Happiness follows a U-shaped curve during a person's lifetime, according to research showing that middle-aged people are the unhappiest.
根據某研究，幸福在人的一生中呈一個U型的曲線，中年人是最不幸福的人群。

While young adults are carefree and full of hope for the future and the over-50s have come to terms with the trials of life, the research indicates that those in the middle feel weighed down by the demands on them. The study found “a substantial dip in happiness during the middle of people's lives is the equivalent to becoming unemployed or losing a family member". The conclusions come in a study of how people perceive their wellbeing.
當年輕人無憂無慮，對未來充滿希望時，那些超過50歲的人群已經習慣向生活中的小磨難妥協。研究表明中年人群因身上背負的要求而感到壓力很大。研究發(fā)現“中年人群幸福感下降的最大原因在于他們面臨失業(yè)或家人的去世?！?結論來自于一份研究人們如何理解幸福的報告。

Mr van Landeghem, who is 29, will present his research at the Royal Economic Society annual conference at Royal Holloway, the University of London, this week. While he said happiness did return with age, he warned that older people did not actually recapture the spirit of their youth. They simply learnt to be satisfied with their lot.
29歲的van Landeghem先生本周將在倫敦大學倫敦大學皇家霍洛威學院的皇家經濟協會發(fā)布它的研究。他說幸福不會隨著年齡的增長而回升，他警告說老人實際上不再會有年輕時候的精神。他們僅僅學著滿足于現狀。

"A U-shaped happiness curve does not necessarily imply that a 65 year-old prefers his own life to the life of a 25 year-old," he said. "Both the 25 year-old and 65 year-old might agree that it is nicer to be 25 than to be 65. But the 65 year-old might nevertheless be more satisfied, as he has learned to be satisfied with what he has."
“一個U型的幸福感曲線并不意味著比起25歲時的生活，一個65歲的人更加喜歡現在的生活，”他說道?！?5歲和65歲的人群都贊同25歲比65歲好。但是65歲的人可能對生活更加有滿足感，因為他已經學會滿足于他現在有的東西?！?

Studies around the world have shown that happiness tends to dip in midlife, he said, and that this was not just a phenomenon confined to the Western world. In a book called You're Looking Very Well, most people were "averagely happy" in their teens and 20s, but this declined until early middle age as they attempted to support a family and career.
全世界的研究表明幸福感在中年時期會下降，他說，這并不是只有西方國家才有的現象。在一本書名叫做《你看上去很好》的書里，大多數人在青少年時期以及20多歲的時候感覺很幸福，但是這種幸福感在他們早期步入中年時就下降了，因為他們要努力養(yǎng)家，忙工作。

He added: "From the mid-40s, people tend to become ever more cheerful and optimistic, perhaps reaching a maximum in their late 70s or 80s. "An easing of the responsibilities of middle age, maturity and an increased focus on the things we enjoy contributed to the trend, he said.
他補充道：“45歲開始，人們變得更加快樂和樂觀，在70多歲、80多歲時這種快樂和樂觀達到巔峰?！敝心耆说穆氊熒倭耍兊贸墒炝?，可以多做點自己喜歡的事情了，這些都促使這個趨勢的形成，他說。

According to a study by the American National Academy of Sciences, based on a survey of 341,000 people, enjoyment of life begins an upward trend in the late 40s and does not peak until 85. Older people today can benefit from better health and opportunities than previous generations, and research also suggests that our command of language and ability to make decisions increase with age.
根據《美國國家科學院院刊》的一項研究，享受生活在40多歲的時候有上升趨勢，85歲達到巔峰，這項研究的對象有341000人。比起前一代人，現在的老人更加健康，得到的機會也比較多。研究同樣表明語言應用和決策能力也會隨著年齡而增長。

Our capacity to concentrate on the parts of life and activities we enjoy, while cutting out things that we dislike, is also said to increase with age. Meanwhile, the ageing population means an increasing number of middle-aged adults are caught between the responsibilities of raising their children and looking after their elderly parents.
拋卻不喜歡做的事情，對生活某些部分的專注和對一些活動的享受也會隨著年齡而增長。同時，人口老齡化意味著中年人一邊要照顧父母，一邊要養(yǎng)育孩子。