1 . Feel Happier Today

When I learned that the most popular course in the history of Yale University—a psychology class designed to teach students how to become happier—was available online to anyone who wanted to take it, I decided I had to see what it was all about. After all, I’ve been writing about happiness for years, offering techniques and advice from researchers who found that this idea or that habit can boost well-being. I was curious to see what Yale professor Laurie Santos was recommending, but I assumed I’d already be familiar with many of the concepts. So I invited my husband, Ian, to take the course with me. I wanted to see how someone who hadn’t heard it all before reacted.

Santos’s online course consists of 19 hours of video lectures and is supposed to take ten weeks to complete, but Ian and I spent three months soaking up what she had to offer. We learned that the things we tend to think will make us happier—bigger paychecks, nicer homes, slimmer bodies—don’t actually add joy to our lives. But practices such as exercising more, socializing, getting enough sleep, and enjoying free time over making money do. “These constant practices are really what’s required to increase your happiness,” Santos told me after Ian and I completed her course. “It’s like a tire that you put air into. Occasionally it leaks, and you have to put more air into it. It’s not a one-time thing where you learn it and you’re good. You actually have to put the work in.”

Although part of the course focuses on the desire to get good grades and land the perfect job, we realized that these lessons aren’t helpful just for college students; Ian and I are both middle-aged, with six children between us, and most of what Santos said was relevant to us. “What the science suggests is that these tips apply cross-culturally, across ages, and no matter what job you have,” Santos says. After taking the course, I’m convinced that anyone who adopts and practices the strategies that Santos suggests can truly become happier.

1. What does the underlined part “boost well-being” in Paragraph I mean?

A．Focus on fitness.	B．Improve happiness.
C．Make achievements.	D．Deal with stress.

2. What is actually needed to make you happy, according to Santos?

A．Having much money to spend.	B．Having a good time at a party.
C．Living in a wonderful house.	D．Owning a beautiful figure.

3. Which of the following statements does the writer agree with?

A．Her husband is expert at happiness.

B．She always knows the content of the course.

C．The course is not useful to college students.

D．The course is related to people of her age.

4. What attitude does the writer have toward Santos’ strategies?

A．Positive.

B．Negative.

C．Indifferent.

D．Doubtful.