Section A
Would you be happier if you spent more time discussing the
state of the world and the meaning of life--and less time talking about the
weather It may sound counterintuitive(违反直觉的), but
people who spend more of their day having deep discussions and less time
engaging in small talk seem to be happier, said Matthias Mehl, a psychologist at
the University of Arizona who published a study on the (47) .
"We found this so interesting, because it could have gone the
other way--it could have been, ’Don’t worry, be happy’--as long as you surf on
the (48) level of life you’re happy, and if you go into the
essential depths you’ll be unhappy," Dr.Mehl said. But, he
(49) , deep conversation seemed to hold the (50)
to happiness for two main reasons: both because human beings are
driven to find and create (51) in their lives, and because
we are social animals who want and need to (52) with other
people. "By engaging in meaningful conversations, we manage to
impose meaning on a(n) (53) pretty chaotic world," Dr. Mehl
said. "And interpersonally, as you find this meaning, you bond with your
interactive partner, and we know that interpersonal connection and integration
is a core (54) foundation of happiness."
Dr. Mehl’s study was small and doesn’t (55) a
cause-and-effect relationship between the kind of conversations one has and
one’s happiness. But that’s the (56) next step, when he will
ask people to increase the number of deep conversations they have each day and
cut back on small talk, and vice versa. A) proposed
B) contact
C) otherwise D) shallow
E) calculated F) subject
G) prove H)
planned I) connect
J) love K) fundamental L)
nevertheless M) meaning N)
fantastic O) key