Question

Read the text and do the tasks below.
The small country of Bhutan in the Himalayan
Mountains is over one thousand years old. In the past it
was a poor country and not many people visited it. But
nowadays, it is becoming more and more popular with
tourists. Medicine and health is improving and its economy
is growing. King Jigme Singye Wangchuck, the king
of Bhutan until 2006, thought happiness is the way to
measure the country’s development.
But how do you measure happiness? Perhaps health
is the best way because a famous doctor once said,
‘Happy people generally don’t get sick.’ It’s also easy to
measure how many people feel ill or unhealthy in a country.
For example, one survey says Iceland is the ‘healthiest
country in the world’ because men and women live a
long time there, the air is very clean and there are more
doctors available per person than anywhere else in the
world.
However, there was another survey of the happiest
countries in the world and Iceland was not near the top.
The questions on this survey included: How much do you
earn? How healthy are you? How safe do you feel? After
visiting 155 different countries, the researchers decided
that Denmark feels happier than other countries. So
does happiness equal money and good health?

a) Read the statement and circle the correct variant.
According to the text, people feel happy because:
1. they live in unhealthy countries.
2. they live in the Himalayan Mountains.
3. they are healthy.
4. they live in Denmark.

b) Answer the questions.
1. Why do people in Bhutan feel happy?
2. Why are people in Iceland happy?
3. Why are people in Denmark happy?
4. What was Bhutan’s King view on happiness?

c) Find in the text the synonyms to the following words.
1. various 2. to strengthen 3. to contain 4. the same

Answer 1

a) According to the text, people feel happy because 3. they are healthy. b)1. People in Bhutan feel happy because healthcare and economy are slowly improving and because of the mountains which offer good conditions for a healthy lifestyle. 2. People in Iceland are happy because of the clean air and the fact that they have enough doctors to take care of them. 3. People in Denmark are happy because they are generally content with theit life, feel safe in their country and earn enough money to keep them financially secure. 4. The king of Bhutan believed that happiness is the best way to determine how much a country has evolved over time. c. various - many; to strengthen - to improve; to contain - to equal; the same - another (different thing but the same idea)