2016年考研英语二新题型 Part B 原文翻译及答案

Act Your Shoe Size, Not Your Age

按鞋码行事，而非年龄行事

As adults, it seems that we are constantly pursuing happiness, often with mixed results. Yet children appear to have it down to an art – and for the most part they don't need self-help books or therapy. Instead, they look after their wellbeing instinctively, and usually more effectively than we do as grownups. Perhaps it's time to learn a few lessons from them.

作为成年人，我们似乎不断追求幸福，但结果往往好坏参半。然而，孩子们似乎已经将幸福掌握成一门艺术——而且大多数情况下，他们不需要自助书籍或治疗。相反，他们本能地关注自己的幸福，通常比我们成年人更有效。也许是时候向他们学习一些教训了。

What does a child do when he's sad? He cries. When he's angry? He shouts. Scared? Probably a bit of both. As we grow up, we learn to control our emotions so they are manageable and don't dictate our behaviours, which is in many ways a good thing. But too often we take this process too far and end up suppressing emotions, especially negative ones. That's about as effective as brushing dirt under a carpet and can even make us ill. What we need to do is find a way to acknowledge and express what we feel appropriately, and then – again, like children – move on.

当孩子伤心时，他会做什么？他哭泣。当生气时？他大喊。害怕？可能两者都有。随着我们长大，我们学会控制情绪，使其可控且不支配我们的行为，这在许多方面是好事。但我们常常过度处理这个过程，最终压抑情绪，尤其是负面情绪。这就像把灰尘扫到地毯下一样无效，甚至会让我们生病。我们需要做的是找到一种方式来适当地承认和表达我们的感受，然后——再次像孩子一样——继续前进。

A couple of Christmases ago, my youngest stepdaughter, who was nine years old at the time, got a Superman T-shirt for Christmas. It cost less than a fiver but she was overjoyed, and couldn't stop talking about it. Too often we believe that a new job, bigger house or better car will be the magic silver bullet that will allow us to finally be content, but the reality is these things have very little lasting impact on our happiness levels. Instead, being grateful for small things every day is a much better way to improve wellbeing.

几年前的圣诞节，我最小的继女，当时九岁，得到一件超人T恤作为圣诞礼物。它不到五英镑，但她欣喜若狂，不停谈论它。我们常常相信新工作、更大的房子或更好的汽车将是让我们最终满足的灵丹妙药，但现实是，这些东西对我们的幸福水平几乎没有持久影响。相反，每天为小事感恩是提升幸福感的更好方式。

Have you ever noticed how much children laugh? If we adults could indulge in a bit of silliness and giggling, we would reduce the stress hormones in our bodies, increase good hormones like endorphins, improve blood flow to our hearts and even have a greater chance of fighting off infection. All of which would, of course, have a positive effect on our happiness levels.

你有没有注意到孩子们笑得多开心？如果我们成年人能沉迷于一点傻气和咯咯笑，我们会减少体内的压力荷尔蒙，增加内啡肽等有益荷尔蒙，改善心脏血流，甚至更有可能抵抗感染。所有这些，当然，会对我们的幸福水平产生积极影响。

The problem with being a grownup is that there's an awful lot of serious stuff to deal with – work, mortgage payments, figuring out what to cook for dinner. But as adults we also have the luxury of being able to control our own diaries and it's important that we schedule in time to enjoy the things we love. Those things might be social, sporting, creative or completely random (dancing around the living room, anyone?) – it doesn't matter, so long as they're enjoyable, and not likely to have negative side effects, such as drinking too much alcohol or going on a wild spending spree if you're on a tight budget.

成为成年人的问题在于，有很多严肃的事情要处理——工作、抵押贷款、决定晚餐做什么。但作为成年人，我们也拥有能够控制自己日程的奢侈，重要的是安排时间享受我们喜爱的事情。这些事情可能是社交的、运动的、创造的或完全随机的（在客厅跳舞，有人吗？）——这无关紧要，只要它们令人愉快，且不太可能有负面副作用，比如喝太多酒或在预算紧张时疯狂消费。

Having said all of the above, it's important to add that we shouldn't try too hard to be happy. Scientists tell us this can backfire and actually have a negative impact on our wellbeing. As the Chinese philosopher Chuang Tzu is reported to have said: “Happiness is the absence of striving for happiness.” And in that, once more, we need to look to the example of our children, to whom happiness is not a goal but a natural byproduct of the way they live.

说了以上所有，重要的是要补充，我们不应该太努力去追求幸福。科学家告诉我们，这可能会适得其反，实际上对我们的幸福产生负面影响。正如中国哲学家庄子据说所说：“幸福在于不追求幸福。”在这方面，我们再次需要向我们的孩子学习，对他们来说，幸福不是目标，而是他们生活方式的自然副产品。