(24) 글의 제목으로 가장 적절한 것은?
A fundamental trait of human nature is its incredible capacity for adaptation. In the realm of human (a)
psychology, research has long noted the essential trait of adapting to life’s events, whether happy or tragic. Whatever the hardship a person may experience, the indicators of satisfaction quickly return to their initial levels.
A person seems to get used to everything, which is both reassuring and depressing. Thus across time and space, the percentages of happy and unhappy people are remarkably (b)
unstable. This is obviously mainly due to humans’ astonishing capacity of adaptation and imitation. Any wealth or any progress is relative, and quickly dissolves in a comparison with others. When millionaires are asked about the size of the fortune necessary to make them feel ‘truly at ease’, they all respond in the same way, whatever the level of income they have already attained: they need double what they already possess! The heart of the problem is that people do not (c)
anticipate their own capacity to adapt. They think that they might be happy if they were given (a little) more and then they would be satisfied, but they are not. The rise in income
to come always makes one dream, although once it is achieved, this rise is never (d)
sufficient. For people compare their
future income to their
current aspirations, without taking into account the inevitable evolution of the aspirations. This is the principal key to the (e)
vain quest for happiness.
① Aspire, and You Will Achieve
② Millionaires: Dreamers or Realists?
③ Humans: Too Adaptive to Feel Happier
④ Too Busy to Appreciate Life’s Goods?
⑤ Why Delaying Happiness Pays Off