Unit 9 What Is Happiness
Key to the Exercises
Text comprehension I. A II.
1. T; 2. F; 3. F; 4. T; 5. F. III.
1. He means that one is given the right to pursue happiness, but does not know what it is. 2. Because he believes that commercial advertising not only fails to satisfy our desires, but more importantly it creates them, and it creates them faster than any man’s budget can satisfy them. Such insatiability makes people unhappy.
3. Because he thinks that the products and pursuits advertised on the front pages of women’s magazines are dreamlike and can’t be fulfilled.
4. He set two extremes according to Thoreau, the low level and the high level. The former refers to possession for its own sake or in competition with the rest of the neighborhood, while the latter refers to active discipline of heightening one’s perception of what is enduring in nature. To find balance is to save time and effort on the low levels and spend on the high.
5. The inherent right is not happiness itself, but lies in the pursuit of happiness, in the pursuit of what is life-engaging and life-revealing, i.e. in the idea of becoming. IV.
1. Jonathan Swift seemed to share this view when he criticized this idea of happiness as the state of being completely controlled by deception …
2. The active exercise or training to improve one’s understanding of what is of lasting value would have been Thoreau’s idea of the high levels, i.e. spiritual happiness.
Structural analysis of the text
Part 1 (Para. 1, 2): The author points out that when we are not sure what happiness is, we tend to be misled by the idea that we can buy our way to it.
Part 2 (Para. 3, 4, 5, 6): The author offers a number of examples to show how this misconception of happiness gives rise to the “happiness-market” in a highly commercialized society (the United States).
Part 3 (Para. 7, 8, 9): The author suggests striking a balance between what Thoreau called the low levels and the high levels.
Part 4 (Para. 10): The author gives his understanding of happiness, in the light of the Founding Fathers’ belief that it is “in the idea of becoming”.
Vocabulary I. Phrase
1. un-American: not typical of the attitudes, ways of life, etc., that are approved of or considered normal in the US
2. commercialism: the activities or attitudes of people who think that making a profit is more
important than anything else; emphasis on the maximizing of profit 商业主义
3. for that matter: it is also true that … (The phrase “for that matter” is used to emphasize that sth., though mentioned second, is also true, important, or relevant as what has been mentioned earlier.) 就此而论，在这方面, 同样 4. face: aspect 方面
5. in nature: essentially 事实上，本质上 II.
1. perpetual; 2. functions; 3. inherent; 4. cited;
5. approaching; 6. flawless; 7. vaguely; 8. disciplining.
III. Word derivation
Fill in the blanks with the appropriate forms of the given words. 1. pursuit 2. deception 3. dedication 4. commercial 5. patriotic 6. fictional 7. disapproval 8. starving IV.
1. C; 2. B; 3. D; 4. B; 5. D; 6. A; 7. C; 8. D.
V. Synonym / Antonym
1. hugely — Synonym: enormously, tremendously;
deliberately — Antonym: unintentionally, accidentally 2. Synonym: perfect, spotless 3. Antonym: inhale
4. Antonym: impartial, unbiased 5. Antonym: imbalance 6. Synonym: have, own
7. Synonym: fixed, stationary, quiet
VI. Prefix / Suffix
Write in each space one word that has the same stem as underlined in each given word. 1. contain obtain 2. concede precede 3. compel repel 4. suspend depend 5. include conclude 6. insist consist
7. descend 8. evolve
Grammar Exercises
I. Complete the sentences below with suitable pronouns. 1. yourself;
2. You / We; you / we 3. you / one / we 4. it
5. one another 6. They / We 7. myself 8. yourself 9. it
10. I; We; They; us; They; it; we II.
There; There; There; There; There; It; there; There; It; there. There
III. Replace the underlined parts in the following sentences with non-finite clauses or verbless clauses. 1. While flattered, …
2. … whether to go upstairs or to follow … 3. Whenever possible, … 4. … if left untreated. 5. … if ready.
6. Though no swimmer, … 7. Once over the pass, …
8. Whether by accident or by design, … IV.
1. Once; 2. Though; 3. If; 4. when; 5. whether; 6. Unless; 7. Before; 8. After. V.
1. c; 2. b; 3. b; 4. c;
ascend revolve