劉欣然

When do you get the highest self?esteem？

人們通常認為人的自尊心會在20多歲時達到頂峰。但一項新的研究表明，人的自尊心會隨年齡持續(xù)增長，一直到70歲左右才可能下降。

難詞探意

1. obsess /?b?ses/ v. 使著迷;嘮叨

2. plateau /?pl?t??/ n. 高原;穩(wěn)定期;停滯期

3. spouse /spa?s/ n. 配偶

In our youth?obsessed culture， one would assume that your self?esteem peaks in your 20s—but thats not the case. Researchers from the University of Bern in Switzerland set out to determine when the average persons self?esteem is the highest， and the good news is that your peak comes decades later.

The study， published in the journal Psychological Bulletin， analyzed 191 self?esteem research articles covering over 165，000 people. Researchers have found that self?esteem in?creases throughout ones lifetime， with a slight plateau during those awkward teen years. Be?tween ages 11 and 15， self?esteem stops rising—but it never drops. Our self?esteem levels then start rising again and dont peak until well into midlife. The highest point for self?esteem level happens at age 60 and stays there until a slight decline in ones 70s and 80s.

This news that our self?esteem will continue to rise or stay steady during the majority of our lives is exciting. We often hear of increased stress in the decades of raising teens and caring for aging parents， but there are upsides， too. “Midlife is， for many adults， a time of highly stable life in domains such as relationships and work. Moreover， during middle adulthood， most individuals further invest in the social roles they hold， which might promote their self?esteem，” study co?author Ulrich Orth， a professor of psychology at the University of Bern in Switzerland， told Time magazine. “For example， people take on managerial roles at work， maintain a satisfying relationship with their spouses or partners， and help their children to become responsible and independent adults.”

As we age and our roles tend to change， its natural for self?esteem to take a small hit. “Old age frequently involves loss of social roles as a result of retirement， the empty nest， and， possibly， widowhood， all of which are factors that may threaten self?esteem，” Dr Orth told Time. Dr Orth believes that most people maintain a high self?esteem level even into their 90s and beyond.

Language Study

Ⅰ. Difficult sentences

1. In our youth?obsessed culture， one would assume that your self?esteem peaks in your 20s.

譯文：在我們崇尚青春的文化中，人們會認為一個人的自尊感在20多歲時達到頂峰。

分析：本句中，obsess本意是“使癡迷;使迷戀”。此處的youth?obsessed 可以理解為“崇尚青春，青春主導”。此處的assume意為“認為”。 而peak在這里為動詞，意為“達到高峰”。