每个人都会有心情不好的时候。最新的科学研究发现，有一种非常简单有效的方法，能在短时间内让我们的心情好起来。
How to improve your mood in a short time
by Mary Jo DiLonardo
What do you do when you're in a bad mood? Maybe you grab a bowl of ice cream or plop down in front of the TV. Or perhaps you do something healthier like go for a walk or write in a journal.
grab /ɡræb/ v. 抓住
plop /plɒp/ down 懒洋洋地坐下
journal /ˈdʒɜːn(ə)l/ n. 日记
Researchers at Iowa State University found that there's another simple way to boost your mood and it involves making other people feel better.
researcher /rɪˈsɜːtʃə(r)/ n. 研究者（由research加上表示人的后缀-er）
Iowa /ˈaɪəʊə/ n. 爱荷华州（美国中部的州）
boost /buːst/ v. 提升、改善
"Walking around and offering kindness to others in the world reduces anxiety and increases happiness and feelings of social connection," said Douglas Gentile, professor of psychology, in a statement. "It's a simple strategy that doesn't take a lot of time that you can incorporate into your daily activities."
kindness /ˈkaɪndnəs/ n. 善意（由kind加后缀-ness变成名词）
anxiety /æŋˈzaɪəti/ n. 焦虑
connection /kəˈnekʃ(ə)n/ n. 联系（由connect加后缀-ion变成名词）
psychology /saɪˈkɒlədʒi/ n. 心理学
statement /ˈsteɪtmənt/ n. 陈述、说明（由state加后缀-ment变成名词）
strategy /ˈstrætədʒi/ n. 策略
incorporate /ɪnˈkɔːp(ə)reɪt/ v. 把…包含在内、吸收
activity /ækˈtɪvəti/ n. 活动
For the study, Gentile and his team had college students walk around a building for 12 minutes and practice one of three different techniques designed to lower anxiety and increase happiness.
practice /ˈpræktɪs/ v. 做（某事）
technique /tekˈniːk/ n. 方法、手段
lower /ˈləʊə(r)/ v. 降低、减轻
Students in the "loving-kindness" group were told to look at the people they see and think to themselves, "I wish for this person to be happy." They were encouraged to try to really mean it when they were thinking positive thoughts.
mean it 说真的、说到做到
positive /ˈpɒzətɪv/ adj. 积极的、正面的
Students in the second group looked at the people they saw and thought about how they might be linked to each other. They were encouraged to think about any feelings or hopes that they might have in common or something as simple as they might take similar classes. The third group of students was told to think about how they may be better off than each of the people they encountered.
link /lɪŋk/ v. 联系
have something in common 有共同点
better off than someone 比某人过得好
encounter /ɪnˈkaʊntə(r)/ v. 偶遇
Researchers also included a control group of students in the study. They were told to walk around and just look at what they saw on the outside when they looked at people. They focused on their clothing, accessories and makeup. Students in all groups were surveyed before and after their 12-minute walk to measure their levels of anxiety, happiness, stress, empathy and connectedness.
control group 对照组
focus /ˈfəʊkəs/ on 专注于
accessory /əkˈses(ə)ri/ n. 饰品
makeup /ˈmeɪkʌp/ n. 化妆品
survey /səˈveɪ/ v. 问卷调查
measure /ˈmeʒə(r)/ v. 测量、衡量
level /ˈlev(ə)l/ n. 水平、数量
stress /stres/ n. 压力、精神压力
empathy /ˈempəθi/ n. 同理心（指能站在他人的角度，理解其内心感受的能力）
connectedness /kəˈnektɪdnəs/ n. 不孤独（由connected加后缀-ness变成名词）
When the researchers compared the three techniques with members of the control group who only focused on appearance, they found that those who practiced loving-kindness and wished for people to be happy felt happier themselves. They were less anxious and felt more connected, caring and empathetic.
appearance /əˈpɪər(ə)ns/ n. 外观、外貌（由appear加后缀-ance变成名词）
anxious /ˈæŋkʃəs/ adj. 焦虑的
connected /kəˈnektɪd/ adj. 跟他人有联系的
caring /ˈkeərɪŋ/ adj. 关心别人的
empathetic /ˌempəˈθetɪk/ adj. 有同理心的
The researchers were surprised by what they found. "This simple practice is valuable regardless of your personality type," graduate student in psychology Lanmiao He said. "Extending loving-kindness to others worked equally well to reduce anxiety, increase happiness, empathy and feelings of social connection."
practice /ˈpræktɪs/ n. 做法
valuable /ˈvæljub(ə)l/ adj. 很有价值的
regardless /rɪˈɡɑːdləs/ of 不管、无论
personality /ˌpɜːsəˈnæləti/ n. 个性、性格（由personal加后缀-ity变成名词）
graduate /ˈɡrædʒuət/ n. 大学毕业生（graduate student指研究生）
extend /ɪkˈstend/ v. 提供、给予
equally /ˈiːkwəli/ adv. 同样地（由equal加后缀-ly变成副词）
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