Feeling overcome by your to-do list can make you unhappy, but a new study suggests that more free time might not be the magic elixir (灵丹妙药) most of us dream it could be.

The researchers analyzed data from 35,000 subjects about how Americans spend their free time. They found that people with more free time generally had higher levels of subjective happiness—but only up to a point. Compared to those with less time, people with up to two hours of free time a day generally felt better. However, people who had five or more hours of free time a day generally felt worse. So the free-time “sweet spot” might be two to three hours per day.

Part of finding this “sweet spot” is connected with how people spend their free time. In an online experiment, the subjects were asked to imagine having four to seven free hours per day and spending that time doing “productive” (富有成效的) or “unproductive” activities. Most of them believed their happiness would suffer if they had a lot of free time during the day—but only if they used it unproductively. Though that experiment was based on the previous assumptions (假设), which is one limitation, it agrees with other experiments showing that being in a state of flow can benefit people’s mental health.

Of course, for you, any activities that increase your happiness are “productive”. If watching soap opera in your free time makes you feel better, you should do that due to self-care. And some traditionally productive activities can be easy and fun. For example, walking and cooking can help burn stress and put people in a state of flow.

“In cases where people find themselves with large amounts of free time, such as retirement or unemployment,” Sharif said, “our results suggest they can benefit from spending their newfound time with purpose.”

【小题1】How did the researchers carry out the study of the free-time “sweet spot”?

A．By studying the collected data.	B．By doing the experiment again and again.
C．By observing the respondents.	D．By doing an interview with the subjects.

【小题2】What does the underlined word “it” in paragraph 3 refer to?

A．The activity.	B．Free time.
C．The finding.	D．The experiment.

【小题3】Why does the author mention “soap opera” in paragraph 4?

A．To present a fact.	B．To make a prediction.
C．To explain an opinion.	D．To introduce a topic.

【小题4】What does the new study suggest about people’s happiness?

A．Much free time with purposeful activities can affect people’s happiness.

B．The “sweet spot” has little connection with the amount of free time.

C．Much unfinished work is likely to make people feel worse.

D．People will always feel much happier with more free time.