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英语短文-HappinessandwealthMoneycan’tbuymelove.doc

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Happinessandwealth:Moneycan’tbuymelove “ADMIRABLEindeed”ishowConfuciusdescribedamanwho,thoughlivinginamean,narrowstreetwithonlyasinglebamboodishtoeatfrom,“didnotallowhisjoytobeaffected.” TherelationshipbetweenhappinessandwealthremainsaconcernforChina’srulerstoday.Theirworkingassumptionhaslongbeenthattheirgriponpowerdependsonkeepingpeoplehappy.Andthat,theyreckon,dependsonnothingsomuchastheircontinuedabilitytopresideoverrapideconomicgrowth.Theyhavemanagedthisfordecades,butinrecentyearsinequalityhasgrownmoreextremeand,despiteplentyofsuccessstories(seearticle),unrestiscommon.Bysomecounts,asmanyas500protestsoccureverydayacrossthecountry.Allthishasfedfearsthateconomicgrowthalonemightnotbeenoughandthatthegovernmentneedsurgentlytoimprovethedistributionofthenation’sgrowingwealth. Tworecentacademicstudiessuggestrealityisrathermorecomplicated.Oneofthem,publishedinMay,trackedhowcontentasegmentofmainlyurbanpeoplesaidtheywerebetween1990and2010,aperiodduringwhichoutputandconsumptionperpersonincreasedatleastfourfold.Researchers,ledbyRichardEasterlinoftheUniversityofSouthernCalifornia,aneminent“happinessscholar”,wrotethatChinawasidealfortestingexpectationsofacorrelationbetweeneconomicgrowthandwell-being.Butwhattheyfoundwas“noevidenceofamarkedincreaseinlifesatisfaction”tomatchtheriseinprosperityduringthatperiod. Theotherstudy—“MythoftheSocialVolcano:PerceptionsofInequalityandDistributiveInjusticeinContemporaryChina”—waspreparedbyMartinWhyteofHarvardUniversity.Basedonnationalsurveydata,itfoundasurprisinglyhightoleranceofwealthdisparity.Thestudywasbasedonsurveysconductedin2004,butMrWhytesaidpreliminaryanalysisof2009surveydatashowedthatpeoplehadifanythingbecomeevenmoreoptimisticabouttheirprospects.Theproportionofrespondentssayingtheyexpectedtheirlivingstandardstoimprovewithinfiveyearsrosefrom62%in2004to73%in2009.“ItisamistaketothinkthatrisingincomegapsarethemainorevenaprimarysourceofpopulardiscontentinChina,”MrWhytesays.Itis,headds,proceduralinjustices,abusesofpowerandthelackofrec