你的下一个里程碑式生日快到了吗？迈入人生一个新的十年也许会让许多人感到不安。这往往会让人把自己与身边的人作比较，具体可能表现为频繁关注社交媒体上他人的生活，从而对自己的现状感到焦虑，并不断思考社会对这个年龄的自己有什么样的要求和期许。但心理学家们认为，我们与其被这些问题困扰，不如把重要生日当作一个契机，短暂地停下脚步，想一想接下来想要什么样的生活，然后为自己制定一些实际可行的小目标。本文浅谈如何应对人生里程碑式生日给人带来的压力。

词汇：birthday anxiety 生日焦虑症

1  When's your next big birthday? How do you feel about that? Do you feel you need to do something spectacular to mark it? Are you excited by the prospect, or dreading the future?

2  We usually think of birthdays as a time to celebrate, but they can also cause stress and worry. Research suggests that this can be even stronger for '9-enders', the 29, 39 and 49-year-olds who are worried about the milestone they are about to reach. What is it that makes a number that ends in zero so daunting?

3  New decades can seem like a fresh start where we evaluate how we are doing. The problem is that many of us look for something to compare with. This might be people that we know or that we follow on social media, or just what we think society expects us to have achieved by a certain age. Any differences can lead us to question ourselves. This links to other stresses that can come with getting older. We might worry that there is limited time to achieve society's expectations. We may also know people from older generations who had health problems at a certain age, and fear that the same thing will affect us.

4  So, what can we do? Psychologists advise a few steps. Many agree that it's important to celebrate or mark your birthday in your own way. Do something you genuinely enjoy to avoid feeling the pressure of having to celebrate in a particular way. Another key piece of advice that psychologists offer is that we should use the opportunity to reflect on our lives, but in positive ways. First, consider what you have achieved recently and record those achievements. Then decide what you want to achieve next, and what steps you can take to get there. Having achievable goals can help give our lives greater purpose.

5  If we can celebrate our successes, set ourselves realistic and achievable goals, and find a way to spend our day that we really enjoy, then maybe we'll find it much easier to deal with those big milestone birthdays.

测验与练习

一、将标题和段落配对。

Paragraph 1 ________
Paragraph 2 ________
Paragraph 3 ________
Paragraph 4 ________
Paragraph 5 ________

a. Comparing with expectations
b. End-of-decade anxiety
c. Quarter-life crises
d. Individual perceptions
e. Your next big birthday
f. Define your own birthday
g. Dealing with milestones

二、根据文章内容选出正确的选项。

1. Look at paragraph 1. What does 'it' refer to in the following sentence? Do you feel you need to do something spectacular to mark it?
a. how you feel
b. the future
c. your next big birthday

2. Who are 9-enders?
a. people who dread their birthday
b. people whose age ends in 9
c. 90-year-olds

3. The most dangerous comparisons are with people on social media.
a. True
b. False
c. Not given

4. Psychologists say we should choose our own way to celebrate our birthdays.
a. True
b. False
c. Not given

5. How can we find greater purpose in life?
a. meeting social expectations
b. having realistic targets
c. comparing with our friends

三、用下列单词完成对本文的总结。

30, 40 and 50 are all 1) _______ birthdays. People find them hard because it's easy to 2) _______ yourself to society's 3) _______ and feel bad because of it. Instead, 4) _______ on your achievements to give yourself 5) _______.

compare
evaluate
reflect
fresh start
expectations
greater purpose
milestone

（答案见词汇表后）

词汇表

spectacular 盛大的
mark 纪念，标志
prospect 前景，可能发生的事
dread 畏惧，担忧
celebrate 庆祝
milestone 里程碑，重要节点
daunting 令人畏惧的
fresh start 新的开始
evaluate 评估
compare 比较
a certain age 某个特定年龄
expectation 期望
generation 一代
reflect 反思
consider 考虑，思量
achievable 可实现的
greater purpose 更有意义

答案

一、将标题和段落配对。

Paragraph 1 e) Your next big birthday
Paragraph 2 b) End-of-decade anxiety
Paragraph 3 a) Comparing with expectations
Paragraph 4 f) Define your own birthday
Paragraph 5 g) Dealing with milestones

二、根据文章内容选出正确的选项。

1. c. 'It' in this sentence refers back to the first sentence 'When's your next big birthday?'

2. b. Research suggests that this can be even stronger for '9-enders', the 29, 39 and 49-year-olds who are worried about the milestone they are about to reach.

3. c. Not given. The text says who or what people might compare themselves to, but doesn't say which is the most dangerous.

4. a. True. Psychologists advise a few steps. Many agree that it's important to celebrate or mark your birthday in your own way.

5. b. Having achievable goals can help give our lives greater purpose.

三、用下列单词完成对本文的总结。

30, 40 and 50 are all milestone birthdays.People find them hard because it's easy to compare yourself to society's expectations and feel bad because of it. Instead, reflect on your achievements to give yourself greater purpose.