国外媒体:休短假比休长假更开心?

Short breaks make people happier than one long holiday, psychologists claim

Taking frequent short breaks is better for you than one long holiday, research has found.

Psychologists believe that people who use their holiday allowance in bursts rather than all in one go are happier.

People who take so-called mini-breaks have more happy memories than those who holiday for an extended period of time, they claimed.

Dan Ariely, a behavioural economist¹ who wrote The Upside of Irrationality², suggested that holidaymakers break up extended time away by doing some work in the middle of their break saying this would make them more appreciative³ of their time away from the office.

The explanation is that people's enjoyment⁴ wanes⁵ as they become accustomed to their holiday lifestyle.

Prof Ariely, who teaches at Duke University in North Carolina, said: "On a long vacation, day seven is less good than day one because it's not as exciting. That's why in general, going away four times [a year] provides more benefit than you would expect, and going away for one week provides less benefit than you would expect."

However other experts disagree. Tim Harford, the author of Dear Undercover Economist, said that taking an increased number of trips would only increase the stress associated with travelling to and from a holiday destination.

He said: "If you pack three times as many holidays into the same amount of leave, you can expect three times as much trouble. It's not obvious to me that it's worth it."

一项研究发现，不时休休短假比一次性休一个长假给人带来的快乐更多。

心理学家认为，分次休假的人比一次性把假休完的人从度假中得到的快乐更多。

心理学家称，休短假的人比休长假的人拥有更多关于度假的美好回忆。

《不合理的有利面》一书的作者、行为经济学家丹·阿里利建议，人们应该把长假分成若干次来休，工作一段时间休几天假，这样会更加珍惜休假的时光。

这是因为当人们习惯长假的生活节奏后，度假的愉悦感就会逐渐降低。

在北卡罗来纳的杜克大学执教的阿里利教授说：“如果有一个七天长假，人们在第七天的兴奋感肯定不如第一天。这就是为什么从总体来看，一年休假四次带来的愉悦感超出你的想象，而一次性休假一周则不如你想象中那么快乐。”

然而，其他一些专家并不同意这一观点。《卧底经济学家》一书的作者蒂姆·哈福尔德说，一年休假很多次只会增加往返旅途所带来的压力。

他说：“如果你把一个长假分成三次来休，那你出行的麻烦就会增加三倍。很显然，这样做并不值得。”

1 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。

2 irrationality   

n. 不合理，无理性

参考例句：

• Such stoppages as are observed in practice are thus attributed to mistakes or even irrationality. 在实际情况中看到的这些停工，要归因于失误或甚至是非理性的东西。
• For all its harshness and irrationality, it is the only world we've got. 尽管它严酷而又不合理，它终究是我们具有的唯一的世界。

3 appreciative   

adj.有鉴赏力的，有眼力的；感激的

参考例句：

• She was deeply appreciative of your help.她对你的帮助深表感激。
• We are very appreciative of their support in this respect.我们十分感谢他们在这方面的支持。

4 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。

5 wanes   

v.衰落( wane的第三人称单数 )；（月）亏；变小；变暗淡

参考例句：

• The moon waxes till it becomes full, and then wanes. 月亮渐盈，直到正圆，然后消亏。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The moon waxes and wanes every month. 月亮每个月都有圆缺。 来自《简明英汉词典》