Teenagers at one German school are learning how to achieve happiness alongside other traditional subjects such as math and languages.
The class sit in a circle with their eyes shut and they count from one to ten: someone starts, the next voice comes from the far right, a third from the other side.
The aim of the game is to listen for an opportunity to shout out the number without clashing (冲突) with another voice or leaving a pause. On the first try, most of the young Germans try to be first, while a few are too shy to join in, but by the fifth time round, they develop a rhythm. The message: give other people space but also confidently claim your own. This is a requirement for social well-being.
The Willy Hellpach School in Heidelberg is the first in the nation to develop a happiness course. It is intended for students preparing for university entrance exams.
"The course isn't there to make you happy," Ernst Fritz -Schubert, the school principal, warned pupils, "but rather to help you discover the ways to become happy."
Cooking a meal together is one of the class exercises. Improving body language under the guidance of two professional actresses is another.
The course is taught for three periods a week. Despite the happy subject, the pupils themselves insist it is no laughing matter.
"In the first period, we had to each say something positive about another member of the class and about ourselves. No laughing at people." said Fanny, 17.
Research by the school shows it is not the first to start happiness classes: they also exist at some U. S. universities, mainly based on positive thinking, using findings from studies of depression.
小题1:What's the writing purpose of this passage?
A．To help students struggle against being sad.
B．To describe all the traditional courses.
C．To arouse the readers' interest in happiness.
D．To introduce the happiness course.小题2:The game intended for the students in the 2nd paragraph is mainly to _________.
A．try their best to get opportunities for themselves
B．practice how to speak in front of people
C．equip them with required social skills
D．confidently speak out one's opinions小题3:According to the passage, the happiness course is _________.
A．to help students discover the ways to happiness
B．to make all the students happy all the time
C．required to be taken by the first year students
D．created by the Willy Hellpach School小题4:It can be inferred from the passage that _________.
A．the students can certainly become happy after the course
B．the students just took the course as a laughing matter
C．the students' self'-respect can also improve happiness
D．the students waste time learning something without value
