VOA健康报道2024--California Lawmaker Wants to Know What Makes People Happy

California Lawmaker Wants to Know What Makes People Happy

　　March 20 is the United Nations' International Day of Happiness.

　　For many years, northern European countries, especially Finland, have been named among the happiest countries on Earth. The United States has never made it into the top 10.

　　But California state lawmaker Anthony Rendon is hoping he can do something about happiness in the most populous¹ American state.

　　In his free time, Rendon likes to stay away from the workplace and spend time with his 4-year-old daughter at his home near Los Angeles. Recently, he took her ice skating and to an indoor play area. He said those are the "things that make me happy."

　　As one of the longest-serving leaders in the California legislature, Rendon is now trying to make happiness more central to policymaking in his last year in office. He created a first-in-the-nation group to study the issue of happiness. The group is called the Select Committee on Happiness and Public Policy Outcomes².

　　Rendon said it would be "silly" for lawmakers to not study how they can make people happier. "Because if we have everybody clothed³, everybody housed, everybody has a job and they're miserable⁴, then we've failed at what we're trying to do," he said.

　　In California, three-quarters of adults say they are "very happy" or "pretty happy." Twenty-six percent say they are "not too happy." The numbers come from a September 2023 study by the Public Policy Institute of California. The study also says Californians without a post-high school degree and those who earn less money are generally less happy than those with more education and more money.

　　The idea of considering happiness in public policy is not new.

　　The South Asian nation of Bhutan sets happiness as a goal of its public policy. The country asks its people about their level of happiness for what is called the Gross⁵ National Happiness Index⁶. Officials then work to increase happiness by providing citizens with free health care and education. They also work to protect things like cultural traditions and the country's forests.

　　Phuntsho Norbu is consul⁷ general of Bhutan to the United States. Norbu said the government cannot make every person happy. But he said the government should "create the right conditions" to help people find happiness.

　　In California, lawmakers recently heard from experts about the things that make people happy and how public officials can support people's happiness.

　　Meliksah Demir is a professor of happiness at California State University, Sacramento. Demir said research shows that leisure⁸ activities, social relationships and life situations affect a person's happiness. He added that public officials can help by investing⁹ in mental health resources, adding green spaces and teaching¹⁰ about the value of happiness early on in schools.

　　Rendon said California is behind many parts of the world in looking at happiness in policymaking. He said he wanted to create the happiness committee after seeing a yearly¹¹ report on happiness by the United Nations.

　　Last year's happiness report said that the way people view the effectiveness of government can influence their happiness. The United States was 15th in the world happiness ranking based on a three-year average from 2020 to 2022. Scandinavian countries, including Finland and Iceland, ranked the highest.

　　Kristina Bas Hamilton is a long-time labor¹² supporter in California. "Government's role is to provide for its people," Bas Hamilton said. "The goal is to have happy citizens. That's the goal of all public policy."

　　Words in This Story

　　miserable - adj. very unhappy

　　leisure - n. enjoyable activities when you are not working

　　view - v. think about something in a particular way

　　ranking - n. list of things that are placed in order based on their quality, ability, etc.

1 populous   

adj.人口稠密的，人口众多的

参考例句：

• London is the most populous area of Britain.伦敦是英国人口最稠密的地区。
• China is the most populous developing country in the world.中国是世界上人口最多的发展中国家。

2 outcomes   

结果( outcome的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The two scenarios provide illustrations of consistent set of outcomes for range of possible policies. 这两个方案说明某一套可能采取的政策将会产生的一系列后果。
• We analyzed all the possible outcomes of your mission, Commander. 我们分析过所有可能的结果，指挥官。

3 clothed   

v.clothe的过去式和过去分词；穿…；授以adj.穿…衣服的；覆盖著…的

参考例句：

• a man clothed in black 黑衣男子
• Her partially clothed body was found in woods nearby. 在附近的小树林里发现了她半裸的尸体。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 miserable   

adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的

参考例句：

• It was miserable of you to make fun of him.你取笑他，这是可耻的。
• Her past life was miserable.她过去的生活很苦。

5 gross   

adj.全部的，粗俗的，肥胖的；vt.获得...总收入

参考例句：

• The gross weight of the box of chocolates is 500 grams.那盒巧克力的全部重量是500克。
• I consider this a gross oversight on your part.我把这件事看作是你的一大疏忽。

6 index   

n.食指；索引；标志；指数；v.把...编索引

参考例句：

• Performonce is an index of ability.成绩是能力的标志。
• Manner of walking gives an index to one's charactor.走路的姿态可反应出人的性格。

7 consul   

n.领事；执政官

参考例句：

• A consul's duty is to help his own nationals.领事的职责是帮助自己的同胞。
• He'll hold the post of consul general for the United States at Shanghai.他将就任美国驻上海总领事(的职务)。

8 leisure   

n.空闲时间，空暇；悠闲，安逸

参考例句：

• I am seldom at leisure.我很少有空。
• He read books at his leisure.他在空闲时读一些书。

9 investing   

v.投资，花费( invest的现在分词 )；授予；（把资金）投入；投入（时间、精力等）

参考例句：

• He was timid about investing money. 他不敢投资。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Europe also caught the excitement of investing in American railroads. 欧洲人对投资美国铁路也极感兴趣。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

10 teaching   

n.教学，执教，任教，讲授；(复数)教诲

参考例句：

• We all agree in adopting the new teaching method. 我们一致同意采取新的教学方法。
• He created a new system of teaching foreign languages.他创造了一种新的外语教学体系。

11 yearly   

adj.每年的，一年一度的；adv.一年一次地

参考例句：

• The flower show is a yearly event in our town.我们镇上的花展一年举行一次。
• The yearly rental of her house is 2400 yuan.她这房子年租金是2400元。

12 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。