CARRERA DE TRADUCTOR PÚBLICO - ENTRANCE EXAMINATION - NOVIEMBRE 2014

NOMBRE y APELLIDO: ……………………………………………………………………………………………

Nº de ORDEN:……..………………………………………………………………………………….. PAPER 1

The pursuit of happiness

Is everybody happy? Or rather, is anybody happy? Ever since Thomas Jefferson asserted that the
pursuit of happiness is our inalienable right, Americans have been feverishly stalking the good
life.

But happiness is an elusive goal. Despite our economic success and technological advances, we
ache with melancholy and loneliness.

Signs of unhappiness abound. Rates of clinical depression have been doubling every 10 years.
Divorce has become more common than marriage. Everyone is complaining of overwork and
stress, insomnia and anxiety. Sufferers are flocking to pharmacies for relief. The three most
frequently prescribed drugs are an ulcer medication, a hypertension reliever and a tranquilizer.

We covet happiness, we yearn for it, but what is it? Is it something we find or something we
create? Is it a function of what we have, or what we do, or how much we earn, or what we
accomplish?

Through the centuries, people have offered quite different definitions of happiness. "All you
need for happiness," said Daniel Boone, "is a good gun, a good horse and a good wife" in that
order. In a similar vein of male chauvinism, the satirist H. L. Mencken asserted that "the only
really happy folk are married women and single men." With the passage of time, however, the
pursuit of happiness has become more focused on self-gratification. "Don't worry, be happy!" the
jazz singer Bobby McFerrin crooned in 1989, and more than 10 million people bought the record
and embraced the song's simple formula for happiness.

Every age has its illusions. Ours has been that happiness is synonymous with smiling "have a
nice day" greetings. Happiness is presumed to be as readily available as a prescription medicine
or a do-it-yourself video which will enable the purchaser to wake up every day, completely
happy, eager to live. We can also achieve happiness by eating less or eating more, by undergoing
liposuction or cosmetic surgery or a hair implant. We can take Prozac or St. John's Wort, or hire
a personal fitness trainer.

Many people assume that more money will bring them happiness, only to discover that wealth
does not bring a greater sense of well-being. A recent study of 100 multi-millionaires reveals
that rich people are no happier than the rest of us. Between 1957 and 1990, per capita income in
America more than doubled, yet the number of Americans who reported being "very happy" has
remained constant.
What especially complicates the pursuit of happiness is its relative nature. We don't want simply
to be happy in our own right. We want to be happier than other people, which is extraordinarily
difficult, since we assume they are happier than they really are.

No matter how satisfied we are with our salaries and possessions, there is always someone else
who seems to be doing better. This annoying disparity goads us to earn more and buy more.
Breaking the grip of such self-defeating envy is one of the keys to a happier life. Happiness is
being where one is and not wanting to be anywhere else.

So what is to be done? First, we need to recognize that there are no shortcuts to genuine
happiness, no "quick-fix" therapies or drugs to bring lasting fulfillment.

Second, some people are naturally unhappy. Their body chemistry or doleful disposition leads
them to embrace cynicism and melancholy. Brooding animates their days. They wear marks of
woe and furrowed brows like badges of honor.

Third, happiness is not synonymous with pleasure. It is instead a deeper emotion that originates
from within. Recent psychological studies conclude that enduring gratification cannot be gained
by direct effort; instead it is a byproduct of how we live.

Happiness creeps into our lives. It results from a sense of mental and moral contentment with
who we are, what we value and how we invest our time and resources for purposes beyond
ourselves. Thomas Jefferson equated happiness with the living of a socially virtuous and useful
life. "It is neither wealth nor splendor, but tranquility and occupation which give happiness."

The happiest people are those who find joy in the commonplace nourishments of daily living.
They relish their friendships, families, work, faith, pets and hobbies. And they are not bedeviled
by the urge to get something more, something new, something better. As the writer Edith
Wharton insisted, "If only we'd stop trying to be happy, we could have a pretty good time."

PART I (Minimum Passing Mark: 31 points) PAPER 1

1. READING COMPREHENSION
In your own words, answer the following questions about the passage above.

a. Explain the statement “ Happiness is an elusive goal” .…/4

b. Where do people wrongly look for happiness? .…/4

c. How do naturally unhappy people tend to behave? .…/4

d. Do you consider yourself a happy person? What is your concept of .…8

happiness?
 2. USE OF ENGLISH: PARAPHRASING
Use the words in brackets somewhere in the sentence or the given beginnings.
DO NOT change the meaning

a. Basically, a couple’s happiness depends on their ability to communicate .…/6

Basically, the more …………………………………………………………………

b. That is the most shocking myth I have ever heard about happiness .…/6

Never …………….…………………………………………………………………

c. What a shame I can’t speak Portuguese. I had to find an interpreter .…/6

If I …………..………………………………………………………………….

d. This mix-up is not my fault ..../6

(BLAME) ..................................................................................................................

2. USE OF ENGLISH: CLOZE EXERCISE

Fill in the blanks with ONLY ONE WORD

Surely nobody in the real world gives up a well-paid and prestigious job (1) ................. favour of
a menial one (2)...................., by necessity, they are forced to? Ambition has always
(3).................. considered a desirable quality; salary and professional status are advantages
(4).................. be courted. And yet, in these alarming days of executive stress, burnout and
compulsory redundancy, the idea (5) ........................ throwing in the towel holds a strange
appeal. Guillian, 37, was a solicitor in a city law firm (6)...................... earlier this year. She
worked long hours and weekends and (7)......................... come to the conclusion that her highly
paid, high status job was just a ‘living death’. She felt isolated and wished she could have more
contact with people, rather (8)...................... dealing with her clients only by phone or mail.
When she quit the rat race and left to work behind the counter of a supermarket, everybody
(9)........................ surprised, even confused. She now works a 39-hour week at a modest hourly
rate of pay. Gillian doesn’t regret (10)....................... from her job at the law firm or having less
money. ‘If only I’d (11)................... it sooner!’ she says. ‘I absolutely love the new job!
(12)........................ is a part of me that I´m not using: your brain feels (13) ....................... I call
‘stretched’ when you are drafting legal documents. But I don’t miss that at all. I am
(14)...................... busy to get bored’. She now reads all those books that she wishes she had
(15)...................... time to read before. But Guillian has not closed the door entirely to (16)
............................. her law career after a period off the beaten track.

TOTAL .. .…/16
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PART II (Minimum Passing Mark 21)

4. ESSAY WRITING (300 words)

Write an essay expressing your opinion on the following topic:

YOUTH AND BEAUTY HAVE BECOME THE CURRENCY OF OUR SOCIETY.

THE VALUE OF AGE AND EXPERIENCE IS DENIED.