【英语时差8,16】平静的晚年

Ya?l: So here's a question for our listeners: If there were a potion that would allow you      to stay young forever, would you take it?

Don: That seems obvious, Ya?l. Who wouldn't want to recapture their youth?

Y: I'm not so sure the answer is obvious, Don. Because research has shown the older      you get, the calmer and happier you tend to be.

D: Wait a sec, old age is hard. There's disease¹, and loneliness, and depression...

Y: True. I'm not saying that being old is easy. But social scientists at the University of      Texas have found that overall², aging is associated more with positive, passive³      emotions instead of negative, active emotions.

D: Passive emotions?

Y: Yes, emotions can be passive and active as well as positive and negative. So, for      example, feeling calm is a passive emotion. And it's also usually seen as positive.      Anxiety and anger, on the other hand, are clearly negative emotions. And at least in      many cases they're also active.

D: Can't anger be passive, like when someone is passive aggressive?

Y: Sure, but the point is that, in general, aging seems to make us more emotionally⁴      passive. And being passive seems to correlate⁵ more with positive emotions like calm      and contentment. It's not clear why aging has this effect, but maybe it's because when      you're older you're no longer trying to prove yourself, no longer as anxious about      getting ahead. Although, to be fair, the researchers found that the richer and more      educated you are, the more you experience positive emotions.

D: Still, it's a comforting idea. Maybe growing old isn't so bad.

Y: In fact, it might be pretty good.   

1 disease   

n.疾病，弊端

参考例句：

• The doctors are trying to stamp out the disease.医生正在尽力消灭这种疾病。
• He fought against the disease for a long time.他同疾病做了长时间的斗争。

2 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？

3 passive   

adj.被动的；消极的

参考例句：

• He has a passive expression on his face.他脸上有一种漠然的表情。
• It lands the manager in a passive position.它使经理处于被动地位。

4 emotionally   

adv.感情上，情绪上，冲动地

参考例句：

• a special school for emotionally disturbed children 为精神异常儿童开办的特殊学校
• A wide range of emotionally stressful events may trigger a relapse. 多种令人情绪紧张的事情都可能引起旧病复发。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 correlate   

n.相互关联的事物；v.（with，to）（使）互相关联

参考例句：

• These figures seem to correlate.这些数字看来是相关的。
• Research workers find it hard to correlate the two sets of figures.研究人员发现很难使这两组数字互相关连。