|
外刊中的时新知识： 如何提高幸福感？
随着大数据不断攻占我们的生活，各种光鲜亮丽的人生涌进我们的视野，带动我们对美好生活的憧憬，也加剧我们对当下平凡生活的不满。数据显示，当代人的幸福感正在下降，究竟如何做才能提升我们的幸福感呢？今天让我们一起来看看纽约时报对此的相关报道，看看专家是怎么说的吧！
原文导读（节选）
Sometimes, big data reveals a shocking secret. At other times, big data tells us that there is no secret. And that’s the case with happiness.
This is crucial to keep in mind for the many of us who are not doing the obvious things that make people happy. We are falling for traps that the data says are unlikely to make us happy.
Many of us work far too hard at jobs with people we don’t like— not a likely path to happiness. Dr. MacKerron and the economist Alex Bryson found that work is the second-most-miserable activity; of 40 activities, only being sick in bed makes people less happy than working. The economist Steven Levitt found that when people are uncertain whether to quit a job, they can be nudged to quit. And when they quit, they report increased happiness months later.
Many of us while away hours on social media— also not a path to happiness. The Mappiness project found that, of 27 leisure activities, social media ranks dead last in how much happiness it brings. A randomized controlled trial on the effects of social media found that when people were paid to stop using Facebook, they spent more time socializing and reported higher subjective well-being.
Big data tells us there are very simple things that do make people happy, things that have been around for thousands of years. After reading all the studies on happiness, I concluded that modern happiness research could be summed up in one sentence, a sentence we might jokingly call the data-driven answer to life.
第一段：Sometimes, big data reveals a shocking secret. At other times, big data tells us that there is no secret. And that’s the case with happiness.
推荐译文：有时，大数据会揭示令人震惊的秘密。其他时候，大数据则告诉我们，没有什么秘密可言。幸福就是这样。
知识点解读：
1.Reveal: vt. 泄露；透露，多指揭露一直隐藏或隐秘的东西，或启示超乎常人领导能力的真理，例如，“The journalist did not want to reveal the identity of his informant. 新闻工作者不愿透露消息提供人的个人信息”。我们可以对比学习其他几个关于“揭露”的同义词：
disclose 侧重指揭露或泄露鲜为人知或保密的事，例如，“She disclosed a secret. 她揭露了一个秘密。”。
expose 多指揭露丑闻、坏人坏事或各种阴谋。也可指某物暴露在外。常见的地道表达为“be exposed to”，表示“暴露于，遭受”，例如，“Via the Internet, we can be exposed to infinite information. 通过互联网，我们可以接触到无限的信息。”。
uncover “揭露；发现；揭开”，主要指移去遮盖物，让东西显露出来。也可指揭露阴谋、秘密等，例如，“Please uncover the pot. 请拿掉锅盖”。
2.知识拓展：提到uncover，我们还要学习另一个词，“cover”。“cover”作为动词时表示“包括、覆盖、采访报道”，例如，“The rug barely covers the floor. 地毯勉强盖住了地板”；再如，“The snow covered the floor. 大雪覆盖大地”。常见的固定搭配还有，“cover an area of 占地面积”。当用作名词时，“cover”表示“所有的遮盖物。包括盖子或书籍、杂志的封面等”，此时固定搭配常有“from cover to cover 从头至尾”；“ground cover 地被植物”。此时的近义词为“lid”，表示“可以揭开的如箱盖、坛盖、壶盖等盖子”。
第二段：This is crucial to keep in mind for the many of us who are not doing the obvious things that make people happy. We are falling for traps that the data says are unlikely to make us happy.
推荐译文：对于我们中的许多人来说，这一点至关重要，即我们没有做那些明显能让人快乐的事情。相反，我们正落入那些数据显示不太可能使我们快乐的陷阱当中。
知识点解读：
1.Crucial: adj. 决定性的；重要的；定局的，是写作的高频高级使用词汇，可用于替代“important”;“significant”;“decisive”；“essential”；“vital”和“pivotal”等词，也可以用来替代“play an important/significant role in”等词组，在写作中灵活运用可以做到多样化表达。常用的固定表达为“be crucial to”，表示“对…来说至关重要”。例如，“It is to crucial to maintain healthy eating habits. 保持健康的饮食习惯至关重要。”
2.keep in mind：把…牢记在心，例如，“You should keep in mind what I have said. 我刚才说过的你要记住”，外宣上常说的“不忘初心，牢记使命”就翻译成“Remain true to our original aspiration and keep our mission firmly in mind.”同义词组为“bear in mind”，可做同义替换。
3.obvious：明显的，显而易见的，为写作常用词，例如，“It was obvious that a big storm was brewing up. 很显然, 一场暴风雨正在酝酿中”。Obvious在写作中可跟以下单词替换，但是有些许区别：
apparent 强调显而易见或一想便知。这个词从动词appear派生而来，故有时含有表面如此而事实上未必的意味。
evident 指根据事实成为显然的。
clear 普通用词，侧重清楚明白。
distinct 较正式用词，指轮廓的清楚或定义、含义的明确，不会弄错。
be unlikely to:不太可能…；反义词组为be likely to（有可能会…）
第三段：Many of us work far too hard at jobs with people we don’t like— not a likely path to happiness. Dr. MacKerron and the economist Alex Bryson found that work is the second-most-miserable activity; of 40 activities, only being sick in bed makes people less happy than working. The economist Steven Levitt found that when people are uncertain whether to quit a job, they can be nudged to quit. And when they quit, they report increased happiness months later.
参考译文：我们中的许多人十分努力地工作，与自己不喜欢的人打交道——这不太可能是一条通往幸福的道路。MacKerron博士和经济学家Alex Bryson发现，工作是第二大最令人感到痛苦的活动；在40种活动中，只有卧病在床的人才比工作的人更不快乐。经济学家Steven Levitt发现，当人们不确定是否要辞职时，他们可以被怂恿辞职。而当他们辞职后，几个月后他们的报告显示他们的幸福感有所增加。
知识点解读：
1.quit a job：辞职，关于“辞职”的表达还有resign和depart，例如，“I judged that it was best to resign.我认为辞职是最好的选择。”其中resign的名词resignation是比较正式的表达，例如，“His sudden resignation caused quite a stir. 他突然辞职引起不小的轰动。”。
第四段：Many of us while away hours on social media— also not a path to happiness. The Mappiness project found that, of 27 leisure activities, social media ranks dead last in how much happiness it brings. A randomized controlled trial on the effects of social media found that when people were paid to stop using Facebook, they spent more time socializing and reported higher subjective well-being.
推荐译文：我们中的许多人在社交媒体上消磨时间，这也不是一条通往幸福的道路。Mappiness项目发现，在27项休闲活动中，社交媒体带来的幸福感排在最后。一项关于社交媒体影响的随机控制试验发现，当人们停止使用Facebook能得到报酬时，他们花了更多时间进行社交，并报告了更高的主观幸福感。
知识点解读：
1.while away hours：消磨时光、消闲，也可以表达成“while the hours away”，是文学翻译中常用的表达，同样表达“消磨时光”的词组还有：
laze time away/ laze away time
dribble away one's time
idle away the hours
2.well-being: n. 康乐,安康;福利；其反义词为“ill-being”，意为“n. 恶劣的环境,不幸,贫困,不健康”，可以用以替换“adversity”和“hardship”等。
第五段：Big data tells us there are very simple things that do make people happy, things that have been around for thousands of years. After reading all the studies on happiness, I concluded that modern happiness research could be summed up in one sentence, a sentence we might jokingly call the data-driven answer to life.
推荐译文：大数据告诉我们，有一些非常简单的事情确实能让人们感到幸福，这些事情已经存在了几千年。在阅读了所有关于幸福的研究之后，我得出结论，现代幸福研究可以用一句话来概括，这句话我们可以戏称为——数据驱动的人生答案。
知识点解读：
could be summed up in one sentence：写作中最后一段进行全文总结时可以善用这句话，表示“一言概之”的意思，例如，“It could be summed up in one sentence that to live is to learn. 一言概之,活到老学到老”。 23年翻硕考研竞争会越来越激烈，我们联合学长学姐建立了23年MTI翻译硕士考研备考群：787242621
| 
