Article: Does money buy happiness? Not! Ah, but would a little more money make us a little happier? Many of us smirk(,) and nod. There is, we believe, some connection between financial fitness and emotional fulfillment. Three in four American college students--nearly double the 1970 proportion-- now consider it "very important" or "essential" that they become "very well off financially". Money matters. But a surprising fact of life is that in countries where nearly everyone can afford life's necessities, increasing wealth matters surprisingly little. The connection between income and happiness is "surprisingly weak," observed University of Michigan researcher Ronald Inglehart in one 16-nation study of 170,000 people. Once comfortable, more money provides diminishing returns . The second piece of pie, or the second $100,000, never tastes as good as the first. Even lottery winners and the Forbes' 100 wealthiest Americans surveyed by University of Illinois psychologist Ed Diener have expressed only slightly greater happiness than the average American. Making it big brings temporary joy. But in the long run wealth is like health: its complete absence can create suffering, but having it doesn't guarantee happiness. Happiness seems less a matter of getting what we want than of wanting what we have. Has our happiness, however, floated upward with the rising economic tide? Are we happier today than in 1940s, when two out of five homes lacked a shower or tub? Actually, we are not. Since 1957, the number of Americans who say they are "very happy" has declined from 35 to 32 percent. Meanwhile, the divorce rate has doubled, the teen suicide rate has increased nearly three times, the violent crime rate has gone up nearly four times, and depression has mushroomed. Economic growth has provided no boost to human morale. When it comes to psychological well being, it is not the economy. I call this soaring wealth and shrinking spirit "the American paradox." More than ever, we have big houses and broken homes, high incomes and low... Question: "The second $100,000 never tastes as good as the first" because _ . Yes or no, is the answer "happiness brought by it is less than that from the first $100,000"?
No

(Question)
Article: We take it for granted that with memory we can remember most of things which happened in our life. But it is difficult to imagine what life would be like without memory. The meanings of thousands of everyday perceptions , the basis for the decisions we make, and the roots of our habits and skills are to be found in our past experiences, which are brought into the present by memory. Memory can be defined as the ability to keep information available for later use. It not only includes "remembering" things like arithmetic or historical facts, but also involves any change in the way an animal typically behaves. Memory is involved when a rat gives up eating grain because he has sniffed something suspicious in the grain pile. Memory exists not only in humans and animals but also in some physical objects and machines. Computers, for example, contain devices for storing data for later use. It is interesting to compare the memory storage capacity of a computer with that of a human being. The instant access memory of a large computer may hold up to 100,000 "words"--strings of alphabetic or numerical characters--ready for instant use. An average U.S. teenager probably recognizes the meaning of about 1000,000 words of English. However, this is but a part of the total amount of information that the teenager has stored. Consider, for example, the number of faces and places that the teenager can recognize on sight. The use of words is the basis of the advanced problem solving intelligence of human beings. A large part of a person's memory is in terms of words and combinations of words. But while language greatly expands the number and the kind of things a person can remember, it also requires a huge memory capacity. It may well be this capacity that distinguishes humans, setting them apart from other animals. Question: What is the major characteristic of man's memory capacity according to the author? Yes or no, is the answer "It can be expanded by language."?
(Answer)
No

Ques: Article: More surprising,perhaps,than the present difficulties of traditional marriage is the fact that marriage itself is alive and thriving.As Skolnick notes,Americans are a marrying people: to Europeans,more of us marry and we marry at a younger age.Moreover, after a drop in the early l950s,the rate of marriage in the United States is now increasing.Even the divorce rate needs to be taken in this pro-marriage context:some 30 percent of divorced individuals remarry. Thus,marriage remains by far the preferred way of life for the vast majority of people in our society. What has changed more than marriage is the nuclear family.Twenty five years ago,the typical American family was made up of a husband,a wife,and two or three children. Now there are many marriages in which couples have decided not to have any children.And there are many marriages where at least some of the children are from the wife's former marriage,or the husband's,or both.Sometimes these children spend all of their time with one parent from the former marriage;sometimes they are shared between the two former spouses . Thus,one can find every type of family arrangement.There are marriages without children;Marriages with children from only the present marriage;Marriages with "full time" children from both the present and former marriages;Marriages with "full time" children from the present marriage and "part time",children from former marriages.There are stepfathers,stepmothers,half brothers, and half sisters.It is not all that unusual for a child to have four parents and eight grandparents! These are great changes from the traditional nuclear family.But even so,even in the midst of all this,there remains one constant:Most Americans spend most of their adult lives married. Question: Even though great changes have taken place in the structure of American families,_. Yes or no, is the answer "the vast majority of Americans still have faith in marriage"?
Ans: No

Article: (RAMALLAH, West Bank) -- Israel freed 26 Palestinian prisoners early Wednesday, the second of four groups to be released as part of an agreement that started the current Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, which had broken down since 2008. In all, 104 prisoners are to be released in four rounds over the coming months. In the West Bank and Gaza , the mood was overexcited as hundreds of Palestinians welcomed the prisoners back home, after many had spent more than 20 years behind bars. Crowds of people rushed toward the 5 prisoners released to Gaza, raising them on their shoulders, waving Palestinian flags and dancing to music. Relatives held signs that read "we will never forget our heroes." More than 2,000 people welcomed the 21 prisoners released to the West Bank, who were greeted at a ceremony by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah. Hazem Shubair, thrown into prison in 1994 for the death of an Israeli according to the Israeli Prison Service, was over delighted upon his return to Gaza. "I am speechless," he said. "Thanks to God. God is greater than the aggressors (meaning Israel)". Abbas said a final peace agreement with Israel was possible on the release of the prisoners. "There will be no final agreement without the release of all the prisoners," he told the violent crowd. Israel's Supreme Court earlier refused an appeal that intended to cancel the prisoner release. An organization of bereaved families behind the appeal has said it fears the prisoners, all in connection to the deaths of Israelis, will return to violence once freed. Question: Why did Israel free 26 Palestinian prisoners early Wednesday? Yes or no, is the answer "Because that was part of an agreement between Israel and Palestinians."?
Yes