The Pursuit of Happiness

In the title, the word 'pursuit' is used to refer to _______ happiness.

• being thankful for

• sharing one's

• trying to find

What is the main idea of paragraph 1?

• to list the things we all need to make us happy

• to show the differences between young people and adults for being happy

• to introduce some common ways of thinking about happiness

According from psychologists, long-term happiness should

• include how many possessions you have.

• depends on different circumstances.

• come from within ourselves.

What is the best alternative title for the article?

• Choosing happiness

• The importance of happiness

• Turn happiness into success

• Why are we so unhappy

What does the phrase “level of happiness” reveal about how researchers consider happiness to work (Paragraph 15)? ***Select ALL answers that apply!

• The phrase “level of happiness” reveals that researchers view happiness as something that can change and vary in degree.

• The phrase “level of happiness” reveals that researchers now know that different people experience different degrees of happiness.

• The phrase “level of happiness” reveals that researcher realize a persons happiness can vary somewhat over time.

• The phrase "level of happiness" reveals why researchers are disappointed to report that happiness has a “‘set point’ that is really a range; however, we cannot move up and down on the happiness scale within that range”; thus, nothing we do really even matters.

Derek's mother and father were billionaires. Derek always got everyting that he wanted. When Derek was three, his parents paid the cast of Sesame Street to come to his birthday party. In fifth grade, when Derek wanted to win the Science Fair, his parents paid a tutor to create an award-winning project. In tenth grade, when Derek wanted to be the best soccer player, his parents paid for David Beckham to privately train him. By the time Derek was an adult, he was bored and struggled to find anything meaningful to do. None of the things that he could buy with his money made him happy anymore. What is the theme of this passage?

• Derek is unhappy because he alwys got everthing he ever wanted as a child.

• Money can't buy happiness.

• You should save your money to buy things later in life.

Researchers have found that…

• people have absolutely no control over their own happiness.

• material possessions make people happy.

• people usually return to their normal happiness level.

• most people can keep their happiness levels high.

Derek's mom and dad were billionaires. Derek always got everything he wanted. When Derek was three, his parents paid the whole cast of Sesame Street to come to his birthday party. In fifth grade, when Derek wanted to win the science fair, his parents paid a tutor to create an award-winning project. In tenth grade, when Derek wanted to be the best soccer player, his parents paid for David Beckham to privately train him. By the time Derek was an adult, he was bored and struggled to find anything meaningful to do. None of the things that he could buy made him happy. What is the theme of this passage?

• Derek is unhappy because he always got everything he ever wanted as a child.

• Money can't buy happiness.

• You should save your money to buy things later in life.

People tend to be happiest when they purchase...

• something on sale

• an experience they take part in

• expensive shoes

According to the text, what has research shown about the relationship between wealth and happiness?

• Wealth always leads to happiness

• There is no correlation between wealth and happiness

• Wealth leads to happiness only in the short term

• Wealth leads to happiness only for the extremely rich