Does happiness favor those of a ____1____ age, sex, or income level? Does happiness come with satisfying close ____2____?

Social scientists have exploded some ____3____ about who’s happy and who’s not by identifying predictors of happiness and life satisfaction. Many people believe there are unhappy times of life—typically the ____4____ fi lled teen years, the “mid-life crisis” years, or the ____5____ years’ of old age. But interviews with people of all ages reveal that ____6____ time of life is notably happier or unhappier. ____7____ do change with age: Satisfaction with social relations and health becomes more important in ____8____ life. And teens, ____9____ adults, typically rebound ____10____ either gloom or joy within an hour’s time.

Yet knowing someone’s age gives no ____11____ to the person’s lasting sense of well-being.

Does happiness have a ____12____ sex? Are men happier because of their greater incomes and social ____13____? Are women happier because of their supposedly greater capacity ____14____ intimacy and social connection? Like age, gender gives no clue to subjective well-being. There are gender ____ 15____ in misery: When troubled, men more often become alcoholic, while women more often think deeply and get ____16____. Yet men and women are equally likely to declare themselves “very happy” and “satisfi ed” with life. This conclusion is ____17____ in scores of studies around the world.

Living standards have soared during the twentieth century and are expected to continue ____18____ in the decades ahead. Does that mean that we humans can look forward ____19____ increasing happiness? Not necessarily. Steady improvements in the economy are not ____20____ by a steady increase in people’s assessments of their own happiness.

1. A. special  B. specific  C. peculiar  D. particular

2. A. connections  B. friendship  C. relations  D. relationships

3. A. stories  . myths  C. legends  D. rumors

4. A. stress  B. pressure C. strain  D. tension

5. A. reducing  B. declining C. degenerating  D. deteriorating

6. A. all  B. one  C. either  D. no

7. A. Sentiments  B. Emotions C. Passions  D. Moods

8. A. earlier B. later  C. former  D. latter

9. A. like  B. unlike  C. with  D. as

10. A. from  B. around  C. between  D. within

11. A. hint B. truth  C. fact  D. clue

12. A. favorable B. favorite C. preferable  D. popular

13. A. capacity  B. scope C. strength  D. power

14. A. in B. at C. for D. with

15. A. gaps B. distances  C. interval  D. disagreement

16. A. depress  B. depressing C. depressed  D. depression

17. A. based B. proven  C. found  D. grounded

18. A. to rise B. rising  C. to raise  D. raising

19. A. in  B. at  C. on  D. to

20. A. driven  B. dominated  C. accompanied  D. determined