VOA慢速英语2013 健康报道 - 年龄和幸福度之间的联系

 

Health Report - What Is the Relationship Between Age and Happiness?

健康报道 - 年龄和幸福度之间的联系

From VOA Learning English, this is the Health Report in Special English.

这里是美国之音慢速英语健康报道。

Are people less happy or more happy the older they get? If you answered more happy, then you were right, based on a study in 2008. It found that people generally become happier and experience less worry after age fifty. In fact, it found that by the age of eighty-five, people are happier with their life than they were at eighteen.

随着人们越来越老，他们是更不幸福还是更幸福？如果你的答案是更幸福，那么根据2008年发表的一项研究结果，你的回答是正确的。该研究发现，人们年过五旬后一般会变得更加幸福，担忧也会减少。实际上，研究人员发现，人们到85岁时的生活幸福度要高于18岁时。

The findings came from a Gallup survey of more than three hundred forty thousand adults in the United States in two thousand eight. At that time, the people were between the ages of eighteen and eighty-five.

这项研究结果源自2008年盖洛普（Gallup，民意调查机构）对美国34万多名成年人的调查，当时这些参与调查者年龄在18岁到85岁之间。

Arthur Stone in the Department of Psychiatry¹ and Behavioral Science at Stony² Brook³ University in New York led the study. His team found that levels of stress were highest among adults between the ages of twenty-two and twenty-five. Stress levels dropped sharply after people reached their fifties.

纽约州立大学石溪分校精神病学和行为科学系的亚瑟·斯通（Arthur Stone）领导了这项研究。该研究小组发现，成年人中22到25岁年龄段人群压力最大，50岁后人们压力骤减。

Happiness was highest among the youngest adults and those in their early seventies. But the people least likely to report feeling negative emotions were those in their seventies and eighties.

刚成年和70来岁人群的幸福度最高。但最不可能报告负面情绪的是七、八十岁的人群。

The survey also found that men and women have similar emotional patterns as they grow older. However, women at all ages reported more sadness, stress and worry than men did.

调查还发现，随着年龄增长，男性和女性有着相同的情绪模式。然而，在所有年龄段中，女性比男性报告了更多的悲伤、压力和担心。

The researchers also considered possible influences like having young children, being unemployed⁴ or being single. But they found that influences like these did not affect the levels of happiness and well-being⁵ related to age.

研究人员还考虑到了类似有了小孩、失业或单身等潜在影响因素。但他们发现，这类因素不会影响到和年龄相关的幸福度。

So why would happiness increase with age? One theory is that, as people get older, they become more thankful for what they have and have better control of their emotions. They also spend less time thinking about bad experiences.

那么为什么幸福度会随着年龄增长？一种理论认为，随着年龄增长，人们对当前拥有的一切更加知足，也能更好地控制自己的情绪。他们还更少去想那些不幸的经历。

The findings appeared in the Proceedings⁶ of the National Academy of Sciences.

这项研究结果发表在《美国科学院院报》上。

Happiness is not the only thing that apparently⁷ improves with age. In a study, people in their eighties reported the fewest problems with the quality of their sleep.

随着年龄增长的不仅仅是幸福度。在一项研究中，80多岁的人报告的睡眠质量问题最少。

Researchers surveyed more than one hundred fifty thousand American adults. The study, led by Michael Grandner at the University of Pennsylvania, appeared in the journal Sleep.

研究人员调查了超过150万美国成年人。该研究由宾夕法尼亚大学的迈克尔·格兰德纳（Michael Grandner）领导，发表在《睡眠》杂志上。

The original goal was to confirm the popular belief that aging is connected with increased sleep problems. The survey did find an increase during middle age, especially in women. But except for that, people reported that they felt their sleep quality improved as they got older.

该研究最初的目标是为了确认一种普遍观点，即睡眠问题会随着年龄而增多。调查确实在中年人特别是中年妇女中发现睡眠问题随年龄而增多。但除此之外，人们都说随着年龄增加，他们感觉睡眠质量提高了。

1 psychiatry   

n.精神病学，精神病疗法

参考例句：

• The study appeared in the Amercian science Journal of Psychiatry.这个研究发表在美国精神病学的杂志上。
• A physician is someone who specializes in psychiatry.精神病专家是专门从事精神病治疗的人。

2 stony   

adj.石头的，多石头的，冷酷的，无情的

参考例句：

• The ground is too dry and stony.这块地太干，而且布满了石头。
• He listened to her story with a stony expression.他带着冷漠的表情听她讲经历。

3 brook   

n.小河，溪；v.忍受，容让

参考例句：

• In our room we could hear the murmur of a distant brook.在我们房间能听到远处小溪汩汩的流水声。
• The brook trickled through the valley.小溪涓涓流过峡谷。

4 unemployed   

adj.失业的，没有工作的；未动用的，闲置的

参考例句：

• There are now over four million unemployed workers in this country.这个国家现有四百万失业人员。
• The unemployed hunger for jobs.失业者渴望得到工作。

5 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。

6 proceedings   

n.进程，过程，议程；诉讼(程序)；公报

参考例句：

• He was released on bail pending committal proceedings. 他交保获释正在候审。
• to initiate legal proceedings against sb 对某人提起诉讼

7 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。