People get happier as they grow older, according to new research, which claims our best years do not arrive until our late seventies and eighties.
一项新研究发现幸福感会随着年纪增长而增加，最好的日子要在七八十岁的时候才会到来。

Traditional wisdom states that the younger years are the best of our lives, with the milestone of 40 meaning we are "over the hill."
一般认为人生最好的时光是风华正茂的年岁，一过不惑之年便是光景已逝、年华不再。

But in fact satisfaction and optimism steadily increase after middle age, easily eclipsing the earlier years and peaking as late as the eighties, according to scientists.
科学家们称，事实是中年后人们才会越来越知足常乐、乐天知命，让早年的岁月相形见绌，到了85岁后达到幸福感的顶峰。

An easing of the responsibilities of middle age combined with maturity and the ability to focus on the things we enjoy combine to make old age far more enjoyable than one might expect.
中年后肩上的责任减轻，心智成熟，能够专注于喜爱的事情上，因而可以让人活的比常人所想的更快乐。

This is greatly increased by having good health, a stable income and good relationships with family and friends, according to scientists.
科学家们说如果身体健康、收入稳定、家庭和睦，幸福感就会大大增加。

Lewis Wolpert, professor of biology at University College London, said most people were "averagely happy" in their teens and twenties, declining until early middle age as they try to support a family and a career.
伦敦大学学院生物学教授刘易斯·沃尔珀特说大部分人十几、二十几岁是“一般幸福”，由于养家和职业的原因幸福感会一直下滑直至中年前期。

A survey of 341,000 people, published by the American National Academy of Sciences, found enjoyment of life dwindled throughout early adulthood but began increasing in the late forties, and continued to increase until reaching a peak at 85.
这份由美国国家科学学院发布的研究覆盖34.1万人。该研究发现青年时期生活幸福感日益减少，到了45岁后才会慢慢增加，并将一直持续到85岁到达顶峰。