Part B: Subheading Matching (2016)
Act Your Shoe Size, Not Your Age.
As adults, it seems that we’re constantly pursuing happiness, often with mixed results. Yet children appear to have it down to an art—and for the most part they don’t need self-help books or therapy. Instead, they look after their wellbeing instinctively and usually more effectively than we do as grownups. Perhaps it’s time to learn a few lessons from them.
41. ___________________
What does a child do when he’s sad? He cries. When he’s angry? He shouts. Scared? Probably a bit of both. As we grow up, we learn to control our emotions so they are manageable and don’t dictate our behaviours, which is in many ways a good thing. But too often we take this process too far and end up suppressing emotions, especially negative ones. That’s about as effective as brushing dirt under a carpet and can even make us ill. What we need to do is find a way to acknowledge and express what we feel appropriately and then—again, like children—move on.
42. ___________________
A couple of Christmases ago, my youngest stepdaughter, who was 9 years old at the time, got a Superman T-shirt for Christmas. It cost less than a fiver but she was overjoyed, and couldn’t stop talking about it. Too often we believe that a new job, bigger house or better car will be the magic silver bullet that will allow us to finally be content, but the reality is these things have little lasting impact on our happiness levels. Instead, being grateful for small things every day is a much better way to improve wellbeing.
43. ___________________
Have you ever noticed how much children laugh? If we adults could indulge in a bit of silliness and giggling, we would reduce the stress hormones in our bodies, increase good hormones like endorphins, improve blood flow to our hearts and ever have a greater chance of fighting off infection. All of which would, of course, have a positive effect on our happiness levels.
44. ___________________
The problem with being a grownup is that there’s an awful lot of serious stuff to deal with—work, mortgage payments, figuring out what to cook for dinner. But as adults we also have the luxury of being able to control our own diaries and it’s important that we schedule in time to enjoy the things we love. Those things might be social, sporting, creative or completely random (dancing around the living room, anyone?)—it doesn’t matter, so long as they’re enjoyable, and not likely to have negative side effects, such as drinking too much alcohol or going on a wild spending spree if you’re on a tight budget.
45. ___________________
Having said all of the above, it’s important to add that we shouldn’t try too hard to be happy. Scientists tell us this can backfire and actually have a negative impact on our wellbeing. As the Chinese philosopher Chuang Tzu is reported to have said: “Happiness is the absence of striving for happiness.” And in that, once more, we need to look to the example of our children, to whom happiness is not a goal but a natural byproduct of the way they live.
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全文翻译
作为成年人，我们似乎一直在追求幸福，但结果往往喜忧参半。然而，孩子们似乎已经掌握了其中的艺术——而且在很大程度上，他们不需要自我帮助的书籍或心理治疗。相反，他们本能地照顾自己的身心健康，而且通常比我们作为成年人做得更有效。也许是时候向他们学习一些经验了。
孩子难过时做什么？他哭。生气时呢？他喊。害怕时呢？可能两者都有一点。随着我们长大，我们学会控制自己的情绪，使它们可控，不让它们支配我们的行为，这在很多方面是好事。但我们往往把这个过程做得太过，最终压抑了情绪，尤其是消极的。这大约和把灰尘扫到地毯下面一样有效，甚至可能让我们生病。我们需要做的是找到一种方法来适当地承认和表达我们的感受，然后——再次像孩子一样——向前看。
几年前的圣诞节，我最小的继女，当时9岁，收到一件超人T恤作为圣诞礼物。它不到五英镑，但她欣喜若狂，不停地说它。我们往往相信新工作、更大的房子或更好的车将是让我们最终满足的魔法银弹，但现实是，这些东西对我们的幸福水平几乎没有持久的影响。相反，每天对小事心怀感激是改善身心健康的更好的方法。
你有没有注意到孩子笑得多频繁？如果我们成年人能沉浸在一点傻气和咯咯笑中，我们将降低体内的压力荷尔蒙，增加如内啡肽等好的荷尔蒙，改善流向心脏的血液，甚至有更大的机会抵抗感染。所有这些当然会对我们的幸福水平产生积极影响。
做成年人的问题在于有太多严肃的事情要处理——工作、抵押贷款、想清楚晚饭做什么。但作为成年人，我们也有能够控制自己日程的奢侈，重要的是我们要安排时间去享受我们喜欢的事情。这些事情可能是社交、体育、创意或完全随机的（在客厅跳舞，有人吗？）——没关系，只要它们是令人愉快的，而且不太可能产生消极的副作用，比如喝太多酒或者如果你预算紧张却疯狂消费。
说了以上所有这些，重要的是要补充说明我们不应该太努力地去追求幸福。科学家告诉我们这可能适得其反，实际上对我们的身心健康产生负面影响。据报道中国哲学家庄子曾说："幸福是不去追求幸福。"在这一点上，我们再一次需要看看孩子们的榜样，对他们来说，幸福不是一个目标，而是他们生活方式的一个自然副产品。
答案解析 (Answers & Analysis)
41. 对应 [D] Express your emotions (表达你的情绪)
【定位】段落描述了孩子难过时会哭（cries）、生气时会喊（shouts）。随后指出成人往往会压抑情绪（suppressing emotions），建议我们要“acknowledge and express what we feel appropriately（识别并恰当地表达我们的感受）”。“express”是核心关键词。
42. 对应 [F] Be easily pleased (容易满足)
【定位】段落举例继女得到一件不到5英镑的超人T恤就很开心。对比成人总觉得要换大房子、好车才能满足，段落最后建议：“being grateful for small things every day（每天为小事心怀感激）”。为小事感激，即“容易满足”。
43. 对应 [A] Be silly (犯点傻/天真一点)
【定位】段落强调笑（laugh）和咯咯笑（giggling）的好处，建议成人“indulge in a bit of silliness（沉浸在一点点幼稚/愚蠢中）”，可以减少压力激素。核心词“silliness”直接对应选项中的“silly”。
44. 对应 [B] Have fun (玩得开心)
【定位】段落谈到生活中有太多严肃的事情，因此建议我们要“schedule in time to enjoy the things we love（安排时间享受我们热爱的事物）”。列举了跳舞等有趣的随机活动。这些都是为了“找乐子（Have fun）”。
45. 对应 [E] Don’t overthink it (不要想太多/顺其自然)
【定位】段落警告不要“try too hard to be happy（太努力追求幸福）”，因为这会适得其反（backfire）。引用庄子的话说明“Happiness is the absence of striving for happiness（幸福是不刻意追求幸福）”。强调幸福是顺其自然的产物，不要过度追求或思考，对应 [E]。