2014考研英語（二）真題點評及來源

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2014考研英語（二）真題閱讀Text3來源于2013年6月的外刊，原文標題為Money and happiness。 這篇文章談到了兩個學者Elizabeth Dunn and Michael Norton在他們的新書Happy Money: The Science of Smarter Spending里建議中了$590m的84歲老太太Gloria MacKenzie該如何花這筆錢。與2012年相比，2013考研閱讀文章同樣注重時效性，所以2015考研的同學們一定要多多關注社會熱點話題，汲取豐富的文化背景知識，如此能取得事半功倍的效果！

從難度上來看，這篇文章比較簡單，保持了英語二的一貫難度水平，所以考生只要靜下心來很容易就能掌握住文章的主要內容和觀點。需要提醒大家的是，對于相對簡單的文章，出題人必然會在一些關鍵的詞句上作出考察，而這些地方也是一些考生會存在理解障礙的地方。例如，Text3文章的最后一句話But most people will come away from this book believing it was money well spent. Come away 是“離開”的意思；money well spent 意思是“值得花的錢”，所以這句話的意思是“大多數(shù)人會遠離這本書，相信花這個錢還是值得的”。不出所料的話，這句話肯定是一個重要的觀點態(tài)度句，親愛的考生們，你理解對了嗎？
2014考研英語（二）真題閱讀Text3原文鏈接：

Happy Money: The Science of Smarter Spending.

WHAT 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. The blogosphere is full of advice for this lucky Powerball pensioner. But if she hopes her new-found lucre will yield lasting feelings of fulfilment, she could do worse than read “Happy Money” by

Elizabeth Dunn and Michael Norton.

These two academics—she teaches psychology at the University of British Columbia; he lectures on marketing at Harvard Business School—use an of behavioural research to show that the most rewarding ways to spend money can be counterintuitive. Fantasies of great wealth often involve visions of fancy cars and palatial homes on remote bluffs. Yet satisfaction with these material purchases wears off fairly quickly.

What was once exciting and new becomes old-hat; remorse creeps in. It is far better to spend money on experiences, say Ms Dunn and Mr Norton, like interesting trips, unique meals or even going to the cinema. These purchases often become more valuable with time—as stories or memories—particularly if they involve feeling more connected to others.

This slim volume is packed with tips to help wage slaves as well as lottery winners get the most “happiness bang for your buck”. It 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). Buying gifts or giving to charity is often more pleasurable than purchasing things for oneself, and luxuries are most enjoyable when they are consumed sparingly. This is apparently the reason McDonald’s restricts the availability of its popular McRib—a marketing gimmick that has turned the pork sandwich into an object of obsession.

Readers of “Happy Money” are clearly a privileged lot, anxious about fulfilment, not hunger. Money may not quite buy happiness, but people in wealthier countries are generally happier than those in poor ones. Yet 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. Not everyone will agree with the authors’ policy ideas, which range from mandating more holiday time to reducing tax incentives for American homebuyers. But most people will come away from this book believing it was money well spent.