双语阅读：金钱买不到幸福或许时间可以
摘要：当人们去远方度假时，往往会发现时间过得与平时很不一样。热带地区悠闲的节奏让我们习惯于“岛上的时间”，过得更加放松。去大城市令人兴奋，却也被充满活力的快节奏生活弄得筋疲力尽。
While on vacation in distant locales, people often find that time moves quite differently than inthe places they’re used to. In the tropiCS, we settle into the grooves of “island time” and relaxthanks to a more leisurely rhythm. A trip to a big city can leave us exhilarated but alsodrained by the energetic whir of life there.
The different paces of different communities also seem to be connected to other culturalcharacteristics. Robert Levine and his colleagues have studied the speed of life in cities aroundthe world and across the U.S. In a series of experiments they measured how fast solitarypedestrians in a downtown core covered a distance of 60 feet (being careful to exclude thosewho are obviously window shopping), timed how long it took to complete a simple commercialtransaction, and recorded the accuracy of randomly selected clocks in the downtownbusiness area. They found that places with a faster pace of life also had more robust economies(as measured by GDP per capita, average purchasing power, and average caloric intake), andthat people in larger cities tended to move faster than those in less populated areas. They alsofound truth to the stereotype that people move slower in hotter places.
据科技杂志Nautilus报道，当人们去远方度假时，往往会发现时间过得与平时很不一样。热带地区悠闲的节奏让我们习惯于“岛上的时间”，过得更加放松。去大城市令人兴奋，却也被充满活力的快节奏生活弄得筋疲力尽。
群体间不同的生活节奏是与他们的文化有关的。罗伯特?莱文和他的同事们对全球各个城市和美国各地的生活节奏做了一个调查。通过一系列的实验，他们计算出了每个城市里的人走过60英尺需要的时间(他们仔细地将其中明显是在逛街的人排除在外)，计算了一桩买卖成交需要的时间，并且记录了在中心商业区随机挑选的时钟的准确性。他们发现节奏快的地方往往是那些经济更加发达的地方(通过对比人均GDP、平均购买力还有平均热量摄入)，并且人们在大城市里比在人口少的地方走得更快。他们也发现了人们在热的地方走得更慢这一惯例。
So as you might expect, fast-moving people are associated with fast-moving economies. Butdoes that faster life translate into greater happiness? In faster places (specifically, economicallydeveloped areas of North America, Western Europe, and Asia), people were more likely tosmoke, less likely to take the time to help strangers in need, and more likely to die fromcoronary heart disease. Yet Levine and his colleagues found that residents in faster placestended to report feeling somewhat happier with their lives than those who lived in slower places.A city’s pace of life was indeed “significantly related” to the physical, social, and psychologicalwell-being of its inhabitants.
正如你所想象的那样，快节奏的人们和高速增长的经济相关。但是快节奏的生活就意味着幸福么?在快节奏的地方(尤其是经济发达地区，如北美、西欧和亚洲)，更多的人抽烟，更少的人会去帮助那些需要帮助的人，并且更容易死于冠心病。但是莱文和他的同事们发现，在快节奏城市生活的人觉得自己比那些生活在慢节奏城市的人更加幸福。一个城市的生活节奏明显与居民的身体健康、社会意识和心理状态息息相关。
Perhaps the higher reported rates of happiness simply reflect the fact that faster places havemore robust economies. But the relationship between income and reported happiness is farfrom obvious. According to the “Easterlin paradox” (named after economist Richard Easterlin),once people have enough money to meet their basic needs, having more money is notnecessarily correlated with higher self-reported happiness. Easterlin’s claims are controversialand not universally accepted; even if his theory is correct, wealthier nations might be happieroverall if they address the basic needs to more of their people. In any case, the ongoingdebate indicates that we need to tread carefully when making connections between happinessand overall economic factors.
也许更高的幸福指数反应出了这样一个事实：快节奏的城市拥有更好的经济发展。但是收入与幸福指数间的关系并不明显。根据伊斯特林悖论(以经济学家理查德?伊斯特林的名字命名)，一旦人们拥有足够的钱满足基本的生活需求，收入与幸福指数关联得并不紧密。伊斯特林悖论存在着争议也没有被普遍接受，尽管他的理论是对的，在满足了更多人们的基本生活需求时，总的来说更富有的国家幸福指数会高些。无论如何，依旧持续着的争议告诉我们将幸福指数和整体经济因素进行关联时需要多加小心。
Among individuals in a society, busyness—or the feeling of busyness—seems to be animportant factor in well-being. That feeling of busyness—of having a lot to do and too littletime in which to do itis often associated with stress and anxiety. However in many contextsbeing “busy” is badge of honor: Busy parents are seen as devoted to their children’s well-being, the busy real estate agent must be closing lots of sales, and the busy lawyer can chargea premium hourly rate. In US studies, the happiest people reported that they were busy, in thesense that they had little excess time, yet did not feel rushed. Like big-city dwellers, theyseemed to thrive at a faster pace.
对社会中的个体来说，忙碌——或者感觉忙碌——似乎是影响状态的重要因素。忙碌的感觉——有很多的事情要做，却没有多少时间的感觉经常带来压力与焦虑。但在很多的情况下，忙碌是一个光荣的标志：忙碌的父母被认为是为了让孩子过得好;忙碌的房地产经纪人则与客户更加亲密;忙碌的律师的时薪也更高。在美国的调查发现，幸福指数最高的人都很忙，也就意味着他们没有多余的时间，也不觉得匆忙。就好像大城市的居民们，他们似乎喜欢更快的生活节奏。
Levine’s work raises the intriguing possibility that an individual’s feelings about their use oftime contribute as much or more to their happiness as does economics. Now the bigchallenge is to find out which way the causal chain works: Does the feeling of being active, yetnot rushed, contribute to happiness? Or does happiness allow people to perceive their use oftime in positive ways?
莱文的研究显示了对时间利用的个人感觉可能比经济更加影响幸福指数。现在的问题时需要找出这样的影响是怎样发生的：是因为充实并不匆忙的感觉令人幸福?还是幸福让人们更加积极地利用他们的时间?
你是我的幸福
She was dancing. My crippled grandmother wasdancing. I stood in the living room doorwayabsolutely stunned. I glanced at the kitchen tableand sure enough-right under a small, framed drawingon the wall-was a freshly baked peach pie.
她在跳舞。我那身有残疾的祖母居然在跳舞。我站在客厅的门口,被彻底惊呆了。我扫了一眼厨房的餐桌,果不其然,在餐桌上——墙上那幅小小的镶框画像的正下方——有一块新鲜出炉的烤蜜桃派。
I heard her sing when I opened the door but did notwant to interrupt the beautiful song by yelling I hadarrived, so I just tiptoed to the living room. I looked at how her still-lean body bent beautifully,her arms greeting the sunlight that was pouring through the window. And her legs… Those legsthat had stiffly walked, aided with a cane, insensible shoes as long as I could remember. Nowshe was wearing beautiful dancing shoes and her legs obeyed her perfectly. No limping. Nostiffness. Just beautiful, fluid motion. She was the pet of the dancing world. And then she’d hadher accident and it was all over. I had read that in an old newSPAper clipping.
当我推门进屋的时候,我听到了她在唱歌,但我不想大喊自己回来了,不想打断那美妙的歌声,于是我踮着脚尖走到客厅。我看着她那依然消瘦的身体优雅地弯下,她的手臂迎向从窗口倾泻而入的阳光。而她的腿……自我能记事以来,她总是拄着拐杖,穿着便鞋,走起路来腿脚僵硬。可现在,她正穿着美丽的舞鞋,而她的双腿完全听从着她的支配。不再蹒跚,不再僵硬。只有优美、流畅的动作。她曾是舞蹈界的宠儿。可是后来她遭遇了一场意外,舞蹈生涯因此而结束。我是从一张老旧的剪报中读到这个的。
She turned around in a slow pirouette and saw me standing in the doorway. Her song ended,and her beautiful movements with it, so abruptly that it felt like being shaken awake from abeautiful dream. The sudden silence rang in my ears. Grandma looked so much like a kidcaught with her hand in a cookie jar that I couldn’t help myself, and a slightly nervous laughterescaped. Grandma sighed and turned towards the kitchen. I followed her, not believing myeyes. She was walking with no difficulties in her beautiful shoes. We sat down by the table andcut ourselves big pieces of her delicious peach pie.
她缓缓地转身做了一个足尖旋转,见到我站在门口。她的歌声嘎然而止,还有她那优美的动作,一切停止得如此突然,感觉像是从一场美梦中被人摇醒了。突如其来的寂静冲击着我的耳朵。祖母看起来很像是一个伸手从饼干罐里偷吃却被抓了个正着的小孩,我不禁发出了一阵略带一丝紧张的大笑。祖母叹了口气,转身走向厨房。我跟在她身后,还是不敢相信自己的眼睛。她穿着那双美丽的舞鞋,行走自如。我们坐在了桌边,从她那美味的蜜桃派中切出了大大的几块,俩人一起吃。
“So…” I blurted, “How did your leg heal?”
“那么……”我脱口而出道,“你的腿是怎么好了的?”
“To tell you the truth—my legs have been well all my life,” she said.
“跟你说实话吧——我的腿一直都挺好的,”她说。
“But I don’t understand!” I said, “Your dancing career… I mean… You pretended all theseyears?
“可是我不明白!”我说,“你的舞蹈事业……我是说……难道这些年来你一直在假装?”
“Very much so,” Grandmother closed her eyes and savored the peach pie, “And for a very goodreason.”
“的确如此,”祖母闭上眼睛,品尝着蜜桃派,“而且是因为一个非常好的理由。”
“What reason?”
“什么理由?”
“Your grandfather.”
“你的祖父。”
“You mean he told you not to dance?”
“你是说,他让你不要再跳舞了?”
“No, this was my choice. I am sure I would have lost him if I had continued dancing. I weighedfame and love against each other and love won.”
“不,这是我自己的选择。我确信如果我再继续跳舞的话,我就会失去他了。我权衡名利和爱情孰轻孰重之后,选择了爱情。”
She thought for a while and then continued. “We were talking about engagement when yourgrandfather had to go to war. It was the most horrible day of my life when he left. I was soafraid of losing him, the only way I could stay sane was to dance. I put all my energy and timeinto practicing—and I became very good. Critics praised me, the public loved me, but all I couldfeel was the ache in my heart, not knowing whether the love of my life would ever return. Then Iwent home and read and re-read his letters until I fell asleep. He always ended his letters with‘You are my Joy. I love you with my life’ and after that he wrote his name. And then one day aletter came. There were only three sentences: ‘I have lost my leg. I am no longer a whole manand now give you back your freedom. It is best you forget about me.’”
她想了一下,然后接着说道:“当你祖父不得不去从军参战的时候,我们已经到了谈婚论嫁的阶段了。他离开的那段日子是我一生中度过的最可怕的时期。我很害怕会失去他,能让我不至于疯掉的唯一方法就是跳舞。我把我所有的精力和时间都投入到了练习之中,于是我成为了很棒的舞者。评论家对我好评连连,公众对我钟情有嘉,可我唯一能感觉到的却是我心中的痛,因为不知道我一生的挚爱是否能平安归来。然后我回到家里,一遍又一遍地读着他的来信,直到睡去。他总是在信的结尾写着:‘你是我的幸福。爱你一生。’然后才是他的签名。但有一天我又收到了他的来信。信中只有三句话:‘我失去了一条腿。我不再是一个完整的人了,所以现在我将自由归还给你。你最好还是把我忘掉吧。’”
“I made my decision there and then. I took my leave, and traveled away from the city. When Ireturned I had bought myself a cane and wrapped my leg tightly with bandages. I told everyoneI had been in a car crash and that my leg would never completely heal again. My dancing dayswere over. No one suspected the story—I had learned to limp convincingly before I returnedhome. And I made sure the first person to hear of my accident was a reporter I knew well. ThenI traveled to the hospital. They had pushed your grandfather outside in his wheelchair. Therewas a cane on the ground by his wheelchair. I took a deep breath, leaned on my cane andlimped to him. ”
“于是我立刻做出了决定。我向众人告别,离开了这个城市。当我再度归来的时候,我为自己买了一副拐杖,并用绷带把我的腿包得紧紧的。我告诉每一个人,说我遭遇了一场车祸,我的腿再也不可能完全复原了。我的舞蹈生涯就此结束了。没有人怀疑这个故事——我在回家之前已经学会如何惟妙惟肖地跛行。我确保第一个听说我出车祸的是一位我熟知的记者。接着我来到了你祖父所在的医院。他们用轮椅把他推了出来。在他轮椅旁边的地上有一副拐杖。我深深吸了一口气,靠在我的拐杖上,一瘸一拐地向他走去。”
By now I had forgotten about the pie and listened to grandma, mesmerized. “What happenedthen?” I hurried her when she took her time eating some pie.
此刻,我已经忘记了那块蜜桃派,入迷地听着祖母说话。“然后发生了什么事情呢?”当她停下来吃了几口派时,我追问道。
“I told him he was not the only one who had lost a leg, even if mine was still attached to me. Ishowed him newspaper clippings of my accident. ‘So if you think I’m going to let you feel sorryfor yourself for the rest of your life, think again. There is a whole life waiting for us out there! Idon’t intend to be sorry for myself. But I have enough on my plate as it is, so you’d bettersnap out of it too. And I am not going to carry you-you are going to walk yourself.’” Grandmagiggled, a surprisingly girlish sound coming from an old lady with white hair.
“我告诉他,他并不是唯一失去了一条腿的人,尽管我的腿没给截掉。我给他看了关于我发生车祸的剪报。‘所以,如果你觉得我会让你在余生自怨自艾,想都别想。在外面还有全新的生活在等待着我们!我不打算为此而顾影自怜。而眼下我要做的事情已经够多的了,所以你最好也赶紧给我振作起来。而且你可别想我会背你——你要自己向前走。’”祖母咯咯地笑着,这位满头银发的老妇人令人吃惊地发出了少女般的笑声。
“I limped a few steps toward him and showed him what I’d taken out of my pocket. ‘Now showme you are still a man,’ I said, ‘I won’t ask again.’ He bent to take his cane from the groundand struggled out of that wheelchair. I could see he had not done it before, because he almostfell on his face, having only one leg. But I was not going to help. And so he managed it on hisown and walked to me and never sat in a wheelchair again in his life.”
“我一瘸一拐地走开了几步,然后让他看我从口袋里掏出的一样东西。‘现在让我看看,你还是个男子汉。我可不会说第二次。’他弯下腰从地上拿起他的拐杖,挣扎着从那副轮椅中站出来。可以看得出他之前从未这样做过,现在只有一条腿的他差点扑倒在地。但我没打算帮他。接着他设法自己站稳了,向我走来,而且在他的后半生里再也没有坐回到轮椅上。”
“What did you show him?” I had to know. Grandma looked at me and grinned. “Twoengagement rings, of course. I had bought them the day after he left for the war and I wasnot going to waste them on any other man.”
“你给他看了什么东西呢?”我一定要知道。祖母看着我咧嘴而笑,说道:“当然是一对订婚戒指了。在他从军参战的第二天我就买了这对戒指,我可不想把戒指浪费在任
何其他男人身上。”
I looked at the drawing on the kitchen wall, sketched by my grandfather’s hand so many yearsbefore. The picture became distorted as tears filled my eyes. “You are my Joy. I love you withmy life.” I murmured quietly. The young woman in the drawing sat on her park bench and withtwinkling eyes smiled broadly at me, an engagement ring carefully drawn on her finger.
我看着厨房墙壁上的那幅画像,那是多年前我祖父亲手绘就的。我眼中满含泪水,眼前的画像变得模糊起来。“你是我的幸福。爱你一生。”我轻声低语道。画像中的年轻女人坐在公园长椅上,眼神清亮,笑容可掬地看着我,她的手指上被精心地画有一枚订婚戒指。