幸福是財富 專家稱美滿婚姻價值69萬
據說，一段穩定、幸福、美滿的婚姻給丈夫或妻子帶來的精神上的滿足感相當於一份年薪65000英鎊（約合69萬人民幣）工作的所帶來的快樂。
Couples in long-term marriages are ‘significantly more content’ than those who are unmarried, journalist and author David Brooks told BBC Radio Four’s Today programme.
記者兼作家David Brooks在接受英國BBC電臺節目採訪時如是說，比起那些形單影隻的孤家寡人來說，那些沉靜穩定婚姻中的夫婦能夠獲得“更加深刻的滿足”。
‘Marriage is tremendously important,’ he said. ‘We have a tendency to think of ourselves as rational individuals who are driven by economic motives, but in fact we are social individuals, driven by the need for relationships.’
“美滿的婚姻是相當重要的，”他說。“雖然我們傾向於認爲自己是理性的個體，並且是受經濟因素所驅使，不過事實上，我們都是具有社會性的人，驅使我們的對與感情關係的需要。”
He has calculated the ‘psychic benefit’ of a long marriage at ?65,000 a year.
David Brooks計算，幸福而持久的婚姻的“精神福利”價值相當於每年65000英鎊。
His estimate of the financial value of marriage is even higher than that of social researchers who look at the cash differences between married and unmarried people.
據他估計，比起社會研究院們就已婚與未婚人羣在經濟層面的區別所得出的結果而言，婚姻所帶來的經歷價值遠遠要大得多。
Both official and independently-produced figures show that married couples are better off than others, including couples who live together.
來自官方和民間的調查數據均小時，已婚的夫婦的（經濟方面的）情況的確優於其他人，這其中包括了那些同居的情侶。Mr Brooks, author of a new book, The Social Animal, said that relationships are more important than money and students should take study courses about who they might marry.
David Brooks表示，感情關係的重要性超過了經濟情況，“學生們應該好好研究一下他們到底將要與怎麼樣的對象成婚。”
The journalist with the New York Times added: 'Joining a club that meets once a month produces the same happiness gain as doubling your income.'
這位紐約時報的記者還說到，“每個月參加一次俱樂部的活動所帶來的幸福感相當於你收入翻一番所讓你感到的滿足。”
He said that people's emotions are strongly influence by their surroundings but that it is possible to control them.
他表示，人們的感情是會受到環境的嚴重影響的，不過仍是有可能去控制他們的。
'We have the power to educate our emotions,' Mr Brooks said. 'The art and music we listen to affects our emotions. By changing our environment we change our mind.'
“我們有能力來管理自己的情緒，”Brooks說，“觀賞藝術品和聆聽音樂都會對我們的情緒產生影響，改變了環境也就是改變了我們的心靈。”
He added: 'One of the most important things you can do is learn how to read and attune to other people. We all work better in groups than we do as individuals.
他還說到：“我們需要學會的意見非常重要的事是如何讀懂別人並且將步調調節到與之同步的狀態，我們在集體中的表現總是要比單幹優秀得多。”
'Even for middle-aged guys, attuning to emotional signals of people around you is probably the most important thing. We are networked, we are social animals.'
“就算是已經人到中年，與周圍人所發散出的感情頻率相一致也是件非常重要的事，我們身處在一個網絡之中，我們都是社會的動物。”
