A
Finland is the happiest place on Earth, according to the 2018 World Happiness Report of 156 nations.
The report, released Wednesday by the United Nations' Sustainable Development Solutions Network, ranks the countries of the world based on six different categories of well-being: income, freedom, trust, life expectancy, generosity and social support. This year's report also pays special attention to the happiness of each country's immigrants.
The U.S. dropped four spots from 2017 and landed in the 18th place, and last year's winner, Norway, came in second place — followed by Denmark, Iceland and Switzerland.
'' The top five countries all have almost equally high values for the six factors found to support happiness, and four of these countries—Denmark, Switzerland, Norway and now Finland — have been in first place in the six World Happiness Report rankings since the first report" in 2012, '' co-editor John Helliwell told CNN. '' In a division with such excellent teams, changes in the top spot are to be expected."
Rounding out the top 10 happiest countries was Canada in sixth place, then New Zealand, Sweden and Australia. The order of the top 10 nations changed from the 2017 list but the countries did not, according to the report. They were also 10 of the 11 top spots in the immigrant happiness category (including Mexico — 24th overall, but 10th in immigration).
'' The most striking finding of the report is the remarkable consistency between the happiness of immigrants and the locally born, '' Helliwell said in a statement. '' Although immigrants come from countries with very different levels of happiness, their reported life evaluations resemble those of other residents in their new countries. Those who move to happier countries gain, while those who move to less happy countries lose. ''
Other major world powers placed in significantly low spots on the list. Germany came in 15th, the UK was 19th — followed by Japan in 54th place, Russia in 59th and China in 86th.
The report, based on surveys completed by citizen volunteers, came just under a week before World Happiness Day on March 20, when the UN declared to recognize '' the relevance of happiness and well-being as universal goals and aspirations inthe lives of human beings around the world and the importance of their recognition in public policy objectives''
1. What is the most significant finding of the report?
A. That immigrants are different from residents in the country.
B. That immigrants and locals feel the similar level of happiness.
C. That immigrants become happy when they leave the country.
D. That immigrants come from countries with different levels of happiness.
2. What can be inferred from the last paragraph?
A. Happiness is no less important than any other aspect in life.
B. People’s happiness and well-being should be considered when it comes to policy-making.
C. The happiness report came under a week before World Happiness Day.
D. What the UN declared was beneficial to all human beings.
3. What is the best title of the passage?
A. World Happiness Day. B. Happiness — forever pursuit.
C. The 2018 World Happiness Report. D. What's your happiness index?
【答案】1. B 2. B 3. C
【解析】
这一篇说明文。文章主要介绍了2018年针对156个国家进行的幸福指数调查显示，芬兰是位列第一的，也简单介绍了其他一些国家的情况。
【1题详解】
细节理解题。根据文章倒数第三段的The most striking finding of the report is the remarkable consistency between the happiness of immigrants and the locally born, (报告中最引人注目的发现是移民的幸福感和当地人之间的幸福感具有显著的一致性)可知移民和当地人一样感到非常幸福。B. That immigrants and locals feel the similar level of happiness. (移民和当地人的幸福水平相似)符合以上说法，故选B项。
【2题详解】
推理判断题。根据文章最后一段的the UN declared to recognize "the relevance of happiness and well-being as universal goals and aspirations in the lives of human beings around the world and the importance of their recognition in public policy objectives" (联合国宣布承认“幸福与幸福感的相关性是全世界人类活动中的普遍目标和愿望，并承认他们在公共政策目标中的重要性”)可推测在政策制定时，应考虑人们的幸福和幸福感。B. People’s happiness and well-being should be considered when it comes to policy-making. (政策制定时，人们的幸福和幸福感应考虑在内)符合以上说法，故选B项。
【3题详解】
主旨大意题。这是一篇说明文，其主旨一般在首段或者尾段。根据本文的主要内容，尤其是第一段Finland is the happiest place on Earth, according to the 2018 World Happiness Report of 156 nations. (2018世界幸福报告发布的156个国家中，芬兰是世界上最幸福的国家)可知本文主要讲述2018年156个国家幸福报告的相关内容。C. The 2018 World Happiness Report. (2018年世界幸福报告)可以作为本文标题，故选C项。
