今天，您活得快樂嗎？

快樂是一種感覺，它不只取決于人們的生活狀態(tài)，還取決于人的心態(tài)。感覺快樂的時候一切看起來都是那么美好。無論生活有多疲憊，工作有多奔波，我們都在不斷追求著自己理想中的快樂。今天，您快樂嗎? Come and join our discussion!

December Topic

Tonight， we talk about Happiness， that 1)quirky， elusive emotion that The Declaration of Independence maintains we have every right to pursue. And man， do we pursue it?

Well， the main scientific survey of international happiness carried out by Leicester University in England ranks the U.S. a distant 23rd， well behind Canada and Costa Rica.

And the winner is， once again， Denmark.

Over the past 30 years， in survey after survey， this nation of five and a half million people， the land that produced Hans Christian Andersen， the people who consume 2)herring by the ton， consistently beat the rest of the world in the happiness stakes.

What makes a Dane so happy and why isn’t he

3)wallowing in misery and self-doubt like so many of the rest of us? That’s a question that also 4)intrigued Professor Kaare Christensen at the University of Southern Denmark.

Christensen: If you ask people on the street where they think the happiest country in the world is， they’ll say， you know， like， tropical islands and nice places， you know， like Italy or Spain. Places with nice weather and good food. But in Europe， they’re actually the most unhappy people.

So Dr. Christensen and a team of researchers tried to discover just why Denmark finds itself on top of the happiness heap.

Christensen: What we basically figured out [is] that although the Danes were very happy with their life， when we looked at their expectations， they were pretty modest.

Reporter:"So by having low expectations， you are rarely disappointed?

Christensen: Exactly.

Dr. Christensen’s study was called “Why Danes Are

5)Smug，” and essentially his answer was it’s because they’re so glum and get happy when things turn out not quite so badly as they expected.

Christensen: And I was thinking about， “What if it was opposite that Denmark made the list， No.20， and another country was No.1?” I’m pretty sure the Danish television would say， “Well， No.20’s not too bad. You know it’s still in the top 25， you know; that’s not too bad.”

History may also play a role in the country’s culture of low expectations. If you go to the government’s own Web site， it proudly proclaims “the present 6)configuration of the country is the result of 400 years of forced 7)relinquishments of land， surrenders and lost battles.”

Danish students can fairly be described as utterly laid-back. Even so， they’re surprised to be told they live in “happiness-ville.”

Student A: When I go abroad， I usually see people look much more happy， for example， in southern Europe. They go about in the streets laughing much more than we do. I think you could say maybe we are more content.

Reporter:"What’s the

8)distinction you make between happiness and contentedness?

Student A: Well， if you’re content you don’t have so much to worry about. That’s what I think.

For example， no student loans hanging over their heads: all education is free in Denmark， right on through university; and students can take as long as they like to complete their studies.

Student B: And we get paid to go to school actually. Instead of in the U.S. you pay to go to school， we get paid to go to school if we pass our exams.

Denmark also provides free health care， 9)subsidized child care and elder care， a social safety net spread the length and breadth of the country.

Student C: I mean， we’re pretty much free to do whatever we want. We’re secure from the day we’re born; for a Dane who lives in Denmark.

But in getting all those wonderful gifts from the government， the Danes do pay a price.

Reporter:"How much would a， sort of， middle income person pay in taxes?

Christensen: About 50—half.

And that is one 10)trade-off most Americans are not willing to make. Americans， according to Harvard Psychology lecturer Tal Ben-Shahar， want it all.

Ben-Shahar: In America， part of the 11)ethos， part of the American dream， is that more-is-better， and the more-is-better usually applies to the material realm. And that doesn’t 12)pan out. That doesn’t work. It doesn’t make us happier.

Ben-Shahar teaches a course at Harvard called “Positive Psychology”， the science of happiness. He began the class four years ago， and it became the most popular course on campus， enrolling 1，400 students.

Ben-Shahar: There’s a lot of unhappiness on college campuses. And it’s not just at Harvard. Over 94 percent of college students nationwide are stressed and overwhelmed.

Ben-Shahar says Americans could learn a lot about happiness from the Danes.

Ben-Shahar: It is about having realistic expectations. It’s about not trying to fit in more than we can handle. We can’t handle it all. We can’t have it all. But we can have a lot.

Reporter (To the students):"Just describe for me the qualities that a successful person would have in this country.

Student A: Well， in order to see myself as， as a success， I would， I want to be happy and have a lot of time with my family. I think that’s very important to me. And the money is not that important.

Student D: It is more about the softer values， such as not being stressed， and feeling passionate about what I’m doing. And maybe this job is not gonna pay me a lot of money， but I’m gonna love getting up and doing it every day.

Reporter:"What would you advise Americans to do?

Student A: I have an advice. Don’t depend too much on the American dream. Yeah. I think you might get disappointed.

十二月話題

今晚，我們來討論一下“快樂”這種怪異且難以捉摸的情感；《獨立宣言》明確肯定了我們有追求快樂的所有權利。那么，伙計們，我們追求快樂嗎？

嗯，由英國萊斯特大學進行的關于全世界快樂問題的主要科研調(diào)查將美國排在了相當靠后的23位，遙遙落后于加拿大和哥斯達黎加。

而冠軍呢，再次屬于——丹麥。

在過去30年里，一個又一個的調(diào)查顯示，要是比快樂的話，丹麥這個擁有550萬人口，培育了漢斯·克里斯蒂安·安徒生，國民消耗青魚數(shù)以噸計的國家一直讓世界其它國家只能望其項背。

是什么令丹麥人如此快樂而且為什么他們不像我們很多人那樣陷于痛苦和自我懷疑呢？這個問題也吸引了南丹麥大學的卡雷·克里斯騰森教授。

克里斯騰森：如果你問街上的人世界上最快樂的國家在哪里，他們會說，你知道吧，像那些熱帶小島和舒適的地方，如意大利或西班牙，就是那些氣候宜人并且有美食佳肴的地方。但在歐洲，那里的人其實最不快樂。

因此克里斯騰森博士與一組研究人員嘗試探究為什么丹麥人總處在快樂巔峰之上。

克里斯騰森：我們的一個基本發(fā)現(xiàn)是：盡管丹麥人對自己的生活很滿意，但當我們談到他們的期望時，他們的要求都不太高。

記者：那么就是說，因為期望很低，于是就很少感到失望了。

克里斯騰森：沒錯。

克里斯騰森博士的研究報告名為《為何丹麥人沾沾自喜》，從本質(zhì)上來看，他的結論是因為他們性格陰郁，當事情的最終結果沒有他們預期地那么壞時，他們就會很高興。

克里斯騰森：我一直在想，“如果結果是相反的呢？比如說，丹麥在名單中排第20位，而另一個國家排在首位。”我敢肯定丹麥電視臺會這么說：“嗯，第20位也不錯。要知道，這個名次還處在前25位之內(nèi)，對吧，是個不太差的排名。”

歷史也可能對這個國家的低期望文化有一定的影響。如果你登錄政府官方網(wǎng)站，便會看到一段引以為榮的聲明：“當前的國家格局是400年來被迫放棄土地、投降和打敗仗所造成的結果。”

丹麥學生簡直可以被形容為十足的閑散派。即使這樣，他們也很驚訝于得知自己生活在“快樂之城”中。

學生甲：當我在國外的時候，我經(jīng)常看見別人（比我們）高興得多，比如在歐洲南部。他們在街上走動，笑得比我們多多了。我想你可以說我們或許比較知足。

記者：你認為快樂與知足之間的區(qū)別是什么？

學生甲：嗯，如果你滿足，就沒有太多東西要擔心了。我是這么認為的。

比如說，學生不用愁學生貸款的問題——在丹麥，從小學到大學的所有教育都是免費的。而且學生可以不限時地完成學業(yè)。

學生乙：事實上，我們上學是有補助的。不像在美國，你要交學費才能上學；如果我們考試過了，我們就會獲得補助讓我們上學。

丹麥還提供免費醫(yī)療、兒童護理津貼和長者護理津貼——一個覆蓋全國各地的社會保障安全網(wǎng)絡。

學生丙：我的意思是，我們基本上可以很自由地去做自己想做的事情。從出生那天起，我們就獲得保障；每一個在丹麥生活的丹麥人都有的保障。

但在獲得政府所贈予的所有這些美好的權益同時，丹麥人也要付出代價。

記者：一個大概中等收入的人要繳多少稅呢？

克里斯騰森：大約（百分之）五十——一半收入。

而這是一筆大多數(shù)美國人不愿意做的交易。根據(jù)哈佛心理學講師泰爾·本－沙哈爾的觀點，美國人想得到全部的

好處。

本－沙哈爾：在美國，作為社會觀和美國夢的部分內(nèi)容就是，越多越好；而這“越多越好”通常應用于物質(zhì)領域。這個理念沒有成功。那行不通。那沒有讓我們更快樂。

本－沙哈爾在哈佛執(zhí)教一門名為“積極心理學”的課程，即關于快樂的科學。他四年前開設這門課，現(xiàn)已成為大學里最熱門的課程，有1400名學生申請選讀。

本－沙哈爾：大學校園里有很多不快樂的情緒。這不單單發(fā)生在哈佛。全國超過94％的大學生處于壓力過大與應接不暇的狀態(tài)。

本－沙哈爾說美國人可以從丹麥人那里學習很多關于快樂的經(jīng)驗。

本－沙哈爾：關鍵在于要抱有切合實際的期望。就是指不要把生活塞得太滿以致應付不過來。我們不可能什么都應付自如，也不可能擁有一切。但我們可以擁有很多。

記者（對學生說）：請跟我描述一下，在本國成功人士所具備的品質(zhì)是什么。

學生甲：嗯，要將自己看成一個成功人士，我會希望開心，并且有很多時間跟家人在一起。我想那對我來說是非常重要的。而金錢并不是那么

重要。

學生丁：這更多的是關于軟性價值的問題，比如不會感到壓力重重，還有對于自己正在從事的工作充滿熱情。也許這份工作不會帶給我很多金錢，但我會喜歡每天起床都從事這份

工作。

記者：你們會給美國人什么樣的忠

告呢？

學生甲：我有一個建議。不要對美國夢期望太高。對，我想你可能會失

望的。

您覺得自己是個快樂人嗎？

Discussion Forum七嘴八舌討論區(qū)

Opinion 1

No， I am not. But I see how happy my neighbor was when he hit the jackpot last week. He is such a lucky stiff!

Opinion 2

Not really， I love milk and I am afraid I drank some with poison in it. It’s a catch-twenty-two.

Opinion 3

Yes at the moment. The worm turns in my favor for a change. I got a well deserved promotion in my job.

Opinion 4

I am a self-content guy. Nothing is happier than having a scrumptious meal after a day in the rat race.

Opinion 5

The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence. People tend to think others are happier than themselves. So do I.

Opinion 6

Absolutely not! I just got burned in the stock market to the tune of 10， 000 RMB.

Opinion 7

I would say simple life makes me happier. I really miss those days when I was just a hick. City life is not my thing.

Opinion 8

I am not sure. Some days I am betwixt and between. One day I’m on top of the mountain; the next day I am going downhill fast.

Know More

The World Map of Happiness 世界快樂地圖

2006年底，英國萊斯特大學發(fā)表了全球范圍第一份標示快樂程度的研究報告。這份名為《世界快樂地圖》（World Map of Happiness）的報告是根據(jù)英國萊斯特大學社會心理分析學家Adrian White對178個國家和地區(qū)的八萬多名受訪者進行調(diào)查后，通過100多種研究結果的后設分析而得出的。研究的議題包含生活的滿意度、健康、財富和受教育的機會等等。研究顯示，最能影響幸福感的首推國民健康，其次是財富，再者是教育、國民認同感。

在這份研究報告中，排名前十的國家分別是：丹麥、瑞士、奧地利、冰島、巴哈馬、芬蘭、瑞典、不丹、文萊和加拿大。超級大國美國僅排在第23位，英國排41位，而亞洲的日本排第90，韓國第102，而中國大陸排第82位，中國香港排第68，中國臺灣第63，而最不快樂的是非洲國家布隆迪（Burundi）。

想了解所有的排名情況，請訪問我們口語版的BLOG:

http://csblogs.blog.163.com