Our Pursuit of Happiness

文章詞數 5 8 6 建議用時 1 0′ 難度系數 ★★★★

We chase after it，when it is waiting all about us.

“Are you happy?”I asked my brother， Lan， one day.

“Yes.No.It depends what you mean，” he said.

“ Then tell me，” I said， “when was the last time you think you were happy?”

“April 1967，” he said.

It served me right for putting a serious question to someone who has joked his way through life.But Lan's answerreminded me thatwhen we think about happiness，we usually think of somethingextraordinary， a moment of completely delight—and those moments seem to get rarer the older we get.

For a child，happiness has a magical quality.I remember making hide-outs in newly cut hay，playing cops and robbers in the woods，getting a speaking part in the school play.Of course，kids also experience lows，but their delight at such peaks of pleasure as winning a race or getting a new bike is unreserved.

In the teenage years the concept of happiness changes.Suddenly it's conditional on such things as excitement， love， popularity and whether that zit（青春痘）will clear up before prom（舞會）night.I can still feel the pain of not being invited to a party that almost everyone else was going to.But I also recall the excitement at another event to dance with a John Travolta look-alike.

In adulthood the things that bring great joy—birth，love，marriage—also bring responsibility and the risk of loss.Love may not last， it isn't always good，loved ones die.For adults，happiness is complicated.

The dictionarydefineshappyas“lucky” or“fortunate”， but I think a better definition of happiness is“the capacity for enjoyment”.The more we can enjoywhat we have，the happier we are.It's easy to overlook the pleasure we get from loving and being loved， the company of friends， the freedom to live where we please，even good health.

You never know where happiness willturn upnext.When I asked friends what makes them happy，some mentioned seemingly insignificant moments.“I hate shopping，” one friend said.“But there's this clerk who always chats and reallycheers me up.”

Another friend loves answering the telephone.“Every time it rings， I know someone is thinking about me.”

I get a thrill from driving.One day I stopped to let a school bus turn onto a side road.The driver grinned（露齒而笑）and gave me a thumbs-up sign.We were two exceptions in a world of mad motorists.It made me smile.

We all experience moments like these.Too few of us register them as happiness.

Psychologists tell us that to be happy we need a mixture of enjoyable leisure time and satisfying work.I doubt that my great-grandmother，who raised 14 children and took in washing，had much of either.She did have a network of close friends and family，and maybe this is what satisfied her.If she was happy with what she had，perhaps it was because she didn't expect life to be very different.

We，on the other hand，with so many choices and such pressure to succeed in every area，have turned happiness into one thing we“must have”.We'resoself-conscious about our “right” to itthatit's making us miserable （悲慘的）.So we chase it and equate it with wealth and success，without noticing that the people who have those things aren't necessarily happier.

While happiness may be more complex for us，the solution is the same as ever.Happiness isn't about what happens to us—it's about how we realize what happens to us.It's the key of finding a positive for every negative，and viewing a setback as a challenge.It's not wishing for what we don't have，but enjoying what we do possess.

閱讀掃障

Ⅰ.熱詞積累

1.extraordinary adj.非凡的；卓越的

2.remind sb that...使某人想起……

3.define...as...把……定義為……

4.the+比較級+主語+謂語，the+比較級+主語+謂語越……，越……

5.turn up出現；開大（音量）

6.cheer sb up使某人高興；使某人振作起來

7.on the other hand另一方面

8.so...that...如此……以至于……

Ⅱ.牛刀小試

語法填空并翻譯

1.If she was happy with_______she had，perhaps it was ______she didn't expect life______（be）very different.

翻譯：________________________________________

2.We，on the other hand， with so many choices and such pressure to succeed in every area，have turned happiness into one more thing we“must have”.而我們面對太多的選擇并且在各個方面都想成功，這讓我們把幸福變成“必須得到”的一種東西。

【點石成金】句中on the other hand，with so many choices and such pressure to succeed in every area作插入語，是含有with的復合結構，即with+賓語（sb/sth）+賓語補足語（to do/doing/done等），在此結構中，to do表示動作未發生，doing和賓語是主動關系或表動作正在發生，done和賓語是被動關系或表示完成意義。

如 ： With so much homework ________（do)， I have no time to play with you.

With exams ______（approach）， it's a good idea to review your lessons carefully.

With nothing______（settle）， the meeting was over.

3.So we chase it and equate it with wealth and success， without_______（notice）that the people have those things aren't______（necessary）happier.所以我們去追求幸福，并將它同財富和成功等同起來，而沒有意識到擁有財富和成功的人并不一定更幸福。

譯文助讀

我們苦苦追尋的，其實就在我們身邊。

一天，我問哥哥伊恩：“你感到幸福嗎?”

他回答說：“可以說幸福，也可以說不幸福，這要看你指什么了。”

“那你告訴我，”我說，“最近一次你感到幸福是什么時候?”

“1967年4月。 ”他答道。

向一個游戲人生的人提問這么嚴肅的問題，我真是自討苦吃。但是伊恩的話啟發了我，當我們考慮幸福的時候，我們通常想到一些不同尋常的事情和愉快無比的時刻，而隨著年齡的增長，這種時刻是越來越少。

對一個孩子來說，幸福有著夢幻般的色彩。記得我曾在新割下的干草堆中捉迷藏；在樹林里玩“警察與小偷”的游戲；在學校的戲劇里扮演有臺詞的角色。當然，孩子也有情緒低落的時候；但是，因為贏得一場比賽，或得了一輛新車，他們會毫不掩飾地快樂到極點。

到了青少年時期，幸福觀發生了變化。突然間幸福有了條件，例如：刺激、愛情、名氣以及舞會前青春痘是否能消除等。我清楚地記得，大家都去參加一個舞會，而我末被邀請時的痛苦。但也記得，在另—次活動中，我與—個貌似約翰·特拉沃爾塔的人共舞時的興奮。

成年后，能帶來深深歡樂的事情——出生、愛情和婚姻，同時也帶來了責任和失去的危險。愛情可能會消逝，性愛也不總是如人意，心愛的人可能會死去。對于成人來說，幸福很復雜。

字典里幸福的定義是“幸運”或“好運”，但我認為幸福更好的定義是“感受快樂的能力”。我們越能享受我們所擁有的，我們就越快樂。但是，愛與被愛，友人相伴，自由快樂的生活，甚至健康的體魄，這些細碎的快樂卻很容易被我們忽視。

你永遠不會知道幸福下一次會在什么時候出現。當我問起朋友什么能給他們帶來幸福時，有些人會提到一些看似微不足道的經歷。“我討厭購物，”一個朋友說，“但有些健談的售貨員的確令我很開心。”

另一個朋友喜歡接電話，“每次電話一響，我就知道有人想我了”。

從駕駛中我獲得刺激。一天，我停下來，讓一輛學校班車開到路邊。那個司機咧嘴一笑，會意地豎起大拇指。到處都是瘋狂的飆車族，而我們倆是例外。想到此我笑了起來。

我們都有過類似的經歷，但很少有人能意識到這就是幸福。

心理學家告訴我們，幸福既需要愉快的休閑時間，也需要滿意的工作。我的曾祖母養育了14個孩子，以洗衣為生，我不相信她有多少閑暇時光，她的工作能讓她感到多么滿意。但她有一個親密的朋友圈和一個和睦的家。或許，這已使她很滿足了。如果說她為自己擁有的一切感到幸福，或許是因為她并不希望生活是另一番樣子。

而我們面對太多的選擇并且在各個方面都想成功，這讓我們把幸福變成“必須得到”的一種東西。我們刻意地以為我們有“權”得到它，這也是我們痛苦的根源。所以我們去追求幸福，并將它同財富和成功等同起來，而沒有意識到擁有財富和成功的人并不一定更幸福。

對我們來說，幸福可能更復雜，但獲得幸福的途徑亙古不變——幸福不是發生在我們周圍的事，而是我們如何去看待周圍發生的事。秘訣就在于，化消極為積極，視挫折為挑戰。幸福并不是祈求我們所沒有的，而是享受我們所擁有的。