英语听力文摘 English Digest 389、好心情是良药

Emotions and the Common Cold
好心情是一剂良药

Yaël: You’ve probably heard it said that one’s attitude affects one’s health.

 

Don: Yeah! Yeah! If you maintain a positive attitude or mood, then you’re less likely to get sick than if you’re angry or depressed¹.

Y: A certain study demonstrates that there is some truth in that old adage.

 

D: Fine! Tell me what you get, but don’t expect me to be impressed.

 

Y: Over three-hundred subjects were assessed in terms of their emotions for a two- week period. They were assessed for positive emotions they might be feeling, such as vigor, well-being², and calmness, as well as for negative emotions such as depression, anxiety, and hostility. Then they were each given a squirt in the nose of the virus that causes common colds. The interesting thing is that emotional states had no effect on whether or not subjects were technically³ infected with the virus, which is measured by evidence of replication of the virus in the subject’s body.

 

D:Ha！

 

Y:Hold up there! Emotional states did, however, affect the symptoms the virus manifested. People with more positive emotional states were less likely to suffer or complain about symptoms of the cold than people with negative emotional states. In addition, the relative health practices of positive vs. negative people did not account for this result. So there really does seem to be a link between emotional state and illness.

 

D:I’m not feeling so well!

 

Y:You could try being happy!

Yaël:你很可能听过，人的心态影响着健康。

 

Don:当然，保持好的心态比生气、抑郁更能抵御疾病。

 

Y:一项研究表明，这句老话并非空穴来风。

 

D:好吧，告诉我那个发现，但别指望我会惊讶！

Y:研究人员就三百多个受测者进行了两个周期的情绪测试。心情好让受测者精力充沛、神采奕奕、淡定自若；情绪坏则表现得闷闷不乐、焦躁不安、愤世嫉俗。每个受测者鼻腔都注射了感冒病毒。有趣的事情发生了：通过检测受测者体内病毒繁殖数目发现，情绪对病毒感染没有任何影响。

D:我就知道!

Y:你别急呀！但是，情绪确实影响着感冒表现出的症状。心情好似乎没那么痛苦，也比坏心情的人更少抱怨感冒。另外，相关健康惯例也无法解释这一结果。这说明，情绪和疾病间确有关联。

 

D:我感觉有点不舒服了！

 

Y:也许，你可以试着让自己高兴！

 

 

1 depressed   

adj.沮丧的，抑郁的，不景气的，萧条的

参考例句：

• When he was depressed,he felt utterly divorced from reality.他心情沮丧时就感到完全脱离了现实。
• His mother was depressed by the sad news.这个坏消息使他的母亲意志消沉。

2 well-being   

n.安康，安乐，幸福

参考例句：

• He always has the well-being of the masses at heart.他总是把群众的疾苦挂在心上。
• My concern for their well-being was misunderstood as interference.我关心他们的幸福，却被误解为多管闲事。

3 technically   

adv.专门地，技术上地

参考例句：

• Technically it is the most advanced equipment ever.从技术上说，这是最先进的设备。
• The tomato is technically a fruit,although it is eaten as a vegetable.严格地说，西红柿是一种水果，尽管它是当作蔬菜吃的。