2023年06月六级第1套长篇阅读匹配原文翻译及答案

A) Gratitude may be more beneficial than we commonly suppose. One recent study asked participants to write a note of thanks to someone and then estimate how surprised and happy the recipient would feel—an impact that they consistently underestimated. Another study assessed the health benefits of writing thank-you notes. The researchers found that writing as few as three weekly thank-you notes over the course of three weeks improved life satisfaction, increased happy feelings and reduced symptoms of depression.

感恩可能比我们通常认为的更有益。一项近期研究要求参与者写一封感谢信给某人，然后估计收信人会感到多惊讶和多开心——他们一直低估了这种影响。另一项研究评估了写感谢信的健康益处。研究人员发现，在三周内每周写三封感谢信就能提高生活满意度，增加幸福感，并减少抑郁症状。

B) While this research into gratitude is relatively new, the principles involved are anything but. Students of mine in a political philosophy course at Indiana University are reading Daniel Defoe's 300-year-old Robinson Crusoe, often regarded as the first novel published in English. Left alone on an unknown island with no apparent prospect of rescue or escape, Crusoe has much to lament (悲). But instead of giving in to despair, he makes a list of things for which he is grateful, including the fact that he is the sole survivor from the shipwreck (海难) and has been able to salvage many useful items from the wreckage.

虽然这项关于感恩的研究相对较新，但其中涉及的原则绝非如此。我在印第安纳大学政治哲学课上的学生们正在阅读丹尼尔·笛福300年前的《鲁滨逊漂流记》，这通常被认为是第一部用英语出版的小说。独自一人被困在一座未知岛屿上，没有明显的获救或逃脱前景，鲁滨逊有许多值得悲叹的事情。但他没有屈服于绝望，而是列出了一份他感恩的事物清单，包括他是海难中唯一的幸存者，并且能够从残骸中打捞出许多有用的物品。

C) Defoe's masterpiece, which is often ranked as one of the world's greatest novels, provides a portrait of gratitude in action that is as timely and relevant today as it has ever been. It is also one with which contemporary psychology and medicine are just beginning to catch up. Simply put, for most of us, it is far more helpful to focus on the things in life for which we can express gratitude than those that incline us toward resentment and lamentation.

笛福的杰作经常被列为世界上最伟大的小说之一，它描绘了感恩在实践中的形象，这个形象在今天依然及时且相关。这也是当代心理学和医学刚刚开始追赶的一个方面。简而言之，对我们大多数人来说，关注生活中我们可以表达感恩的事物，比关注那些让我们倾向于怨恨和哀叹的事物更有帮助。

D) When we focus on the things we regret, such as failed relationships, family disputes, and setbacks in career and finance, we tend to become more regretful. Conversely, when we focus on the things we are grateful for, a greater sense of happiness tends to spread through our lives. And while no one would argue for cultivating a false sense of blessedness, there is mounting evidence that counting our blessings is one of the best habits we can develop to promote mental and physical health.

当我们专注于我们后悔的事情，如失败的关系、家庭纠纷以及事业和财务上的挫折时，我们往往会变得更加后悔。相反，当我们专注于我们感恩的事物时，更大的幸福感往往会蔓延到我们的生活中。虽然没有人会主张培养一种虚假的幸福感，但越来越多的证据表明，数算我们的祝福是我们可以培养的促进身心健康的最佳习惯之一。

E) Gratitude has long enjoyed a privileged position in many of the world's cultural traditions. For example, some ancient Western philosophers counsel gratitude that is both enduring and complete, and some Eastern thinkers portray it as not merely an attitude but a virtue to be put into practice.

感恩在世界许多文化传统中一直享有特殊地位。例如，一些古代西方哲学家建议感恩要持久且完整，而一些东方思想家则将其不仅仅描述为一种态度，而是一种需要付诸实践的美德。

F) Recent scientific studies support these ancient teachings. Individuals who regularly engage in gratitude exercises, such as counting their blessings or expressing gratitude to others, exhibit increased satisfaction with relationships and fewer symptoms of physical illness. And the benefits are not only psychological and physical. They may also be moral—those who practice gratitude also view their lives less materialistically and suffer from less envy.

近期科学研究支持这些古老教诲。定期进行感恩练习的人，如数算自己的祝福或向他人表达感恩，表现出对关系更高的满意度和更少的身体疾病症状。这些益处不仅仅是心理和身体的。它们也可能是道德的——实践感恩的人也更少以物质主义视角看待生活，并且更少遭受嫉妒之苦。

G) There are multiple explanations for such benefits of gratefulness. One is the fact that expressing gratitude encourages others to continue being generous, thus promoting a virtuous cycle of goodness in relationships. Similarly, grateful people may be more likely to reciprocate (回报) with acts of kindness of their own. Broadly speaking, a community in which people feel grateful to one another is likely to be a more pleasant place to live than one characterized by mutual suspicion and resentment. The beneficial effects of gratitude may extend even further. For example, when many people feel good about what someone else has done for them, they experience a sense of being lifted up, with a corresponding enhancement of their regard for humanity. Some are inspired to attempt to become better people themselves, doing more to help bring out the best in others and bringing more goodness into the world around them.

对于感恩的益处有多种解释。其中之一是，表达感恩鼓励他人继续慷慨，从而在关系中促进良性循环。同样，感恩的人可能更可能以自己的善行来回报。广义上讲，一个人们相互感恩的社区可能比一个以相互猜疑和怨恨为特征的社区更宜居。感恩的有益影响可能进一步延伸。例如，当许多人对别人为他们所做的事情感到良好时，他们体验到一种被提升的感觉，并相应地增强了他们对人性的尊重。一些人受到启发，试图自己成为更好的人，更多地帮助他人发挥最佳状态，并为周围世界带来更多善意。

H) Gratitude also tends to strengthen a sense of connection with others. When people want to do good things that inspire gratitude, the level of dedication in relationships tends to grow and relationships seem to last longer. And when people feel more connected, they are more likely to choose to spend their time with one another and demonstrate their feelings of affection in daily acts.

感恩也往往加强与他人的联系感。当人们想做能激发感恩的好事时，关系中的奉献水平往往会增加，关系似乎更持久。当人们感到更紧密相连时，他们更可能选择花时间在一起，并在日常行为中表达情感。

I) Of course, acts of kindness can also foster discomfort. For example, if people feel they are not worthy of kindness or suspect that some ulterior (别有用心的) motive lies behind it, the benefits of gratitude will not be realized. Likewise, receiving a kindness can give rise to a sense of indebtedness, leaving beneficiaries feeling that they must now pay back whatever good they have received. Gratitude can flourish only if people are secure enough in themselves and sufficiently trusting to allow it to do so. Another obstacle to gratitude is often called a sense of entitlement. Instead of experiencing a benefaction (善行) as a good turn, people sometimes regard it as a mere payment of what they are owed, for which no one deserves any moral credit.

当然，善行也可能引起不适。例如，如果人们觉得自己不值得善待，或者怀疑背后有别有用心的动机，那么感恩的益处将无法实现。同样，接受善行可能产生一种负债感，让受益者觉得他们现在必须回报所收到的好处。只有当人们足够自信和信任时，感恩才能蓬勃发展。感恩的另一个障碍通常被称为权利感。有时，人们不是将善行视为一种好意，而是将其视为仅仅偿还所欠之物，为此没有人值得任何道德赞誉。

J) There are a number of practical steps anyone can take to promote a sense of gratitude. One is simply spending time on a regular basis thinking about someone who has made a difference, or perhaps writing a thank-you note or expressing such gratitude in person. Others are found in ancient religious disciplines, such as reflecting on benefactions received from another person or actually praying for the health and happiness of a benefactor. In addition to benefactions received, it is also possible to focus on opportunities to do good oneself, whether those acted on in the past or hoped for in the future. Some people are most grateful not for what others have done for them but for chances they enjoyed to help others. In regularly reflecting on the things in his life he is grateful for, Defoe's Crusoe believes that he becomes a far better person than he would have been had he remained in the society from which he originally set out on his voyage.

有一些实际的步骤任何人都可以采取来促进感恩感。其中之一是定期花时间思考那些产生影响的人，或者写一封感谢信或亲自表达这种感恩。其他方法可以在古代宗教纪律中找到，如反思从他人那里收到的善行或实际为恩人的健康和幸福祈祷。除了收到的善行，也可以关注自己做好事的机会，无论是过去已经做的还是未来希望做的。有些人最感恩的不是别人为他们做了什么，而是他们享受帮助他人的机会。笛福的鲁滨逊通过定期反思生活中他感恩的事物，相信他成为了一个比如果留在他最初出发航行的社会时更好的人。

K) Reflecting on generosity and gratitude, the great basketball coach John Wooden once offered two counsels to his players and students. First, he said, "It is impossible to have a perfect day unless you have done something for someone who will never be able to repay you." In saying this, Wooden sought to promote purely generous acts, as opposed to those performed with an expectation of reward. Second, he said, "Give thanks for your blessings every day."

反思慷慨和感恩，伟大的篮球教练约翰·伍登曾向他的球员和学生提供了两条建议。首先，他说：“除非你为某个永远无法回报你的人做了点事，否则不可能有完美的一天。”在说这句话时，伍登旨在促进纯粹的慷慨行为，而不是那些期望回报的行为。其次，他说：“每天为你的祝福表示感谢。”

L) Some faith traditions incorporate such practices into the rhythm of daily life. For example, adherents of some religions offer prayers of thanksgiving every morning before rising and every night before lying down to sleep. Others offer thanks throughout the day, such as before meals. Other less frequent special events, such as births, deaths and marriages, may also be heralded by such prayers.

一些信仰传统将这种实践融入日常生活节奏中。例如，一些宗教的信徒在每天早晨起床前和晚上睡前进行感恩祈祷。其他人则在一天中不断表达感谢，如在餐前。其他不太频繁的特殊事件，如出生、死亡和婚姻，也可能以这样的祈祷来宣告。

M) When Defoe depicted Robinson Crusoe making thanksgiving a daily part of his island life, he was anticipating findings in social science and medicine that would not appear for hundreds of years. Yet he was also reflecting the wisdom of religious and philosophical traditions that extend back thousands of years. Gratitude is one of the healthiest and most nourishing of all states of mind, and those who adopt it as a habit are enriching not only their own lives but also the lives of those around them.

当笛福描绘鲁滨逊将感恩作为岛上生活日常的一部分时，他预见了社会科学和医学中数百年后才会出现的研究发现。然而，他也反映了延续数千年的宗教和哲学传统的智慧。感恩是所有心态中最健康、最滋养的一种，那些将其作为习惯的人不仅丰富了自己的生活，也丰富了周围人的生活。