今日导读
在联合国今年发表的《世界幸福感报告》中，作为超级大国的美国，仅排到了“最幸福国家”的第 19 名，是入榜以来的最低名次。而在 2017 年，美国还是前 5 名的领先选手。有关报告显示，尽管美国人越来越富，幸福指数却在逐年下降。2018 年美国年轻人的幸福感就降到了史上最低点。那么，是什么让美国人越来越不幸福呢？这篇来自《大西洋》的报道，就从年轻人这个群体切入，探讨了背后的影响因素。让我们跟着 Zurini 老师，一起来阅读这篇文章。
新闻原文
The Happiness Recession
The Atlantic
In 2018, happiness among young adults in America fell to a record low. The share of adults aged 18 to 34 reporting that they were “very happy” in life fell to 25 percent—the lowest level that the General Social Survey has ever recorded for that population.
The research tells us that the ebb and flow of happiness in America is clearly linked to the quality and character of our social ties—including our friendships, community ties, and marriage. It’s also linked, specifically, to the frequency with which we have sex.
An analysis revealed that the decline in sexual frequency can account for about one-third of the decline in happiness since 2012. Declines in marriage and religiosity have also played some role, but the effects are much smaller—with each factor only accounting for about a tenth of the decline in happiness. But for the rise in regular friend contact over the past few years, young men and women would be even less happy.
Indeed, it may be that rising social time spent with friends in recent years could be buffering young adults from the declines in institutions such as marriage or religion, as friends stand in place of other relationships or forms of community.
Thus, while most of the decline in happiness is about declining sex, that’s not the end of the story. Declining sex is at least partly about family and religious changes that make it harder for people to achieve stable, coupled life at a young age.
带着问题听讲解
词组 the ebb and flow 是什么意思？
如何用英语表达“事情没那么简单”？
造成美国年轻人幸福感下降的因素有哪些？
新闻正文
The Happiness Recession
幸福感的“萧条期”
In 2018, happiness among young adults in America fell to a recordlow. The share of adults aged 18 to 34 reporting that they were “very happy” in life fell to 25 percent—the lowest level that the General Social Survey has ever recorded for that population.
2018 年，美国年轻人的幸福感下跌至有史以来的最低谷。在 18 至 34 岁的成年人中，声称他们在生活中“非常幸福”的人数占比下降到了 25%——这是（美国）综合社会调查中，对此人群记录的最低水平。
The research tells us that the ebb and flow of happiness in America is clearly linked to the quality and character of our social ties—including our friendships, community ties, and marriage. It’s also linked, specifically, to the frequency with which we have sex.
该调查告诉我们，美国人幸福感的起伏显然与我们的社会关系的质量和特征相关。这些社会关系包括我们的朋友关系、（宗教）团体联系和婚姻关系。具体来说，幸福感还和我们性生活的频率相关。
An analysis revealed that the decline in sexual frequency can account for about one-third of the decline in happiness since 2012. Declines in marriage and religiosityhave also played some role, but the effects are much smaller—with each factor only accounting for about a tenth of the decline in happiness. But for the rise in regular friend contact over the past few years, young men and women would be even less happy.
一项分析报告显示，从 2012 年起，性生活频率的下降对幸福感下降的影响达到了约 1/3。婚姻和宗教相关指标的下滑也在幸福感的下降中起到了一定作用，但是它们的影响相对小多了——两者对幸福感下降的影响分别仅占约 1/10。而如果不是这几年朋友间的日常联系有所增加，年轻男女甚至会感到更不幸福。
Indeed, it may be that rising social time spent with friends in recent years could be buffering young adults from the declines in institutions such as marriage or religion, as friends stand in place of other relationships or forms of community.
实际上，近几年朋友间社交时间的增加，可能使年轻人免受习俗活动（如婚姻和宗教）减少所造成的困扰，因为朋友替代了其它关系或团体的位置。
Thus, while most of the decline in happiness is about declining sex, that’s not the end of the story. Declining sex is at least partly about family and religious changes that make it harder for people to achieve stable, coupled life at a young age.
因此，虽然幸福感下降在很大程度上与性生活减少有关，但事情并没那么简单。至少在一定程度上，性生活的减少还涉及到了家庭和宗教方面的变化。这样的变化使得人们更难以在年轻时过上稳定的、有伴侣的生活。
重点词汇
recession
/rɪˈseʃn/
n.（经济）衰退期，萧条期
搭配短语：the Great Recession
例句：The economy is in deep recession.
record
/ˈrekərd/
adj. 创纪录的，空前的
词性拓展：record（n. 记录）
词性拓展：record /rɪˈkɔːrd/ (v.)
share
/ʃer/
n.（某事物的）份额，一部分
词性拓展：share（v. 分享）
the ebb and flow
（有规律的）涨落，起伏
相关词汇：ebb（n. 退潮）
相关词汇：flow（n. 涨潮）
例句：You have to accept the ebb and flow of love in a relationship.
tie
/taɪ/
n. 领带；关系，纽带
搭配短语：family/economic/emotional ties
specifically
/spəˈsɪfɪkli/
adv. 明确地，具体地；更确切地（对前文做补充）
例句：I specifically asked you not to be late.
例句：Death frightens me, specifically my own death.
reveal
/rɪˈviːl/
v. 揭露，揭示
搭配短语：reveal secrets
account for sth.
是…的原因，对...作出解释
例句：The poor weather may account for the accident.
religiosity
/rɪˌlɪdʒiˈɑːsəti/
n. 对宗教的虔诚，笃信宗教
相关词汇：religion（n. 宗教）
religion 搭配短语：the Jewish religion
but for
如果不是，倘若没有
词性拓展：He would play but for the knee injury.
indeed
/ɪnˈdiːd/
adv.（用于补充信息）其实，实际上
buffer
/ˈbʌfər/
v. 减少，减缓（伤害）
词性拓展：buffer (n.)
例句：I dance regularly to buffer the effects of stress on my health. (v.)
搭配短语：buffer sb. from sth. (v.)
institution
/ˌɪnstɪˈtuːʃn/
n. 机构；（由来已久的）风俗习惯或者制度
英文释义：a custom or system that has existed for a long time
搭配短语：the institution of marriage
in place of
代替，取代
同义词：instead of
end of the story
情况就是这样
口语表达：end of story
end of story 例句：I tripped and hurt my arm. That's it—end of story.
couple
/ˈkʌpl/
v. 连接，结合
词性拓展：couple (n.)
补充词汇知识
among
prep. 在...之中
aged
adj. ...岁
例句：They have two children aged six and nine.
report
v. 报道，报告
population
n. 人口；某个范围内的人群
A is linked to B
A 与 B 有关联
frequency
n. 频率
play some role
起一定作用，起到某种作用
at least
至少
长难句解析
Declines in marriage and religiosity have also played some role, but the effects are much smaller—with each factor only accounting for about a tenth of the decline in happiness.
婚姻和宗教相关指标的下滑也在幸福感的下降中起到了一定作用，但是它们的影响相对小多了——两者分别仅占影响幸福感下降因素的约 1/10。
这句话是并列句式。连词 but 将前后两个分句相连，起到转折的功能。第一个分句 Declines in marriage and religiosity have also played some role 中，主语是 Declines in marriage and religiosity 。 第二个分句的主干很短： the effects are much smaller，破折号后面的内容是对主干的补充说明。with 后面的部分比较特殊——“名词+动词现在分词”，属于“独立主格结构”，each factor 是 accounting 的逻辑主语。
Indeed, it may be that rising social time spent with friends in recent years could be buffering young adults from the declines in institutions such as marriage or religion, as friends stand in place of other relationships or forms of community.
实际上，近几年朋友间社交时间的增加，可能使年轻人免受习俗活动（如婚姻和宗教）减少所造成的困扰，因为朋友替代了其它关系或团体的位置。
句子的主干部分是it may be that，这是一个强调句式，在这强调了 that 引导的宾语从句的内容的可能性。 rising social time spent with friends in recent years是宾语从句的主语。最后的 as friends stand in place of other relationships or forms of community 是原因状语从句。
名言金句
You have to accept the ebb and flow of love in a relationship.
拓展阅读
美国综合社会调查（The General Social Survey）
1972 年，美国芝加哥大学的研究机构发起了综合社会调查，并定期在全美范围内收集数据。综合社会调查旨在为美国人各种各样的观念、态度和行为建立历史档案，从而揭示美国当代社会的发展趋势。这项大规模的调查能够帮助研究人员了解美国的社会结构，以及各个群体在社会中起到的作用。
这项调查收集的数据除了新闻中提到的幸福感、交友、宗教和婚姻等指标，还包括受访者的年龄、性别、教育程度等基本信息，以及诸如“对种族歧视的看法”这种意见类的信息。这些数据公布在了相关研究机构的网站上，学生、学者和政策制定者都可以免费使用这些数据。
美国综合社会调查是社会科学界最具影响力的研究之一，各大报刊（包括《纽约时报》、《华尔街日报》）都频繁引用这个调查的数据。
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