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If you're middle-aged and miserable, don't despair: Give it a decade or two and you'll be feeling like a carefree young person again.
如果你現在身處中年，迷惘痛苦，千萬不要絕望：再等一二十年，你就又會像年輕人一樣無憂無慮了。
Researchers have revealed that life satisfaction peaks at 23 and 69. People in their early twenties overestimate their future life satisfaction by an average of around 10 per cent, before the disappointments of life kick in.
研究人員發現，人在23歲和69歲時的生活滿意數值達到最高點。在令人失望的生活到來之前，平均大約有10%的人會在二十出頭時對未來生活的滿意程度過于樂觀。
They face decades of declining expectation before hitting their lowest point in their mid-fifties, when regrets over unrealised dreams are at their greatest. Satisfaction levels finally start to rise again after 55 and peak once more at 69, according to a study by the Centre for Economic Performance at the London School of Economics.
倫敦政經學院經濟表現研究中心的調查表明，此后幾十年中，人們對生活的期望會越來越低，直至五十五歲左右時滿意度降到最低點。這時，他們會后悔沒有在自己狀態最好的時候實現曾經的夢想。但過了55歲，滿意度曲線又會重新上升，在69歲時重回巔峰狀態。
Those aged 68 underestimate their future happiness by 4.5 per cent, meaning they no longer face disappointment, the researchers found. The findings suggest that actresses Emma Watson and Kristen Stewart, both 23, should relish this year.
研究發現，只有4.5%的人到68歲時會低估他們的幸福程度，這意味著他們不再感到失望。根據這個研究，兩位23歲的女演員艾瑪·沃森和克里斯汀·斯圖爾特都應該好好享受這一年。
If the research is borne out they will be optimistic but are likely to face disappointment in the next four decades. Previous studies have found that human contentment follows a U-shaped pattern, with those in their early twenties and the retired ranking highest.
如果該研究正確，那接下來40年里即使她們保持樂觀心態，也更有可能遇到令人沮喪的事情。之前有研究顯示，人們的幸福程度呈U形曲線狀，剛剛二十幾歲的年輕人和退休老人的幸福程度最高。
The pattern has been observed in more than 50 nations and across class and financial divides. And a study by the National Academy of Sciences in the US found evidence that even great apes can suffer a mid-life crisis.
這一曲線在50多個國家都適用，而且不分階級、不分經濟情況。美國國家科學院甚至發現就連高等類人猿也會受到“中年危機”的影響。
The CEP paper, to be published this week, is the first to examine how our expectations compare to reality at different life stages. Researcher Hannes Schwandt, 30, analysed happiness levels for 23,161 Germans aged 17 to 85.
經濟表現研究中心的論文將于本周發表，這是第一份以人類現實年齡和理想生活預期作對比的研究報告。為此，30歲的研究者漢內斯·施瓦德調查了23161名17至85歲的德國人的幸福程度。
Dr Schwandt, who is based at Princeton University in the US but is a visiting researcher at the London centre, said: ‘One theory is that the U-shape is driven by unmet aspirations which are painfully felt in midlife but beneficially abandoned later in life.
施瓦德博士本在美國普林斯頓大學工作，現在在倫敦客座研究員。他說：“有一種理論稱，無法滿足的欲望催生了U形曲線，這種痛苦在中年時期尤為強烈，但隨著人慢慢變老，放棄一些追求，便又重新快樂起來了。”
‘People in their fifties could learn from the elderly, who generally feel less regret. They should try not to be frustrated by their unmet expectations because they are probably not feeling much worse than their peers.'
“五十多歲的人應該向比他們更老的人學習，大部分老人都不會后悔太多事情。不要因為沒有達到預期而沮喪不安，因為他們的同齡人大概也處于相同狀態。”
