托福阅读材料 什么可以让我们感到幸福

　　We know money can't buy happiness (or can it?), and we all have the right to pursue it. But what are some things we don't know about this emotional state we all strive for? We tracked down several recent studies to reveal six things you don't know about happiness.

　　我们知道，钱不能买来幸福(也许可以?)，我们都有追求幸福的权力。关于我们为之努力奋斗的幸福，还有哪些我们不知道的事情呢?我们搜寻了几项最近的研究，向你揭示六件关于幸福你不知道的事。

　　1. Money can buy happiness--sort of

　　钱可以买到幸福——某种程度上

　　Making more money will boost more than just your income. According to a 2010 study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a person's level of happiness and emotional well-being increased along with their paycheck-but capped out at about $75,000 a year. People who made more than that didn't get any happier after they hit that 75k mark.

　　挣更多的钱不仅仅会让你的荷包鼓起来。一项2010年发表在美国国家科学院会议记录上的研究表明，人们的幸福指数和快乐感会随着他们收入的增长提高，而当年收入达到7.5万美元时出现临界点。也就是说，当一个人的年收入达到7.5万美元时，你的幸福感并不会随着收入的增长而继续增加。

　　2. Meditate to beat the blues

　　冥想可以对抗抑郁

　　Several studies have linked regular meditation to actual physical changes in the brain that are similar to what anti-depressant drugs (or so-called 'happy pills') do. People who meditate are not only happier and nicer to others, but research shows that the areas of their brain that respond to stress actually shrink.Big corporations and even the U.S. Marines are all now reportedly using meditation to increase productivity.

　　一些研究发现，定期冥想会让大脑产生一些真实的物理变化，这种作用和抗抑郁药物(俗称“快乐胶囊”)类似。定期冥想的人不仅会更快乐，对待他人更温和，研究还表明他们大脑内对压力做出反应的区域会缩小。据称，目前一些大公司，甚至包括美国海军陆战队都正在运用冥想来提高工作效率。

　　Too busy to find time for meditation? It doesn't take much! Studies show that people who practice mindful meditation-sitting quietly with your eyes closed and repeating a word or "mantra" over and over-for just 20 minutes a day reap significant benefits.

　　太忙了没有时间冥想?其实并不用花很多时间!研究显示，练习冥想时闭上双眼，静静坐着，反复念诵一个词语或者像“念咒语”一样，每天只需20分钟就可以让你获益匪浅。

　　3. Skinny wife, happy life

　　妻子越苗条，婚姻越幸福

　　In a somewhat strange 2011 study, researchers in Tennessee revealed that marriages are happier when the wife is thinner than her husband. The researchers studied the BMI or body mass index of nearly 170 newlywed couples to come to this conclusion.

　　在2011年一项有点奇怪的研究里，田纳西的研究人员发现妻子比丈夫苗条时，婚姻更幸福。研究人员调查了170对新婚夫妇的身体质量指数后得出了这个结论。

　　We don't recommend comparing yourself to your man, but we love the idea of staying fit as a couple-not just for the obvious health benefits, but also for the bonding experiences.

　　我们并不主张让夫妻俩盲目比较体重，但我们认为夫妻双方保持健康苗条的身材不仅有利于健康，也有益于婚姻关系。

　　4. Reason to put a ring on it?

　　结婚的人更幸福

　　Despite the divorce rate, there may be something to the phrase 'wedded bliss.' A recent study posed the question, are married people happier than their single counterparts? Essentially, yes. Researchers in Michigan found that un-married people showed a decline in happiness as time went on whereas those that had tied the knot, did not.

　　虽然离婚率居高不下，婚姻的快乐依然存在。一项最近的研究提出了这个问题，已婚人士比单身人士更幸福吗?答案是肯定的。密歇根的研究人员发现，随着时间的推移，未婚人士的幸福感会逐渐降低，而那些已婚人士则不会。

　　5. Age isn't just a number

　　年龄不仅仅是一个数字

　　Maybe you thought you were happy getting your driver's license, graduating college, or landing your dream job. But those teen and 20-something milestones are nothing compared to the feelings of elation that the ripe-young age of 33 brings. A U.K. based website found that 70-percent of people over 40 surveyed said they were happiest at that age and felt that was when they were able to attain 'true' happiness.

　　也许当你拿到驾照，从大学毕业或者获得梦寐以求的工作时，你曾经认为自己是幸福的。但这些青少年或者20多岁的里程碑时获得的喜悦，和33岁这种轻熟年纪相比简直不值一提。一家英国的网站发现，40岁以上参与调查的人中，有70%的人认为自己在40岁的年龄段最幸福，而且只有到了40岁他们才可能获得“真正地”幸福。