“That economic
expansion leads to greater well-being is a central tenet of modern thought. And
yet, that is not what is happening in America today”
By: Jonathan F. P.
Rose
Published: Sep 13
2016, The Atlantic, http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2016/09/unhappy-growth/499052/
Level of Difficulty: ***
BEFORE YOU READ
Watch the following videos and think about them. They focus
on the main points of the text to follow and will help you tackle the reading
task.
QUESTIONS
1.
The fact that US ended up near the bottom in the
UNICEF report involving probably came as a surprise because…………………………(Use your
own words)
2.
Which of the concluding statements below can be
placed at the end of paragraph two?
·
In short, the conventional view has been proved
wrong
·
In short, cities are not happy places despite
the high standard of living
·
In short, happiness doesn’t necessarily follow
from prosperity
·
In short, growth and productivity are not linked
to happiness
3.
What major change in social structure paved the
way towards social unrest? The fact that……………………………….
4.
We understand from the same paragraph that the
lower/the greater the gap between the rich and the poor, the less/ the greater
the collective sense of we-ness and the less / the greater probability of
social unrest
5.
Look at paragraph beginning “People moving”. And
answer the following questions:
·
How would you join the first and the second
sentence?
·
What kind of a sentence would you place before
the sentence beginning “Some aspects of poverty”? Use your own words.
·
Decide which of the concluding statements listed
below could go at the end of the paragraph?
-
In short, increasing household incomes goes part
of the way towards providing well-being in society
-
In short, increasing household income has
nothing to do with providing well-being
-
In short, increasing household income will
provide increased well-being in society
6.
Where, in the paragraph beginning “Urbanization”
would you place the following: and this can have some devastating
consequences?
7.
We understand from the same paragraph that
·
Urban centers should have the necessary social
structures to be able to provide well-being for newcomers
·
Urban centers should be prepared to receive more
citizens in order to alleviate poverty and provide well-being for new comers
·
Urban centers should have the necessary
infrastructure to be able alleviate poverty and provide well- being for new
comers
·
Urban centers should have the necessary
background to be able to alleviate poverty and provide well-being for
newcomers.
8.
The reason why people don’t seem to be happier
despite economic growth seems to be…………………………………….
9.
Read the last sentence of the paragraph
beginning “Following” . Could we erase it? Why or why not?
10.
What is the Easterlin principle?
·
Increased wealth doesn’t necessarily lead to
increased happiness
·
Increased wealth sometimes leads to increased
happiness
·
Increased wealth never leads to increased
happiness
·
Increased wealth leads to increased happiness up
to certain level
11.
What is surprising about the fact that 75.000
dollars seems to be a cutoff point beyond which further happiness is not
witnessed?
12.
Read the paragraph beginning “But there is…”
Where would you place the following phrases:
·
Communication, the exchange of ideas and sharing
of feelings are deeply gratifying
·
After all, chores, which people have to deal
with on a daily basis, are mind-numbingly boring.
·
Activities that set the mind free are like a
breath of fresh air.
13.
We understand from the paragraph beginning “This
survey” that …(Mark as many as fit)
·
The nature of the work people do is also
important
·
Gainful employment is the single most important
determinant of well-being
·
Gainful employment on its own can make people
miserable
·
Work needs to be mentally satisfying as well as
bringing in a living wage
·
Gainful employment can pose a serious health
risks in spite of providing an income
14.
The paragraph beginning “In the past” is composed of seven sentences.
Two of these sentences can logically be moved and placed somewhere else in the
paragraph. Which sentence? Where could it be placed?
WRITING TASK
Use all you have learnt to write an essay concerning the
factors that lead to happiness in modern urban centers:
·
Having gainful employment
·
Mentally and emotionally satisfying work
·
Meaningful leisure activities (Walking,
exercise, playing, reading, making love)
·
Stream-lining chores
WHEN ECONOMIC GROWTH
DOESN’T MAKE PEOPLE HAPPY KEY AND TEACHERS’ NOTES
This text is a very
topical one and should lead to a good writing task. The questions this time are
slightly different focusing more on how a teacher would handle such a text in
class. The questions should help with the writing too.
1.
Possible answer: The US is one of the most
advanced / developed countries in the world; The Us is a rich country / a
welfare state and the like
2.
The third (The fourth goes too far, two is just
a paraphrase of four and one is not true; it is not wrong it is incomplete)
3.
Cities became more hierarchical
4.
The greater, the less, the greater
5.
* People move to cities because they seek
opportunity, hoping to improve their lives, not to stay mired in a life of
poverty, which is extraordinarily debilitating, and whose persistence…
·
Possible answer: The negative impacts of poverty
can be far-reaching
·
The first
6.
At the end of the sentence beginning “But for…”
7.
The second (the word prepared covers everything)
8.
The complexities and uncertainties of the modern
world
9.
No we couldn’t because it provides transition to
the next paragraph (it tells us what the rest of the text is going to be about)
10.
Four
11.
The figure is the same expensive cities and
lower cost cities
12.
After “That is when people are happiest”; Before
“How many people really enjoy…”; Before “Walking…”
13.
One and four
14.
Six and seven can be placed after sentence three
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