2024往年考研英语二阅读真题练习(考研英语204历年真题)(3)

时间：2026-04-27

42__________。

A couple of Christmases ago， my youngest stepdaughter， who was 9 years old at the time， got a Superman T-shirt for Christmas。 It cost less than a fiver but she was overjoyed， and couldn’t bigger house or better car will be the magic silver bullet that will allow us to finally be content， but the reality is these things have little lasting impact on our happiness levels。 Instead， being grateful for small things every day is a much better way to improve wellbeing。

43__________。

Have you ever noticed how much children laugh? If we adults could indulge in a bit of silliness and giggling， we would reduce the stress hormones in our bodies， increase good hormones like endorphins， improve blood flow to our hearts and ever have a greater chance of fighting off infection。 All of which would， of course， have a positive effect on our happiness levels。

44__________。

The problem with being a grownup is that there’s an awful lot of serious stuff to deal with-work， mortgage payments， figuring out what to cook for dinner。 But as adults we also have the luxury of being able to control our own diaries and it’s important that we schedule in time to enjoy the thing we love。 Those things might be social， sporting， creative or completely random (dancing around the living room， anyone?)-it doesn’t matter， so long as they’re enjoyable， and not likely to have negative side effects， such as drinking too much alcohol or going on a wild spending spree if you’re on a tight budget。

45__________。

Having said all of the above， it’s important to add that we shouldn’t try too hard to be happy。 Scientists tell us this can back fire and actually have a negative impact on our wellbeing。 As the Chinese philosopher Chuang Tzu is reported to have said： “Happiness is the absence of striving for happiness。” And in that， once more， we need to look to the example of our children， to whom happiness is not a goal but a natural byproduct of the way they live。

Section III Translation

Directions：

Translate the following text into Chinese。 Write your translation on the ANSWER SHEET。 (15 points)

The supermarket is designed to lure customers into spending as much time as possible within its doors。 The reason for this is simple： The longer you stay in the store， the more stuff you’ll see， and the more stuff you see， the more you’ll buy。 And supermarkets contain a lot of stuff。 The average supermarket， according to the Food Marketing Institute， carries some 44，000 different items， and many carry tens of thousands more。 The sheer volume of available choice is enough to send shoppers into a state of information overload。 According to brain-scan experiments， the demands of so much decision-making quickly become too much for us。 After about 40 minutes of shopping， most people stop struggling to be rationally selective， and instead began shopping emotionally—which is the point at which we accumulate the 50 percent of stuff in our cart that we never intended buying。

Section IV Writing

Part A

47。 Directions：

Suppose you won a translation contest and your friend， Jack， wrote an email to congratulate you and ask for advice on translation。 Write him a reply to

1) thank him， and

2) give you advice

You should write about 100 on the ANSWER SHEET。

Do not sign your own name at the end of the letter。 Use Li Ming instead。

Do not write the address。 (10 points)

Part B

48。 Directions：

Write an essay based on the chart below。 In your writing， you should

1) interpret the chart， and

2) give your comments。

You should write about 150 words on the ANSWER SHEET。 (15 points)