美国国家公共电台 NPR Paula Poundstone's 'Totally Unscientific' Search For The Secret Of Happiness

 

LULU GARCIA-NAVARRO, HOST:

You may know Paula Poundstone from the smash¹ public radio hit - other than this program - Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! But she's also an accomplished² author, now of two books, all the more an accomplishment³ because each book took nearly a decade to write. The latest is "The Totally Unscientific Study Of The Search For Human Happiness." And it's full of experiments Poundstone undertook to try and unlock⁴ the secrets happy people must surely know. And of course, her motivations were pure.

PAULA POUNDSTONE: All right, don't tell anybody that I ever said this.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: I won't say anything.

POUNDSTONE: I was hoping that the publisher would pay for the things.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: (Laughter).

POUNDSTONE: You know? Like, I could do all this fun stuff⁵, and somebody else would pay for it, you know, because it's research on this book.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: Right.

POUNDSTONE: Boy, I could not have been more wrong about that.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: (Laughter). Yeah, you spent eight years doing this, right? How many different experiments did you do?

POUNDSTONE: Well, I can't remember. There might be 10, maybe...

GARCIA-NAVARRO: Yeah.

POUNDSTONE: ...Or something like that. You know - let's see, I did one thing where I got fit for a long period of time. I mean, several months taking really grueling taekwondo classes. I went backpacking for a few nights and days with my oldest daughter. I - let's see, I spent a day hugging everyone I met. I rented a Lamborghini for a day. But there's a difference between enjoying something and something making you happy, you know?

The question was, when I left off doing whatever the thing was, what kind of umbrella did that leave me with for the inevitable⁶ rainstorm of life's difficulties that come sprinkled⁷ throughout every day? So the real meat of the story is, yes, I mean, hopefully they're the funniest field notes ever taken...

GARCIA-NAVARRO: (Laughter).

POUNDSTONE: ...On each individual thing, but the real story is, when I was back in my regular life - raising my children, doing my goofy, stupid job, you know, a house full of animals, constant scheduling nightmare⁸ - how did whatever that thing that I did bear up?

GARCIA-NAVARRO: Yeah. Well, how did you come up with these ideas? How did you come up with this very scientific study, or not so scientific?

POUNDSTONE: Well, some of them were suggested by other people. And each chapter is written as a science experiment. This one, me and my kids thought, was surefire to be the one that was really going to make us happy. My children - and I never allowed them to watch television growing up, so we decided⁹ that we would try watching movies all day long, which was, like, the most exotic¹⁰ thing that we could think of really for us.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: What could possibly go wrong (laughter)?

POUNDSTONE: We argued and argued. Plus, my tailbone began to hurt. But my son's movie tapes - I forget how old he was at the time. He might have been 13 maybe, 14 maybe. You know, he kept wanting to watch one of those horrible crashy one - "Fast And"...

GARCIA-NAVARRO: "The Fast And Furious¹¹."

POUNDSTONE: Yeah. And, you know, we put it on, and me and my daughters could only last so long with it before I finally had to go - you know what? - I can't watch another second of this. And he didn't understand why, like, his films got vetoed, so I finally just simplified it. I said, you know, Honey, a good film, Vin Diesel¹²'s not in.

(LAUGHTER)

GARCIA-NAVARRO: Aw, poor Vin Diesel.

POUNDSTONE: Oh, yeah, because he cares so much what I think.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: You also tried the power of positive thinking. Tell us some of your mantras.

POUNDSTONE: Well, let's see. One of them was, I can find my happy place. I got them off the internet. I remember one of them was, my body is my vehicle, and, you know, I fill it with hope or something. And I could get as far as my body is my vehicle. But I fill it with hope was almost speaking another language for me. So I changed it to my body is my vehicle. I'll never pass the smog test.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: (Laughter) So what of everything you tried made you the happiest?

POUNDSTONE: Well, I don't think it comes in huge, long stretches. And if it appears to, then you're probably daft. I think that the answer is very unromantic. I think that the answer is a lot of stuff that we kind of sort of knew but were hoping wasn't true, which is exercise, good sleep habits. You know, I wish I could tell you that there was, like, a class that you took, and then you're all set. But the truth is - and it's such a dry, horrible answer - drink water.

(LAUGHTER)

GARCIA-NAVARRO: Good to know.

POUNDSTONE: Yeah.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: So Paula Poundstone, are you happier now? Are you happier?

POUNDSTONE: I think I am. Yeah, I think I am

GARCIA-NAVARRO: Paula Poundstone's new book is called "The Totally Unscientific Study Of The Search For Human Happiness." Thanks so much.

POUNDSTONE: Thank you.

(SOUNDBITE OF JOHN SCOFIELD'S "BOOZER")

GARCIA-NAVARRO: And Paula Poundstone's new NPR podcast, Live, From The Poundstone Institute, launches¹³ in July.

1 smash   

v.粉碎，打碎；n.轰动的演出，巨大的成功

参考例句：

• We heard the smash of plates breaking in the kitchen.我们听到厨房里盘子破碎的声音。
• The gifted author wrote one smash after another.这个天才作家创作了一篇又一篇轰动一时的作品。

2 accomplished   

adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的

参考例句：

• Thanks to your help,we accomplished the task ahead of schedule.亏得你们帮忙,我们才提前完成了任务。
• Removal of excess heat is accomplished by means of a radiator.通过散热器完成多余热量的排出。

3 accomplishment   

n.完成，成就，（pl.）造诣，技能

参考例句：

• The series of paintings is quite an accomplishment.这一系列的绘画真是了不起的成就。
• Money will be crucial to the accomplishment of our objectives.要实现我们的目标，钱是至关重要的。

4 unlock   

v.启示，揭示，开...的锁

参考例句：

• The border police required the traveler to unlock his luggage.边防警察要求旅客打开行李。
• We heard somebody unlock the door.我们听见有人开门锁。

5 stuff   

n.原料，材料，东西；vt.填满；吃饱

参考例句：

• We could supply you with the stuff in the raw tomorrow.明天我们可以供应你原材料。
• He is not the stuff.他不是这个材料。

6 inevitable   

adj.不可避免的，必然发生的

参考例句：

• Mary was wearing her inevitable large hat.玛丽戴着她总是戴的那顶大帽子。
• The defeat had inevitable consequences for British policy.战败对英国政策不可避免地产生了影响。

7 sprinkled   

vt.撒（某物）于（某物之表面），洒，喷撒

参考例句：

• She sprinkled sugar over the strawberries. 她在草莓上撒了点糖。
• The priest sprinkled the baby with holy water. 牧师往那孩子身上洒圣水。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 nightmare   

n.恶梦，可怕的事物，无法摆脱的恐惧

参考例句：

• I was glad to awake from such a nightmare.我庆幸终于从噩梦中醒来了。
• I had a nightmare last nightand,lost sleep.昨夜我作了个恶梦，失眠了。

9 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

10 exotic   

adj.奇异的，异乎寻常的，外（国）来的，外国产

参考例句：

• There are some exotic words in English language.英语中有一些外来词。
• She likes to wear exotic clothes.她喜欢穿奇装异服。

11 furious   

adj.狂怒的，暴怒的，强烈的，激烈的

参考例句：

• I was furious at his making such an accusation.我对他的这种责备非常气愤。
• His wife was furious with him.他妻子对他大发雷霆。

12 diesel   

n.柴油发动机，内燃机

参考例句：

• We experimented with diesel engines to drive the pumps.我们试着用柴油机来带动水泵。
• My tractor operates on diesel oil.我的那台拖拉机用柴油开动。

13 launches   

v.发射( launch的第三人称单数 )；[计算机]开始（应用程序）；发动；开展（活动、计划等）

参考例句：

• He launches into an inarticulate tirade against conventional people. 他词不达意地发表了一通激烈言论攻击因循守旧的人们。 来自辞典例句
• The thesis divides into three parts and launches explaining. 论文分三个部分展开阐述。 来自互联网