English
Stage 9
Paper 1 Non-fiction
Cambridge Lower Secondary Progression Test
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Text A
Why the quickest route to happiness may be to do nothing
Psychological research shows that the harder we try to be happy, the less likely we are to
achieve that goal.
How do you envisage the pursuit of happiness?
For many, it is a relentless journey, and the more you put in, the more you get out. Just consider
the following episode from Elizabeth Gilbert’s best-selling, inspirational memoir Eat, Pray, Love,
‘Happiness is the consequence of personal effort. You fight for it, strive for it, insist upon it. And
once you have achieved a state of happiness, you must make a mighty effort to keep swimming
upward into that happiness forever.’
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While this kind of attitude may work for some, the latest research suggests this mindset can
also seriously backfire for many people. According to this view, happiness is best seen as a
kind of timid bird: the harder you strive to catch it, the further it flies away.
Iris Mauss, at the University of California, was one of the first psychologists to explore the idea
scientifically. Inspired by the sheer volume of self-help books which presented happiness as the
essence of existence, she says: ‘Wherever you look, you see books about how happiness is
good for you, and how you basically should make yourself happier, almost as a duty’. But are
those volumes only setting people up for disappointment? She also wondered if simply asking
the question, ‘How happy am I?’ could create a self-consciousness that quashes the feelings
you are trying to cultivate.
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Like Mauss, academics Maglio and Kim used a range of research methods, such as selfreported questionnaires, to identify the causes and effects of happiness. The problem, Maglio
explains, is that happiness is something of a nebulous and moving goal – it’s very difficult to feel
that you’ve reached maximum happiness and even if you do feel content, you want to prolong
those feelings.
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Maglio also points out that social media makes us especially conscious of other people’s
airbrushed lives, potentially increasing our desire to live a happier, more exciting life. She thinks
we would be happier if we didn’t look to others to set our standards for what constitutes a good
and meaningful life. Instead, she advises adopting a more stoic attitude to life’s ups and downs,
in which you accept bad feelings as fleeting events rather than trying to eliminate them entirely.
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Happiness really is like a shy animal. And once you stop chasing it, you might just find that it
appears naturally of its own accord.
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Text B
The Pursuit Of Happiness
The character of Gardner in this film is a man almost entirely without flaws. It’s a dream of a part
for an actor and a great story for a film – and, albeit with the usual Hollywood liberties, it’s all
true. Gardner and his son did sleep in a locked railway station toilet. They did line up at
homeless shelters with down-and-outs, scrabbling for a bed for the night – and all while Gardner
was working at his internship, with no income and little chance of a job at the end of it.
Gardner went through all of these hardships because he wanted to build a better life for himself
and his family. After all, ‘Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness’ is a well-known phrase in the
Declaration of Independence1 that suggests every American has the basic right to strive for
happiness and fulfil their dreams. Today, Gardner is a multi-millionaire with a best-selling book:
a memoir based on his struggles to improve his life. And there’s real drama as Gardner pushes
himself to breaking point, trying to protect his son (played with lots of charm by the actor’s own
son) from the dire extent of their situation.
It’s clear from the start that we’re in rags-to-riches, wish-fulfilment territory here, but unlike some
other Hollywood blockbusters, this doesn’t have the same emotional impact. That’s partly
because director Gabriele Muccino shoots the film in muted autumnal colours, which dampens
your engagement with the film.
Yet, despite its flaws, the movie still warms the heart thanks to the actor, whose innate,
irrepressible likeability carries the movie through its more formulaic moments. And if he should
end up with a major award next year, well… how’s that for an American Dream?
Glossary
1
Declaration of Independence: a document claiming freedom for the United States from political
control by Britain on 4 July, 1776
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