One night several years ago, after filling up my car at a gas station and pulling away, I notice a strange sound behind me in I traffic. It sounded to me like someone was dragging a bumper (保险杆) , so I started looking for the car to alert the driver. But no matter how fast or slow I moved, or where I turned, I couldn’t locate the car.

At this point I noticed people on the sidewalk pointing and laughing at me. I stopped and found the gas hose (软管) still attached to my car. I immediately pull out the hose and drove back to the gas station, where I was educated on the economics of breaking a gas pump (泵) .

My memory of that night is odd because I was judging the behavior of another person, who then turned out to be me. Philosophers might say that in these rare minutes, my “I-self” (the seer of things around me) and “me-self” (the one seen) were mentally separated.

This kind of separation is unnatural. Making it your permanent state of mind would be difficult and perhaps even undesirable. Each of us can, however, purposely change the balance of time we spend as observers and as the object of observation—even without doing something as ridiculous as I did. And working to observe more than you think about being observed can be an excellent way to get happier.

We think constantly about how other see us; we look in every mirror; we check our mentions on social media; we obsess over our identity. This brings trouble. Research has shown, for example, that focusing on the world outside yourself is linked to happiness, while focusing on yourself and how others see you can lead to your moods going up and down like a yo-yo. The good news is that you can certainly increase your happiness by adopting conscious practices that help lower the amount of time you spend in an objectified state.

【小题1】What happened to the author that night?

A．He was probably fined.	B．He damaged the bumper.
C．He got trapped in traffic.	D．He knocked into the sidewalk.

【小题2】What does “I-self” refer to at the early stage in the incident?

A．The hose.

B．The people.

C．The author.

D．The pump.

【小题3】What does the author suggest readers to do in the last two paragraphs?

A．Separate yourselves from the outside.	B．Spend more time being an observer.
C．Avoid being an object of observation.	D．Work bard to increase happiness.

【小题4】What might the author continue talking about?

A．How to be aware of happiness.	B．How to spend our spare time.
C．How to reduce the state of “me-self”.	D．How to adjust our moods.