Part B: Subheading Matching (2016)

Act Your Shoe Size, Not Your Age.

As adults, it seems that we’re constantly pursuing happiness, often with mixed results. Yet children appear to have it down to an art—and for the most part they don’t need self-help books or therapy. Instead, they look after their wellbeing instinctively and usually more effectively than we do as grownups. Perhaps it’s time to learn a few lessons from them.

41. ___________________

What does a child do when he’s sad? He cries. When he’s angry? He shouts. Scared? Probably a bit of both. As we grow up, we learn to control our emotions so they are manageable and don’t dictate our behaviours, which is in many ways a good thing. But too often we take this process too far and end up suppressing emotions, especially negative ones. That’s about as effective as brushing dirt under a carpet and can even make us ill. What we need to do is find a way to acknowledge and express what we feel appropriately and then—again, like children—move on.

42. ___________________

A couple of Christmases ago, my youngest stepdaughter, who was 9 years old at the time, got a Superman T-shirt for Christmas. It cost less than a fiver but she was overjoyed, and couldn’t stop talking about it. Too often we believe that a new job, bigger house or better car will be the magic silver bullet that will allow us to finally be content, but the reality is these things have little lasting impact on our happiness levels. Instead, being grateful for small things every day is a much better way to improve wellbeing.

43. ___________________

Have you ever noticed how much children laugh? If we adults could indulge in a bit of silliness and giggling, we would reduce the stress hormones in our bodies, increase good hormones like endorphins, improve blood flow to our hearts and ever have a greater chance of fighting off infection. All of which would, of course, have a positive effect on our happiness levels.

44. ___________________

The problem with being a grownup is that there’s an awful lot of serious stuff to deal with—work, mortgage payments, figuring out what to cook for dinner. But as adults we also have the luxury of being able to control our own diaries and it’s important that we schedule in time to enjoy the things we love. Those things might be social, sporting, creative or completely random (dancing around the living room, anyone?)—it doesn’t matter, so long as they’re enjoyable, and not likely to have negative side effects, such as drinking too much alcohol or going on a wild spending spree if you’re on a tight budget.

45. ___________________

Having said all of the above, it’s important to add that we shouldn’t try too hard to be happy. Scientists tell us this can backfire and actually have a negative impact on our wellbeing. As the Chinese philosopher Chuang Tzu is reported to have said: “Happiness is the absence of striving for happiness.” And in that, once more, we need to look to the example of our children, to whom happiness is not a goal but a natural byproduct of the way they live.

Options

[A]Be silly 

[B]Have fun 

[C]Ask for help 

[D]Express your emotions 

[E]Don’t overthink it 

[F]Be easily pleased 

[G]Notice things 

答案解析 (Answers & Analysis)

41. 对应 [D] Express your emotions (表达你的情绪)
【定位】段落描述了孩子难过时会哭（cries）、生气时会喊（shouts）。随后指出成人往往会压抑情绪（suppressing emotions），建议我们要“acknowledge and express what we feel appropriately（识别并恰当地表达我们的感受）”。“express”是核心关键词。

42. 对应 [F] Be easily pleased (容易满足)
【定位】段落举例继女得到一件不到5英镑的超人T恤就很开心。对比成人总觉得要换大房子、好车才能满足，段落最后建议：“being grateful for small things every day（每天为小事心怀感激）”。为小事感激，即“容易满足”。

43. 对应 [A] Be silly (犯点傻/天真一点)
【定位】段落强调笑（laugh）和咯咯笑（giggling）的好处，建议成人“indulge in a bit of silliness（沉浸在一点点幼稚/愚蠢中）”，可以减少压力激素。核心词“silliness”直接对应选项中的“silly”。

44. 对应 [B] Have fun (玩得开心)
【定位】段落谈到生活中有太多严肃的事情，因此建议我们要“schedule in time to enjoy the things we love（安排时间享受我们热爱的事物）”。列举了跳舞等有趣的随机活动。这些都是为了“找乐子（Have fun）”。

45. 对应 [E] Don’t overthink it (不要想太多/顺其自然)
【定位】段落警告不要“try too hard to be happy（太努力追求幸福）”，因为这会适得其反（backfire）。引用庄子的话说明“Happiness is the absence of striving for happiness（幸福是不刻意追求幸福）”。强调幸福是顺其自然的产物，不要过度追求或思考，对应 [E]。