好人遇见了好人

9月21日，四川泸定地震中失联17天的「甘宇」被当地老乡「倪太高」救至家中。

9月5日，泸定地震，「甘宇」和同事「罗勇」没有选择第一时间逃生，而是冲上10层楼高的大坝坝肩，拉闸泄洪，避免了河水漫过大坝冲毁下游村庄。

无注释原文：

Five reasons why being kind makes you feel good – according to science

From: The Conversation

February 26, 2018

Everybody can appreciate acts of kindness. But when it comes to explaining why we do them, people often take one of two extreme positions. Some think kindness is something completely selfless that we do out of love and care, while others believe it is just a tool that we cunningly use to become more popular and reap the benefits.

But research shows that being kind to others can actually make us genuinely happy in a number of different ways. We know that deciding to be generous or cooperating with others activates an area of the brain called the striatum. Interestingly, this area responds to things we find rewarding, such as nice food and even addictive drugs. The feel-good emotion from helping has been termed “warm glow” and the activity we see in the striatum is the likely biological basis of that feeling.

Of course, you don’t have to scan brains to see that kindness has this kind of benefit. Research in psychology shows a link between kindness and well-being throughout life, starting at a very young age. In fact, even just reflecting on having been kind in the past may be enough to improve teenagers’ mood. Research has also shown that spending extra money on other people may be more powerful in increasing happiness than spending it on yourself.

But why and how does kindness make us so happy? There are a number of different mechanisms involved, and how powerful they are in making us feel good may depend on our personalities.

1. Contagious smiling

Being kind is likely to make someone smile and if you see that smile for yourself, it might be catchy. A key theory about how we understand other people in neuroscience suggests that seeing someone else show an emotion automatically activates the same areas of the brain as if we experienced that emotion for ourselves.

You may have been in a situation where you find yourself laughing just because someone else is – why not set off that chain of good feelings with a nice surprise for someone?

2. Righting a wrong

The same mechanism also makes us empathise with others when they are feeling negative, which could make us feel down. This is particularly true for close friends and family, as our representations of them in the brain physically overlap with our representations of ourselves. Doing a kind act to make someone who is sad feel better can also make us feel good – partly because we feel the same relief they do and partly because we are putting something right. Although this effect is especially powerful for people we are close to, it can even apply to humanitarian problems such as poverty or climate change. Getting engaged with charities that tackle these issues provide a way to have a positive impact, which in turn improves mood.

3. Making connections

Being kind opens up many different possibilities to start or develop a social connection with someone. Kind acts such as a buying someone a thoughtful present or even just a coffee strengthens friendships, and that in itself is linked to improved mood.

Similarly, charities offer the opportunity to connect with someone on the other side of the world through donating to improve their life. Volunteering also opens up new circles of people to connect with, both other volunteers and those you are helping.

4. A kind identity

Most people would like to think of themselves as a kind person, so acts of kindness help us to demonstrate that positive identity and make us feel proud of ourselves. In one recent study, even children in their first year of secondary school recognised how being kind can make you feel “better as a person … more complete”, leading to feelings of happiness. This effect is even more powerful when the kind act links with other aspects of our personality, perhaps creating a more purposeful feeling. For example, an animal-lover could rescue a bird, an art-lover could donate to a gallery or a retired teacher could volunteer at an after-school group. Research suggests that the more someone identifies with the organisation they volunteer for, the more satisfied they are.

5. Kindness comes back around

Work on the psychology of kindness shows that one out of several possible motivations is reciprocity, the returning of a favour. This can happen directly or indirectly. Someone might remember that you helped them out last time and therefore be more likely to help you in the future. It could also be that one person being kind makes others in the group more kind, which lifts everyone’s spirits. Imagine that you bake cakes for the office and it catches on so someone does it each month. That is a lot more days that you’re getting cakes than providing them.

The story doesn’t end there. Being kind may boost your mood, but research has also shown that being in a good mood can make you more kind. This makes it a wonderful two-way relationship which just keeps giving.

- ◆ -

注：中文文本为机器翻译仅供参考，并非一一对应

含注释全文：

Five reasons why being kind makes you feel good – according to science

From: The Conversation

February 26, 2018

Everybody can appreciate acts of kindness. But when it comes to explaining why we do them, people often take one of two extreme positions. Some think kindness is something completely selfless that we do out of love and care, while others believe it is just a tool that we cunningly use to become more popular and reap the benefits.

每个人都能欣赏善良的行为。但在解释我们为什么要这样做时，人们通常会采取两种极端的立场之一。有些人认为善良是完全无私的，是我们出于爱和关心而为的，而另一些人认为它只是一种工具，是我们狡猾地用来变得更受欢迎并获得好处的工具。

cunningly /ˈkʌn.ɪŋ.li/ 表示“狡猾地，诡诈地；灵巧地，巧妙地”，英文解释为“in a cleverly planned way, especially when this involves tricking other people, or making things for a particular purpose”

But research shows that being kind to others can actually make us genuinely happy in a number of different ways. We know that deciding to be generous or cooperating with others activates an area of the brain called the striatum. Interestingly, this area responds to things we find rewarding, such as nice food and even addictive drugs. The feel-good emotion from helping has been termed “warm glow” and the activity we see in the striatum is the likely biological basis of that feeling.

但是研究表明，对他人的善意实际上可以通过许多不同的方式让我们真正快乐。我们知道，下定决心慷慨解囊或协助他人会激活大脑中一个叫做纹状体（striatum）的区域。有趣的是，这个区域会对我们认为有价值的事情做出反应，比如美食，甚至成瘾性药物。从帮助他人中产生的自我感觉良好的情绪被称为“温暖的光芒”，我们在纹状体中看到的活动可能是这种感受的生物学基础。

addictive /əˈdɪk.tɪv/ 表示“（活动或食品）使人上瘾的，使人入迷的”，英文解释为“An addictive activity or food is one that you cannot stop doing or eating once you have started.”举个🌰：

The problem with video games is that they're addictive.

电子游戏的问题在于它们会使人上瘾。

feel-good /ˈfiːlˌɡʊd/ 作形容词，表示“使人愉悦的”，英文解释为“causing happy and positive feelings about life”如：a feel-good movie 令人愉悦的电影。

Of course, you don’t have to scan brains to see that kindness has this kind of benefit. Research in psychology shows a link between kindness and well-being throughout life, starting at a very young age. In fact, even just reflecting on having been kind in the past may be enough to improve teenagers’ mood. Research has also shown that spending extra money on other people may be more powerful in increasing happiness than spending it on yourself.

当然，你不必扫描大脑就能看出善良有这样的好处。心理学研究表明，从很小的时候开始，善良和幸福之间的联系就贯穿人的一生。事实上，即使只是反思过去的善意，也足以改善青少年的情绪。研究还表明，把额外的钱花在别人身上可能比花在自己身上更能增加幸福感。

But why and how does kindness make us so happy? There are a number of different mechanisms involved, and how powerful they are in making us feel good may depend on our personalities.

1. Contagious smiling 有感染力的微笑

Being kind is likely to make someone smile and if you see that smile for yourself, it might be catchy. A key theory about how we understand other people in neuroscience suggests that seeing someone else show an emotion automatically activates the same areas of the brain as if we experienced that emotion for ourselves.

2）表示“（感情、态度、行动）富于感染力的，会蔓延的”，英文解释为“If a feeling, attitude, or action is contagious, other people are quickly affected by it and begin to have it or do it”，如：her contagious enthusiasm 她那富有感染力的热情。

You may have been in a situation where you find yourself laughing just because someone else is – why not set off that chain of good feelings with a nice surprise for someone?

你可能遇到过这样的情况，你发现自己只是因为别人在笑而笑——为什么不给别人一个惊喜以带来一连串的好心情呢？

2. Righting a wrong 纠正错误

The same mechanism also makes us empathise with others when they are feeling negative, which could make us feel down. This is particularly true for close friends and family, as our representations of them in the brain physically overlap with our representations of ourselves. Doing a kind act to make someone who is sad feel better can also make us feel good – partly because we feel the same relief they do and partly because we are putting something right. Although this effect is especially powerful for people we are close to, it can even apply to humanitarian problems such as poverty or climate change. Getting engaged with charities that tackle these issues provide a way to have a positive impact, which in turn improves mood.

同样的机制也让我们在他人感到消极时产生共鸣，这可能会让我们情绪低落。对于亲密的朋友和家人来说尤其如此，因为我们在大脑中对他们的表述与我们对自己的表述在物理上重叠。做一个善意的举动，让悲伤的人感觉好一点，也能让我们自己感觉好一点——部分是因为我们和他们一样感到宽慰，部分是因为我们正在让它恢复正常。尽管这种影响对我们亲近的人尤其强大，但它甚至可以适用于贫困或气候变化等人道主义问题。参与解决这些问题的慈善机构提供了一种产生积极影响的方式，这反过来又能改善情绪。

right 作动词，表示“改正，纠正；使恢复正常”，英文解释为“If you right a situation or a mistake, you make it better or correct it.”举个🌰：

It's a terrible situation and we should right it as soon as possible.

这种局面太糟糕了，我们应当尽快使其恢复正常。

3. Making connections 建立联系

Being kind opens up many different possibilities to start or develop a social connection with someone. Kind acts such as a buying someone a thoughtful present or even just a coffee strengthens friendships, and that in itself is linked to improved mood.

友善会为开始或发展与某人的社会联系带来许多不同的可能性。友善的行为，比如给某人买一份体贴的礼物，甚至只是一杯咖啡，会加强友谊，而这本身就与改善情绪有关。

Similarly, charities offer the opportunity to connect with someone on the other side of the world through donating to improve their life. Volunteering also opens up new circles of people to connect with, both other volunteers and those you are helping.

同样，慈善机构提供了通过捐赠改善生活与世界另一端的人联系的机会。志愿服务也开辟了新的人际关系圈，包括其他志愿者和你所帮助的人。

4. A kind identity 善良的身份

Most people would like to think of themselves as a kind person, so acts of kindness help us to demonstrate that positive identity and make us feel proud of ourselves. In one recent study, even children in their first year of secondary school recognised how being kind can make you feel “better as a person … more complete”, leading to feelings of happiness. This effect is even more powerful when the kind act links with other aspects of our personality, perhaps creating a more purposeful feeling. For example, an animal-lover could rescue a bird, an art-lover could donate to a gallery or a retired teacher could volunteer at an after-school group. Research suggests that the more someone identifies with the organisation they volunteer for, the more satisfied they are.

purposeful /ˈpɜː.pəs.fəl/ 表示“有明确目标的，有清晰目的的；坚决的”，英文解释为“showing that you know what you want to do”举个🌰：

He has a quiet, purposeful air.

他镇定而又坚决。

5. Kindness comes back around 好人有好报

Work on the psychology of kindness shows that one out of several possible motivations is reciprocity, the returning of a favour. This can happen directly or indirectly. Someone might remember that you helped them out last time and therefore be more likely to help you in the future. It could also be that one person being kind makes others in the group more kind, which lifts everyone’s spirits. Imagine that you bake cakes for the office and it catches on so someone does it each month. That is a lot more days that you’re getting cakes than providing them.

对善良心理学的研究表明，几种可能的动机之一是互惠，即回报。这可以直接或间接地发生。有人可能会记得你上次帮助了他们，因此将来更有可能帮助你。也可能是一个人的善良会让团队中的其他人更加善良，这会提升每个人的兴致。想象一下，你为办公室烤蛋糕后很受欢迎，于是每个月都有人来烤蛋糕。这意味着你吃到蛋糕的日子比你自己烤蛋糕的日子多得多。

reciprocity /ˌres.ɪˈprɒs.ə.ti/ 表示“互助；互惠；互换”，英文解释为“behaviour in which two people or groups of people give each other help and advantages”

lift sb's spirits 表示“提高（某人）的兴致；提升士气；振奋精神”，英文解释为“to make someone happier”举个🌰：

Nothing - not even the prospect of dinner - could lift his spirits.

什么都提不起他的兴致，甚至连吃饭也不例外。

The story doesn’t end there. Being kind may boost your mood, but research has also shown that being in a good mood can make you more kind. This makes it a wonderful two-way relationship which just keeps giving.

故事并没有就此结束。善良可能会提升你的情绪，但是研究也表明，心情好会让你更善良。这使得它成为一种奇妙的相互关系，良性循环不断持续。

1）表示“双向的；可双向通行的”，英文解释为“moving or allowing movement in both directions”如：a two-way street 可双向通行的街道；

2）表示“双方的；相互的；彼此的”，英文解释为“A two-way situation involves two people or two groups of people working together to achieve a shared aim.”举个🌰：

Remember, friendships are a two-way street (= both people have to make an effort).

记住，友谊是需要双方共同付出努力的。

- 今日盘点 -

cunningly

reap

addictive

feel-good

term

mechanism

contagious

catchy

neuroscience

set sth. off

right

empathise

overlap

humanitarian

demonstrate

purposeful

reciprocity

lift sb's spirits

catch on

two-way

公众号后台对话框里发送：666

参与抽奖（9月24日0点开）

公众号后台对话框里发送：沙发

查看沙发计划，抢沙发拿奖励

公众号后台对话框里发送：打卡

参与每天持续行动打卡计划

公众号后台对话框里发送：提问

查看提问指南，不懂先查再问

- 推荐阅读 -

2022政府工作报告中英文对照注释版

为了这个合集，准备了整整1年8月

「LearnAndRecord」2021大盘点

写在七周年的话

- END -