英语美文：幸福的本质是什么?

 　　问问你自己：我幸福吗?我认为幸福的本质是什么?它跟痛苦，付出有关系吗?如果娱乐和快乐等同于幸福的话，那么痛苦必然等同于不幸福。可事实正相反：导致幸福的一切常常蕴含着些许痛苦。

　　I live in Hollywood. You may think people in such a glamorous¹, fun-filled place are happier than others. If so, you have some mistaken ideas about the nature of happiness.

　　我住在好莱坞。你可能认为住在这样一个魅力四射、充满欢笑的地方要比其他人更幸福。倘若如此，你就误解了幸福的本质。

　　Many intelligent people still equatehappiness with fun. The truth is that fun and happiness have little or nothing in common. Fun is what we experience during an act. Happiness is what we experience after an act. It is a deeper, more abiding² emotion.

　　许多聪明人依旧将幸福与娱乐等同起来。事实上，娱乐与幸福很少、甚至毫无共同之处。娱乐是某个活动进行中的体验，而幸福则是活动之后的体验。幸福是更深刻、更持久的情感。

　　Going to an amusement park or ball game, watching a movie or television, are fun activities that help us relax, temporarily forget our problems and maybe even laugh. But they do not bring happiness, because their positive effects end when the fun ends.

　　去游乐场或去看球赛，看电影或看电视，这些都是娱乐活动，有助于我们放松身心，暂时忘却自己的难题，甚至让我们放声大笑。但是，这一切并不能带来幸福，因为娱乐一结束，它们的正面效应亦随之终结。

　　I have often thought that if Hollywood stars have a role to play, it is to teach us that happiness has nothing to do with fun. These rich, beautiful individuals have constant access to glamorousparties, fancy cars, expensive homes, everything that spells "happiness".

　　我常常这样想，如果好莱坞明星起到某种作用的话，那就是向我们昭示幸福与娱乐毫无关系。作为个人，他们富有，楚楚动人，可以随时出席令人神往的宴会，拥有顶尖级汽车、昂贵的宅第--这一切似乎意味着“幸福”。

　　But in memoir³ after memoir, celebrities⁴ reveal the unhappiness hidden beneath all their fun: depression, alcoholism, drug addiction⁵, broken marriages, troubled children, profound loneliness.

　　然而，在一部又一部的回忆录中，名流们揭示了隐藏在这一切娱乐活动背后的不幸：忧郁、酗酒、吸毒成瘾、失败的婚姻、饱受困扰的孩子、极度的孤独。

　　The way people clingto the belief that a fun-filled, pain-free life equates⁶ happiness actually diminishes their chances of ever attaining⁷ real happiness. If fun and pleasure are equated⁸ with happiness, then pain must be equated with unhappiness. But, in fact, the opposite is true: More times than not, things that lead to happiness involve some pain.

　　人们执迷不悟，以为充满欢笑、没有痛苦的生活就等于幸福;这实际上减少了他们真正臻于幸福之境的可能性。如果娱乐和快乐等同于幸福的话，那么痛苦必然等同于不幸福。可事实正相反：导致幸福的一切常常蕴含着些许痛苦。

　　As a result, many people avoid the very endeavors that are the source of true happiness. They fear the pain inevitably⁹ brought by such things as marriage, raising children, professional achievement, religious commitment, civicor charitablework, and self-improvement.

　　因此，许多人不愿努力，而这些努力恰恰正是真正幸福的源泉。诸如婚姻、抚育子女、职业成就、宗教信仰、公共及慈善事业、自身修养等必然带来痛苦，他们因而对于这一切心怀畏惧。

1 glamorous   

adj.富有魅力的；美丽动人的；令人向往的

参考例句：

• The south coast is less glamorous but full of clean and attractive hotels.南海岸魅力稍逊，但却有很多干净漂亮的宾馆。
• It is hard work and not a glamorous job as portrayed by the media.这是份苦差，并非像媒体描绘的那般令人向往。

2 abiding   

adj.永久的，持久的，不变的

参考例句：

• He had an abiding love of the English countryside.他永远热爱英国的乡村。
• He has a genuine and abiding love of the craft.他对这门手艺有着真挚持久的热爱。

3 memoir   

n.[pl.]回忆录，自传；记事录

参考例句：

• He has just published a memoir in honour of his captain.他刚刚出了一本传记来纪念他的队长。
• In her memoir,the actress wrote about the bittersweet memories of her first love.在那个女演员的自传中，她写到了自己苦乐掺半的初恋。

4 celebrities   

n.（尤指娱乐界的）名人( celebrity的名词复数 )；名流；名声；名誉

参考例句：

• He only invited A-list celebrities to his parties. 他只邀请头等名流参加他的聚会。
• a TV chat show full of B-list celebrities 由众多二流人物参加的电视访谈节目

5 addiction   

n.上瘾入迷，嗜好

参考例句：

• He stole money from his parents to feed his addiction.他从父母那儿偷钱以满足自己的嗜好。
• Areas of drug dealing are hellholes of addiction,poverty and murder.贩卖毒品的地区往往是吸毒上瘾、贫困和发生谋杀的地方。

6 equates   

v.认为某事物（与另一事物）相等或相仿( equate的第三人称单数 )；相当于；等于；把（一事物） 和（另一事物）等同看待

参考例句：

• He equates success with material wealth. 他认为成功等同于物质财富。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• This equates to increased and vigor, better sleep and sharper mental acuity. 也就是说可以起到增强活力，改善睡眠，提高心智的作用。 来自互联网

7 attaining   

（通常经过努力）实现( attain的现在分词 )； 达到； 获得； 达到（某年龄、水平、状况）

参考例句：

• Jim is halfway to attaining his pilot's licence. 吉姆就快要拿到飞行员执照了。
• By that time she was attaining to fifty. 那时她已快到五十岁了。

8 equated   

adj.换算的v.认为某事物（与另一事物）相等或相仿( equate的过去式和过去分词 )；相当于；等于；把（一事物） 和（另一事物）等同看待

参考例句：

• Production costs for the movie equated to around 30% of income. 这部电影的制作成本相当于收益的30%。
• Politics cannot be equated with art. 政治不能同艺术等同起来。

9 inevitably   

adv.不可避免地；必然发生地

参考例句：

• In the way you go on,you are inevitably coming apart.照你们这样下去，毫无疑问是会散伙的。
• Technological changes will inevitably lead to unemployment.技术变革必然会导致失业。