Does money buy happiness Not! Ah, but would a little more money make us a little happier Many of us smirk (傻笑，假笑) and nod. There is, we believe, some connection between fiscal fitness and emotional fulfillment. Three in four American collegians (大学生) now consider it "very important" or "essential" that they become "very well off financially." Money matters. But a surprising fact of life is that in countries where nearly everyone can accord life’s necessities, increasing affluence matters surprisingly little. The correlation between income and happiness is "surprisingly weak," observed University of Michigan researcher Ronald Inglehart in one 1B-nation study of 170,000 people. Once comfortable, more money provides diminishing returns. The second piece of pie, or the second100,000, never tastes as good as the first. Even lottery winners and the Forbes’ 100 wealthiest Americans have expressed only slightly greater happiness than the average American. Making it big brings temporary joy. But in the long run wealth is like health: its utter absence can breed misery, but having it doesn’t guarantee happiness. Happiness seems less a matter of getting what we want than of wanting what we have. Has our happiness floated upward with the rising economic tide Are we happier today than in 1940s, when two out of five homes lacked a shower or tub Actually, we are not. Since 1957, the number of Americans who say they are "very happy" has declined from 35 to 32 percent. Meanwhile, the divorce rate has doubled, the teen suicide rate has nearly tripled (使成三倍), the violent crime rate has nearly quadrupled (使成四倍)(even after the recent decline), and more people than ever (especially teens and young adults) are depressed. This soaring wealth and shrinking spirit is called" the American paradox". More than ever, we have big houses and broken homes, high incomes and low morale, secured rights and diminished civility. We excel at making a living but often fail at making a life. We celebrate our prosperity but yearn for a purpose. We cherish our freedoms but long for connection. In an age of plenty, we feel spiritual hunger."The second ＄100,000 never tastes as good as the first", because（） A. it’s not so fresh as the first ＄100,000 B. it is not so important as the first ＄100,000 C. profit brought by it is less than that from the first ＄100,000 D. happiness brought by it is less than that from the first ＄100,000
Does money buy happiness Not! Ah, but would a little more money make us a little happier Many of us smirk (傻笑，假笑) and nod. There is, we believe, some connection between fiscal fitness and emotional fulfillment. Three in four American collegians (大学生) now consider it "very important" or "essential" that they become "very well off financially." Money matters. But a surprising fact of life is that in countries where nearly everyone can accord life’s necessities, increasing affluence matters surprisingly little. The correlation between income and happiness is "surprisingly weak," observed University of Michigan researcher Ronald Inglehart in one 1B-nation study of 170,000 people. Once comfortable, more money provides diminishing returns. The second piece of pie, or the second100,000, never tastes as good as the first. Even lottery winners and the Forbes’ 100 wealthiest Americans have expressed only slightly greater happiness than the average American. Making it big brings temporary joy. But in the long run wealth is like health: its utter absence can breed misery, but having it doesn’t guarantee happiness. Happiness seems less a matter of getting what we want than of wanting what we have. Has our happiness floated upward with the rising economic tide Are we happier today than in 1940s, when two out of five homes lacked a shower or tub Actually, we are not. Since 1957, the number of Americans who say they are "very happy" has declined from 35 to 32 percent. Meanwhile, the divorce rate has doubled, the teen suicide rate has nearly tripled (使成三倍), the violent crime rate has nearly quadrupled (使成四倍)(even after the recent decline), and more people than ever (especially teens and young adults) are depressed. This soaring wealth and shrinking spirit is called" the American paradox". More than ever, we have big houses and broken homes, high incomes and low morale, secured rights and diminished civility. We excel at making a living but often fail at making a life. We celebrate our prosperity but yearn for a purpose. We cherish our freedoms but long for connection. In an age of plenty, we feel spiritual hunger."The second ＄100,000 never tastes as good as the first", because（） A. it’s not so fresh as the first ＄100,000 B. it is not so important as the first ＄100,000 C. profit brought by it is less than that from the first ＄100,000 D. happiness brought by it is less than that from the first ＄100,000
题目解答
答案
D
解析
文章讨论了金钱与幸福之间的关系。尽管金钱在一定程度上可以带来幸福，但当人们已经拥有足够的金钱满足基本生活需求时，更多的金钱并不会显著增加幸福感。文章引用了研究结果，指出收入与幸福之间的相关性较弱，且随着收入的增加，幸福感的提升逐渐减少。
步骤 2：分析句子含义
句子"The second ＄100,000 never tastes as good as the first" 意味着第二次获得100,000美元所带来的幸福感不如第一次获得100,000美元时的幸福感。这反映了边际效用递减的经济原理，即随着收入的增加，每增加的单位收入所带来的幸福感逐渐减少。
步骤 3：选择正确答案
根据文章内容和句子含义，正确答案应为D选项，即第二次获得100,000美元所带来的幸福感不如第一次获得100,000美元时的幸福感。