英語聽力文摘 意外的收獲

作為社會當中的“弱勢群體”,老年人更需要得到來自他人的不管是身體上還是精神上的幫助.可出人意料的是,那些給予幫助的人在整個提供幫助的過程中能獲得意外的收獲.今天我們來看看來自密歇根州安阿伯大學的一項研究...

Caregiving Might Mean Longer Life

Don: Analyzing data from a five-year study, Stephanie Brown, a psychologist at the University of Michigan Ann Arbor, examined social support in elderly folks. Under scrutiny was practical support–such as help with the daily chores–as well as emotional support, such as listening to your spouse’s troubles. The relative presence, or absence, of these things was correlated with survival rates.

Yaël: Hold on. I see it coming. She found that elderly folks who get enough support lived longer than those who don't. So, we should remember to be nice to each other. Right?

D: Wrong!

Y: Wrong?

D: Well, it's good to be nice. But her study didn't find that people who receive support lived any longer than average. Instead, it found that people who gave the support were living longer.

Y: Wow, you mean the health benefits were reaped by the care-givers more than the care-receivers!

D: That what her data show. Older folks in the study who were either practical help-givers to neighbors and friends, or emotional support-givers to their spouses, had as little as half the death rate of people who were the receivers of help. Receivers, on the other hand, lived on average no longer than other folks.

Y: That is a surprise!

D: Of course, part of the effect may be that help-givers are just stronger in the first place. But beyond this, there does seem to be something life-giving about helping other people with their lives.

細心的看護意味著更長的壽命

Don: 密歇根州安阿伯大學心理學家Stephanie Brown從一項長達五年的研究的分析數(shù)據(jù)，對社會于老年群體的社會支持進行研究。該研究項目對一些具有實際價值的支持，如日?，嵤律系膸椭约扒楦猩系闹С?傾聽配偶的煩惱)等進行了分析研究。這些支持的存在或是缺失與存活率是相互關聯(lián)的。

Yaël: 等等……我知道了!她發(fā)現(xiàn)那些獲得足夠支持的老人比其他未獲得足夠支持的老人要更長壽。因此，我們應該時刻謹記要對彼此足夠的好。對嗎?

D: 不對!

Y: 怎么可能?!

D: 當然，對人好絕對是積極的。但是，她的研究并未發(fā)現(xiàn)獲得足夠幫助的老人活得比平均壽命要長多少。相反的，研究發(fā)現(xiàn)那些給予幫助、給予支持的人要活得長些。

Y: 哇哦，你是說，那些給予幫助的人會比那些獲得幫助的人更健康!

D: 這就是那個研究的結果。作為研究對象的老年人或是朋友鄰居的實際幫助施與者，或是自己伴侶的情感幫助施與者。他們比那些一味獲得幫助的老人的死亡率低了差不多一半。另一方面，那些一味獲得幫助的老人平均年齡比其他老人相對要短。

Y: 真想不到啊!

D: 當然，那些給予別人幫助的人相對而言確實較為健康。但除此之外，似乎也存在那些用自己的生命去挽救別人、幫助別人的案例。