Australians happiest people in the world

THE ARTICLE Australians are the happiest people in the world. This is according to a new survey from the market research company GfK NOP. Interviewers asked 30,000 people in 30 different countries about their levels of happiness. Forty-six percent of Australians said they were very happy. Following them was the USA (40 percent), Egypt (36 percent), India (34 percent) and the UK and Canada (32 percent). Hungary finished top of the miserable list. Thirty-five percent of its citizens said they were very unhappy. Second most miserable were Russians, at 30 percent. The research showed that money and age affected how happy people are. The study did not show that money can buy happiness, but it did reveal a link between a lack of money and unhappiness. Unhappier people were in lower income groups or unemployed. The study also suggested the older we become, the less happy we are. Globally, teenagers are the happiest people. The least happy age group is 50-59 only 16 percent of those in their fifties said they were very happy. The things that make us happy include good health, financial security and a happy marriage, not cars and clothes. WARM-UPS 1. HAPPY ME: Are you happy today? Have you been happy recently? Walk around the classroom and talk with other students about how happy they are. When you have finished, sit with your partner(s) and talk about who was happy and who was not so happy. 2. HAPPINESS: What makes you happy? What affects your quality of life? Look at the items below and rank them in order of what makes you most happy. ___ Hiking ___ Good health ___ Money ___ Owning your own home ___ Sunshine ___ Things (cars, clothes, gadgets, etc.) ___ A happy marriage / relationship ___ Children ___ Watching television ___ Exercise

3. HAPPY: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word happy. Share your words with your partner(s) and talk about them. Together, put the words into different categories. 4. HAPPY PEOPLE: In pairs / groups, talk about the happiest and most miserable people you know from the following: baby child teenager adult student co-worker old person

5. HAPPY OPINIONS: Do you agree with these opinions on happiness? Talk about them with your partner(s). a. b. c. d. e. f. g. h. Money makes you happy. The older you become, the happier you are. You can take lessons on how to be happy. Men are happier than women. Married people are happier than single people. People in warmer climates are happier than people in colder climates. Its hard to be happy in todays world. Every country should have a Minister of Happiness.

BEFORE READING / LISTENING 1. TRUE / FALSE: Look at the articles headline and guess whether these sentences are true (T) or false (F): a. b. c. d. e. f. g. h. A new study says Australians are the worlds happiest people. Interviewers carried out 30,000 telephone interviews. Egyptians and Indians were among the top five happiest populations. Hungary was bottom of the happiness list. The survey showed that money can buy happiness. Unemployed people were shown to be very happy. The survey found that the older we become, the happier we are. Cars and clothes do not make us so happy.

2. SYNONYM MATCH: Match the following synonyms from the article: a. b. c. d. e. f. g. Survey Interviewers Following Miserable Citizens Showed Reveal Revealed Unhappy 50-59-year-olds After Show Study Connection

h. i. j.

Link those in their fifties Financial

Economic Residents Researchers

3. PHRASE MATCH: Match the following phrases from the article (sometimes more than one combination is possible): a. b. c. d. e. f. g. h. i. j. the happiest people according to Market Levels Hungary finished top that money and age affected how reveal a link between a lack of lower income only 16 percent of Financial money and unhappiness research company those in their fifties a new survey happy people are Groups of the miserable list in the world Security of happiness

SPEAKING HAPPY DAYS: In pairs / groups, talk about your level of happiness throughout the day. What kinds of things make you happy or unhappy during the times written in the left hand column? What increases or decreases your happiness? TIME % OF TIME THINGS THAT INCREASE THINGS THAT DECREASE HAPPY HAPPINESS HAPPINESS

Waking up Breakfast Going to work / school Morning Lunchtime Afternoon Going home Evening Bedtime

Change partners and tell each other about what you talked about earlier. Are there any things affecting happiness that people have in common? Repeat the activity by focusing on different times of the week, month or year.

INFORMATION TRANSFER Read the following information on the different adventure sports in Malaysia and answer the questions that follow.
CAVING TRIPS Most caving expeditions are day trips though a visitor can choose to stay overnight. No camping is allowed in caves but budget hotels are available round the cave districts. Caving is normally done during the dry season. Famous caves in Sarawak include the Painted Cave in Niah and Fairy Cave in Bau.

PARAGLIDING The latest sport to take hold of enthusiasts is paragliding with the use of Paramotors. Paragliders can reach speeds of up to 45 km per hour and climb to heights of 150 toN200 meters. The states of the East Coast are popular areas.

WHITE-WATER RAFTING White-water rafting is the sport to test the courageous. There are plenty of challenges of different classes particularly in the state of Sabah where rafting down rivers with foaming turbulent rapids is a challenge sought after both locals and visitors. Sabahs large number of fast flowing rivers, coupled with her scenic splendours and pristine jungles guarantee hours of excitement. The Padas River and the Kiulu River are but two of the challenging rivers.

RIVER SAFARIS AND CRUISES River safaris and cruises are becoming increasingly popular among visitors to Malaysia. Well-organised and with expert guides, they provide an interesting, exciting way to explore the countrys interior. River safaris and cruises are available in Malacca, Kuala Berang in Terengganu and Taman Negara.

ANGLING The many lakes and ponds in Malaysia and the surrounding seas make the country an anglers paradise. The countrys rivers are home to over 300 species of fish with the kelah or Malaysian Mahseer and jelawat being the best known freshwater species. Excellent fishing areas are Temenggor Lake, Cenderoh lake and Bukit Merah Lake in Perak.

Question 1 5 Based on the information on the different adventure sports in Malaysia above, name the states in which the following adventure sports can be found. ACTIVITY 1 2 3 4 5 Angling River safaris and cruises Paragliding White-water rafting Caving trips (5 marks) Question 6 10 Using the information on the different adventure sports in Malaysia, answer the following questions. 6 Amalina wants to go on a caving trip to Sarawak but she does not want to make a day trip. Where can she spend the night? .. 7 What kind of challenges do people who go white-water rafting at the Padas River and the Kiulu River face? 8 What is the maximum speed a paraglider can reach? 9 How many different types of freshwater fish can be found in Malaysia? 10 Which sports enables a tourist to explore the interior of Malaysia? (5 marks) STATE(S)

COMPREHENSION Questions 26 31 Read the passage below and answer the questions that follow.

You mess up your History test and a classmate storms up to your desk and abuses you. Do you yell back and suggest that he drops dead or something to that effect? Or do you simply smile and shrug it off as one of those days? Whether you are having a bad day at school or recovering from an 5 illness, laughter may be the best medicine it is natural, free, positively contagious and very effective. The arrival of a good clown exercises a more beneficial influence upon the health of a town than twenty asses laden with drugs, said the 17 century physician Thomas Sydenham. 10 And he was not far from the truth.
th

Laughter exercises the muscles in your face, shoulders, diaphragm and abdomen. During a hearty laugh, oxygen surges through the bloodstream and your brain orchestrates hormonal rushes that raise alertness and numb pain. Scientists at the Centre of Preventive Cardiology at the University of Marylandin America believe that laughter 15 is very good for the heart. We start laughing when we are around 10 weeks old. At 16 weeks, we laugh at least once an hour and by four, we are cracking about every four minutes. In contrast, the average adult only manages to laugh about 16 times a day. It appears that we actually took it to heart what our 20 parents told us that life was no laughing matter. In order to get ourselves laughing, it has been suggested that we expose ourselves to humour watch funny movies, learn jokes, start to laugh at ourselves and improve our sense of ridiculous. However, we should try to avoid using negative humour, and that includes sarcasm, 25 ridicule, contempt and joking about peoples names. Knowing you are not alone is a key to great physical and mental health. In our day-to-day life, we rarely laugh alone. Laughter tracks in sitcoms testify to the fact that we are readily to laugh when we are with people. Laughter is about relationships and about sharing qualities 30 that are know to relieve stress and promote recovery from illness, especially among cancer sufferers.

Sadly, bad mood is something many of us are experiencing with more frequency while occasions for us to have a good and hearty laugh are becoming few and far between. It is not surprising when you think of the hectic lifestyles and pressures we live with today, but too many down 35 days can start to seriously interfere with our work, relationships and home life. Studies have shown that women are almost twice more likely to suffer from bad moods and depression than men, and it is not solely due to hormones. Research indicates that women spend a lot of time thinking about what is making them unhappy instead of laughing their blues away. Consequently, they draw themselves far deeper into the misery they are in. Men, on the other hand, are better at distracting themselves from their problems by doing something totally different. They seem to be able to shrug their shoulders and laugh it off and as a result, their mood quickly improves. So, the next time you are feeling low, instead of wallowing in self-pity, laugh and shake off that bad feeling and you can lift your spirits immediately.

26. From paragraph 2, what are the four features of laughter? [1 mark] 27. From paragraph 3, state the two benefits of laughter. i) . [1 mark] ii) . [1 mark] 28. From paragraph 4, i) When does a baby start laughing? .. [1 mark]

ii) Why do adults laugh less than that of children? .. [1 mark]

29. i) From paragraph 5, which word means absurd? .. [1 mark] ii) From paragraph 6, what are the qualities of laughter that could relieve stress and promote recovery from illness? .. [1 mark] 30. Why are men better at distracting themselves from problems than women? [2 marks]
SUMMARY

31. Based on the passage given, write a summary of: The benefits of laughter and Why adults tend to laugh less than children Credit will be given for use of own words but care must be taken not to change the original meaning. Your summary must: be in continuous writing form (not in note form) use materials from lines 9 to 39 not be longer than 130 words, including the 10 words given below Begin your summary as follows: Laughter is undeniably beneficial because it can exercise the muscles [15 marks]

 INFORMATION TRANSFER Read the following information on the different adventure sports in Malaysia and answer the questions that follow.
CAVING TRIPS Most caving expeditions are day trips though a visitor can choose to stay overnight. No camping is allowed in caves but budget hotels are available round the cave districts. Caving is normally done during the dry season. Famous caves in Sarawak include the Painted Cave in Niah and Fairy Cave in Bau.

PARAGLIDING The latest sport to take hold of enthusiasts is paragliding with the use of Paramotors. Paragliders can reach speeds of up to 45 km per hour and climb to heights of 150 toN200 meters. The states of the East Coast are popular areas.

WHITE-WATER RAFTING White-water rafting is the sport to test the courageous. There are plenty of challenges of different classes particularly in the state of Sabah where rafting down rivers with foaming turbulent rapids is a challenge sought after both locals and visitors. Sabahs large number of fast flowing rivers, coupled with her scenic splendours and pristine jungles guarantee hours of excitement. The Padas River and the Kiulu River are but two of the challenging rivers.

RIVER SAFARIS AND CRUISES River safaris and cruises are becoming increasingly popular among visitors to Malaysia. Well-organised and with expert guides, they provide an interesting, exciting way to explore the countrys interior. River safaris and cruises are available in Malacca, Kuala Berang in Terengganu and Taman Negara.

ANGLING The many lakes and ponds in Malaysia and the surrounding seas make the country an anglers paradise. The countrys rivers are home to over 300 species of fish with the kelah or Malaysian Mahseer and jelawat being the best known freshwater

species. Excellent fishing areas are Temenggor Lake, Cenderoh lake and Bukit Merah Lake in Perak.

Question 1 5 Based on the information on the different adventure sports in Malaysia above, name the states in which the following adventure sports can be found. ACTIVITY 1 2 3 4 5 Angling River safaris and cruises Paragliding White-water rafting Caving trips (5 marks) Question 6 10 Using the information on the different adventure sports in Malaysia, answer the following questions. 21 Amalina wants to go on a caving trip to Sarawak but she does not want to make a day trip. Where can she spend the night? .. 22 What kind of challenges do people who go white-water rafting at the Padas River and the Kiulu River face? 23 What is the maximum speed a paraglider can reach? 24 How many different types of freshwater fish can be found in Malaysia? 25 Which sports enables a tourist to explore the interior of Malaysia? STATE(S)

 (5 marks)

IDIOMS FEELING HAPPY To be as pleased as Punch = to be really pleased. To be in seventh heaven = to be extremely happy. To be on top of the world = to be really happy. To be thrilled to bits = to be very happy and excited. Bed of roses- a happy, comfortable situationeg. Life is not always a bed of roses. At times, it can be challenging, too