管理類聯(lián)考考研英語二外刊選讀（8）

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How Much Free Time Do You Need to Be Happy?

題材：心理類

出處：Psychology Today《今日心理學(xué)》

字?jǐn)?shù)：639 words

[1] Imagine that you have woken up on the first day of a much-anticipated vacation. You enjoy a leisurely breakfast, take a stroll on the beach, and read the morning paper as you sip on coffee. Things are off to a great start, and you are feeling happy and relaxed—just like you predicted when booking the trip. By the time the late afternoon rolls around, you may start to feel downright bored!

【想象這樣一個(gè)場(chǎng)景，你在期待已久的假期的第一天醒來。你悠閑地享用著早餐，在海灘上漫步，一邊喝咖啡一邊看晨報(bào)。一切都有了一個(gè)好的開始，此時(shí)你感到快樂和放松——就像你預(yù)定旅行時(shí)預(yù)想的那樣。到了下午晚些時(shí)候，你可能會(huì)開始覺得非常無聊!】

【重點(diǎn)詞匯】

vacation /v??ke??n/ n. 假期

leisurely /?le??li/ adj. 不慌不忙的;慢悠悠的

stroll /str??l/ v./ n. 散步

sip /s?p/ v. 小口喝

predict /pr??d?kt/ v. 預(yù)言;預(yù)告

downright /?da?nra?t/ adj. 徹頭徹尾的;完全的

[2] If you have ever felt like this, you’re not alone. It turns out that having unlimited free time is not always as incredible as we expected. For instance, retirees fantasize about how happy they will be once they leave their job behind in exchange for unlimited cocktails and novels on the beach.

【如果你有過這種感覺，你并不孤單。事實(shí)證明，擁有無限的自由時(shí)間并不總是像我們想象中的那樣不可思議。例如，退休人員幻想著，一旦他們離開工作，在海灘上享受無限的雞尾酒和小說，他們將會(huì)多么快樂。】

【重點(diǎn)詞匯】

unlimited /?n?l?m?t?d/ adj. 無限制的

incredible /?n?kred?bl/ adj. 難以置信的

fantasize /?f?nt?sa?z/ v. 想象;幻想

cocktail /?k?kte?l/ n. 雞尾酒

[3] Yet, the reality is that many who retire enjoy leisure at first but, only weeks later, realize they actually miss that job they left behind, which provided a sense of productivity, purpose, and meaning to their life. Full day after day of leisure can get old quickly. On the other hand, being busy with work and other productive obligations from sunrise to sunset can’t be good for our happiness either because of the stress.

【然而，現(xiàn)實(shí)情況是，許多退休的人會(huì)在一開始享受休閑時(shí)光，但僅僅幾周后，他們就意識(shí)到他們實(shí)際上想念自己留下的工作，工作為他們的生活提供了一種生產(chǎn)力、目標(biāo)和意義。整天日復(fù)一日的休閑生活會(huì)讓人老得很快。另一方面，由于壓力，從日出到日落忙于工作和其他生產(chǎn)性義務(wù)對(duì)我們的幸福也沒有好處?！?/p>

【重點(diǎn)詞匯】

leisure /?le??(r)/ n. 閑暇;空閑;休閑

left behind 留下;遺留

productivity /?pr?d?k?t?v?ti/ n. 生產(chǎn)率;生產(chǎn)效率

day after day日復(fù)一日

obligation /??bl??ɡe??n/ n. 義務(wù);職責(zé);責(zé)任

sunrise /?s?nra?z/ n. 日出

sunset /?s?nset/ n. 日落;傍晚

[4] The tension between being too productive and too bored raises the question: What is the optimal amount of free time for our happiness?

【太高效的緊張感和太無聊之間的矛盾引出了一個(gè)問題：為了我們的幸福，最佳的空閑時(shí)間是多久?】

【重點(diǎn)詞匯】

tension /?ten?n/ n. 緊張;煩躁

productive /pr??d?kt?v/ adj. 有效益的;富有成效的

raise /re?z/ v. 引起;導(dǎo)致;使出現(xiàn)

optimal /??pt?m?l/ adj. 最佳的;最適宜的

[5] Researchers sought to answer this question by surveying tens of thousands of participants, collecting data on how they spent their time and how happy they were (Sharif, Mogilner & Hershfield 2021). The results from their study revealed three key takeaways:

【為了回答這個(gè)問題，研究人員對(duì)數(shù)萬名參與者進(jìn)行了調(diào)查，收集了他們?nèi)绾味冗^時(shí)間以及他們有多快樂的數(shù)據(jù)(謝里夫，莫吉內(nèi)爾&赫什菲爾德 2021年)。他們的研究結(jié)果揭示了三個(gè)關(guān)鍵的結(jié)論：】

【重點(diǎn)詞匯】

seek to 試圖干某事

tens of thousands of 成千上萬;數(shù)以萬計(jì)

reveal /r??vi?l/ v. 揭示;顯示;透露

takeaway /?te?k?we?/ n. 結(jié)論;要點(diǎn)

[6] 1. Having less than two hours of free time per day causes too much stress to be happy.

After looking at the data, the research team found that having less than two hours per day of free time was not enough to be happy. Participants with under two hours of discretionary time per day reported increased stress, meaning that they were simply too busy with work, errands, child care, or other matters to maximize their happiness.

【1. 每天少于兩個(gè)小時(shí)的空閑時(shí)間會(huì)導(dǎo)致壓力過大，無法獲得快樂。

在查看數(shù)據(jù)后，研究小組發(fā)現(xiàn)，每天擁有少于兩小時(shí)的空閑時(shí)間不足以讓人快樂。每天自由支配時(shí)間不足兩小時(shí)的參與者報(bào)告壓力增加，這意味著他們只是忙于工作、差事、照顧孩子或其他事務(wù)，無法最大限度地提高他們的幸福感?！?/p>

【重點(diǎn)詞匯】

less than少于;不到

discretionary /d??skre??n?ri/ adj. 自由決定的

errand /?er?nd/ n. 差事;跑腿

maximize /?m?ks?ma?z/ v. 使增加到最大限度

[7] The fact that being too busy undercuts happiness is obvious, which might lead to the conclusion that more free time is simply better. However, that’s not what the research team found.

【太忙會(huì)降低幸福感這一事實(shí)是顯而易見的，這可能會(huì)導(dǎo)致一種結(jié)論：更多的空閑時(shí)間就是更好。然而，研究小組的發(fā)現(xiàn)并非如此?！?/p>

【重點(diǎn)詞匯】

undercut /??nd??k?t/ v. 削弱;使降低效力

obvious /??bvi?s/ adj. 明顯的;顯然的;易理解的

【長(zhǎng)難句分析】

The fact that being too busy undercuts happiness is obvious, which might lead to the conclusion that more free time is simply better.

主句：The fact is obvious

同位語從句1：that being too busy undercuts happiness

定語從句：which might lead to the conclusion

同位語從句2：that more free time is simply better

[8] 2. Having more than five hours of free time per day causes a lack of feeling productive, which reduces happiness.

Surprisingly, having a lot of free time is not a silver bullet for happiness. People derive a certain sense of joy from being productive and accomplishing tasks/goals, and this sense of joy is lost when we spend all day relaxing on the beach or watching Netflix at home. While there certainly is a time and place for spending an entire day relaxing, having a consistent abundance of leisure time undermines happiness due to boredom.

【2. 每天擁有超過五個(gè)小時(shí)的空閑時(shí)間會(huì)讓人缺乏工作效率，從而降低幸福感。

令人驚訝的是，擁有大量的空閑時(shí)間并不是幸福的靈丹妙藥。人們從高效工作和完成任務(wù)/目標(biāo)中獲得某種快樂感，當(dāng)我們整天躺在海灘上放松或在家看Netflix時(shí)，這種快樂感就消失了。雖然花一整天放松的時(shí)間和地點(diǎn)肯定是有的，但由于無聊，擁有持續(xù)豐富的休閑時(shí)間會(huì)破壞幸福感?！?/p>

【重點(diǎn)詞匯】

a lack of 缺乏;缺少

silver bullet 良方;高招

derive /d??ra?v/ v. (從…中)得到，獲得

undermine /??nd??ma?n/ v. 逐漸削弱

boredom /?b??d?m/ n. 厭煩;厭倦;無聊

[9] 3. How we spend our free time matters.

The final takeaway from the research was that two aspects were critical when it comes to how we spend our free time. First, when free time is used in more productive ways, like playing a team sport or volunteering, then five or more hours per day can maintain or even boost happiness. Second, free time spent socializing with others has a similar positive effect, whereas spending five or more hours of leisure time alone can stunt happiness.

【3. 我們?nèi)绾味冗^空閑時(shí)間很重要。

這項(xiàng)研究的最后一個(gè)結(jié)論是，當(dāng)涉及到我們?nèi)绾味冗^空閑時(shí)間時(shí)，有兩個(gè)方面是至關(guān)重要的。首先，當(dāng)空閑時(shí)間被用于更有成效的方式，比如參加團(tuán)隊(duì)運(yùn)動(dòng)或做志愿者，那么每天5個(gè)小時(shí)或更多的時(shí)間就可以保持甚至提高幸福感。其次，與他人社交的空閑時(shí)間也有類似的積極效果，而獨(dú)自度過五個(gè)小時(shí)或更長(zhǎng)的休閑時(shí)間則會(huì)阻礙幸福感?！?/p>

【重點(diǎn)詞匯】

volunteer /?v?l?n?t??(r)/ v. 自愿做;義務(wù)做;無償做

maintain /me?n?te?n/ v. 維持;保持

boost /bu?st/ v. 使增長(zhǎng);使興旺

socialize /?s????la?z/ v. 交往;交際

stunt /st?nt/ v. 阻礙生長(zhǎng);妨礙發(fā)展;遏制

[10] Retirees who volunteer or join clubs are happier (Kelly & Ross 1989), and vacations with the right balance of stimulation (hiking, scuba diving, tours, etc.) and relaxation make us the happiest. Surprisingly, more is not always better when it comes to relaxation.

【做志愿者或加入俱樂部的退休人員更快樂(凱利&羅斯 1989年)，在刺激(徒步旅行、水肺潛水、旅游等)和放松之間取得適當(dāng)平衡的假期使我們最快樂。令人驚訝的是，當(dāng)涉及到放松時(shí)，并不總是越多越好?！?/p>

【重點(diǎn)詞匯】

retiree /r??ta???ri?/ n. 退休人員;退休者

stimulation /?st?mju?le??(?)n/ n. 刺激;激勵(lì)

scuba diving 水肺潛水

[11] You can consider this to be the Goldilocks principle of free time: two hours or less per day is too little, five hours or more per day is too much, and between two and five hours is just right.

【你可以把這看作是空閑時(shí)間的金發(fā)姑娘原則：每天兩小時(shí)或更少是太少的，每天五小時(shí)或更多是太多的，兩到五個(gè)小時(shí)之間是恰到好處?！?/p>

【重點(diǎn)詞匯】

Goldilocks principle 金發(fā)姑娘原則(凡事都必須有度，不能超越極限)

just right 剛剛好;恰到好處

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