1 . The joy of giving is real, according to a study. Research presented in the Journal of the Association for Psychological Science shows that those who give gifts are happier — and happier for longer — than those who receive gifts.

Researchers conducted two studies last year. In one，participants were given $5 every day for five days and were required to spend the money on the same thing each day. Some participants were required to spend the money on themselves, while others were required to give to make a donation to charity. In a second experiment that was done online, participants played 10 rounds of a word puzzle game and each won 5 cents per round, which they could keep or donate.

In both experiments, participants reported their overall happiness. Those who donated their money showed that their happiness declined at a much slower rate than those who kept the money or spent it on themselves.

The researchers note that when people focus on an outcome, they can easily compare outcomes, which may diminish their sensitivity to each experience. When people focus on an action, they may focus less on comparison and instead experience each act of giving as a unique happiness-inducing event. Further analyses ruled out some potential alternative explanations, such as the possibility that participants who gave to others had to think longer and harder about what to give, which could promote higher happiness.

The results are especially interesting because according to one of the researchers, Ed O’Brien of the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, they conflict with past research. “If you want to sustain happiness over time, past research tells us that we need to take a break from what were currently consuming and experience something new. Our research reveals that the kind of thing may matter more than assumed: Repeated giving, even in identical ways to identical other，may continue to feel relatively fresh and relatively pleasurable the more we do it,” O’Brien said.

So for all the holiday gifts you give this season, expect to feel happy and know that feeling is going to stick around for a while.

1. What’s the function of the first paragraph?

A．To lead to the topic.

B．To highlight the importance of the study.

C．To recommend a journal.

D．To persuade people to give gifts regularly.

2. Why did the researchers do two experiments?

A．To challenge the past research.

B．To rule out different experimental data.

C．To show the benefits of donation.

D．To make the conclusion more convincing.

3. What does the underlined word “diminish” probably mean in the fourth paragraph?

A．Develop.

B．Show.

C．Reduce.

D．Lack.

4. What’s the main finding of the new study?

A．Gift giving will result in longer happiness than receiving.

B．Thinking longer and harder on giving will promote higher happiness.

C．The feeling of happiness will disappear soon if people just give holiday gifts.

D．Taking a break from what were currently consuming will sustain happiness.

2 . Researchers at the DogStudies lab at the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History have shown that dogs may possess some metacognitive (元认知) abilities. Specifically, when they do not have enough information to solve a problem, they will actively look for more information, similarly to primates (灵长类).

In a recent study, project leader Julia Belger explored whether dogs have metacognitive abilities. To test this, the researchers designed a device involving two V-shaped fences. A reward, either food or a toy, would be placed by one researcher behind one of the two fences while another researcher held the dogs. In some cases, the dogs could see where the reward was placed, while in others, the dogs could not. The researchers then analyzed how frequently the dogs looked through the gap in the fence before choosing an option.

The researchers found that the dogs did check significantly more often for the reward when they had not seen where it was placed. These results show that dogs do tend to actively seek extra information when they have not seen where the reward is concealed.

The results did not allow the researchers to say definitively whether dogs possess meta-cognition, though they displayed some evidence for it. Julia said, “For humans, vision is an important information gathering sense. In this case, our experiment was based on a checking action relying on sight, but the dogs probably also used their sense of smell when checking through the gap. We know that smell is very important to dogs and we could see that they were using it.”

Julia added, “In future, we would like to develop an experiment to investigate under what circumstances dogs decide to use their sense of smell versus sight. This may give us additional insights into their information seeking abilities.”

1. What ability may dogs have according to the study?

A．To offer information like primates.	B．To use their skills to find more food.
C．To seek information to solve a problem.	D．To ask for help before choosing an option.

2. What does the underlined word “concealed” in paragraph 3 mean?

A．Decorated.

B．Hidden.

C．Produced.

D．Purchased.

3. What attitude did the researchers have to the finding?

A．Uncertain.

B．Friendly.

C．Negative.

D．Critical.

4. In which section of a newspaper can you probably read the text?

A．Environment and technology.	B．Humans and nature.
C．Literature and culture.	D．Society and life.