A price on happiness? - Unit 6

C2 Proficiency · Multiple Choice Cloze · Close-up C2 Workbook, National Geographic Learning

For questions 1–8, read the text below and decide which answer (A, B, C or D) best fits each gap.

stash

hoard

stock

dosh

cherished

prized

treasured

valued

crest

dole

dish

toss

rinse

wash

shower

bathe

reimburse

balance

offset

compensate

skint

thrifty

posh

shady

well-heeled

big-hearted

open-handed

tight-fisted

proxy

heir

chancellor

treasurer

The phrase 'Money doesn't buy happiness' is a cautionary cliché that keeps us from blindly lining our pockets with (1) ___ in the hope that we'll feel happier. But a recent study at Princeton University in New Jersey is challenging that idea. The study suggests that happiness could possibly be (2) ___ at an annual income of the equivalent of approximately $75,000 US dollars. Can that be true? Hearing this, we might be tempted to run to our employer and pressure them to (3) ___ out the cash more generously because our happiness depends on it. Of course, they're not likely to (4) ___ us with money just so that we smile more often in our cubicles. So before we start thinking a little extra dough is going to (5) ___ as far as sadness, it's important to note that the study makes a distinction between types of happiness – daily happiness and lifelong satisfaction. For the former, no amount of money makes a difference, whether you're frequently (6) ___ or you're rolling in it. For the latter, though, the study showed that people making less than the magic number seem to express more frustration about the problems in their lives, for example, a health issue, whereas more (7) ___ folks aren't as affected by the same problems. Interestingly, though, those past the marker expressed no more satisfaction with life than those that just reached it. This suggests that any (8) ___ to a multi-billion-dollar fortune wouldn't be any more satisfied than someone making a paltry $75,000 a year. What a waste!

A price on happiness?

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