Over the last 70 years, researchers have been studying happy and unhappy people and finally found out ten factors that make a difference. Our feelings of well-being at any moment are determined to a certain degree by genes. However, of all the factors, wealth and age are the top two.
Money can buy a degree of happiness. But once you can afford to feed, clothe and house yourself, each extra dollar makes less and less difference.
Researchers find that, on average, wealthier people are happier. But the link between money and happiness is complex. In the past half-century, average income has sharply increased in developed countries, yet happiness levels have remained almost the same. Once your basic needs are met, money only seems to increase happiness if you have more than your friends, neighbors and colleagues.
“Dollars buy status, and status makes people feel better,” conclude some experts, which helps explain why people who can seek status in other ways-scientists or actors, for example-may happily accept relatively poorly-paid jobs.
In a research, Professor Alex Michalos found that the people whose desires-not just for money, but for friends, family, job, health-rose furthest beyond what they already had, tended to be less happy than those who felt a smaller gap （差距）。Indeed, the size of the gap predicted happiness about five times better than income alone. “The gap measures just blow away the only measures of income.”says Michalos.
Another factor that has to do with happiness is age. Old age may not be so bad“Given all the problems of aging, how could the elderly be more satisfied？”asks Professor Laura Carstensen.
In one survey, Carstensen interviewed 184 people between the ages of 18 and 94, and asked them to fill out an emotions questionnaire. She found that old people reported positive emotions just as often as young people, Some scientists suggest older people may expect life to be harder and learn to live with it, or they’re more realistic about their time running out, older people have learned to focus on things that make them happy and let go of those that don’t.
“People realize not only what they have, but also that what they have cannot last forever,” she says. “A goodbye kiss to a husband or wife at the age of 85, for example, may bring far more complex emotional responses than a similar kiss to a boy or girl friend at the age of 20.”

Over the last 70 years, researchers have been studying happy and unhappy people and finally found out ten factors that make a difference. Our feelings of well-being at any moment are determined to a certain degree by genes. However, of all the factors, wealth and age are the top two.
在过去的70年中,研究人员一直致力于对幸福人群和不幸人群的研究,并最终发现他们之间存在十个方面的不同.我们随时随地对于幸福安康的感觉在一定程度上是由基因决定的.但是在众多因素中,财富和年龄处在首要位置.
Money can buy a degree of happiness. But once you can afford to feed, clothe and house yourself, each extra dollar makes less and less difference.
金钱可以买到一定的幸福感,你一旦有能力去满足吃穿的需求并且有自己的住所,那么剩余的金钱对你来说就没有什么不同的了.
Researchers find that, on average, wealthier people are happier. But the link between money and happiness is complex. In the past half-century, average income has sharply increased in developed countries, yet happiness levels have remained almost the same. Once your basic needs are met, money only seems to increase happiness if you have more than your friends, neighbors and colleagues.
研究人员发现,平均看来,富裕的人更幸福些.但是金钱与幸福之间的联系非常复杂.在过去的半个世纪中,发达国家的人均收入有显著的提高,但是幸福的标准较之从前没有什么变化,如果你拥有的金钱比你的朋友邻居同事多,一旦你的基本生活所需达到了,金钱只能用来去增加幸福感.
“Dollars buy status, and status makes people feel better,” conclude some experts, which helps explain why people who can seek status in other ways-scientists or actors, for example-may happily accept relatively poorly-paid jobs
许多专家总结出这样一个结论:"金钱能买到社会地位,社会地位会增加人的满足感"这个结论解释了为什么那些诸如科学家、演员等等的人愿意放弃通过其他渠道去获得更高的社会地位的机会，而去做报酬相对少的工作。
In a research, Professor Alex Michalos found that the people whose desires-not just for money, but for friends, family, job, health-rose furthest beyond what they already had, tended to be less happy than those who felt a smaller gap （差距）。Indeed, the size of the gap predicted happiness about five times better than income alone. “The gap measures just blow away the only measures of income.”says Michalos.
在一项调查中，Alex Michalos 教授发现那些目标不仅仅在金钱而在于朋友、家庭、健康上的人获得的往往比他们现有的多，他们会不如那些感到有点差距的人幸福。确实，对幸福预言的差距比收入好五倍还多。Michalos说“差距衡量法震撼了收入衡量的方法。
Another factor that has to do with happiness is age. Old age may not be so bad“Given all the problems of aging, how could the elderly be more satisfied？”asks Professor Laura Carstensen.
另外一个与幸福有关的因素是年龄，年纪大的人也没有那么糟糕。Laura Carstensen教授提出这样的疑问“考虑到所有有关年龄的问题，怎样才能让老年人更加满意？”
In one survey, Carstensen interviewed 184 people between the ages of 18 and 94, and asked them to fill out an emotions questionnaire. She found that old people reported positive emotions just as often as young people, Some scientists suggest older people may expect life to be harder and learn to live with it, or they’re more realistic about their time running out, older people have learned to focus on things that make them happy and let go of those that don’t.
在一次调查中，Carstensen 访问了184名年龄在18到94岁的人，并要求他们填写了情感调查问卷。她发现，老年人在情感上要比年轻人更积极，许多科学家认为，老年人把生活看得很艰难并设法去应对生活中的困难，或者说他们对于时光的流逝看得非常现实，老年人注重那些使他们幸福的事情而不去理会那些会使他们悲伤的事。
“People realize not only what they have, but also that what they have cannot last forever,” she says. “A goodbye kiss to a husband or wife at the age of 85, for example, may bring far more complex emotional responses than a similar kiss to a boy or girl friend at the age of 20.”
她说“人们不仅仅能够意识到他们现在拥有的那些东西，还能留意到那些不能永恒存在的东西，例如，在85岁的时候给丈夫或妻子一个吻所带来得意义要远大于在20岁时所做的同样的举动。



汗~~~~