Count your blessings（祝福）, we’re told, but it’s just not in our nature. We’d rather count our problems. We’re so used to focusing on bad news that we tend to pay no attention to what’s going well. As soon as we solve one problem, we take the progress for granted and find a new cause for alarm. Every now and again it doesn’t hurt to think how good we have it. Start counting:
Free time
As much as we complain about being busy, the typical American has more free time than ever—more than five hours per day. If you feel too busy, it’s probably only because you’re doing so many other things than work. Experts say there’ll be even more free time in the future.
Peace
Wars and terrorist attacks will always make headlines, but it’s remarkable how many of the world’s 6.7 billion people now live in peace. In recent decades, though the population has been growing, the number of wars around the world has declined. In some earlier generations, a quarter of the male population died violent deaths. Over the past century, even counting the world wars, a person’s chance of dying from war was less than 2 percent.
American dream
While some people are struggling to keep their homes, the vast majority of Americans still have plenty to be thankful for when they walk through the front door. In 1950 the typical new American house had one floor with 1,000 square feet, two bedrooms, and one bathroom—and even that bungalow was beyond many people’s means. Today, more than two thirds of Americans own their homes, and the typical new house has two floors, at least three bedrooms, two and a half baths, and more than 2,200 square feet of space for the family.
The reader’s revolution
In 1970 barely half the people in the world were literate, and many of them could afford only a few books. Today, more than 80 percent of the world’s people can read, and 22 percent have access to the greatest library in history. The Web provides classic books and reference works free of charge.
More wilderness
Once you travel beyond the cities, you’ll find plenty of open space and peaceful forests. Many of the woodlands cleared by settlers have returned now that the land is no longer needed for agriculture.
The modern cars
Cars give off greenhouse gases and create maddening traffic jams, but consider what else they do. Compared with the models on the road in 1970, today’s cars burn less gasoline per mile and emit 98 percent fewer pollutants. That’s why, despite the doubling of the number of cars, there’s much less smog in the air. The basic car today offers more comforts and safety than the luxury（豪华）cars of old.
阅读短文，填表格，每空一词。
| Title | Six reasons to be thankful |
| Problems | We tend to focus on our problems and ignore what’s going well. Even with problems solved immediately, we still |
| The blessings we should count | Today Americans have more free time than ever. |
| The number of people dying of wars has declined despite the | |
| Owing a two-floor house with at least 3 bedrooms has been within the | |
| More reading materials are available to readers and more than 80% can read. | |
| More land for agriculture has made | |
| The basic cars are much |
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