《英语流行话题阅读:语境识词3500》Unit90:幸福的秘密

　　Unit 90
The Secrets of Happiness
You just think you know what will make you happy. Researchers in the new science of happiness know better. They have evidence that married people on average end up being no happier than they were before the wedding. Winning the lottery¹ will probably reduce your pleasure in the ordinary events that used to make you happy. And being in good health isn't as much of a factor as the right genes² when it comes to life satisfaction.
Depressing, isn't it? Well, there is one bit of good news: Research from around the world suggests that most people are happy, not unhappy. "It's one of the things we're absolutely sure abut," says Michigan psychologist Richard Lucas.
Once 222 Illinois college students were under a study aimed to find out what the happiest 10 percent had in common. They were extroverts³, had more friendships and romantic relationships, but didn't exercise more and didn't feel they had more good events in their lives than those who weren't as happy. No real surprises there, but like other research in the field, it produced a bit more hard data.
"It's amazing how long happiness has been a problem, but how recently science has turned its attention to it," says Daniel Gilbert, a Harvard professor of psychology⁴. "It's only been in the last 10 years that what was a hobby of a few has become a central focus in psychology."
Some of the results come as a surprise. A classic study of lottery winners and people with spinal⁵ cord injuries, for instance, found that neither event changed their lives as much as observers thought they would.
Gilbert is looking into how accurately⁶ people predict what will make them happy. It turns out, not accurately at all. What we think will bring us pleasure -- a new car, the home team winning the NCAA championship -- usually doesn't bring us as much as we expected, and the positive impact doesn't last as long. The good news is that we also overestimate⁷ the impact of catastrophic events.
Why that matters, of course, is that we base our present actions on our inaccurate⁸ predictions. As Gilbert says, "The future spoils the present." "The first thing to realize," he adds, "is that you could know exactly what would be in your future and not know how you'll feel about it. So is there any way to be more accurate in predicting how happy we'll be? Yes," says Gilbert, "but almost no one wants to do it."
Even with data from research pouring in, scientists still don't have an easy answer to what we all want to know: How do I get long-term life satisfaction? The answers they do have are often the same ones that philosophers and priests have been giving us for centuries. It's just nice to have them backed up with hard data.

1 lottery   

n.抽彩；碰运气的事，难于算计的事

参考例句：

• He won no less than ￡5000 in the lottery.他居然中了5000英镑的奖券。
• They thought themselves lucky in the lottery of life.他们认为自己是变幻莫测的人生中的幸运者。

2 genes   

n.基因( gene的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• You have good genes from your parents, so you should live a long time. 你从父母那儿获得优良的基因，所以能够活得很长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Differences will help to reveal the functions of the genes. 它们间的差异将会帮助我们揭开基因多种功能。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 生物技术的世纪

3 extroverts   

性格外向的人( extrovert的名词复数 )； 活跃、愉快、爱交际的人

参考例句：

• In the second half, the students were criticized. Extroverts were unfazed. 在后半部分，举不动时学生要受批评，外向性格的学生表现出不满。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 大脑与疾病
• Extroverts prefer lively conversation to brooding on the meaning of life. 性格外向的人喜欢高谈阔论，而不愿思索人生的意义。

4 psychology   

n.心理，心理学，心理状态

参考例句：

• She has a background in child psychology.她受过儿童心理学的教育。
• He studied philosophy and psychology at Cambridge.他在剑桥大学学习哲学和心理学。

5 spinal   

adj.针的，尖刺的，尖刺状突起的；adj.脊骨的，脊髓的

参考例句：

• After three days in Japan,the spinal column becomes extraordinarily flexible.在日本三天，就已经使脊椎骨变得富有弹性了。
• Your spinal column is made up of 24 movable vertebrae.你的脊柱由24个活动的脊椎骨构成。

6 accurately   

adv.准确地，精确地

参考例句：

• It is hard to hit the ball accurately.准确地击中球很难。
• Now scientists can forecast the weather accurately.现在科学家们能准确地预报天气。

7 overestimate   

v.估计过高，过高评价

参考例句：

• Don't overestimate seriousness of the problem.别把问题看重了。
• We overestimate our influence and our nuisance value.我们过高地估计了自己的影响力和破坏作用。

8 inaccurate   

adj.错误的，不正确的，不准确的

参考例句：

• The book is both inaccurate and exaggerated.这本书不但不准确，而且夸大其词。
• She never knows the right time because her watch is inaccurate.她从来不知道准确的时间因为她的表不准。