(双语美文)What makes us truly happy?

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What makes us truly happy?

In recent years, researchers have attempted to use a variety of statistics and surveys to answer a question that's occupied countless generations of philosophers: What makes us truly happy?

近年来，研究人员试图利用各种统计和调查方法去回答一个困扰了无数代哲人的问题：是什么令我们真正感到快乐？

While some evidence suggests that happiness may be linked, in part, to relative wealth--how we're doing compared to those around us--overall the old adage that money doesn't buy happiness seems to hold true.

虽然一些证据表明，快乐也许在某种程度上与相应的财富有关，我们的所作所为与我们周边的事物相比较——总体来说，那句古老的格言“金钱买不来快乐”似乎是正确的。

"We are materially so much better off than we were 50 years ago, but we're not one iota happier," says Chris Peterson, a psychology professor at the University of Michigan.

“我们在物质上比50年前要好上许多倍，但是我们丝毫没有感到更快乐，”密歇根大学的心理学教授克里斯·彼得斯这样评价。

That's no surprise to happiness expert David Myers, who sees happiness as more closely correlated with people rather than things. "We humans have a deep need to belong to connect with others in close, supportive, intimate, caring relationships," he says. "People who have such close relationships are more likely to report themselves 'very happy'."

这对于快乐专家大卫 ·梅尔斯来说一点儿也不奇怪，他认为快乐与人本身紧密相连，程度远胜于和事物之间的联系。“我们人类对于归属感有深层的需要——与他人接触时保持紧密的、相互支持的、亲密无间以及相互关怀的关系，”他说，“拥有如此紧密关系的人们更有可能称他们自己是‘非常快乐的’。”

We've compiled a list of seven factors that influence rates of happiness and depression. Many of these factors vary from city to city and region to region. Here's your chance to see how your city compares.

我们汇编了7种对快乐或沮丧程度有影响的要素。许多要素因城市和地区的差异而有所不同。现在你有机会看看你所在的城市对应着多少幸福。

1.Happily Married 幸福的婚姻

Is getting married one of the keys to a happy life? A report from the Pew Research Center suggests so--43 percent of married women and men reported being "very happy", while only 24 percent of unmarried men and women said the same.

结婚是快乐生活的关键之一吗？佩尤研究中心的一份报告暗示了此点——43%的已婚人士表示他们“非常幸福”，而在未婚人士中这一比率仅为24%。

Interestingly enough, the happy halo that shines over married couples isn't the result of having kids--those with children were just as likely to be happy as those without.

十分有趣的是，萦绕在已婚夫妇身上的幸福光环并非是拥有孩子带来的结果——有孩子的夫妇可能与没有孩子的夫妇一样幸福。

Rather, there seems to be something about marriage itself that boosts both men's and women's feelings of well-being in life.

更确切地说，似乎是婚姻本身刺激了男性和女性生活幸福安康的感觉。

"Recent research suggests that people become less depressed and less lonely after they get married," says Linda Waite, a sociology professor at the University of Chicago and author of The Case for Marriage.

“最近的研究暗示，人们在结婚后变得不再忧郁，孤独感也逐渐减少，”芝加哥大学的社会学教授、《结婚问题》的作者琳达·怀特如是说。

After all, it's harder to be lonely when you've got a loved one to come home to every night.

毕竟，当你拥有一位每天晚上都回家的甜蜜爱人时，很难会感到孤独的。

According to Waite, men benefit even more than women from having a life-long companion. "Women will talk to everyone," says Waite, "But most men tend to rely on their wives as their main confidant."

根据怀特的研究，男性从一生的伴侣中受益的程度要远胜于女性。“女性会向所有的人倾诉，”怀特说，“但是大多数男性喜欢向妻子倾诉，把妻子当做主要的知己。”

In addition, women-typically the social planners in a relationship--ensure that the men stay connected to family and friends, another source of happiness.

另外，女性——典型的社交关系设计者——会保证男性与家庭和朋友之间密切相联，而这两者是快乐的另一源泉。

And what about all that nagging that wives are so famous for? Turns out it pays off. Men who are married drink less, smoke less, eat better, get more sleep, and engage in less risky behavior than their unmarried peers. The end result: Married men are healthier, and since health is linked to happiness, they're happier too.

那么主妇们名声赫赫的唠叨意味着什么呢？总结一句是付出总有回报。已婚男士比起单身贵族喝酒、抽烟都减少了，吃得更好了，睡眠更充分了，做冒险的事也少了。最终的结果是：已婚男士更加健康，而健康与快乐息息相关，于是他们更加快乐了。

　　

2.Works Hard for His Happiness 为了幸福，努力工作

Does working make you unhappy or happy? The answer: It depends. Toiling away at a job you hate may eat away at your happiness over time. But overall, being unemployed is worse for your state of mind than being employed--at least, that is, if you're a guy.

工作能为你带来幸福还是不幸？答案是：视情况而定。埋头苦干一项你痛恨的工作可能会逐渐侵蚀你的快乐。但是总体来说，失业比不失业更影响一个人的精神状态——至少，换句话说，如果你是个男性的话。

The Pew Research Center found that the percentage of men who said they were "very happy" was significantly lower for unemployed men (16 percent) than for employed men (37 percent). Unemployment had little impact on women's happiness.

佩尤研究中心(Pew Research Center)发现失业男性说他们“非常快乐”的比率（16%）要远低于从业男性（37%）。然而，失业对于女性快乐指数的影响微乎其微。

The Pew researchers speculate that this is because more women than men are unemployed by choice, although the study didn't attempt to tease apart that difference.

佩尤的研究人员推测，那是因为比起男性，更多的女性选择赋闲在家，尽管该研究并不想对这种差别进行嘲讽。

Chris Peterson, a happiness researcher at the University of Michigan, suspects there are other factors at play as well. "Other studies have found that if a man loses his job, it can have both short-term and long-term psychological effects, even if he finds another job with equal salary," he says. "For women it's not unemployment that leads to unhappiness, but divorce."

密歇根大学的快乐问题研究专家克里斯·彼得斯猜想应该还有其他要素在起作用。“其他的研究发现，如果一名男性丢掉了他的工作，即使他找到了相同薪水的另一份工作，都可能给他带来短期和长期的心理影响，”他指出，“对女性来说，导致不快乐的因素并非失业，而是离婚。”

In addition, Peterson stresses that money matters less than you'd think. "The engaged custodian is more likely to be happy than the independently wealthy, unengaged millionaire," he says. "We didn't evolve to be retired and sit on the couch."

此外，彼得斯强调金钱对幸福的影响不像人们想象的那么大。他声称，“忙碌的管理者可能比独立富有的、无所事事的百万富翁更加快乐。我们进化不是为了自己闲下来或躺在沙发上享受。”

3.Time for Family，Friends，and Community 与家人的天伦之乐、与好友的相聚、交往

In the growing field of happiness research, one thing is overwhelmingly clear. People who are socially engaged are more likely to be happy--and less likely to be depressed--than those who aren't.

在不断增长的快乐研究领域里,有一件事情是绝对清楚的。忙碌于社会交往的人们比起那些没有社交的人们多些快乐，少些忧郁。

In fact, Time Magazine poll found that the four most significant sources of happiness—children (77 percent), friendships (76 percent), contributing to the lives of others (75 percent), and spouse/partner (73 percent)—all involved spending meaningful time with other people.

实际上，《时代》杂志民意调查发现了快乐的4个最重要来源——孩子（77%）、友谊（76%）、为他人奉献（75%）以及配偶或伴侣（73%），都涉及与他人共享美好时光这一点。

The problem: "We're so caught up with extraordinary work burdens, we don't have time to enjoy the people we love or contribute to the lives of others," says Post.

问题是：“我们的工作负担如此沉重，我们没有时间与所爱的人享受共度时光的乐趣，也没有时间为他人奉献。” 波斯特说道。

That time crunch is quite real, says John de Graaf, president of the public policy organization Take Back Your Time. "Compared to 30 years ago, the average family now spends an extra 500 hours per year working outside the home."

公共政策组织“找回你的时光”的负责人约翰·德·格拉夫说时间短缺带来的危机是千真万确的，“与30年前相比较，平均每个家庭现在每年多花500个小时在工作上。”

We're also spending more time getting to work and back.

我们也花了更多的时间往返于工作和回家的路上。

"Traffic is getting worse and we're not investing in mass transit," says de Graaf. "Most of the data I've seen shows that we've doubled our average commute times in the past generation."

“交通变得越来越糟糕，而我们没有在大众交通上投资，”德·格拉夫说，“我所看到的大多数据显示我们平均每天花在往返上下班的时间比上一代翻了一番。”

Obviously, it depends on where you live--and where you work. Those most impacted: affluent families who chose even larger homes over living closer to work, and younger families who are priced out of homes of any size closer to centers of employment.

显然，这取决于你住在何处，以及你在哪里工作。最受影响的人群：为了住大一些的房子而宁愿离工作地点远一些的富裕家庭，以及被办公中心附近高昂的房价挤到偏远处居住的年轻家庭。