第二篇Gross National Happiness
In the last century, new technologyimproved the lives of many people in many countries. However, one countryresisted these changes. High in the Himalayan mountains of Asia, the kingdom ofBhutan remained separate. Its people and Buddhist culture had not beenaffected for almost a thousand years. Bhutan, however, was a poor country. Peopledied at a young age. Most of its people could not read, and they did not knowmuch about the outside world. Then, in 1972, a new ruler named King JigmeSingye Wangchuck decided to help Bhutan to become modern, but without losingits traditions.
King Wangchuck looked at othercountries for ideas. He saw that most countries measured their progress bytheir Gross National Product . The GNP measures products and money. When thenumber of products sold increases, people say the country is making progress. KingWangchuck had a different idea for Bhutan. He wanted to measure his countrysprogress by peoples happiness. If the peoples happiness increased, the king couldsay that Bhutan was making progress. To decide if people were happier, hecreated a measure called Gross National Happiness .
GNH is based on certain principlesthat create happiness. People are happier if they have heath care, education,and jobs. They are happier when they live in a healthy, protected environment. Theyare happier when can keep their traditional culture and customs. Finally,people are happier when they have a good, stable government.
Now there is some evidence ofincreased GNH in Bhutan. People are healthier and are living longer. More peopleare educated and employed. Twenty-five percent of the land has become nationalparks, and the country has almost no pollution. The Bhutanese continue to weretheir traditional clothing and follow their ancient Buddhist customs. Bhutanhas also become a democracy. In 2008, King Wangchuck gave his power to his son.Although the country still had a king, it held its first democratic electionsthat year. Bhutan had political parties and political candidates for the firsttime. Finally, Bhutan has connected to the rest of the world through televisionand the Internet.
Bhutan is a symbol for social progress.Many countries are now interested in Bhutans GNH. These countries areinvestigating their own ways to measure happiness. They want to create newpolicies that take care of their people, cultures, and land.
Brazil may be the next country to usethe principles of GNH. Brazilian leaders see the principles of GNH as a sourceof inspiration. Brazil is a large country with a diverse population. If happinessworks as a measure of progress in Brazil, perhaps the rest of the world willfollow.
36. Who was Jigme Singye Wangchuck?
A. A king.
B. A president.
C. A Buddhist priest.
D. A general
37. Apart from modernizing Bhutan,what else did Wangchuck want to do for Bhutan?
A. To make its population grow.
B. To Keep its traditions and customs
C. To keep it separate from the word.
D. To encourage its people to get rich.
38. A country shows its progress with GNP by
A. spending more money.
B. spending less money.
C. providing more jobs.
D. selling more products
39. According to GNH, people are happier if they
A. have new technology.
B. can change their religion.
C. have a good, stable government.
D. have more money.
40. Today many countries are
A. using the principles of GNH to measure their progress.
B. working together to develop a common scale to measure GNH.
C. taking both Bhutan and Brazil as symbols for social progress.
D. trying to find their own ways to measure happiness.