2017年上半年全國英語等級考試已開始複習，為了幫助廣大考生能順利通過2017公共英語二級考試，以下是yjbys網小編整理的關於公共英語(PETS)二級考試閱讀習題，供大家備考。
Most of you would probably say that what makes you truly happy is your family and the love you share in your relationships, and I couldn't agree more. But money comes into play in those relationships.
When I talk about money this way to a group, there is always someone who comes up to me and says, "Suze, you are so wrong. Money isn't the key to life—this is!" At which point their wallet flies open and they show me a photo of their family.
That's when things get interesting, because I start asking them questions: Did you take that photo with your own camera? It looks like a beautiful beach, was the photo taken on a family vacation? Do you hope to help those beautiful boys and girls go to college?
As their answers are "yes", I ask them how they provide all of that for their family. That's when they understand that I had it right.
I totally agree that family and friends are of great importance to our well being; without meaningful relationships, there's no chance of ever being truly happy. That's why, every Saturday night, I end my CNBC show with the following words:"People first. Then money. Then things."
How we deal with the money we have also plays into our happiness. Over the past few decades(十年), the percentage of Americans who say they're happy hasn't changed much, while at the same time the average income has doubled. So we have more money, but we're not much happier on average.
A paradox (悖論)? Far from it. My sense is that while we're making more money, we arent't making more of the money we make. We have to pay for a lot of things, and we have to worry about saving for retirement(退休)in a way that our parents and grandparents never did. And as many of you know, it's really hard to increase your happiness when you've got a lot of money worries.
Do you agree, or am I way off base? I'd love to know what do you think about the money/happiness connection.
do people often show the author their family photos?
[A] They hope to show money is very important.
[B] They want to prove they can afford a holiday.
[C] They think a good family makes them truly happy.
[D] They believe a happy person considers people first.
did the authur ask the group questions in Paragraph 3 ?
[A] To persuade them to save for the future. '
[B] To ask for advice on holidays abroad.
[C] To know more about each person.
[D] To show them what he meant.
h of the following arguments does the author want to make?
[A] Money is all that matters in our life.
[B] The richer we are, the happier we'll be.
[C] Money makes a difference to the quality of our lives.
[D] True happiness is achievable from good relationships.
does the underlined words "off base" in the last paragraph most probably mean?
[A] mistaken
[B] unprepared
[C] unnecessary
[D] misunderstood
答案與解析：
1. 選C. 題乾的意思為“為什麼人們通常會把自己的全家福給作者看，”該題屬於細節題。從文章意思可以得知，這些人是想反駁作者的觀點，證明家人是幸福的源泉。
2. 選D. 題乾的意思為“為什麼作者問那些人第三段的問題?”該題屬於細節題。作者是想證明自己的觀點，通過問問題明晰自己的觀點。
3. 選C. 題乾的意思為“以下哪句話是作者想表達的觀點?”該題屬於推理題。本題沒有原文，但是作者的觀點非常明晰，錢在個人幸福中地位非常重要，可以改善我們的`生活質量。
4. 選A. 題乾的意思為“最後一段下劃線詞'off base'最可能是什麼意思?”該題屬於推理題。從文章的句意理解來看，應該是錯誤的意思。
參考譯文：
我們中的大多數人通常會說家庭和家人的愛是真正使自己幸福的源泉，我也非常贊同此觀點，但是錢在這層關係中也非常重要。
每當我在對人們說起錢的時候，總會有人反駁道：“蘇斯，你錯了，錢不是生活中最重要的因素，這個才是!”邊說他們會打開出錢包給我看自己的全家福。
我開始問他們問題，事情就開始變得有趣了。我的問題是你是用自己的相機拍的照嗎?這個沙灘真漂亮，當時你們全家在度假嗎?你希望幫這些漂亮的孩子上大學嗎?
他們不停地點頭，這時我問他們那你們拿什麼支付這些花費呢?這時，他們才意識到我的觀點是對的。
我也完全贊同家人和朋友對個人幸福來說至關重要，沒有家人和朋友，我們永遠都不會真正的快樂。這就是為什麼每週六晚上，在CNBC節目結束時，我總會說人第一，錢第二，事情第三。
我們如何花錢，對於幸福也很重要。在過去的十年裡，美國人的收入翻倍了，但是說自己幸福的人卻沒有多大變化。難道在有了更多錢之後，我們沒有變得更幸福一點嗎?
這是一個悖論?其實並非如此。我認為，雖然我們在賺更多的錢，但我們並沒有更充分地利用這些錢。我們要支付的開銷太大了，還要擔憂自己退休後的積蓄，而我們的父母和祖父母從來沒有這樣擔憂過。有了這麼多好擔心的錢，增強的幸福感從何而來呢?
