英語(yǔ)聽(tīng)力文摘 意外的收獲

作為社會(huì)當(dāng)中的“弱勢(shì)群體”,老年人更需要得到來(lái)自他人的不管是身體上還是精神上的幫助.可出人意料的是,那些給予幫助的人在整個(gè)提供幫助的過(guò)程中能獲得意外的收獲.今天我們來(lái)看看來(lái)自密歇根州安阿伯大學(xué)的一項(xiàng)研究...

Caregiving Might Mean Longer Life

Don: Analyzing data from a five-year study, Stephanie Brown, a psychologist at the University of Michigan Ann Arbor, examined social support in elderly folks. Under scrutiny was practical support–such as help with the daily chores–as well as emotional support, such as listening to your spouse’s troubles. The relative presence, or absence, of these things was correlated with survival rates.

Yaël: Hold on. I see it coming. She found that elderly folks who get enough support lived longer than those who don't. So, we should remember to be nice to each other. Right?

D: Wrong!

Y: Wrong?

D: Well, it's good to be nice. But her study didn't find that people who receive support lived any longer than average. Instead, it found that people who gave the support were living longer.

Y: Wow, you mean the health benefits were reaped by the care-givers more than the care-receivers!

D: That what her data show. Older folks in the study who were either practical help-givers to neighbors and friends, or emotional support-givers to their spouses, had as little as half the death rate of people who were the receivers of help. Receivers, on the other hand, lived on average no longer than other folks.

Y: That is a surprise!

D: Of course, part of the effect may be that help-givers are just stronger in the first place. But beyond this, there does seem to be something life-giving about helping other people with their lives.

細(xì)心的看護(hù)意味著更長(zhǎng)的壽命

Don: 密歇根州安阿伯大學(xué)心理學(xué)家Stephanie Brown從一項(xiàng)長(zhǎng)達(dá)五年的研究的分析數(shù)據(jù)，對(duì)社會(huì)于老年群體的社會(huì)支持進(jìn)行研究。該研究項(xiàng)目對(duì)一些具有實(shí)際價(jià)值的支持，如日?，嵤律系膸椭约扒楦猩系闹С?傾聽(tīng)配偶的煩惱)等進(jìn)行了分析研究。這些支持的存在或是缺失與存活率是相互關(guān)聯(lián)的。

Yaël: 等等……我知道了!她發(fā)現(xiàn)那些獲得足夠支持的老人比其他未獲得足夠支持的老人要更長(zhǎng)壽。因此，我們應(yīng)該時(shí)刻謹(jǐn)記要對(duì)彼此足夠的好。對(duì)嗎?

D: 不對(duì)!

Y: 怎么可能?!

D: 當(dāng)然，對(duì)人好絕對(duì)是積極的。但是，她的研究并未發(fā)現(xiàn)獲得足夠幫助的老人活得比平均壽命要長(zhǎng)多少。相反的，研究發(fā)現(xiàn)那些給予幫助、給予支持的人要活得長(zhǎng)些。

Y: 哇哦，你是說(shuō)，那些給予幫助的人會(huì)比那些獲得幫助的人更健康!

D: 這就是那個(gè)研究的結(jié)果。作為研究對(duì)象的老年人或是朋友鄰居的實(shí)際幫助施與者，或是自己伴侶的情感幫助施與者。他們比那些一味獲得幫助的老人的死亡率低了差不多一半。另一方面，那些一味獲得幫助的老人平均年齡比其他老人相對(duì)要短。

Y: 真想不到啊!

D: 當(dāng)然，那些給予別人幫助的人相對(duì)而言確實(shí)較為健康。但除此之外，似乎也存在那些用自己的生命去挽救別人、幫助別人的案例。