参考答案

BADBC

答案解析

21、根据题干信息关键词Dunn and Norton和the most rewarding purchase定位到第二段。该段指出，邓恩与诺顿研究发现，最有意义的花钱方式与我们的直觉恰恰相反，购买“体验”比购买“物质”更有意义，因为体验(如有趣的旅行、独特的餐点、即便是看一场电影)往往会成为我们的故事或记忆，随着时间的流逝更显珍贵。[B]符合文义。

22、根据题干关键词Americanswatching TV定位到第三段第二句。该句指出，人们若能少看电视，则会更加幸福。且在括号内补充指出，美国人每每年花在看电视上的时间高达两个月，却并未从中得到快乐。可见，作者对美国人长时间看电视的行为持批评态度，[A]正确。

23、根据题干关键词M cRib定位到第三段末句。该句指出， 麦当劳靠饥饿营销使烤汁猪排堡(M cRib) 成了令人痴迷之物。回顾上文“只有偶尔买之， 奢侈品才能真正成为愉悦大餐”。联系两句可知：文中提及M cRib是为证明“稀缺提升愉悦感；物品一旦唾手可得， 则不再令人为之着迷”， [D] 正确。

24、文章末句指出，大部分人读完此书后都会认为，它非常值得购买，[B]选项正确。

25、本题考查文章主旨，需要纵览全文。本文对《快乐金钱》一书进行了评价：第一段引出书评对象，第二、三段介绍书中内容：《快乐金钱》以“如何使用手中财富才能带来长久的快乐”为主题，向人们提出多项建议：一，将钱用于购买“体验”；二，将钱用于购买“时间”；三，有节制地购买，使购买成为对自己的“款待”；四，将钱花到“他人”身上。末段作者表明对该书的总体认同态度。[C]正确。