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VOA慢速英语2018--牢固的人际关系等于健康和幸福

时间:2018-02-19 23:59:58

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(单词翻译)

Strong Relationships Equal Health, Happiness

From VOA Learning English, this is the Health & Lifestyle Report.

What will most help you lead a long happy and healthy life? Is it making lots of money? Is it a great job that you enjoy? Perhaps it’s fame.

If you ask a young person, many are likely to give you one of those answers. Or possibly all three.

Some cultures put more importance on work and money than others. Americans can be obsessed1 with their jobs and making money. They might feel the need to make lots of money for education, medical care, homes and cars.

But it’s not just about the money. For many Americans, self-worth is linked to our professional success or failure. Many of us spend most of our lives working – sacrificing other activities.

Imagine if we could visit our older selves and ask -- "What would you have done differently to be truly happy?"

But we can’t do that.

We could learn about what makes people happy, and what does not, by studying people over the course of their lives.

For almost 80 years, Harvard Medical School researchers have been doing just that.

The Harvard Study of Adult Development is one of the most comprehensive longitudinal studies in history.

Since 1938, it has followed the lives of a group of men from their teen years to old age. Later, the researchers began to follow their wives and children, as well.

The study finds that wealth, social position and an important job title do not necessarily lead to health and happiness.

Robert Waldinger is the current director of the study. He is a psychiatrist2 and professor at Harvard Medical School.

Waldinger shared some of the findings with a Harvard Gazette reporter. He said, "The surprising finding is that our relationships and how happy we are in our relationships has a powerful influence on our health."

He added, "taking care of your body is important, but tending to your relationships is a form of self-care too.

In 2015, he discussed the study in a TED3 Talk called, “What makes a good life? Lessons from the longest study on happiness.” The video of the talk has been viewed more than 19.5 million times. In the talk, Waldinger says, “Good relationships don’t just protect our bodies; they protect our brains."

He says close relationships are what keep people happy throughout their lives -- not money or fame. These close relationships protect people from the difficult times that come with growing older. They protect against physical and mental decline4.

The study suggests that strong relationships have a better chance of making a long, happy life than social class, intelligence or even genetics.

And, it is not just romantic relationships.

Waldinger says the relationships we make and care for throughout the years with friends, family members and co-workers are just as important.

The professor adds that strong, close relationships can experience difficult periods. They’re not perfect. But, he says dependability in a relationship is most important. He says people need friends they can turn to when life gets hard.

In the TED Talk, Waldinger explains how the researchers collect information for the study.

Researchers send a list of questions to the participants. They interview them in their homes, examine their medical records, take blood for testing and take brain images. They talk with wives and children of the participants. The researchers also video tape the participants talking with their wives.

The study has mirrored popular schools of thought

Clark Heath, the first director of the study, led it from 1938 to 1954. The study at that time included 268 physically6 and mentally healthy Harvard college students.

At the time, common scientific thought was that physical strength, a high social position and a happy childhood were the strongest predictors of a healthy life.

Researchers at the time also thought genetic5-based elements, like intelligence, played a main part in predicting happiness or unhappiness. So, early on, the research did not include examination of participants’ relationships.

Then in 1966, a psychiatrist and professor at Harvard Medical School joined the research team. George E. Vaillant changed the direction of the study.

He added a second group of participants -- more than 400 teenagers from some of Boston's poorest neighborhoods. He also expanded the study to include wives and children of the participants.

Vaillant placed a greater importance on investigating the relationships of those in the study.

He wrote that when "the study began, nobody cared about empathy or attachment7. But the key to healthy aging is relationships, relationships, relationships.”

He followed the successes and failures of the participants in their relationships, family responsibilities and careers. He followed their recoveries as well.

He led the study for more than forty years and then wrote a book about the findings. In Triumphs of Experience: The Men of the Harvard Grant Study, he writes: “The seventy-five years and twenty million dollars expended8 on the Grant Study points to a straightforward9 conclusion: Happiness is love."

Current director Robert Waldinger, ended his Ted Talk with this advice from American writer Mark Twain. So, we will too.

“There isn't time -- so brief is life -- for bickerings, apologies, heartburnings, callings to account. There is only time for loving -- & but an instant, so to speak, for that.”

And that's the Health & Lifestyle report.

I’m Anna Matteo.

Feel free to share your thoughts on this topic in the Comments section.

Words in This Story

comprehensive – adj. including many, most, or all things

longitudinal – adj. done by observing or examining a group of people or things over time to study how one or two particular things about them change

participant – n. a person who is involved in an activity or event

tend – v. to give your attention to and take care of (something or someone)

interview – v. to question or talk with (someone) in order to get information or learn about that person

decline – n. the process of becoming worse in condition or quality

genetic – adj. of, relating to, or involving genes11

romantic – adj. of, relating to, or involving love between two people

psychiatrist – n. a doctor who treats mental or emotional disorders12 : a doctor of psychiatry13

empathy – n. the feeling that you understand and share another person's experiences and emotions

bicker10 – v. to argue in a way that is annoying about things that are not important

instant – n. a very short period of time


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点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 obsessed 66a4be1417f7cf074208a6d81c8f3384     
adj.心神不宁的,鬼迷心窍的,沉迷的
参考例句:
  • He's obsessed by computers. 他迷上了电脑。
  • The fear of death obsessed him throughout his old life. 他晚年一直受着死亡恐惧的困扰。
2 psychiatrist F0qzf     
n.精神病专家;精神病医师
参考例句:
  • He went to a psychiatrist about his compulsive gambling.他去看精神科医生治疗不能自拔的赌瘾。
  • The psychiatrist corrected him gently.精神病医师彬彬有礼地纠正他。
3 ted 9gazhs     
vt.翻晒,撒,撒开
参考例句:
  • The invaders gut ted the village.侵略者把村中财物洗劫一空。
  • She often teds the corn when it's sunny.天好的时候她就翻晒玉米。
4 decline K9gyw     
n.衰微,跌落,下降;vt.使降低,婉谢;vi.下降,衰落,偏斜
参考例句:
  • I must decline to show favour to any of the candidates.我必须拒绝偏袒任何一位候选人。
  • The birthrate is on the decline.出生率在下降。
5 genetic PgIxp     
adj.遗传的,遗传学的
参考例句:
  • It's very difficult to treat genetic diseases.遗传性疾病治疗起来很困难。
  • Each daughter cell can receive a full complement of the genetic information.每个子细胞可以收到遗传信息的一个完全补偿物。
6 physically iNix5     
adj.物质上,体格上,身体上,按自然规律
参考例句:
  • He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服,心绪也很乱。
  • Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。
7 attachment POpy1     
n.附属物,附件;依恋;依附
参考例句:
  • She has a great attachment to her sister.她十分依恋她的姐姐。
  • She's on attachment to the Ministry of Defense.她现在隶属于国防部。
8 expended 39b2ea06557590ef53e0148a487bc107     
v.花费( expend的过去式和过去分词 );使用(钱等)做某事;用光;耗尽
参考例句:
  • She expended all her efforts on the care of home and children. 她把所有精力都花在料理家务和照顾孩子上。
  • The enemy had expended all their ammunition. 敌人已耗尽所有的弹药。 来自《简明英汉词典》
9 straightforward fFfyA     
adj.正直的,坦率的;易懂的,简单的
参考例句:
  • A straightforward talk is better than a flowery speech.巧言不如直说。
  • I must insist on your giving me a straightforward answer.我一定要你给我一个直截了当的回答。
10 bicker 8tLzm     
vi.(为小事)吵嘴,争吵
参考例句:
  • The two children used to bicker about who should do the washing-up.这两个小孩子过去常为该由谁洗餐具一事而争吵。
  • They always bicker when they meet at school.在学校见面时他们总是争吵。
11 genes 01914f8eac35d7e14afa065217edd8c0     
n.基因( gene的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • You have good genes from your parents, so you should live a long time. 你从父母那儿获得优良的基因,所以能够活得很长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Differences will help to reveal the functions of the genes. 它们间的差异将会帮助我们揭开基因多种功能。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 生物技术的世纪
12 disorders 6e49dcafe3638183c823d3aa5b12b010     
n.混乱( disorder的名词复数 );凌乱;骚乱;(身心、机能)失调
参考例句:
  • Reports of anorexia and other eating disorders are on the increase. 据报告,厌食症和其他饮食方面的功能紊乱发生率正在不断增长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The announcement led to violent civil disorders. 这项宣布引起剧烈的骚乱。 来自《简明英汉词典》
13 psychiatry g0Jze     
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。

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