Gross National Happiness

In the last century, new technology improved the lives of many people in many countries. However, one country resisted these changes. High in the Himalayan mountains of Asia, the kingdom of Bhutan remained separate. Its people and Buddhist(佛教)culture had not been affected for almost a thousand years. Bhutan, however, was a poor country. People died at a young ag e. Most of its people could not read, and they did not know much about the outside world. Then, in 1972, a new ruler named King Jigme Singye Wangchuck decided to help Bhutan to become modern, but without losing its traditions.

King Wangchuck looked at other countries for ideas. He saw that most countries measured their progress by their Gross National Product (GNP). The GNP measures products and money. When the number of products sold increases, people say the country is making progress. King Wangchuck had a different idea for Bhutan. He wanted to measure his country’s progress by people’s happiness. If the people’s happiness increased, the king could say that Bhutan was making progress. To decide if people were happier, he created a measure called Gross National Happiness (GNH).

GNH is based on certain principles that create happiness. People are happier if they have health care, education, and jobs. They are happier when they live in a healthy, protected environment. They are happier when they can keep their traditional culture and customs. Finally, people are happier when they have a good, stable government.

Now there is some evidence of increased GNH in Bhutan. People are healthier and are living longer. More people are educated and employed. Twenty-five percent of the land has become national parks, and the country has almost no pollution. The Bhutanese continue to wear their traditional clothing and follow their ancient Buddhist customs. Bhutan has 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 elections that year. Bhutan had political parties and political candidates for the first time. Finally, Bhutan has connected to the rest of the world through television and internet.

Bhutan is a symbol for social progress. Many countries are now interested in Bhutan’s GNH. These countries are investigating their own ways to measure happiness. They want to create new policies that take care of their people, cultures, and land.

Brazil may be the nest country to use the principles of GNH. Brazilian leaders see the principles of GNH as a source of inspiration. Brazil is a large country with a diverse population. If happiness works as a measure of progress in Brazil, perhaps the rest of the world will follow.

31. Who was Jigme Singye Wangchuck? Q727 007 008

A. A president. 　 　B. A Buddhist priest.

C. A king. 　D. A general.

32. Apart from modernizing Bhutan, what else did Wangchuck want to do for Bhutan?

A. To make its population grow. B. To keep it separate from the world.

C. To encourage its people to get rich. D. To keep its traditions and customs.

33. A country shows its progress with GNP by .

A. spending more money B. spending less money

C. selling more products D. providing more jobs

34. According to GNH, people are happier if they .

A. have new technology B. have a good, stable government

C. can change their religion D. have more money

35. Today many countries are .

A. trying to find their own ways to measure happiness

B. using the principles of GNH to measure their progress

C. working together to develop a common scale to measure GNH

D. taking both Bhutan and Brazil as symbols for social progress

参考答案：31、C 　32、D　33、C　34、B　35、A

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