为什么人们自我感觉更年轻(下)

“感觉自己多大年龄了?”与“在心里认为自己多大年龄了?”这两个问题截然不同。

双语精读

But "How old do you feel?" is an altogether different question from "How old are you in your head?"

“感觉自己多大年龄了?”与“在心里认为自己多大年龄了?”这两个问题截然不同。

The most inspired paper I read about subjective age, from 2006, asked this of its 1,470 participants-in a Danish population (Denmark being the kind of place where studies like these would happen)-and what the two authors discovered is that adults over 40 perceive themselves to be, on average, about 20 percent younger than their actual age.

我读到的关于主观年龄最有启发性的一篇论文是2006年发表的，研究者向1470名参与调查的丹麦人(这种类型的研究像是会在丹麦发生的)提出了这个问题，两位作者发现，四十岁以上的成年人平均认为自己比实际年龄年轻20%左右。

"We ran this thing, and the data were gorgeous," says David C. Rubin (75 in real life, 60 in his head), one of the paper's authors and a psychology and neuroscience professor at Duke University. "It was just all these beautiful, smooth curves."

“我们进行了这项调查，数据非常漂亮。”戴维·鲁宾（实际年龄75，主观年龄60）说，他是该论文的作者之一，也是杜克大学心理学和神经学教授，“数据呈现的是优美、流畅的曲线。”

Why we're possessed of this urge to subtract is another matter.

为什么我们有这种减龄的欲望则是另一回事。

Rubin and his co-author, Dorthe Berntsen, didn't make it the focus of this particular paper, and the researchers who do often propose a crude, predictable answer-namely, that lots of people consider aging a catastrophe, which, while true, seems to tell only a fraction of the story.

鲁宾及其合著者多特·伯恩特森并没有将探究原因作为这篇论文的重点，而那些关注原因的研究者通常给出的是一个粗略的、可预测的答案，即许多人认为衰老是一场灾难，尽管这是事实，但远非故事的全貌。

You could just as well make a different case: that viewing yourself as younger is a form of optimism, rather than denialism. It says that you envision many generative years ahead of you, that you will not be written off, that your future is not one long, dreary corridor of locked doors.

你也完全可以提出另一个理由: 认为自己更年轻是一种乐观主义，而不是否认主义。也就是说，你预想着在未来的许多年，你依然能做很多事、不会被冷落，你的未来不是一条长长的、沉闷的走廊，四周全是被锁住的门。

I think of my own numbers, for instance-which, though a slight departure from the Rubin-Berntsen rule, are still within a reasonable range (or so Rubin assures me).

例如，我想到了我自己心目中的年龄，尽管与鲁宾-伯恩特森得出的规律略有偏离，但仍在合理范围内(至少鲁宾说是这样)。

I'm 53 in real life but suspended at 36 in my head, and if I stop my brain from doing its usual Tilt-A-Whirl for long enough, I land on the same explanation: At 36, I knew the broad contours of my life, but hadn't yet filled them in.

在现实生活中我53岁，但在我心里，我仍停留在36岁，如果我让我的大脑停止胡思乱想足够久，我会得出同样的解释: 36岁时，我知道我生活的大致轮廓是什么样的，但还没有把轮廓填满。

I was professionally established, but still brimmed with potential. I was paired off with my husband, but not yet lost in the marshes of a long marriage (and, okay, not yet a tiresome fishwife).

我事业有成，但仍然充满潜力。我和丈夫结为夫妻，但还没有迷失在长期婚姻的沼泽中(好吧，目前还没有成为一个令人讨厌的骂街泼妇）。

I was soon to be pregnant, but not yet a mother fretting about eating habits, screen habits, study habits, the brutal folkways of adolescents, the porn merchants of the internet.

我很快就要怀孕了，但还没有成为一个为孩子的饮食习惯、电子设备使用习惯、学习习惯、青少年的粗野风气、互联网色情片卖家而烦恼的母亲。

I was not yet on the gray turnpike of middle age, in other words.

换言之，我还没有步入灰暗的中年之路。

词汇预习

• propose [高考]

  美[prəˈpoʊz] | 英[prəˈpəʊz]

  v. 打算；计划；向 ... 提议；求婚；提名

• optimism [高考]

  美[ˈɑːptɪmɪzəm] | 英[ˈɒptɪmɪzəm]

  n. 乐观；乐观主义

• fraction [高考]

  美[ˈfrækʃn] | 英[ˈfrækʃn]

  n. 小部分；少许；分数；片段

• subtract [高考]

  美[səbˈtrækt] | 英[səbˈtrækt]

  vt. 减去 vi. 减少

• within [高考]

  美[wɪˈðɪn] | 英[wɪˈðɪn]

  prep. 在(某段时间、距离或范围)内；在…里面 adv. 在…里面 n. 内部

• data [高考]

  美[ˈdeɪtə] | 英[ˈdeɪtə]

  n. 数据；资料

• potential [高考]

  美[pəˈtenʃl] | 英[pəˈtenʃl]

  adj. 潜在的；可能的 n. 潜力；潜能 n. 电位；电势

• range [高考]

  美[reɪndʒ] | 英[reɪndʒ]

  n.范围; 射程; 类别; （山脉，房屋等的）排列 vi.搜索; 变化; 延伸; 漫游 vt.排列; （按一定位置或顺序）排序; 把…分类; 徘徊 adj.牧场的，放牧区的

• urge [高考]

  美[ɜːrdʒ] | 英[ɜːdʒ]

  vt. 驱策；鼓励；催促；力陈 vi. 极力主张 n. 冲动；强烈愿望

• explanation [高考]

  美[ˌekspləˈneɪʃn] | 英[ˌekspləˈneɪʃn]

  n. 解释；说明

• psychology [高考]

  美[saɪˈkɑːlədʒi] | 英[saɪˈkɒlədʒi]

  n. 心理；心理学

• altogether [高考]

  美[ˌɔːltəˈɡeðər] | 英[ˌɔːltəˈɡeðə(r)]

  adv. 总共；完全；总的来说

• broad [高考]

  美[brɔːd] | 英[brɔːd]

  adj. 宽广的；清楚无误的；明显的；胸怀开阔的；粗俗的 n. [俚]女子

• actual [高考]

  美[ˈæktʃuəl] | 英[ˈæktʃuəl]

  adj. 实际的；事实上的

• slight [高考]

  美[slaɪt] | 英[slaɪt]

  adj. 轻微的；纤弱的；微小的 vt. 轻视；忽略 n. 轻蔑；怠慢

• departure [高考]

  美[dɪˈpɑːrtʃər] | 英[dɪˈpɑːtʃə(r)]

  n. 出发；离开；分歧；新的尝试

• pregnant [高考]

  美[ˈpreɡnənt] | 英[ˈpreɡnənt]

  adj. 怀孕的；充满的；意味深长的

• tiresome [高考]

  美[ˈtaɪərsəm] | 英[ˈtaɪəsəm]

  adj. 令人厌倦的；讨厌的

• subjective [高考]

  美[səbˈdʒektɪv] | 英[səbˈdʒektɪv]

  adj. 主观的

• catastrophe [高考]

  美[kəˈtæstrəfi] | 英[kəˈtæstrəfi]

  n. 大灾难；大祸；彻底失败

• in other words [高考]

  美[ɪn 'ʌðər wɜːdz] | 英[ɪn 'ʌðə wɜːdz]

  换句话说； 也就是说

• perceive [高考]

  美[pərˈsiːv] | 英[pəˈsiːv]

  v. 注意到；觉察到；认为；理解

• where [高考]

  美[wer] | 英[weə(r)]

  adv. 在哪里；在那个地方 conj. 在 ... 地方

• would [高考]

  美[wʊd , wəd] | 英[wʊd , wəd]

  aux. 将；可能；大概；总会；愿意；will的过去式

• crude [四级]

  美[kruːd] | 英[kruːd]

  adj. 天然的；未加工的；粗鲁的；粗糙的；简陋的 n. 原油；天然的物质

• corridor [四级]

  美[ˈkɔːrɪdɔːr] | 英[ˈkɒrɪdɔː(r)]

  n. 走廊

• namely [四级]

  美[ˈneɪmli] | 英[ˈneɪmli]

  adv. 即；也就是

• brutal [四级]

  美[ˈbruːtl] | 英[ˈbruːtl]

  adj. 野蛮的；残暴的

• predictable [四级]

  美[prɪˈdɪktəbl] | 英[prɪˈdɪktəbl]

  adj. 可预知的

• make it [四级]

  美[mek ɪt] | 英[meik it]

  成功 达到预定目标,性交易,幸存

• a fraction of [四级]

  美[ə ˈfrækʃn əv] | 英[ə ˈfrækʃn ɒv]

  一小部分, 少许

• okay [六级]

  美['oʊ'keɪ] | 英['əʊ'keɪ]

  adj. 好的，可以的[非正式] n. 认可，同意 v. 赞成或同意; 批准 int. 好，行

• gorgeous [六级]

  美[ˈɡɔːrdʒəs] | 英[ˈɡɔːdʒəs]

  adj. 华丽的；灿烂的；极好的

• kind of [六级]

  美[kaɪnd ʌv] | 英[kaind ɔv]

  adv. 有点儿

• or so [六级]

  美[ɔːr soʊ] | 英[ɔː(r) səʊ]

  大约;左右;把

• envision [专四]

  美[ɛnˈvɪʒən] | 英[ɪnˈvɪʒn]

  vt. 想象；设想

• dreary [专四]

  美[ˈdrɪri] | 英[ˈdrɪəri]

  adj. 沉闷的；令人沮丧的；情绪低落的

• generative [雅思]

  美[ˈdʒenərətɪv] | 英[ˈdʒenərətɪv]

  adj. 生殖的；生产的；有生殖力的

重点讲解

But “How**** old do**** you feel****?” is**** an**** altogether**** different question**** from**** “How**** old are you in**** your**** head****?”

“感觉自己多大年龄了?”与“在心里认为自己多大年龄了?”这两个问题截然不同。

The most**** inspired**** paper I read**** about subjective**** age,**** from**** 2006****,**** asked this**** of**** its 1,470 participants****—in**** a Danish**** population**** (Denmark**** being the kind**** of**** place where studies like**** these would happen****)—and**** what**** the two authors discovered**** is**** that**** adults**** over**** 40**** perceive**** themselves**** to**** be****,**** on**** average,**** about 20**** percent younger than**** their actual**** age.****

我读到的关于主观年龄最有启发性的一篇论文是2006年发表的，研究者向1470名参与调查的丹麦人(这种类型的研究像是会在丹麦发生的)提出了这个问题，两位作者发现，四十岁以上的成年人平均认为自己比实际年龄年轻20%左右。

“We ran this thing, and the data were gorgeous,” says David C. Rubin (75 in real life, 60 in his head), one of the paper’s authors and a psychology and neuroscience professor at Duke University. “It was just all these beautiful, smooth curves.”

“我们进行了这项调查，数据非常漂亮。”戴维·鲁宾（实际年龄75，主观年龄60）说，他是该论文的作者之一，也是杜克大学心理学和神经学教授，“数据呈现的是优美、流畅的曲线。”

gorgeous  adj. 绚丽的；华丽的；灿烂的

【例】a gorgeous movie star/sunset  

光彩照人的电影明星/绚丽的夕阳

【近义词】glamorous/stunning  adj. 漂亮的；有魅力的

【例】a glamorous lady/job  富有魅力的女士/光鲜体面的工作

be possessed of  具有某种特征

【例】Mary is possessed of an acid tongue. 

玛丽非常毒舌。

【辨析】be possessed by the devil/a wild idea 

被魔鬼附身/被一个疯狂的念头缠住

subtract  v. 

1. 减去

【例】Subtract 4 from 10 and you have 6. 

10减4得6。

【近义词】minus  prep. 减去

【例】10 minus 4 is 6. 10减4得6。

【拓展】add/multiply/divide  v. 加上/乘以/除以

2. 减损

【例】That will subtract nothing from his merit. 

那将无损于他的美德。

Why we’re possessed of this urge to subtract is another matter.

为什么我们有这种减龄的欲望则是另一回事。

gorgeous  adj. 绚丽的；华丽的；灿烂的

【例】a gorgeous movie star/sunset  

光彩照人的电影明星/绚丽的夕阳

【近义词】glamorous/stunning  adj. 漂亮的；有魅力的

【例】a glamorous lady/job  富有魅力的女士/光鲜体面的工作

be possessed of  具有某种特征

【例】Mary is possessed of an acid tongue. 

玛丽非常毒舌。

【辨析】be possessed by the devil/a wild idea 

被魔鬼附身/被一个疯狂的念头缠住

subtract  v. 

1. 减去

【例】Subtract 4 from 10 and you have 6. 

10减4得6。

【近义词】minus  prep. 减去

【例】10 minus 4 is 6. 10减4得6。

【拓展】add/multiply/divide  v. 加上/乘以/除以

2. 减损

【例】That will subtract nothing from his merit. 

那将无损于他的美德。

Rubin and his co-author, Dorthe Berntsen, didn’t make it the focus of this particular paper, and the researchers who do often propose a crude, predictable answer—namely, that lots of people consider aging a catastrophe, which, while true, seems to tell only a fraction of the story.

鲁宾及其合著者多特·伯恩特森并没有将探究原因作为这篇论文的重点，而那些关注原因的研究者通常给出的是一个粗略的、可预测的答案，即许多人认为衰老是一场灾难，尽管这是事实，但远非故事的全貌。

crude  adj. 

1. 粗略的；简略的

【例】in crude terms/a crude notion 简单地说/不成熟的想法

【反义词】sophisticated  adj. 复杂的；精细的

2. 天然的；未加工的

【例】crude oil/rubber 原油/天然橡胶

【反义词】refined/processed  adj. 提炼的；经过加工的

a fraction of  一小部分；少量

【例】Only a fraction of the students passed the difficult exam. 

只有一小部分学生通过了这个很难的考试。

【搭配】a fraction of a second 一瞬间

make (out) a case for sth  提出支持某事的理由

【例】make a case for choosing electric cars 提出选电动汽车的理由

【拓展】make one’s case 证明自己有理

write sth/sb off

1. 注销

【例】to write off a debt  注销一笔债务

2. 认为某人失败；不再考虑

【例】All the newspaper reporters wrote the play off as useless. 

所有的报纸记者都认为这出戏毫无意义。

【近义词】dismiss  v. 摒弃；不予考虑

You could just as well make a different case: that viewing yourself as younger is a form of optimism, rather than denialism. It says that you envision many generative years ahead of you, that you will not be written off, that your future is not one long, dreary corridor of locked doors.

你也完全可以提出另一个理由: 认为自己更年轻是一种乐观主义，而不是否认主义。也就是说，你预想着在未来的许多年，你依然能做很多事、不会被冷落，你的未来不是一条长长的、沉闷的走廊，四周全是被锁住的门。

crude  adj. 

1. 粗略的；简略的

【例】in crude terms/a crude notion 简单地说/不成熟的想法

【反义词】sophisticated  adj. 复杂的；精细的

2. 天然的；未加工的

【例】crude oil/rubber 原油/天然橡胶

【反义词】refined/processed  adj. 提炼的；经过加工的

a fraction of  一小部分；少量

【例】Only a fraction of the students passed the difficult exam. 

只有一小部分学生通过了这个很难的考试。

【搭配】a fraction of a second 一瞬间

make (out) a case for sth  提出支持某事的理由

【例】make a case for choosing electric cars 提出选电动汽车的理由

【拓展】make one’s case 证明自己有理

write sth/sb off

1. 注销

【例】to write off a debt  注销一笔债务

2. 认为某人失败；不再考虑

【例】All the newspaper reporters wrote the play off as useless. 

所有的报纸记者都认为这出戏毫无意义。

【近义词】dismiss  v. 摒弃；不予考虑

I think of my own numbers, for instance—which, though a slight departure from the Rubin-Berntsen rule, are still within a reasonable range (or so Rubin assures me).

例如，我想到了我自己心目中的年龄，尽管与鲁宾-伯恩特森得出的规律略有偏离，但仍在合理范围内(至少鲁宾说是这样)。

a departure from sth  对某事的背离；与某事不同的情况

【例】The new fashion collection is a departure from the designer's usual style. 

这个新的时尚系列与设计师通常的风格不同。

【近义词】a deviation from the plan  违背计划的情况

suspend  v.

1. 悬挂；悬浮

【例】A lamp was suspended from the ceiling. 

一盏吊灯悬在天花板上。

2. 暂停；暂缓

【例】Emergency services are suspended.

紧急服务暂停使用

I’m 53 in real life but suspended at 36 in my head, and if I stop my brain from doing its usual Tilt-A-Whirl for long enough, I land on the same explanation: At 36, I knew the broad contours of my life, but hadn’t yet filled them in.

在现实生活中我53岁，但在我心里，我仍停留在36岁，如果我让我的大脑停止胡思乱想足够久，我会得出同样的解释: 36岁时，我知道我生活的大致轮廓是什么样的，但还没有把轮廓填满。

a departure from sth  对某事的背离；与某事不同的情况

【例】The new fashion collection is a departure from the designer's usual style. 

这个新的时尚系列与设计师通常的风格不同。

【近义词】a deviation from the plan  违背计划的情况

suspend  v.

1. 悬挂；悬浮

【例】A lamp was suspended from the ceiling. 

一盏吊灯悬在天花板上。

2. 暂停；暂缓

【例】Emergency services are suspended.

紧急服务暂停使用

I was professionally established, but still brimmed with potential. I was paired off with my husband, but not yet lost in the marshes of a long marriage (and, okay, not yet a tiresome fishwife).

我事业有成，但仍然充满潜力。我和丈夫结为夫妻，但还没有迷失在长期婚姻的沼泽中(好吧，目前还没有成为一个令人讨厌的骂街泼妇）。

established  adj. 地位稳固的；成名的

【例】an established company/actor  老牌企业/成名演员

【近义词】recognized  adj. 得到认可的

be brimmed with  满溢；充满

【例】The room was brimmed with laughter and joy. 

房间里充满了笑声和快乐。

【近义词】be overflowing with  充满

I was soon to be pregnant, but not yet a mother fretting about eating habits, screen habits, study habits, the brutal folkways of adolescents, the porn merchants of the internet.

我很快就要怀孕了，但还没有成为一个为孩子的饮食习惯、电子设备使用习惯、学习习惯、青少年的粗野风气、互联网色情片卖家而烦恼的母亲。

established  adj. 地位稳固的；成名的

【例】an established company/actor  老牌企业/成名演员

【近义词】recognized  adj. 得到认可的

be brimmed with  满溢；充满

【例】The room was brimmed with laughter and joy. 

房间里充满了笑声和快乐。

【近义词】be overflowing with  充满

I was not yet on the gray turnpike of middle age, in other words.

换言之，我还没有步入灰暗的中年之路。

established  adj. 地位稳固的；成名的

【例】an established company/actor  老牌企业/成名演员

【近义词】recognized  adj. 得到认可的

be brimmed with  满溢；充满

【例】The room was brimmed with laughter and joy. 

房间里充满了笑声和快乐。

【近义词】be overflowing with  充满

课后练习

• What did David C. Rubin discover about the subjective age of adults over 40?

  A. They have different feelings about how old they are in their head.

  B. They generally feel younger than their real age.

  C. 20% of them feel they are younger than their real age.

  D. Danish people feel younger than their peers from other countries.

• What do some researchers think about people’s desire to be younger?

  A. They find the problem not worth exploring.

  B. They believe that the desire is a natural thing.

  C. They think that the desire may result from a fear of getting old.

  D. They argue that the desire helps people live longer.

• Why might considering oneself younger be seen as a form of optimism?

  A. Because they deny their actual age.

  B. Because age doesn’t bother them anymore.

  C. Because they have confidence in their future.

  D. Because they gain wisdom as they get older.

• Why does the author feel suspended at the age of 36 in her mind?

  A. Because 36 is considered as the best age.

  B. Because her life took shape and was full of potential at 36.

  C. Because she can’t forget about her happy life at 36.

  D. Because she don’t want to face the challenges in the future.