专题04 时文热点类-备战2019年中考英语提分必背美文100篇

美文01 What Is the Relationship Between Age and Happiness?

年龄与快乐有关系吗？人越老越不开心还是越老越快乐？人越老睡眠问题会越多吗？纽约一所大学的Arthur Stone领导了一项研究。根据对美国超过34万成年人的调查，他和他的团队得出了这个结论：人们在50岁后通常会变得更快乐，人越老越知足快乐，睡眠问题也会越少。

What Is the Relationship Between Age and Happiness?

Are people less happy or more happy the older they get? ①If you answer more happy, then you are right, based on a study in 2008. It found that people generally become happier and experience less worry after age fifty. In fact, it found that by the age of eighty-five, people are happier with their life than they were at eighteen.

The findings came from a Gallup survey of more than three hundred forty thousand adults in the United States in two thousand eight. At that time, the people were between the ages of eighteen and eighty-five.

Arthur Stone in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science at Stony Brook University in New York led the study. His team found that levels of stress were highest among adults between the ages of twenty-two and twenty-five. Stress levels dropped sharply after people reached their fifties.

Happiness was highest among the youngest adults and those in their early seventies. ②But the people least likely to report feeling negative emotions were those in their seventies and eighties. The survey also found that men and women have similar emotional patterns as they grow older. However, women at all ages reported more sadness, stress and worry than men did.

The researchers also considered possible influences like having young children, being unemployed or being single. But they found that influences like these did not affect the levels of happiness and well-being related to age.

So why would happiness increase with age? ③One theory is that, as people get older, they become more thankful for what they have and have better control of their emotions. They also spend less time thinking about bad experiences.

Happiness is not the only thing that apparently improves with age. In a study, people in their eighties reported the fewest problems with the quality of their sleep.

④The original goal was to confirm the popular belief that aging is connected with increased sleep problems. The survey did find an increase during middle age, especially in women. But except for that, people reported that they felt their sleep quality improved as they got older. 

年龄与快乐有关系吗？

人们越老越不快乐还是更快乐？如果你的答案是“更快乐”，那么根据2008年的一项研究，你的答案是正确的。这项研究发现，人们在50岁后通常会变得更快乐，也会体验更少的忧虑。实际上，这项研究发现，在85岁时，人们比他们在18岁时更满足于自己的生活。

这一发现来自盖洛普2008年对美国超过34万成年人的调查，当时的人们年龄在18岁到85岁之间。

纽约州立大学石溪分校精神病学和行为科学系的Arthur Stone领导了这项研究。他的团队发现，年龄在22岁到25岁的成年人承受的压力最大，人到了50来岁后压力会急剧下降。

刚刚成年的人和刚过70岁的人幸福感最高，但最不可能有负面情绪的是那些七八十岁的人。调查还发现，男人和女人进入老年后的情感模式相似。然而，各个年龄段的妇女比男士经受更多的悲伤、压力和担忧。

研究者们也考虑到可能的影响因素，比如：有年幼的孩子、失业或单身等，但是他们发现类似这类的因素不会影响和年龄有关的幸福度。

所以为什么人会越老越快乐呢？一个理论是：随着人们变老，他们会更感恩自己所拥有的东西，也能更好地控制情绪。他们花在思考糟糕经历上的时间也减少了。

并不是只有快乐随着年龄明显提高。在一项研究中，80岁左右的人在睡眠质量方面拥有最少的问题。

研究的最初目的是确认流行的一个说法，即睡眠问题增加与变老有关。研究确实发现中年人睡眠问题增加，尤其是妇女。但是除此之外，人们报告说他们感觉随年龄增长睡眠质量反而提高了。

1. relationship [rɪˈleɪʃnʃɪp] n.关系，联系

2. generally [ˈdʒenrəli] adv.广泛地，大致地

3. sharply [ˈʃɑ:plɪ] adv.急剧地

4. pattern ['pætn] n.模式

5. unemployed [ˌʌnɪmˈplɔɪd] adj.失业的，被解雇的

6. theory [ˈθiəri] n.理论，学说

7. control [kən'trəʊl] n.控制

8. apparently [əˈpærəntli]  adv.明显地，显然地

9. original [ə'rɪdʒənl] adj.最初的，原来的

10. confirm [kən'fɜ:m] v.确认，证实

1. If you answer more happy, then you are right, based on a study in 2008.

如果你的答案是“更快乐”，那么根据2008年的一项研究，你的答案是正确的。

If引导一个条件状语从句；（be）based on意为“以……为根据/基础”，在句中作状语。例如：

My hopes are based on the good news we had yesterday.

我把希望寄托在我们昨天得到的好消息上。

2. But the people least likely to report feeling negative emotions were those in their seventies and eighties.

但最不可能有负面情绪的是那些七八十岁的人。

这是一个简单句，least likely to report feeling negative emotions为形容词短语作people的后置定语；in their seventies and eighties为介词短语作those的后置定语。be likely to do sth.很可能做某事；report doing sth.报告做某事。例如：

She's very likely to ring me tonight.

她今晚很可能给我打电话。

She reported (her) having seen the gunman.

她叙述说曾看见那持枪歹徒。

3. One theory is that, as people get older, they become more thankful for what they have and have better control of their emotions.

一个理论是：随着人们变老，他们会更感恩自己所拥有的东西，也能更好地控制情绪。

that引起表语从句，其中as引导的是时间状语从句；what they have为介词for的宾语从句。be thankful for sth.对某事充满感激；have control of/over控制，支配。例如：

I’m thankful to you for your kindness.

非常感激你的好意。

He has no control over his emotions.

他控制不住自己的感情。

4. The original goal was to confirm the popular belief that aging is connected with increased sleep problems.

研究的最初目的是确认流行的一个说法，即睡眠问题增加与变老有关。

句中不定式短语作表语，that aging is connected with increased sleep problems为belief的同位语从句。be connected with与……有关。例如：

He has told me the fact that he is connected with a noble family.

他已经告诉了我这个事实：他是某名门望族的亲戚。