有调查发现，越来越多的英国年轻人更愿意花钱获得人生体验而非购物。心理学研究也为这一选择提供了理论支持。研究显示，哪怕是对一次时间很短的活动的期待和记忆也能带来比拥有最新的电子产品、服饰或珠宝更多的精神享受。本文探讨这种现象带给我们的启示。

词汇：leisure 休闲

1  What's best: a brand new phone or a day out with your friends? Is it better to spend money to buy things or to do things? A study of UK consumers showed that six in ten people would rather spend their money on experiences than material possessions. Those aged 18-34 reported spending the highest amount on fun activities.

2  Possessions can last for many years, while experiences are fleeting. This, however, might be the wrong way to look at things. Psychology professor Thomas Gilovich discovered that the happiness that objects provide can fade quickly. We adapt to having new possessions, so that rather than being something we are excited by, they just become our new normal. Soon we may even want to buy a better version of the things we own. Our feelings around possessions can also be affected by others. We tend to compare what we have with other people. If someone else has something better, we can start to feel envious.

3  A holiday or a day out may have a short duration, but the happiness it provides can last much longer. Waiting for our latest purchases to be delivered is frustrating, but waiting for an exciting event gives us a feeling of anticipation. Experiences are often shared, so we gain pleasure from social connection and time spent with other people. Memories of our experiences become part of our identity. As Gilovich points out, we are the sum of our experiences. Indeed, the very fact that experiences last for a limited time can give them value. A physical good deteriorates over time, while our memories of an experience can give us pleasure year after year.

4  Of course, it's not always that simple. Other studies have suggested that happiness gained from experiences might depend on your personality type, and how many possessions you already have. People with more introverted personality types may get less benefit from social occasions and those with few possessions may get greater benefit from objects. However, for many of us, it could be that when choosing how to spend our disposable income, we'll get far more benefit by spending on something to do, rather than something to have.

测验与练习

一、将标题和段落配对。

Paragraph 1 _______
Paragraph 2 _______
Paragraph 3 _______
Paragraph 4 _______

a. Adapting to products
b. Experiences becoming more popular
c. Spending disposable income
d. Not for everyone
e. Anticipation and memories

二、根据文章内容选出正确的选项。

1. Most UK consumers prefer spending their income on experiences.

a. True
b. False
c. Not given

2. What does 'this' refer to in the following passage? Possessions can last for many years, while experiences are fleeting. This, however, might be the wrong way to look at things.

a. thinking that experiences are better
b. thinking that something that lasts longer is better
c. thinking about experiences

3. According to the text, which of these are true?

a. experiences have to be exciting to be enjoyable.
b. new possessions are expensive.
c. we get bored of new possessions over time.

4. Waiting for a new experience is exciting.

a. True
b. False
c. Not given

5. Whether you can get more pleasure from experiences can depend on _______.
a. where you live
b. your income
c. your job

三、用下列单词完成对本文的总结。

Buying new 1)_______ might not make us happy. We can start to see them as a 2)_______ and also they can 3)_______ over time. Waiting for new experiences often makes us feel 4)_______, while the memories we make help form our 5)_______.

deteriorate
gain
anticipation
new normal
material possessions
identity
duration

（答案见词汇表后）

词汇表

experiences 体验，经历
material possessions 物质财产
fleeting 短暂的，转瞬即逝的
fade 渐渐消失
new normal 新常态
envious 嫉妒的，羡慕的
duration 持续时间
frustrating 令人沮丧的，令人懊恼的
anticipation 期望，期待
gain 获得，获取
social connection 社会联系
the sum of …的总和，…的集合
deteriorate 劣化，变坏
personality type 性格类型
disposable income 可支配收入
benefit 好处

答案

一、将标题和段落配对。

Paragraph 1 b) Experiences becoming more popular
Paragraph 2 a) Adapting to products
Paragraph 3 e) Anticipation and memories
Paragraph 4 d) Not for everyone

二、根据文章内容选出正确的选项。

1. a. True. A study of UK consumers showed that six in ten people would rather spend their money on experiences than material possessions.

2. b. thinking that something that lasts longer is better. The pronoun 'this' refers to the sentence 'Possessions can last for many years, while experiences are fleeting', which implies that possessions are better value.

3. c. we get bored of new possessions over time. Psychology professor Thomas Gilovich discovered that the happiness that objects provide can fade quickly.

4. a. True. Waiting for our latest new products to be delivered is frustrating but waiting for an exciting event gives us a feeling of anticipation.

5. b. your income. Other studies have suggested that happiness gained from experiences might depend on your personality type, and that people with lower incomes may be more likely to get happiness from possessions.

三、用下列单词完成对本文的总结。

Buying new material possessions might not make us happy. We can start to see them as a new normal and also they can deteriorate over time. Waiting for new experiences often makes us feel anticipation, while the memories we make help form our identity.