Our Mood Can Affect Others

梁福元

Will you be happy if your friends are happy？ If your friends are sad， how will you feel？

Once， an old man lived in a village alone. He was one of the rudest people in the world. The whole village was tired of him. He was always unhappy， he was always complaining and was always in a bad mood. When people tried to cheer him up， he would rudely turn them away.

The longer he lived， the more bad tempered （暴脾氣）he became. People stayed away from him because his bad mood was contagious（傳染的）. The way he acted made others feel the same way that he did. It was unusual and impolite to feel happy around him. By behaving like this， he made the rest of the village feel unhappy as well.

But one day—the day he turned 80 years old， in fact， an unbelievable thing happened. The man’s mood suddenly changed. He was no longer rude or angry. Instead， he seemed calm and kind. The villagers said among themselves， “ The old man is happy today. He hasn’t complained about anything， he is smiling， and his face looks kind.”

The whole village went to see the old man. They couldn’t believe that his mood could change so suddenly. One of the villagers asked the old man， “What happened to you？”

“Nothing special has happened， in fact，” the man said. “ For 80 years I’ve been looking for happiness， and it was no use. And then I decided to live without happiness and just enjoy life. That’s why I’m happy now.”

It is important to realize that your mood can affect the moods of these around you. Everyone has bad days sometimes. If someone tries to cheer you up， don’t be rude to them. Just try to accept their help.

1. What would the old man do when the villagers tried to cheer him up？

A. Accept their help.? ? B. Turn people away.? C. Complain a lot.? D. Feel happier.

2. What happened on the day when the old man turned 80 years old？

A. He let go of his politeness.? ? ? B. He found happiness.

C. He got contagious disease.? ? ? D. He accepted help from others.

Keys：? BB