听力文摘：乐观主义好处多

（单词翻译）

Research shows that whether a person is an optimist¹ or a pessimist² is related to their quality of life, including their physical health. The subjects involved first took personality tests in the 1960′s and then thirty years later they completed a follow-up self-assessment of their health status. Researchers found that not only did the optimists³ from the 1960′s report better physical and mental functioning thirty years later, but that optimists also lived longer on average than pessimists⁴.

研究表明，不管一个人是乐观还是悲观，都和他的生活质量息息相关，包括身体健康。这个主题首次在二十世纪六十年代提出并做了人格测试，三十年后他们后续完成了健康状况的自我评价。研究人员发现60年代的乐观主义者不仅身心比30年后的人更健康，而且乐观主义者比悲观主义者更长寿。

It’s hardly clear that there is a causal relationship between optimism and health; it could be that they are related to the same underlying⁵ gene⁶ complex or set of mechanisms⁷. Still, it sure is tempting⁸ to surmise⁹ that it’s partly a positive attitude that keeps people alive for so long. It may actually be possible that a lot of what my parents have been telling me for years is true. If you think positively¹⁰, good things may happen to you. If you think negatively, then you may doom¹¹ yourself.

很难理清乐观与健康之间的因果关系，也许是因为它们与相同的潜在基因或是一套机制有关。不过，可以肯定的是，一定程度上的积极心态能让人长寿。实际上可能多年来我父母告诉我的许多事情都是真的。如果你积极地看待这个世界，好的事情就可能发生在你身上。如果你总是消极地看待一切，那样只会让你自己更郁闷。