Happiness follows a U-shaped curve during a person's lifetime, according to research showing that middle-aged people are the unhappiest.
根据某研究，幸福在人的一生中呈一个U型的曲线，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.
当年轻人无忧无虑，对未来充满希望时，那些超过50岁的人群已经习惯向生活中的小磨难妥协。研究表明中年人群因身上背负的要求而感到压力很大。研究发现“中年人群幸福感下降的最大原因在于他们面临失业或家人的去世。” 结论来自于一份研究人们如何理解幸福的报告。

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岁的van Landeghem先生本周将在伦敦大学伦敦大学皇家霍洛威学院的皇家经济协会发布它的研究。他说幸福不会随着年龄的增长而回升，他警告说老人实际上不再会有年轻时候的精神。他们仅仅学着满足于现状。

"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."
“一个U型的幸福感曲线并不意味着比起25岁时的生活，一个65岁的人更加喜欢现在的生活，”他说道。“25岁和65岁的人群都赞同25岁比65岁好。但是65岁的人可能对生活更加有满足感，因为他已经学会满足于他现在有的东西。”

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时期会下降，他说，这并不是只有西方国家才有的现象。在一本书名叫做《你看上去很好》的书里，大多数人在青少年时期以及20多岁的时候感觉很幸福，但是这种幸福感在他们早期步入中年时就下降了，因为他们要努力养家，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.
他补充道：“45岁开始，人们变得更加快乐和乐观，在70多岁、80多岁时这种快乐和乐观达到巅峰。”中年人的职责少了，变得成熟了，可以多做点自己喜欢的事情了，这些都促使这个趋势的形成，他说。

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.
根据《美国国家科学院院刊》的一项研究，享受生活在40多岁的时候有上升趋势，85岁达到巅峰，这项研究的对象有341000人。比起前一代人，现在的老人更加健康，得到的机会也比较多。研究同样表明语言应用和决策能力也会随着年龄而增长。

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.
抛却不喜欢做的事情，对生活某些部分的专注和对一些活动的享受也会随着年龄而增长。同时，人口老龄化意味着中年人一边要照顾父母，一边要养育孩子。