Aca4 HW Reading 1

Reading
Orientation
1 Discuss these questions with other students.
a What information does the bar chart on page 11 contain? b Make true statements
about these countries.
Nigeria Romania USA/Mexico Australia/Russia
2 Discuss these questions.
a What factors could explain why the populations of some countries are happier
than the populations of others? b If your country is listed in the bar chart, do you think it
is a true reflection of
the people of your country? If it is not shown, where would you place it on the chart?
Reading for gist

note Read texts quickly to get a general idea of what they are about.
3 Read the text The pursuit of happiness and say which of these
general topics it covers.
• the growth in the academic study of happiness
• reasons for being unhappy
• the distinction between happiness and overall 'satisfaction with life
• links between wealth, consumerism and happiness
• how people's happiness affects the jobs they do
• cultural attitudes towards happiness
4 Which parts of the text deal with the four topics you have identified?
The pursuit of
f happiness
ow are we supposed to find Happiness Studies. As a result, government happiness?
Through good works policy advisers are getting interested, and and helping people?
By finding politicians are using the research as the basis
| religion or discovering the joys of for new strategies. 5 downshifting? Whatever strategy
you
choose, where you live might make a 25 What above all else has made systematic
difference. The latest global analysis of
study possible is data gathered from happiness and satisfaction levels shows that
hundreds of surveys measuring happiness
the most 'satisfied' people tend to live in across nền văn hóa
, 10 Latin America, Western Europe and North religions, and socio-economic groups.
America, whereas Eastern Europeans are the 30 Researchers can investigate the
impact of least satisfied.
money and inequality; they could explore, for
example, how much difference money makes It is not the first time such international to
a person's happiness after their basic
league tables have been drawn up. What is material needs have been met, and whether
15 new is how experts and politicians are taking 35 inequality in wealth and status is as
such data increasingly seriously. Over the important a source of dissatisfaction as
we past decade, the study of happiness, formerly might think. 'It is an exciting area,'
says Ruut
Veenhoven, editor-in-chief of the Journal of gurus, has become a bona fide discipline. It
Happiness Studies. We can now show which 20 even has its own journal, the Journal
of 40 behaviours are risky as far as happiness goes,
10
UNIT 1
We should eventually be able to show

what kind of lifestyle suits what kind of person.'
den
in the same way medical research shows what is bad for our How satisfied a
person is with their life also depends on how health. We should eventually be
able to show what kind of successfully they adhere to their particular cultural
standard. lifestyle suits what kind of person.
In Japan, for instance, satisfaction may come from fulfilling
70 family expectations and meeting social responsibilities. So, While it is tempting to
hold up those nations that report the while in the US it is perfectly
appropriate to pursue your own 45 highest levels of happiness as a model for
others to follow this happiness, in Japan you are more likely to find happiness by
may be unwise. For one thing, the word 'happiness' has no not pursuing it
directly. precise equivalent in some languages. Another complication is that
'satisfaction is not quite the same thing as 'happiness. One of the most significant
observations to come from
When asked how happy they are, people tend to consider first 75 research findings is
that in industrialised nations, happiness 50 their current state. To get a better idea,
researchers ask people has not risen with average incomes. A growing number
of
to take a step back and consider how satisfied they are with researchers are
putting this down to consumerism, claiming their lives overall and how meaningful
they judge their lives that the desire for material goods, which has increased with
to be.
average income, is a 'happiness suppressant'. One study, by
80 Tim Kasser at Knox College, Illinois, found that young adults Comparisons
between countries also need to be treated who focus on money, image and fame
tend to be more 55 cautiously. Different cultures value happiness in very different
depressed and suffer more physical symptoms such as
ways. In individualistic western countries, happiness is often headaches.
Kasser believes that since nothing about seen as a reflection of personal
achievement. Being unhappy materialism can help you find happiness,
governments implies that you have not made the most of your life. Eunkook
85 should discourage it and instead promote things that can.
Mark Suh at Yonsei University in Seoul thinks this pressure to For instance, they
could support businesses that allow their 60 be happy could lead people to over-
report how happy they feel employees plenty of time off to be with their families,
whereas
Meanwhile, in the more collectivist nations of Asia, people have advertising could be
classified as a form of pollution and a more fatalistic attitude towards happiness.
According to Suh, could be taxed. 'Advertisements have become more 'One of
the consequences of such an attitude is that you don't 90 sophisticated,'
says Kasser. “They try to tie their message to
have to feel inferior or guilty about not being very happy. people's psychological
needs. But it is a false link. It is toxic.' 65 Indeed, in Asian cultures the pursuit of
happiness is often
frowned on, which in turn could lead people to under-report. These days even
hard-headed economists tend to agree that the
key to making people happier is to shift the emphasis from
economic well-being to personal development, and to 95 discourage the pursuit
of social status. This last point is
crucial, believes Richard Layard from the London School of Economics, since the
pursuit of social status does not make society as a whole any happier. Motivating
people through the
quest for rank condemns as many to fail as to succeed - not a 100 good formula
for raising human happiness, says Layard.
Very happy people (per cent)
In view of these findings, it seems that governments would do well to worry
about the happiness of their electorate. There could be dangers, however.
Paradoxically, by striving too hard
to climb the global happiness rankings, governments are in 105 danger of turning the
pursuit of happiness into yet another
competitive quest for status - just what researchers have shown is a sure path to
making people miserable.
Nigeria
UK
Mexico
USA
Australia
Japan
Zimbabwe
Russia
Romania
UNIT 1
11
Unfami vocabulary
5 Read the first three paragraphs of the text again and underline any words that are
unfamiliar to you. Compare ideas with another student. Can you understand the
general meaning of these paragraphs, despite not understanding the words you
have underlined?
IELTS practice
Questions 1-3: Short-answer questions Answer these questions with words from
the text, using no more than THREE words for each answer.
1 According to the text, what could influence your level of

contentment?
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
2 Which group of people is interested in the practical implications of

the research into
happiness?
3 Which two factors are researchers able to study in their attempt

to find reasons why
some people are dissatisfied?
note Don't get stuck on vocabulary you don't know.

Questions 4-6: Sentence completion Complete these sentences with words from
the text, using no more than THREE words for each answer.
4 Happiness represents ............

...... .. in the minds of people from
western countries.
5 One of the implications of the Asian attitude is that being unhappy does not make
individuals feel
6 An individual's level of satisfaction is partly determined by how closely they conform
to their own ........

.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Questions 7-10: Summary completion Complete the summary below. Choose

no more than TWO words from the text for each answer.
(8) ....
Researchers have found that in developed countries happiness has not
increased in line with (7) .......
................ In their opinion, the fact that people have
more money
feeds their obsession with buying things and this acts as a
............... Their theory is illustrated by the fact that there
is a higher than average incidence of mental problems among (9)

........... who have materialistic concerns. There is also general agreement
that people would be happier if they concentrated on (10) ......
............... rather than their financial or social status.
12
UNIT 1
Exploration
6 Work with other students. Rank the following factors according to
how much you
think they contribute to people's happiness.
family life
wealth social network
accommodation job satisfaction
health
Are there any other factors you would add to this list?
7 What are the opposites of these adjectives? In some cases, you can add a
prefix or a
suffix; in other cases you may need to think of a completely different word. satisfied
(1.9)
collectivist (1.61) risky (1.40)
inferior (1.64) unwise (1.46)
significant (1.74) precise (1.47)
competitive (1.106) meaningful (1.53)
miserable (1.107)
8 Refer to the text to find answers to these questions.
a What do you understand by the verbs 'over-report' (1.60), and

under-report' (1.66)? What other verbs do you know with these prefixes? b What do
you understand by the word 'consumerism' (1.77)? What other words do
you know that end with -ism? What general meanings does this suffix have? <
Use a dictionary to check the difference in meaning between these compound
adjectives: 'hard-headed' (1.92), 'hard-hearted', 'hard-pressed', 'hard-nosed'.
9 Match the words on the left with those on the right to form commonly
occurring
verb-noun combinations. Then check your answers by finding them in the text.
Example: to meet someone's needs to draw up

data to fulfil
expectations to gather
league tables to meet
someone's needs to suffer
symptoms
10 Use the verb-noun combinations above to complete these sentences. You will need
to
change the form of the verbs. a In their investigations, social scientists ...... from
many different sources. b Even businesses which make substantial profits can fail to
...... the ...... of the
financial markets. Increasing numbers of people in the developed world are ...... the
...... of hay fever
and other allergies. d Education authorities in Britain ...... annual ...... showing which
are the best and
worst schools in their area. e Research is currently being undertaken to look at how
universities could ...... the
learning ...... of individual students.
cine
UNIT 1
13

Aca4 HW Reading 1

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Aca4 HW Reading 1

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Aca4 HW Reading 1

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Reading

Nigeria Romania USA/Mexico Australia/Russia

2 Discuss these questions.

Reading for gist

We should eventually be able to show

1 According to the text, what could influence your level of

2 Which group of people is interested in the practical implications of

3 Which two factors are researchers able to study in their attempt

note Don't get stuck on vocabulary you don't know.

4 Happiness represents ............

to their own ........

Questions 7-10: Summary completion Complete the summary below. Choose

is a higher than average incidence of mental problems among (9)

8 Refer to the text to find answers to these questions.

a What do you understand by the verbs 'over-report' (1.60), and

Example: to meet someone's needs to draw up

You might also like