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The World Map of Happiness 世界快乐地图

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In order to live “Happily Ever After,” apparently you have to live in Denmark, while Switzerland and Austria are close runners-up. This is according to the first ever World Map of Happiness, recently created by researchers at the University of Leicester. It is based on the survey results of 80,000 people from 178 countries around the world.

为了过着永远幸福快乐的日子，显然你得住在丹麦，而瑞士和奥地利则紧接在后。这是依据莱斯特大学研究员所制作的全球第一张「世界快乐地图」，根据全球178国八万人的调查结果。

The map is divided into different colors of relative cheer. Maroon equals the height of happiness, while yellow symbolizes misery. Taiwan, along with most of Asia, is a lovely orange, which lies between the two extremes. The U.S.A. wears maroon, although it’s twenty-two spots behind Denmark on the happiness scoreboard. Russia, Albania, and many African countries are swathed in yellow.

这张地图划分成不同色块，代表相对的快乐程度。枣红色意味最幸福，而黄色则象征不幸福。台湾与其他多数亚洲国家则是可爱的橙色，位于中间。美国虽是枣红色，在幸福排行榜位居第23名。俄罗斯、阿尔巴尼亚和许多非洲国家则属于黄色区块。

So, why are the Danes so happy? According to Alexander Kjerulf, author of Happy Hour is 9-5, Danes may pay high taxes, but they get a very high level of public services, including free health care, schools, and universities for everybody. Danish employers can dismiss people easily, but it’s fairly easy for workers to find jobs. This results in people getting jobs they genuinely enjoy. In addition, Danes don’t need to work long hours due to Denmark’s great social system.

为何丹麦人如此快乐？根据《快乐是朝九晚五》一书的作者亚历山大．柯杰若夫的看法，丹麦人虽然得付高额税金，却享有高水平的公共服务，包括免费的全民健保、学校及大学。虽然丹麦的雇主能轻易解雇员工，但员工找工作却也很容易。因此丹麦人能找到自己真正喜欢的工作。此外，良好的社会福利也让丹麦人不须长时间工作。

The question remains: what is happiness? University of Leicester researchers settle on defining happiness as a general feeling of comfort and satisfaction rather than absolute ecstasy. They conclude that happiness generally goes hand in hand with health, wealth (available jobs and fair wages), and access to education. Perhaps it’s time for us to replace GDP with happiness as the new measure of a nation’s worth. So don’t worry, be happy!

但问题还是存在：快乐是什么？莱斯特大学研究员决定将快乐定义为舒服与满足的全盘感受，而非绝对的狂喜。他们下结论说，快乐通常与健康、财富（有工作与合理薪资）及教育机会密不可分。或许从现在开始，我们应该以快乐取代国内生产毛额来衡量一国的价值。所以别烦恼，快乐一点！

−by Amy Gittelson

Vocabulary

单词发音

is based on  以…为基础,以…为根据

relative [ˋrɛlətɪv] adj. 相对的; 比较的

symbolize [ˋsɪmb!͵aɪz] v. 象征

swathe [sweð] v. 包围

dismiss [dɪsˋmɪs] v. 解雇；开除

genuinely [ˋdʒɛnjʊɪnlɪ] adv. 真正地

settle on 选择, 决定 to make a decision or come to an agreement about something

ecstasy [ˋɛkstəsɪ] n. 狂喜﹐欣喜若狂

wage [wedʒ] n.〔按小时﹑日﹑周所计的〕工资﹐薪金

replace [rɪˋples] v. 以……代替..[（+with/by）]

worth [wɝθ] n. 价值

More Information

单词发音

ever after 从此以后一直

apparently [əˋpærəntlɪ] adv. 显然地

runner-up [ˋrʌnɚˋrʌp] n.（竞赛中的）第二名，亚军

maroon [məˋrun] adj. 褐紫红色的

misery [ˋmɪzərɪ] n. 痛苦；不幸

scoreboard [ˋskor͵bord] n. 记分板

Albania [ælˋbenɪə] n. 阿尔巴尼亚

Dane [den] n. 丹麦人

fair [fɛr] adj. 公正的；公平的

Reading Questions

1. Which of the following is true about the World Map of Happiness?

A. Yellow indicates contentment, maroon anxiety, and orange sorrow.

B. Orange symbolizes happiness, yellow satisfaction, and maroon somewhere in between.

C. Maroon countries are content, orange cheerless, and yellow countries are indifferent.

D. Maroon means happiness, yellow sadness, and orange somewhere in between.

2. Which of the following is NOT a reason given for the Danes’ happiness?

A. They have a high rate of taxation.

B. They enjoy a high level of public services.

C. Jobs are plentiful in Denmark.

D. Danes are not required to work long hours.

3. What in the main purpose of the World Map of Happiness?

A. To show how different countries define happiness.

B. To show that happiness is absolute ecstasy.

C. To show the relative happiness of countries around the world.

D. To show that countries need to tie happiness to wealth.

Answer