摘要：As the months passed, out went stacks of sweaters, shoes, pots and pans, even the television after a trial separation during which

PASSAGE ONE

第一段

Downturn's new spending habits show the way to greater satisfaction.

因经济低迷而产生新的消费习惯，可以帮助你获得更大的幸福感

As the months passed, out went stacks of sweaters, shoes, pots and pans, even the television after a trial separation during which it was relegated to a closet. Eventually, Tammy Strobel and her husband Logan Smith, both 31, got rid of their cars, too. Her mother called her crazy. Today, three years after the couple began downsizing, they live in a studio with a nice-sized kitchen.

They have money to travel and to contribute to the education funds of nieces and nephews. Because their debt is paid off, Ms. Strobel works fewer hours, giving her time to be outdoors and to volunteer. "The idea that you need to go bigger to be happy is false," she says. "I really believe that the acquisition of material goods doesn't bring about happiness."

随着时间的推移，成堆的毛衣、鞋子、锅碗瓢盆， 甚至在试离婚期间被放进衣橱的电视机都被清理出去。最终，31岁的塔米·斯特罗贝尔和她的丈夫洛根·史密斯也处理掉了他们的汽车。她的母亲称她疯了。今天，在这对夫妇开始缩减生活规模三年后，他们住在一个带有不错厨房的单间公寓里。他们有钱去旅行， 并为侄子侄女的教育基金做贡献。因为她的债务已经还清， 斯特罗贝尔女士工作时间减少，给自己留出时间去户外活动和志愿服务。她说：“认为你需要追求更大的东西才能快乐是错误的。我真的相信， 物质财富的获得并不会带来幸福。 ”

While Ms. Strobel and her husband overhauled their spending habits before the recession, legions of other consumers have since had to adapt in ways that could ultimately make them happier.

虽然斯特罗贝尔女士和她的丈夫在经济衰退之前就已经调整了他们的消费习惯，但其他许多消费者随后不得不以可能最终让他们更快乐的方式进行适应。

New studies of consumption and happiness show, for instance, that people are happier when they spend money on experiences instead of material objects.

新的消费与幸福研究表明，例如，当人们花钱在体验上而不是物质物品上时， 他们会更快乐。

While the current round of stinginess may simply be a response to the economic downturn, some analysts say consumers may also be permanently adjusting their spending based on what they've discovered about what truly makes them happy or fulfilled.

虽然当前的节俭潮可能只是对经济下滑的反应，但一些分析师表示， 消费者也可能会根据他们发现的真正让他们快乐或满足的事物， 永久性地调整他们的消费。

"This actually is a topic that hasn't been researched very much until recently, " says Elizabeth Dunn, a psychology professor, who is at the forefront of research on consumption and happiness. "There's massive literature on income and happiness. It's amazing how little there is on how to spend your money."

“这实际上是一个直到最近才没有被研究得很多的话题，” 心理学教授伊丽莎白·邓恩说，她在消费与幸福的研究前沿。“关于收入与幸福的文献非常丰富。而关于如何花钱的研究却少得惊人。 ”

Studies over the last few decades have shown that money, up to a certain point, makes people happier because it lets them meet basic needs. The latest round of research is all about emotional efficiency: how to reap the most happiness for your dollar.

过去几十年的研究表明，金钱在一定程度上能让人更快乐，因为它可以满足基本需求。最新一轮的研究主要关注情感效率：如何用你的每一分钱获得最大的幸福。

One major finding is that spending money for an experience — concert tickets, language lessons, dumpling making classes — produces longer-lasting satisfaction than spending money on plain old stuff. "'It's better to go on a vacation than buy a new couch' is basically the idea," says Professor Dunn. Jennifer Black, president of the retailing research company Jennifer Black & Associates, said: "I think people are realizing they don't need what they had. They're more interested in creating memories."

一个主要发现是，花钱购买体验——音乐会门票、语言课程、饺子制作班——所带来的满足感比花钱购买普通物品更持久。邓教授说：“‘去度假比买新沙发更好’基本上就是这个意思。”零售研究公司Jennifer Black & Associates的总裁詹妮弗·布莱克表示：“我认为人们意识到他们不再需要曾经拥有的东西。”他们更感兴趣的是创造回忆。

Unlike consumption of material goods, spending on leisure and services typically strengthens social bonds, which in turn helps amplify happiness, research suggests. Paying for experiences also gives us longer-lasting happiness, because we can reminisce about them, researchers says.

That's true for even the most exasperating of experiences. That trip to Rome during which you waited in endless lines, broke your camera and argued with your spouse will typically be airbrushed with "rosy recollection", says Professor Dunn. "Trips aren't all perfect, but we remember them as perfect."

与消费物质商品不同，花费在休闲和服务上的支出通常会增强社会联系，这反过来有助于提升幸福感， 研究表明。支付体验的费用也能带来更持久的幸福感，因为我们可以回忆起这些经历， 研究人员表示。即使是最令人恼火的经历也是如此。邓教授说，那次在罗马的旅行中， 你在无尽的队伍中等待，坏了相机，还和配偶争吵， 通常会被“美化记忆” 。“旅行并不总是完美的， 但我们记住它们时却是完美的。 ”

And experiences can't be absorbed at once — it takes more time to adapt to them and engage with them than it does to put on a new leather jacket or turn on that shiny flat-screen TV. "We buy a new house, we get accustomed to it," says Professor Lyubomirsky, who studies what psychologists call "hedonic adaptation", a phenomenon in which people quickly become used to changes, great or terrible, in order to maintain a stable level of happiness. "We stop getting pleasure from it," she says.

And then, of course, we buy new things. Scholars have discovered that one way consumers combat hedonic adaptation is to buy many small pleasures instead of one big one. Instead of a new Jaguar, Professor Lyubomirsky advises, buy a massage once a week, have lots of fresh flowers delivered and make phone calls to friends overseas. Instead of a two-week long vacation, take a few three-day weekends. "We do adapt to the little things," she says, "but because there's so many, it will take longer."

体验无法一次性吸收—— 适应和参与这些体验所需的时间要比穿上新皮夹克或打开那台闪亮的平面电视要长。 “我们买了新房子，就会习惯它，” 研究心理学家所称的“享乐适应”现象的柳博米尔斯基教授说，这是一种人们迅速适应变化（无论是好的还是坏的）以维持稳定幸福感的现象。“我们不再从中获得乐趣，”她说。 然后，当然，我们会购买新东西。 学者们发现，消费者应对享乐适应的一种方法是购买许多小的乐趣，而不是一个大的乐趣。 利尤博米尔斯基教授建议，不要买一辆新的捷豹，而是每周享受一次按摩，定期送新鲜花卉，并给海外的朋友打电话。 与其选择一个为期两周的假期，不如选择几个三天的周末。“我们确实会适应一些小事，”她说，“但因为有很多，所以需要更长的时间。”

Ms. Strobel now writes about her own life choices on the Internet. "My lifestyle now would not be possible if I still had a huge two-bedroom apartment filled with stuff, two cars, and 30 grand in debt," she says. "Give away some of your stuff. See how it feels."

斯特罗贝尔女士现在在互联网上谈论自己的生活选择。 “如果我还拥有一个装满东西的两居室公寓，两辆车，以及三万美元的债务，我现在的生活方式是无法实现的，”她说。 “把一些东西送出去，看看感觉如何。”

41. What is the main reason for the change in people's spending habits?

人们消费习惯变化的主要原因是什么？

A. Pressure to pay off debts.

A. 偿还债务的压力。

B. Interest in traveling.

B. 对旅行的兴趣。

C. Economic downturn.

C. 经济衰退。

D. Plan to work from home.

D. 计划在家工作。

42. Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?

42. 根据文章，以下哪项陈述是正确的？

A. A somewhat imperfect trip can leave long-lasting happiness.

A. 一次有些不完美的旅行可以带来持久的快乐。

B. A new couch can give people long-lasting happiness.

B. 新沙发可以给人们带来持久的幸福。

C. Buying material goods helps prolong people's happiness.

C. 购买物质商品有助于延长人们的幸福感。

D. Spending money on experiences undermines people's happiness.

D. 在体验上花钱会削弱人们的幸福感。

43. What is the best title for the passage?

43. 这篇文章最好的标题是什么？

A. Efficiency and Satisfaction.

A. 效率与满意度。

B. Spending and Happiness.

B. 消费与幸福。

C. Traveling and Happiness.

C. 旅行与幸福。

D. Experience and Memory.

D. 经验与记忆。

来源：英语东