Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C or D on your answer sheet to indicate the best answer to each of the following questions from 31 to 40.
“Happiness is not having what you want but wanting what you have,” according to James Stewart. Although scientists now understand the roots of depression more clearly than they used to, happiness still remains a mystery. Recently, however, some interesting discoveries have been made.
Those who say they are happy, for example, tend to be less self-centered, less hostile and abusive, and are less prone to disease and general ill health. Interestingly, the affluent are not notably happier than their less-well-off counterparts, and seemingly, no particular time of life is significantly happier than any other. Even though some people see life as a tragedy, when questioned, most people said they were generally happy - painting a much rosier picture regarding people's general moods and dispositions.
Research has shown that people have two basic reward centres in their brains that are stimulated by two different chemicals which cause happiness. The first, dopamine, is triggered by activities like exercise, relaxation and the quieter pleasures. The second comprises a set of adrenaline-type chemicals which are triggered by exciting or frightening activities. Dopamine provokes a response of passive happiness, while the second set of chemicals provokes a high-energy state of happiness, the feeling one might get from public speaking or mountain climbing.
[I] While understanding the chemical process behind happiness is important, it does not explain why only some people are consistently happy. [II] One of the reasons we have such a problem with happiness is that many confuse it with a life untouched by anxiety, rage, doubt and sadness. [III] The belief that happiness means that nothing ever goes wrong is naive; in order to be happy, we must know not how to avoid disturbing events, but how to deal with them. [IV]
The key to coping with life's unpleasant aspects, while remaining content, comes from an everyday practice which Mihaly Csikszentimihalyi calls “the flow”. He describes “the flow” as the state one is in when doing something completely absorbing. It comes when one is pushed right up to the limit of one's ability, but not beyond it. “People can get a feeling of flow from dangerous sports like mountain climbing or driving fast,” he says “but it can also come from something relaxing like painting or reading a good book”. The point is that it's an activity you do for the pleasure of doing it. You are not looking for praise or reward. What is important, is to keep your brain busy if you want to be happy. The professor explains: “If you leave someone on their own with nothing specific to do, most of their thoughts will be worries.” People tend to think about all the things they want and haven't got rather than how good their life is. It seems the key to happiness lies in having an active and challenging lifestyle.
The scientific study of happiness will help us understand how to build a world that improves human well-being and self-esteem, and how to get the most satisfaction from their goals and circumstances.
(Adapted from Mission FCE by Jenny Dooley and Virginia Evans)
Question 31: The word “they” in paragraph 1 refers to ____________.
A. roots
B. discoveries
C. scientists
D. mysteries
