Part 4 Comprehensive Reading

In this part, you will read a longer and complete article and practice your comprehensive reading skills.

Before You Read

Task 5：Previewing Vocabulary

Read each of the target word below. Think about how well you know them and check (√) the appropriate column.

Task 6：Reading This Article 

As you read the following selection, think about the answer to this question: How do you define success and happiness in life? Read the selection. Do not use a dictionary. Then do the exercise that following the reading.

Finding Happiness

1  Americans care more about pursuing personal passions than wealth, survey finds.

2  Despite recent research suggesting that money can in fact buy happiness, more Americans are redefining success and happiness in a way that doesn’t involve wealth. Only around one in four Americans (27 percent) still believes that wealth determines success, according to the Life Twist study, a survey of more than 2,000 Americans conducted by American Express¹.

3  Americans ranked their top five contributors to success, with 85 percent saying that good health is essential. Other contributors to success included finding time for the “important things in life” (83 percent), having a good marriage or relationship (81 percent), good management of personal finances (81 percent), having a good work-life balance (79 percent), and having a job or career you love (75 percent). But keeping an open and flexible mindset was the most universal ingredient for success. The overwhelming majority of Americans (94 percent) agree that being open to change is essential to a successful life. 

4  “Dozens of the survey’s findings reflect a new American notion of success, but perhaps none more surprisingly than the result that Americans ranked ‘having a lot of money’ 20th on a list of 22 possible contributors to having a successful life,” the survey’s authors write in a press release. “This result mirrors the steadily rising trend that Americans are increasingly placing greater priority on living a fulfilling life – in which being wealthy is not the most significant factor.” 

5  Rising work stress levels may be playing a part in the shift away from a wealth-based notion of success. Eight in 10 employed Americans say that they’re stressed about work, with poor compensation and an unreasonable workload as the number-one contributor stressors.

6  To combat mounting stress in both work and personal lives, Huffington Post² President and Editor-in-Chief Arianna Huffington urges women to “lean back” and focus on their health and well-being in order to find personal fulfillment. “The world needs women to redefine success beyond money and power,” Huffington wrote in a Wall Street Journal blog. “We need a third metric, based on our well-being, our health, our ability to unplug and recharge and renew ourselves, and to find joy in both our job and the rest of our life. Ultimately, success is not about money or position, but about living the life you want, not just the life you settle for.”

7  Prioritizing the pursuit of joy may not only boost well-being, but can actually spur success.  Happy people are generally successful in work, relationships and health (and they may also enjoy better sleep).

8  Another positive finding? Six in 10 respondents in the Life Twist study already consider themselves to be successful, while 83 percent say “I’m a work in progress.”

Notes:

1. American Express美国运通公司

美国运通公司是国际上最大的旅游服务及综合性财务、金融投资及信息处理的环球公司。 美国运通公司创立于1850年，总部设在美国纽约。 美国运通公司是国际上最大的旅游服务及综合性财务、金融投资及信息处理的环球公司，在信用卡、旅行支票、旅游、财务计划及国际银行业占领先地位，是在反映美国经济的道琼斯工业指数三十家公司中唯一的服务性公司。2017年《财富》美国500强排行榜发布，美国运通公司排名第86位。

2. Huffington Post赫芬顿邮报

赫芬顿邮报是一个美国主要的新闻网站、聚合博客。2005年5月，55岁的阿丽安娜·赫芬顿（Arianna Huffington）创立了政治博客网站——赫芬顿邮报，2006年8月便获得500万美元风险投资 。2007年4月，赫芬顿开业内之先河，发起了2008年美国总统大选网上辩论会。这个网站已成为美国最受欢迎的五大新闻网站之一，也是全美最有名的政治博客网站，每天的独立用户访问量为2500万。《赫芬顿邮报》网站的创立被认为引发了一场新的媒体革命，赫芬顿也因此入选2006年《时代》杂志全球最有影响力一百人名单。它曾在美国《时代》杂志评选的“25个最好的博客”中排名第一，在英国《卫报》评出的“50个最有权势的博客中”同样名列榜首。

Task 9：Focusing on Vocabulary

A. Choose the correct definition for each word.

B. Fill in each blank with the proper form of the word given in brackets.

1. Industry is a chief ____________ (contribute) to the air pollution problem. 

2. The job is hard but the ____________ (compensate) is good. 

3. For professional footballers, injuries are an ____________ (occupation) hazard. 

4. Judy is a woman who is ____________ (passion) about life and work!  

5. Fire engines and ambulances have ____________ (priority) over other traffic. 

6. Happiness is the real sense of ____________ (fulfill) that comes from hard work. 

7. She felt an ____________ (overwhelm) desire to return home.  

8. Relax as much as possible and keep breathing ____________ (steady). 

9. He ignored his ____________ (mount) debts.

10. Communication is the key to a ____________ (fulfill) career.

Task 10: Word Formation 

The following roots can be found in the text. 

A. Read the text carefully, locate the words in the text that contain one of the above-mentioned roots, and tell the part of speech and the meaning of each word.