PBS高端访谈:我们本没有什么中年危机

JUDY WOODRUFF: Researchers have found that satisfaction with life drops in our late 30s and bottoms out in our 40s, rising steadily¹, before reaching a peak in our 70s. You can call it the grandkid effect maybe? Well, despite these disparities, tonight, in Jonathan Rauch's humble² opinion, there is no such thing as a midlife crisis.

JONATHAN RAUCH, Author: Writing a book on age and happiness, I kept feeling a jolt³, like deja vu. I would be interviewing middle-aged⁴ men and women, but they had a secret. They expressed embarrassment⁵ about how they felt, often shame. But they kept it to themselves. I know this territory. We gay Americans call it the closet. I lived in one for 25 years. It was a lonely, sad, painful place. Now here I am, hearing the same music, but with different words. This time, the people I hear it from are not hiding their sexuality. They are hiding their midlife slump⁶. Recent research by economists⁷, psychologists, and even in brain scans shows that age is not a neutral emotional backdrop. Feeling satisfied and grateful is easiest in the early and late decades of life, and harder in the middle. Midlife dissatisfaction seems to be a natural and normal transition, as our values change and our brains develop. It appears we have evolved to chase success and status in youth. In late adulthood⁸, we shift our priorities toward community and connection. In between comes a sometimes rocky emotional reboot. Something pretty fundamental must be going on, because a similar pattern has been found in chimps⁹ and orangutans. Yet we call it a crisis, which usually it isn't. For men, we mock it with stereotypes¹⁰ of sports cars and bimbos. For women, we trivialize it as horror about wrinkles. We medicalize it as depression, when it's really dissatisfaction. We dismiss it as a First World problem. No one wants to be a punchline¹¹, a cliche¹², a basket case. So people hide their feelings and push through without support. And isolation¹³ only makes matters worse. If you're in a midlife slump, don't let yourself be isolated¹⁴ or ashamed. You're normal. If you know someone in a midlife slump, treat them as normal. Don't panic. Don't mock. Accept and support. Homosexuality is not wrong or harmful, but closeting it is. Midlife malaise isn't wrong or harmful, but closeting it is. Each of us right now can crack the closet door open a bit more for ourselves and someone we care about. Start by talking about midlife transition, not midlife crisis. It can do a world of healing.

JUDY WOODRUFF: Jonathan Rauch.

朱蒂·伍德拉夫：研究人员发现，我们对生活的满意度，在30多岁时会下降，40多岁时会触底，而后则稳步提升，直至70多岁时达到峰值。也许你会称这种现象为“老小孩效应”？尽管如此，今晚，乔纳森·劳奇将在《管见所及》栏目，就中年危机根本不存在一事，分享自己的观点。

乔纳森·劳奇，作者：写一本关于年龄与幸福的书，我一直感到颇为震惊，似曾相识。我会采访中年男女，但他们有一个秘密。他们对自己的感受感到难堪，常常感到羞愧。但他们对此一直保密。我知道这个事情。我们美国同性恋人把它叫做壁橱。我在其中生活了25年。那是一个孤独、悲伤、痛苦的地方。现在我在这里，听着同样的音乐，但说着不同话。这一次，对我讲话的人，并没有隐藏他们的性别。他们隐藏的是中年衰退。最近，经济学家、心理学家的最新研究，甚至脑部扫描都表明年龄并非一个中性的情感背景。在我们早年和晚年的生活中，感到满足和感激是最容易的，而在中年则较难。中年的不满足似乎是一种自然的、正常的转变，因为我们的价值观变了，我们的大脑发育了。年轻时我们似乎开始追名逐利。在晚年，我们则把优先权转向了社区与联系。在这两者之间，有时会出现一些情绪上的重启。一些非常基本的事情必须继续，因为在黑猩猩和红毛猩猩中，我们已经发现了类似的模式。然而我们称之为危机，通常不是这样。对于男人来说，我们用对跑车和妓女的刻板印象来嘲弄它。对女人来说，我们把它看作是对皱纹的恐惧。我们把它医学化为抑郁，然而它并非真正的不满足。这不是第一世界的问题。没有人希望成为别人的笑柄，或是一个老套的人，或是一个神经紧张的人。所以人们隐藏自己的感情，自己独自承受。孤立只会使事情变得更糟。如果你正处于中年衰退，不要让自己孤立，也不要感到羞愧。你是正常的。如果你知道有人正处于中年衰退之中，那么就把他们当作正常人看待。不要惊慌。不要嘲笑。接受和支持。同性恋本身不是错误，也没有害处，但将它隐藏起来就是了。中年衰退本身不是错误，也没有害处，但将它隐藏起来就是了。我们每个人现在都可以将壁橱门开大一点，为我们自己以及我们所关心的人。从谈论中年过渡开始，而不是中年危机。它可以成为一个疗愈的世界。

朱蒂·伍德拉夫：乔纳森·劳奇。

1 steadily   

adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地

参考例句：

• The scope of man's use of natural resources will steadily grow.人类利用自然资源的广度将日益扩大。
• Our educational reform was steadily led onto the correct path.我们的教学改革慢慢上轨道了。

2 humble   

adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低

参考例句：

• In my humble opinion,he will win the election.依我拙见，他将在选举中获胜。
• Defeat and failure make people humble.挫折与失败会使人谦卑。

3 jolt   

v.（使）摇动，（使）震动，（使）颠簸

参考例句：

• We were worried that one tiny jolt could worsen her injuries.我们担心稍微颠簸一下就可能会使她的伤势恶化。
• They were working frantically in the fear that an aftershock would jolt the house again.他们拼命地干着，担心余震可能会使房子再次受到震动。

4 middle-aged   

adj.中年的

参考例句：

• I noticed two middle-aged passengers.我注意到两个中年乘客。
• The new skin balm was welcome by middle-aged women.这种新护肤香膏受到了中年妇女的欢迎。

5 embarrassment   

n.尴尬；使人为难的人(事物)；障碍；窘迫

参考例句：

• She could have died away with embarrassment.她窘迫得要死。
• Coughing at a concert can be a real embarrassment.在音乐会上咳嗽真会使人难堪。

6 slump   

n.暴跌，意气消沉，（土地）下沉；vi.猛然掉落，坍塌，大幅度下跌

参考例句：

• She is in a slump in her career.她处在事业的低谷。
• Economists are forecasting a slump.经济学家们预言将发生经济衰退。

7 economists   

n.经济学家，经济专家( economist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The sudden rise in share prices has confounded economists. 股价的突然上涨使经济学家大惑不解。
• Foreign bankers and economists cautiously welcomed the minister's initiative. 外国银行家和经济学家对部长的倡议反应谨慎。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 adulthood   

n.成年，成人期

参考例句：

• Some infantile actions survive into adulthood.某些婴儿期的行为一直保持到成年期。
• Few people nowadays are able to maintain friendships into adulthood.如今很少有人能将友谊维持到成年。

9 chimps   

（非洲）黑猩猩( chimp的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Chimps are too scarce, and too nearly human, to be routinely slaughtered for spare parts. 黑猩猩又太少，也太接近于人类，不可以作为人器官备用件说杀就杀。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 医学的第四次革命
• And as nonprimates, they provoke fewer ethical and safety-related concerns than chimps or baboons. 而且作为非灵长类，就不会产生像用黑猩猩或狒狒那样的伦理和安全方面的顾虑。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 医学的第四次革命

10 stereotypes   

n.老套，模式化的见解，有老一套固定想法的人( stereotype的名词复数 )v.把…模式化，使成陈规( stereotype的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Such jokes tend to reinforce racial stereotypes. 这样的笑话容易渲染种族偏见。
• It makes me sick to read over such stereotypes devoid of content. 这种空洞无物的八股调，我看了就讨厌。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

11 punchline   

n.（笑话、故事等的）结尾警语，点睛之笔

参考例句：

• Even then,the magical pause can strengthen the punchline.即使这样，有魔力的停顿依然可以增强笑点。
• A good joke or a mystery novel has along wind up to the final punchline.好的笑话或神秘小说都是一路曲折，直至最后的笑料或真相。

12 cliche   

n./a.陈词滥调(的)；老生常谈(的)；陈腐的

参考例句：

• You should always try to avoid the use of cliche. 你应该尽量避免使用陈词滥调。
• The old cliche is certainly true:the bigger car do mean bigger profits.有句老话倒的确说得不假:车大利大。

13 isolation   

n.隔离，孤立，分解，分离

参考例句：

• The millionaire lived in complete isolation from the outside world.这位富翁过着与世隔绝的生活。
• He retired and lived in relative isolation.他退休后，生活比较孤寂。

14 isolated   

adj.与世隔绝的

参考例句：

• His bad behaviour was just an isolated incident. 他的不良行为只是个别事件。
• Patients with the disease should be isolated. 这种病的患者应予以隔离。