八年级英语课外阅读新文章(2016.01)Happiness: whats the big deal?Have you ever noticed how much people talk about happiness? People are always giving out advice on how to be happier. And many scientific studies have different opinions on what it means to be happy.Joseph Mercola, a US physician, found that healthy habits could lead to a happier lifestyle (生活方式). He found happier people eat right, exercise and get better sleep. His research found that a positive lifestyle could strengthen your immune system and prevent heart disease.Professor Sir Richard Peto, Oxford University, found the opposite to be true. His new study found happiness has nothing to do with your health or how long you will live.Researchers at the University of Oxford studied 1 million UK women over 10 years. The women answered questions on their health, happiness, amount of stress and how they felt about their lives.Unhappy women often had bad health before they were unhappy. This study said that studies in the past were getting the cause and effect (因果关系) confused.He found unhappy people were no more likely to get sick than happy ones. “Of course people who are ill tend to be unhappier than those who are well,” said Peto, co-author of the study.On the other hand, a study from Australasian Science said that negative people are actually more careful thinkers than happy people. Experts say there is too much pressure to reach this goal of happiness. In turn (相应地), it makes us less happy. So what do you think it means to be happy?1. What did Dr Joseph Mercolas research find?A. Happier lifestyles led to healthy habits.B. Happier people had the same lifestyle.C. Happier people didnt get heart disease.D. A happier lifestyle could mean people are healthier.2. Which of the following is TRUE about Oxford Universitys experiment?A. Professor Sir Richard Peto proved Dr Joseph Mercolas study is true.B. One million women from several countries took part in the experiment.C. The women answered questions on their health, happiness, stress and feelings.D. Most of the women had bad health before they took part in the experiment.3. What did the study from Australasian Science say?A. Unhappy people seldom got sick.B. Bad health made people unhappy.C. Unhappy people are more careful thinkers than happy ones.D. Its bad for our health to try to reach the goal of happiness.Effort in the right placeA giant ships engine broke. So the ship lost power. The ships owners were very worried. They tried one expert after another, but none of them could figure out how to fix the engine.Then they brought in an old man who had been fixing ships since he was young.He carried a large bag of tools with him. When he arrived, he immediately went to work. He examined the engine very carefully, from top to bottom.The ships owners were there, watching the man. They hoped he would know what to do.After looking things over, the old man reached into his bag and pulled out a small hammer. He gently tapped something.Instantly, the engine started back up. He then carefully put his hammer away. The engine was fixed!A week later, the ship owners received a bill from the old man for $10,000.“What?!” the owners shouted. “He hardly did anything!”So they wrote the old man a note saying, “Please send us an itemized (逐条记录的) bill.”The man sent a bill that read:Tapping with a hammer$2.00.Knowing where to tap.$9,998.00.Effort (努力) is important, but knowing where to put the effort in your life is all the difference.1. From paragraphs 2-3, we learn that _.A. the old man was talentedB. the old man was experiencedC. the old man found it easy to fix the engineD. the old man couldnt find the problem2. What does the underlined word “examine” in Paragraph 3 mean?A. look forB. look atC. look afterD. look over3. The right order of how the old man fixed the ship is _. He pulled out a small hammer. He tapped with a hammer. He checked the engine carefully.The engine was fixed.A. B. C. D. 4. The owners felt very _ when they received the old mans bill.A. happyB. surprisedC. worriedD. upset5. Why was fixing the engine so expensive?A. Because the old man asked for too much.B. Because no one else could do the work.C. Because the engine on the ship was expensive.D. Because the old man knew where to put the effort.How people give gifts on XmasChristmas traditions are different from country to country and even family to family. But theres one thing in common: giving and receiving Christmas presents.You have probably heard of the happy man called Santa Claus. He is said to bring presents to children on Christmas Day. But first, kids need to let Santa know what they want for Christmas. In the US, kids can write Santa a letter, nicely asking him for what they want. Then, they send it through the post office addressed to the North Pole.