2016年考研英语二完形填空原文翻译及答案解析

Happy people work differently. They're more productive, more creative, and willing to take greater risks. And new research suggests that happiness might influence ___1___ firms work, too.

快乐的人工作方式不同。他们更有效率、更有创造力，并愿意承担更大的风险。新研究表明，幸福感也可能影响企业的工作方式。

Companies located in places with happier people invest more, according to a recent research paper. ___2___ , firms in happy places spend more on R&D (research and development). That's because happiness is linked to the kind of longer-term thinking ___3___ for making investments for the future.

根据最近的一篇研究论文，位于幸福感更高地区的企业投资更多。特别是在快乐的地方，企业会花更多钱在研发（研究与开发）上。这是因为幸福感与进行未来投资所需的长期思维有关。

The researchers wanted to know if the ___4___ and inclination for risk-taking that come with happiness would ___5___ the way companies invested. So they compared U.S. cities' average happiness ___6___ by Gallup polling with the investment activity of publicly traded firms in those areas.

研究人员想知道，伴随幸福感而来的乐观和冒险倾向是否会改变企业的投资方式。因此，他们比较了盖洛普民调测量的美国城市平均幸福感与这些地区上市公司的投资活动。

___7___ enough, firms' investment and R&D intensity were correlated with the happiness of the area in which they were ___8___ . But is it really happiness that's linked to investment, or could something else about happier cities ___9___ why firms there spend more on R&D? To find out, the researchers controlled for various ___10___ that might make firms more likely to invest – like size, industry, and sales – and for indicators that a place was ___11___ to live in, like growth in wages or population. The link between happiness and investment generally ___12___ even after accounting for these things.

果然，企业的投资和研发强度与其总部所在地的幸福感相关。但真的是幸福感与投资相关，还是快乐城市的其他因素能解释那里企业为何在研发上花费更多？为了找出答案，研究人员控制了可能使企业更可能投资的各种因素——如规模、行业和销售额——以及表明一个地方宜居性的指标，如工资或人口增长。即使考虑了这些因素，幸福感与投资之间的联系总体上仍然成立。

The correlation between happiness and investment was particularly strong for younger firms, which the authors ___13___ to "less codified decision making process" and the possible presence of "younger and less ___14___ managers who are more likely to be influenced by sentiment." The relationship was ___15___ stronger in places where happiness was spread more ___16___ . Firms seem to invest more in places where most people are relatively happy, rather than in places with happiness inequality.

对于较年轻的企业，幸福感与投资之间的相关性尤其强，作者将其归因于“较少规范的决策过程”以及可能存在“年轻且经验不足的经理，他们更可能受情绪影响。”这种关系在幸福感分布更平等的地方也更强。企业似乎在大多数人相对快乐的地方投资更多，而不是在幸福感不平等的地方。

___17___ this doesn't prove that happiness causes firms to invest more or to take a longer-term view, the authors believe it at least ___18___ at that possibility. It's not hard to imagine that local culture and sentiment would help ___19___ how executives think about the future. "It surely seems plausible that happy people would be more forward-thinking and creative and ___20___ R&D more than the average," said one researcher.

虽然这并不能证明幸福感导致企业投资更多或采取长期视角，但作者认为至少暗示了这种可能性。不难想象，当地文化和情绪会帮助塑造高管对未来的思考。一位研究人员说：“快乐的人更有前瞻性和创造力，更倾向于研发，这似乎确实合理。”