快樂是一種傳染病

如果世界上有一種傳染病叫快樂，相信大家都愿意被傳染。如果使用感嘆號是最容易被傳染的途徑，想必你也一定愿意用吧！

I have only one gift to offer as a friend. It's not loyalty； that's a rare quality for people to appreciate. I am patient， yes， but that is hardly a noticeable trait2）. And I can't give wise advice； I have the life experience of a teenager. Were it not for my one talent， I might have few friends.

I am an expert in happiness. I know it better than any other emotion， and I love everything about it. I enjoy watching it spread across angry faces， I like to find the smile lines on older people's skin， and I take pleasure in making people happy. Something few people understand about happiness is that it's a disease， a contagious disease with universal symptoms. The most common symptom is a smile.

Through years of observation I have come to an important conclusion： the easiest way to infect others with happiness is to be happy yourself. The key to spreading happiness is a mixture of extreme optimism， laughing and smiling， and using as many exclamation points3） as possible. I do this as often as I can in order to balance out4） the pessimists and so-called \"realists\" of the world.

I find exclamation points the most effective method. Whatever the mood of my sentence， whether I'm writing， texting or speaking， I add one. I have become so accustomed to using them that I often find it necessary to take them out of my essays or remove them from the ends of my passwords.

I know what I'm doing when I add exclamation points. I'm telling people not to worry. I'm showing them that everything is all right， and that even if it isn't， it will be soon. I'm helping them look on the bright side， to read their troubles from a different point of view. When I say I'm \"okay\" you might worry， but when I'm \"okay！！\" you probably won't think twice. The power of exclamation is something I take advantage of whenever I can.

There was a time， however， when I lost my exclamation points.

As soon as my phone's screen lit up， my face would too. I smiled with delight. Someone I liked very much had texted me. I replied as rapidly as I could， employing a plethora5） of exclamation points. This person was someone I believed deserved all of the happiness I could give.

\"Can I ask you a question？\" my source of happiness texted.

\"Of course！！\" I replied.

\"Why do you use so many exclamation points？\"

I didn't tell him it was because I wanted to infect others with my happiness. The spread of happiness is less effective when people know what you're up to.

\"I dunno6）. I just like them！！\"

\"They seem a little excessive to me，\" he wrote. \"It's so unnecessary.\"

I began to doubt the data I had accumulated on happiness. If the person who made me happiest believed that my methods were ineffective， maybe I needed to reevaluate. It's clear to me now that I shouldn't have been so quick to accept his opinion. This person didn't even realize what he had done to me， and at first， I didn't either.

Thus began the great downfall of my favorite punctuation mark. Exclamation points disappeared from my neutral texts and even from my sad ones. They began to appear only when I was truly happy， which， as the year progressed， was less often. Most of my friends couldn't handle this sadder version of me， and it made sense； it wasn't really me at all. I started to spread a different disease： depression. Other friends became unavailable because they had their own problems and couldn't deal with mine.

Eventually the very person who'd started this stopped talking to me， and I was fully abandoned. No one wants to feel like they are being pulled under7） by a friend. I had transformed from a little ball of sunshine into a lead weight， and the change was far too dramatic and sudden to be dealt with by others. I spent much of my time alone， with no one to comfort me and no one to confide in. I had lost the part of me people liked most.

I may have hated losing my exclamation points， but I don't regret it. Experiencing what I did made me realize how much they meant to me. I needed to understand the emptiness at the end of a sentence without exclamation. I needed to realize how heavy I had become without it.

I finally emerged from the depths of this episode8） through an explosion of exclamation. I was infected by my favorite disease again， and I felt light. I am thankful to the person who told me I didn't need them. Because of him， I now know that I needed them more than anything.

I believe in adding exclamation points to the end of all my sentences. I do it to remind others of the positive side， to show my excitement about what they say. I even do it to make sure they realize that I enjoy talking to them. I use them in writing and aloud. I accidentally use them all the time. I use them in part to reassure myself of my own happiness. But most importantly， I use them because they are a part of me. They are one of many things that define me， and thanks to my past experiences， no one will ever take them away from me again！

作為朋友，我只有一樣禮物可以奉獻。它不是忠誠，忠誠這種美德罕見稀有，鮮有人能夠欣賞。沒錯，我有耐心，但這算不上什么引人注目的品質。我也沒有能力給出明智的建議，因為我只有一個十幾歲孩子的生活經驗。若不是因為我的一種天賦，我或許根本交不到幾個朋友。

我是一位快樂專家。我了解快樂勝于了解其他任何情感，而且凡是跟它相關的一切我都喜歡。我喜歡看著它在憤怒的面孔上蔓延，我喜歡在老人的臉上尋找“笑紋”，我也樂于讓他人快樂。關于快樂很少有人了解的一點就是，它是一種病，一種具有普遍癥狀的傳染病，其中最常見的癥狀就是微笑。

通過多年的觀察，我得出了一個重要結論：想用快樂感染別人，最簡單的辦法就是讓自己快樂。傳遞快樂的關鍵是既要極度樂觀，又要綻放笑容，還要盡可能多地使用感嘆號。我盡可能地經常這么做，以便抵消世上那些悲觀主義者和所謂的“現實主義者”所帶來的影響。

我發現感嘆號是最有效的方法。無論是在寫字、發信息，還是在說話，不管我的那句話語氣如何，我都會加上一個感嘆號。我已經變得太過習慣于使用感嘆號，結果常常發現必須要從我的論文里或密碼結尾刪掉一些感嘆號。

我知道當我加上感嘆號時自己在做什么：我在告訴他人不要擔心；我在向他們表明一切順利，就算現在不順利，也會很快好起來；我在幫助他們往好的方面想，幫他們換個角度看待自己的煩惱。當我說我“很好”時，你或許會擔心；但如果我說我“很好！！”時 ，你可能就不會再思來想去了。無論何時，只要我可以，我就會利用感嘆號的力量。

但是，有那么一段時間，我卻丟失了我的感嘆號。

我的手機屏幕一亮，我也會面露喜色。我開心地笑了，是我非常喜歡的一個朋友給我發了條信息。我立馬回復了他，用了特別多的感嘆號，因為我堅信這個人值得我給予所有的快樂。

“我能問你一個問題嗎？”作為我快樂之源的那個人發信息問。

“當然！！”我回復。

“你為什么用這么多感嘆號？”

我沒告訴他這是因為我想用自己的快樂感染別人。如果對方知道你在做什么，那么傳播快樂的效果就要打折扣了。

“我不知道。我就是喜歡它們！！”

“對我來說這些感嘆號似乎有點多了，”他寫道，“這太沒必要了。”

我開始懷疑我積累的那些關于快樂的資料了。如果令我最快樂的那個人都認為我的方法沒有效果，那或許我就需要重新評估一下了。現在我很清楚，當時我本不應該那么快就接受他的意見。這個家伙根本沒有意識到他對我做了些什么，而一開始，我也沒有意識到。

就這樣，我最喜歡的標點符號開始一落千丈。感嘆號從我那些沒有感情色彩的信息，甚至是那些悲傷的信息里消失不見了。它們開始只在我真正開心時才會出現，而這樣的時候隨著時間的推移變少了。我的大部分朋友都不知道該怎樣和這樣一個比較陰郁的我打交道，他們這樣是有道理的，因為這根本就不是真正的我。我開始傳播一種截然不同的病：抑郁。我的其他朋友開始不和我聯系，因為他們有自己的問題，沒能力幫我解決我的問題。

到了最后，連那個造成這一切的家伙也不和我說話了，我徹底被拋棄了——沒有人想要那種正被朋友拉下水的感覺。我從一小團陽光變成了一個鉛塊，而且這種改變過于戲劇化，又太過突然，令其他人措手不及。我大部分時間都孤零零一個人，沒有人安慰我，也沒有人聽我吐露心聲。我已經失去了讓人們最喜歡的那部分自我。

我或許曾痛恨丟失了我的感嘆號，但我現在并不后悔。經歷了我做過的這些事情讓我意識到它們對我有多重要。我需要理解句尾沒有感嘆號的那種空虛，我需要認識到失去感嘆號的我變得多么沉悶。

隨著使用感嘆號數量的激增，我終于從這段經歷的深淵中掙脫出來。我又染上了我最愛的那種病，我心感輕盈。我很感謝曾告訴我我不需要感嘆號的那個人。因為他，我現在知道我需要它們勝過一切。

我認為要在我所有句子的結尾加上感嘆號。我這么做是要提醒他人看到積極的一面，是對他們所說的話表示出我的激動，甚至是為了確保他們明白我喜歡和他們說話。我寫信息時用感嘆號，說話時也用感嘆的語氣。我無意中一直都在用感嘆號。在某種程度上我用感嘆號是為了讓自己安心，確信自己是快樂的。但最重要的是，我用感嘆號是因為它們是我的一部分，它們和許多其他東西一起造就了我。多虧過去的那些經歷，現在沒有人能夠再次將它們從我身邊帶走！

1.contagious [k?n?te?d??s] adj. 有感染力的，易感染的

2.trait [tre?t] n. 品質

3.exclamation point： 感嘆號。exclamation [?ekskl??me??n] n. 感嘆

4.balance out： 抵消

5.plethora [?pleθ?r?] n. 過多

6.dunno： don't know的簡寫形式，意為“不知道”。

7.pull under： （漩渦、急流）把……卷到水底下

8.episode [?ep?s??d] n. 一段經歷