幸福是一种态度

Leading：

一位92岁的老人，身体已不再灵便，眼睛也近乎失明。老伴离世后不久，孤苦伶仃的他不得不搬进养老院。可就是这么一个处境可怜的老人却能乐观地、充满热情地迎接每一天。他的故事告诉我们，幸福是一种态度。

A 92-year-old，well-poised① and proud man，who was fully dressed each morning by eight o’clock，with his hair fashionably combed and his face perfectly shaved，even though he was almost blind，moved to a nursing home today.

His wife of 70 years recently passed away，making the move necessary. After many hours of waiting patiently in the entrance hall of the nursing home，he smiled sweetly when told his room was ready.

As he maneuvered② his walker to the elevator，I provided a visual description of his tiny room，including the curtains that had been hung on his window.

“I love it，” he stated with the enthusiasm③ of an eight-year-old who had just been presented with a new puppy.

“Mr. Jones，you haven’t seen the room；just wait.”

“That doesn’t have anything to do with it，” he replied. “Happiness is something you decide on ahead of time. Whether I like my room or not doesn’t depend on how the furniture is arranged... it’s how I arrange my mind. I already decided to love it. It’s a decision I make every morning when I wake up. I have a choice；I can spend the day in bed recounting④ the difficulty I have with the parts of my body that no longer work，or get out of bed and be thankful for the ones that do work. Each day is a gift，and as long as my eyes open，I’ll focus on the new day and all the happy memories I’ve stored away，just for this time in my life. Old age is like a bank account. You withdraw from what you’ve put in. So，my advice to you would be to deposit a lot of happiness in the bank account of memories！Thank you for your part in filling my Memory Bank. I am still depositing.

“Remember the five simple rules to be happy：free your heart from hatred. Free your mind from worries. Live simply. Give more. Expect less.”

Notes：

①well-poised adj. 泰然自若的

②maneuver v. 操纵

③enthusiasm n. 热情，热忱

④recount v. 重新计算

1. Which of the following is NOT true about the old man？

A. He was too proud to get along with.

B. He paid much attention to his appearance.

C. He had a marriage of 70 years.

D. He was enthusiastic and positive.

2. What caused the old man to move to the nursing home？

A. His family deserted him.

B. He wanted to have fun there.

C. His wife died not a long time ago.

D. He could not move about freely.

3. What decision did the old man make every morning？

A. How to arrange the furniture.

B. Whether to move to the nursing home.

C. That he focused on happy memories.

D. That he would get up on time.

4. What does the underlined word “ones” in Paragraph 6 mean？

A. Difficulties. B. Parts of the body.

C. Gifts. D. Choices.

5. The writer of the article intends to _______.

A. explain what memory bank is

B. store away some money for old age

C. show respect for the elderly

D. offer some advice on how to be happy

答案与解析

1. 答案为A。细节理解题。文章第一行提到了proud一词，但没有提到他难相处，A项不真实。第一段提到他每天精心梳理头发、刮胡须，可知他很注重仪表。第二段开始提到his wife of 70 years，可知他与妻子结婚70年了。从全文综合推断可知老人积极乐观。

2. 答案为C。细节理解题。从第二段的第一句“His wife of 70 years recently passed away，making the move necessary”可知答案。

3. 答案为C。推理判断题。由第六段的倒数第六句“Each day is a gift，and as long as my eyes open，I’ll focus on the new day and all the happy memories I’ve stored away”可推断出答案。

4. 答案为B。指代判断题。根据上文the difficulty I have with the parts of my body that no longer work可知答案。本句句意为：我可以一天躺在床上，算自己身体有哪些零件不中用了，也可以爬起床，庆幸自己身体有些零件还是中用的。

5. 答案为D。作者意图题。综合理解全文，特别是最后一段可知，作者想告诉读者，幸福是一种态度，即文章对怎样幸福起来提供了一些建议。

长难句分析

1. A 92-year-old，well-poised and proud man，who was fully dressed each morning by eight o’clock，with his hair fashionably combed and his face perfectly shaved，even though he was almost blind，moved to a nursing home today.

句意：一位92岁的老人今天搬进了养老院，他神情泰然，且有些自豪。他每天8点前穿戴完毕，虽然近乎失明，但他的发型时尚，胡子刮得很干净。

分析：此句主干为“A man moved to a nursing home today”。92-year-old，well-poised and proud作定语修饰man。who was fully dressed each morning by eight o’clock，with his hair fashionably combed and his face perfectly shaved，even though he was almost blind为定语从句，也修饰man。定语从句中含有with引导的独立主格结构，作状语，还有even though引导的让步状语从句。

2. Whether I like my room or not doesn’t depend on how the furniture is arranged ...

句意：我是否喜欢我的房间并不取决于家具如何布置……

分析：此句中whether I like my room or not为主语从句。其中的whether不能换成if，how the furniture is arranged作介词on的宾语。

3. You withdraw from what you’ve put in.

句意：你取回你存进去的东西。

分析：what引导的名词性从句在句中作from的宾语，其中的what相当于all that。

（责任编校彭益）