英语听力文摘 English Digest 610、有孩子的夫妻家庭更幸福

 　　Parents May Be Happier Than Childless Couples

 

　　Dear A Moment of Science,

 

　　I’m a parent of two young kids. It’s challenging, but overall¹ a very rewarding experience. Yet I keep hearing about studies suggesting that parents are less happy than childless couples and single people without children. How sound is this science?

　　Well, it’s true that over the past several years a wave of studies has associated parenting with unhappiness. But that’s not the whole story. In fact, one study by researchers at the University of California, Riverside, the University of British Columbia, and Stanford found just the opposite: that, all things considered, parenthood is strongly associated with happiness and meaning.

 

　　Specifically², the study found that parents are happier when taking care of their kids than when doing other chores. Dads especially seemed to find happiness and meaning compared to non dads.

 

　　Now, of course this doesn’t mean that all parents are always happier than all non parents. Parenting happiness depends, at least in part, on the particulars of a situation. For example, the study also found that older, married parents are on average happier than younger parents and single parents.

 

　　And anyone who’s been a parent knows that raising kids is a tough, tough job filled with as many difficult and painful moments as with moments of joy. But on the whole, at least according to this and other emerging³ studies, parenting tends to coincide⁴ with happiness and fulfillment in life.

1 overall   

n.工作服，工装裤；全面的，全体的

参考例句：

• The shop assistant was wearing a white overall.那店员穿着白色的工作服。
• How much will it cost overall?一共多少钱？

2 specifically   

adv.明确地，具体地；特别地，特意

参考例句：

• The book was written specifically for children.这本书是特地为儿童编写的。
• I told you specifically not to do that.我明确地告诉你不要那样做。

3 emerging   

adj.正在不断出现的

参考例句：

• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency. 两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。
• I saw the woman emerging out of a shop. 我看见那个妇女从商店里走出来。

4 coincide   

vi.同时发生，相符，位置重合，重叠

参考例句：

• His tastes and habits coincide with those of his wife.他的爱好跟习惯恰好和他的妻子相同。
• He happened to coincide with you on this point.在这一问题上，他与你不谋而合。