全球社会热点新闻 越高越快乐

搜索

复制

Taller,Happier

越高越快乐

Damn you, tall people. They block your view at the movie theater. They’re a pain to shop for: Who really wants to drag themselves to the Big & Tall to buy Uncle Lurch¹ a pair of extra-long pants? They’re the ones with better chances of becoming pro² basketball players, or supennodels.

去死吧，高个子。他们在电影院里挡住你的视线。为他们买东西很头痛:谁真的想自己跑去大髙个专门店给卢奇叔叔买条加长的裤子?他们有更多的机会成为职业篮球运动员或超级模特。

Squirts probably don’t need any more reasons to envy their longer-limbed neighbors. Unfortunately, a new study just added to the indignity³ of short people. According to a paper from the National Bureau of Economic Research, both men and women who are above average height--5 ft. 10 in. for males, 5 ft. 4 in. for females--report higher levels of happiness than smaller people.

羡慕长腿邻居不需要更多的理由。不幸的是，一项新的研究再次伤害了矮个人的自尊。据国家经济研究局的一份报告,超过平均身高的男女(男子为5英尺10英寸，女子为5英尺4英寸)的幸福感比矮个子更髙。

In the study, men who call their lives the “worst possible” are nearly an inch shorter 1 erage man. The women most down in the dumps are half an inch smaller, on average, than the average woman. Taller people say they are more content, and are less likely to report a range of negative emotions like sadness and physical pain. "Happiness is just one more thing that taller people have going for them,"says Angus Deaton, a Princeton economist⁴ and co-author of the study, who stands a smug 6 ft. 4 in. (Full disclosure: I，too, am about 6 ft. 4 in., but I will refrain from mocking shrimps⁵ in this story.)

在这项研究中，认为自己生活是“最坏的”男性其身髙比一般男人几乎矮了一英寸。最优伤的女性其身高比一般女性矮半英寸。髙个的人说,他们更容易满足，很少出现诸如伤心之类的负面情绪和身体疼痛。“幸福只是高个儿从他们身髙获得的另一个东西。”普林斯顿大学经济学家安格斯迪顿说。他是研究报告的合作撰写者，也一直为自已6英尺4英寸髙感到沾沾自喜。(披露:我也大约6英尺4 英寸高,但我不会在此嘲讽矮个子。）

Why are tall people happier? According to Deaton’s analysis, llie result is linked to education and income. The study found that taller people tend to have more education, and thus higher income levels than shorter people. It follows that the smarter, richer tall people would be sunnier than their vertically⁶ challenged compatriots. “Money buys enjoyment⁷ and higher life evaluation,w says Deaton. “It buys off stress, anger, worry and pain. Income is the thing!”

为什么高个子的人更快乐呢？据迪顿的分析,这和教育和收人有关。研究发现,髙个的人比矮个的人能受到更多的教育,从而获得更髙的收入。因此,这些更聪明、更有钱的高个子比海拔低的人心情更好。迪顿说金钱能够买到享受和更高级的生活。钱可以让压力、愤怒、担心和痛苦滚蛋。收入就是这么一回事！ ”

To gain some real-world insight into these stats, I called the first smart short person I could think of, a friend named Milton Lee. Despite what these studies indicate, smart short people do exist. Milt, a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, made a killing⁸ as a Wall Street trader in the 1990s, but quit finance to chase his dream of becoming a basketball coach.

尽管研究是这么说,但聪明的矮个人也确实存在。为了进一步深人理解这些数据,我找到我第一个能想到的个矮又聪明的朋友。他叫米尔顿李,毕业于宾夕法尼亚大学,20世纪90年代曾作为一个金融业从业者在华尔街拼杀。但是他最后放弃了金融业,去追求做篮球教练的梦想。

He says, “I’m below average height, and have above-average happiness.” In his basketball work, Lee spends a lot of time around well-compensated human trees, and doesn’t always see smiling faces. “There are plenty of NBA players who are absolutely miserable⁹.” Lee says. “They want more playing time, they feel underappreciated. Only a dozen or so guys feel that they are truly loved.”

他说我比普通人矮,也比普通人快乐。”在他从亊的篮球工作中，李长期和一群巨人待在一 起,但却很少看到他们的笑容。李说有很多NBA球员真得很惨,他们希望有更多的上场机会,他们觉得怀才不遇。只有十几个左右的球员觉得他们真正感受到爱。”

In his Wall Street days, Lee saw plenty of rich, happy short people and wealthy, depressed¹⁰ tall people. He does offer one reason why taller men might be happier. “Whenever Vm out with tall guys, they tend to get more attention from women,"says Lee. “You never hear girls say, ‘Hey, I'm really into short guys.”

在华尔街工作的时候,李见识过许多有钱又快乐的矮个子和有钱却抑郁的高个子。他也提供了高个的人可能更幸福的一个理由。李说每当我与高佬外出时,他们更能引起女人的注意。你从来没有听女孩说过，‘嘿,我真的喜欢矮个’。”

Lee directed me to one of the players he coaches，Coleman Collins, for the smart, tall guy，s perspective. When I told him Lee questioned the findings, Collins, who is 6 ft 9 in., wasn’t surprised. “Short people are always ready to disagree,” says Collins, who graduated from Virginia Tech when he was 19，after just three years, and played for the school’s basketball team. He points out that he has many short fiiends. “Generally speaking, I’ve found that they are more likely to have a chip on their shoulder, more likely to have something to prove，” Collins says.

李给我找来了他所指导的一个球员来验证高个聪明的观点。他的名字叫柯林斯，身高6英尺9英寸。当我告诉他李质疑研究结果时,他并不感到意外。柯林斯说矮个子总是准备好反对意见。”他 19岁时毕业于弗吉尼亚理工大学，经过短短3年，就为学校的篮球队效力。他有许多矮个朋友。柯林斯说总地来说，我发现，他们好像有更多的负担,更想去证明什么。”

Collins, now 23，supports the study’s results. “I'm generally in a good mood,” he says. “And based on the anecdotal evidence I’ve seen, tall people have a more pleasant disposition¹¹ and are more easygoing. They don’t have to make an extra effort to command attention. When they walk into a room, it tends to come naturally to them,"Such recognition surely helps your self-esteem.

柯林斯现在23岁，他证明了研究结果。他说:“我平时心情都很好,而且根据我所看到的一些有趣的证据,髙个的人脾气更好，更容易相处。他们不需要去努力获得更多注意。当你走进房间,你自然成为众人的焦点。”这种认同自然会提髙自尊。

1 lurch   

n.突然向前或旁边倒；v.蹒跚而行

参考例句：

• It has been suggested that the ground movements were a form of lurch movements.地震的地面运动曾被认为是一种突然倾斜的运动形式。
• He walked with a lurch.他步履蹒跚。

2 pro   

n.赞成，赞成的意见，赞成者

参考例句：

• The two debating teams argued the question pro and con.辩论的两组从赞成与反对两方面辩这一问题。
• Are you pro or con nuclear disarmament?你是赞成还是反对核裁军？

3 indignity   

n.侮辱，伤害尊严，轻蔑

参考例句：

• For more than a year we have suffered the indignity.在一年多的时间里,我们丢尽了丑。
• She was subjected to indignity and humiliation.她受到侮辱和羞辱。

4 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。

5 shrimps   

n.虾，小虾( shrimp的名词复数 )；矮小的人

参考例句：

• Shrimps are a popular type of seafood. 小虾是比较普遍的一种海味。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I'm going to have shrimps for my tea. 傍晚的便餐我要吃点虾。 来自辞典例句

6 vertically   

adv.垂直地

参考例句：

• Line the pages for the graph both horizontally and vertically.在这几页上同时画上横线和竖线，以便制作图表。
• The human brain is divided vertically down the middle into two hemispheres.人脑从中央垂直地分为两半球。

7 enjoyment   

n.乐趣；享有；享用

参考例句：

• Your company adds to the enjoyment of our visit. 有您的陪同，我们这次访问更加愉快了。
• After each joke the old man cackled his enjoyment.每逢讲完一个笑话，这老人就呵呵笑着表示他的高兴。

8 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

9 miserable   

adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的

参考例句：

• It was miserable of you to make fun of him.你取笑他，这是可耻的。
• Her past life was miserable.她过去的生活很苦。

10 depressed   

adj.沮丧的，抑郁的，不景气的，萧条的

参考例句：

• When he was depressed,he felt utterly divorced from reality.他心情沮丧时就感到完全脱离了现实。
• His mother was depressed by the sad news.这个坏消息使他的母亲意志消沉。

11 disposition   

n.性情，性格；意向，倾向；排列，部署

参考例句：

• He has made a good disposition of his property.他已对财产作了妥善处理。
• He has a cheerful disposition.他性情开朗。