The secret of happiness is to spend around ￡2.50 every day on somebody else.
To give a couple of pounds each day rather than to spend it on treats and fashion for yourself is the key to happiness, according to a new study.
Dr Elizabeth Dunn and her colleagues who did a national survey of 630 people in the United States found that people report greater happiness if they spend money more socially. That means spending on gifts for others or on charitable(慈善的) donations rather than spending on themselves.
"We wanted to test our theory that how people spend their money is at least as important as how much money they earn," says Dunn, who reports the work in Science.
The results from all three lines of research are quite the same.
"Regardless of how much income each person made," says Dunn, "those who spent money on others reported greater happiness, while those who spent more on themselves did not."
"Making a modest donation is enough to increase people's happiness" the researchers conclude.
"These findings suggest that a very small change in spending, as little as ￡2.50, may be enough to produce real gains in happiness on a given day," says Dr Dunn.
The researchers call on governments to encourage people to spend more on others to help translate increased national wealth into increased national happiness.
Surveys have also shown that happiness levels have remained almost flat within developed countries even as incomes have increased in recent decades.
65.According to the survey, what kind of people have greater happiness?
A.People who can make enough money.
B.People who can buy whatever they want.
C.People who spend money on treats and fashion for themselves.
D.People who spend a modest amount of money every day on others.
66.The underlined word "flat" probably means______.
A.smooth B.dull C.same D.interesting
67.Which of the following statements is true?
A.Researchers pay no attention to spending on others.
B.The government did much in helping others.
C."Science" in Paragraph 4 is probably a magazine.
D.The survey is very successful.
68.The purpose of the writer is to tell us______.
A.the secret of happiness. B.money spent on friends.
C.link between money and happiness. D.difference between national wealth and happiness.
