If you are driving in the United States, you may see a common bumper sticker on passing vehicles that reads: Perform random acts of kindness. The saying is meant to urge people to do kind things for others without thinking or planning ahead.

　　如果你在美國開車，可能會在駛過的車輛上看到一個常見的保險杠貼紙，上面寫着：随意善舉。這句諺語的意思是敦促人們為他人做好事，而不事先考慮或計劃。

　　But several studies suggest there are some very good reasons to think about ways to be kind and actually plan out that type of behavior.

　　但幾項研究表明，有一些非常好的理由讓我們思考如何變得善良，并實際計劃出這種行為。

　　Research shows that acts of kindness can make us feel better and improve our health. Researchers also say kindness played an important part in how humans developed. In other words, they say scientific evidence suggests that we are designed to be kind.

　　研究表明，善意的行為可以讓我們感覺更好，改善我們的健康。研究人員還表示，善良在人類的發展過程中發揮了重要作用。換句話說，他們說科學證據表明我們生來就是善良的。

　　The Associated Press spoke with several researchers who have studied the subject.

　　One of them is Michael McCullough, a psychologist at the University of California San Diego. Kindness, he said, is as much a part of us as our anger or our lust or our grief or as our desire for revenge.

　　美聯社采訪了幾位研究這一課題的研究人員。加州大學聖地亞哥分校的心理學家邁克爾•麥卡洛(Michael McCullough)就是其中之一。善良，他說，就像我們的憤怒，我們的欲望，我們的悲傷，我們的複仇欲望一樣，是我們的一部分。

　　University of Oxford anthropologist Oliver Curry is the research director at Kindlab. Kindlab is a non-profit organization. Its goal is to educate and urge people to choose kindness.

　　牛津大學人類學家奧利弗•庫裡(Oliver Curry)是Kindlab的研究主任。Kindlab是一個非盈利組織。它的目标是教育和敦促人們選擇善良。

　　Curry claims that kindness is much older than religion. He adds that it does seem to be universal, meaning it is something all humans share.

　　庫裡聲稱，善良的曆史要比宗教悠久得多。他補充說，這似乎是普遍存在的，也就是說，這是所有人類共有的。

　　The basic reason why people are kind, he explained, is that we are social animals.

　　他解釋說，人類善良的基本原因是我們是社會動物。

　　Other research has shown that many people prize kindness over other values.

　　其他研究表明，許多人認為善良比其他價值更重要。

　　University of London psychologist Anat Bardi studies value systems in people. In one study, researchers gave people a list of values—such as kindness, creativity, ambition, tradition, security, seeking social justice, and seeking power. When asked to pick the most important, kindness won.

　　倫敦大學的心理學家阿納特•巴迪（Anat Bardi）研究人類的價值體系。在一項研究中，研究人員給人們一張價值清單，比如善良、創造力、雄心、傳統、安全感、尋求社會公正和尋求權力。當被要求選出最重要的一個時，善良勝出。

　　Curry said there is another reason people want to be kind. Under the right conditions, we all benefit from kindness.

　　庫裡說，人們想要變得善良還有另外一個原因。在适當的條件下，我們都能從善良中獲益。

　　When it comes to a species surviving, kindness pays, friendliness pays, said Brian Hare, an anthropologist at Duke University in North Carolina. He wrote the book Survival of the Friendliest.

　　北卡羅來納州杜克大學的人類學家布萊恩•黑爾(Brian Hare)說，當涉及到一個物種的生存時，善良和友好會帶來好處。他寫了《最友好的人的生存》一書。

　　Hare said kindness and working together can be good for many species—whether its bacteria, flowers or bonobos. He explained that the more friends you have, and the more individuals you help, the more successful you become.

　　黑爾說，善良和合作對很多物種都有好處——無論是細菌、鮮花還是倭黑猩猩。他解釋說，你的朋友越多，你幫助的人越多，你就越成功。

　　As an example, he compared bonobos with chimpanzees. Chimps can attack those outside their group. Bonobos, on the other hand, do not kill but help outsiders. Male bonobos, Hare added, are far more successful at mating than male chimps.

　　舉個例子，他将倭黑猩猩與黑猩猩進行了比較。黑猩猩會攻擊群體之外的人。另一方面，倭黑猩猩不殺生，而是幫助外來者。黑爾補充說，雄性倭黑猩猩在交配方面要比雄性黑猩猩成功得多。

　　McCullough says bonobos are the exception, not the rule. Most animals are only helpful to those in their close family groups but are not kind or helpful to strangers. This, he adds, separates us from other species. It shows our human ability to reason.

　　麥卡洛說倭黑猩猩是例外，而不是規則。大多數動物隻會幫助它們的家庭成員，而不會對陌生人友善或樂于幫助它們。他補充說，這将我們與其他物種區分開來。這顯示了我們人類的推理能力。

　　For example, humans realize that there is not much difference between those close to us and strangers. Strangers can help us if we are kind to them, McCullough said. He adds that this reasoning is the secret ingredient. It is why we help strangers in need. In English we even have the expression: to rely on the kindness of strangers.

　　例如，人類意識到與我們親近的人和陌生人之間并沒有太大的區别。麥卡洛說，如果我們對陌生人友善，他們就能幫助我們。他補充說，這個推理就是秘方。這就是為什麼我們幫助有需要的陌生人。在英語中，我們甚至有這樣的表達：依靠陌生人的好意。

　　But research shows that our bodies can also reward us for being kind.

　　但研究表明，我們的身體也會因為我們的善良而獎勵我們。

　　University of California Riverside psychology professor Sonja Lyubomirsky has tested this idea in many experiments over the past 20 years. She has found repeatedly that people feel better when they are kind to others, even more so than when they are kind to themselves.

　　加州大學河濱分校的心理學教授索尼娅•柳博米爾斯基（Sonja Lyubomirsky）在過去20年的許多實驗中驗證了這一觀點。她反複發現，人們善待他人時感覺更好，甚至比善待自己時感覺更好。

　　Acts of kindness, Lyubomirsky said, are very powerful.

　　柳博米爾斯基說：善良的行為是非常強大的。

　　In one experiment, the AP reports, she asked people to perform three acts of kindness for other individuals each week. She asked a different group to do three acts of self-kindness. These acts could be small, like opening a door for someone. The people who were kind to others reported feeling happier and more connected to the world.

　　據美聯社報道，在一個實驗中，她要求人們每周為其他人做三件好事。她讓另一組人為自己做三件美好的事。這些行為可能很小，比如為某人打開一扇門。對他人友善的人感覺更快樂，與世界的聯系也更緊密。

　　Curry, from Oxford, examined many different studies that were similar to Lyubomirskys research. He found at least 27 studies showing the same result—that being kind makes people feel better emotionally.

　　來自牛津大學的庫裡調查了許多與柳博米爾斯基的研究相似的不同研究。他發現至少有27項研究顯示了同樣的結果——善良使人在情感上感覺更好。

　　But it is not just emotional. It is also physical. Lyubomirsky studied a group of people with the disease multiple sclerosis. She found that they felt better physically when helping others.

　　但這不僅僅是情感上的。它也是身體上的。柳博米爾斯基研究了一組患有多發性硬化症的人。她發現他們在幫助别人時身體感覺更好。

　　Her research also showed that people who performed more acts of kindness had less inflammation, or harmful swelling, in their bodies. And in other studies, Lyubomirsky said more antiviral genes were found in people who performed acts of kindness.

　　她的研究還表明，做更多善事的人體内的炎症或有害腫脹較少。柳博米爾斯基說，在其他研究中，人們在做好事的人身上發現了更多的抗病毒基因。

　　知識積累：

　　諺語：

　　Perform random acts of kindness. 随意善舉。

　　to rely on the kindness of strangers 依靠陌生人的善意

　　重點詞彙：

　　species (plural species) n. a group of animals or plants whose members are similar and can breed together to produce young animals or plants 種，物種（分類上小于屬）

　　connect v. to join together two or more things; to be joined together（使）連接；聯結

　　本文英文來自VOA，經改編已選入《快捷英語 活頁英語時文閱讀理解 高一年級20》，轉載需注明出處。

　　快捷英語 活頁英語時文閱讀理解 20（七年級、八年級、中考、高一年級、高二年級、高考）

　　,

更多精彩资讯请关注tft每日頭條，我们将持续为您更新最新资讯!