紐約時報：做志願者是最好的修行 | 外刊精讀

05-04

Volunteering is great for your health
做志願者是最好的修行

Doing good is good for you.

Volunteering for two to 2.5 hours each week can be beneficial for your health, a new study suggests.

A study for 2,705 volunteers age 18 and older found that 75 percent of those who volunteered in the past year said it made them feel 「physically healthier」. And more than one-third (34 percent) of those who volunteered found participating helped them to better manage their chronic illnesses, compared to those who have not volunteered in the past 12 months.

While there is no physical evidence to support the claims in the study, do-gooders self-reported having an overall better quality of life, including a higher capacity to enjoy socializing and developing deeper friendships. The study also noted that volunteers can develop better professional skills and often practiced time management and teamwork better than they did before.

The same study found other mental and emotional benefits to spending your free time helping others: 93 percent of people reported an improved mood; 79 percent reported lower stress levels and 88 percent reported increased self-esteem by giving back.

And there』s more evidence to suggest that helping those in need is a smart move. A separate study involving more than 64,000 people age 60 and up from 1998 to 2010 found that volunteering can enhance cognition. Individuals who volunteered 100 hours a year scored about 6 percent higher in cognitive testing, on average than non-volunteers.

精讀筆記

Doing good is good for you.
行善對你有好處。

Volunteering for two to 2.5 hours each week can be beneficial for your health, a new study suggests.

Volunteer to offer to do something without expecting any reward, often something that other people do not want to do 自願〔做某事〕;
volunteer [+ for ] ☆ Sidcup volunteered for guard duty.西德卡普自告奮勇去站崗。
volunteer to do sth ☆ Helen volunteered to have Thanksgiving at her house this year.海倫主動提出今年的感恩節在她家過。
【volunteer 除了有「自願」的意思，還有一些不常見的含義】

to tell someone something without being asked 主動說出〔某事〕: ☆ Michael volunteered the information before I had a chance to ask.我還沒來得及問，邁克爾就主動提供了信息。
志願服役，志願參軍:（作名詞，可表示「志願軍」） ☆ When war broke out, my father volunteered immediately.戰爭一爆發，我父親立即志願從軍。
volunteer sb for sth to say that someone else will do a job even though they may not want to do it 擅自替〔某人〕答應下來: ☆ ?Mum volunteered Dave for washing-up duties.媽媽擅自替戴夫攬下洗碗的活兒。

beneficial（beneficially adv.） having a good effect 有利的，有幫助的，有用的;（反義詞：detrimental 有害的，不利的;） ☆ a drug that has a beneficial effect on the immune system有益於免疫系統的一種藥物；☆Cycling is highly beneficial to health and the environment.騎自行車對於身體和環境大有裨益。

一項新的研究表明，每周做2到2.5個小時的志願活動對你的健康有益。

A study for 2,705 volunteers age 18 and older found that 75 percent of those who volunteered in the past year said it made them feel 「physically healthier」. And more than one-third (34 percent) of those who volunteered found participating helped them to better manage their chronic illnesses, compared to those who have not volunteered in the past 12 months.

【語法結構分析】這句話比較長，首先看清主幹 A study for 2,705 volunteers age 18 and older found that 75 percent of those who volunteered in the past year said it made them feel 「physically healthier」，看清主幹後，其他的為修飾部分
participate to take part in an activity or event 參加，參與: [+ in ] ☆ ?Everyone in the class is expected to participate actively in these discussions.全班同學都應該積极參与這些討論。後面絕對不能直接跟名詞，而要說 participate in something:

一項針對2705名年齡在18歲及以上的志願者的研究發現，過去一年做志願者的人中有75%的人表示，做志願者讓他們感覺「身體更健康了」。對比去年的非志願者，超過三分之一(34%)的志願者發現參與志願活動幫助他們更好地管理自己的慢性疾病。

While there is no physical evidence to support the claims in the study, do-gooders self-reported having an overall better quality of life, including a higher capacity to enjoy socializing and developing deeper friendships. The study also noted that volunteers can develop better professional skills and often practiced time management and teamwork better than they did before.

physical evidence 物證 ☆ preservation of physical evidence: 保存物證 ☆ She said they provided no proof or physical evidence to support the declaration. 他們未能提供任何支持這份聲明的證明或實質性證據。
claim a statement that something is true, even though it has not been proved 聲稱，指稱: claim that ☆ ?Gould rejected claims that he had acted irresponsibly.古爾德否認了他的行為不負責任的說法。
do-gooder 行善者，志願者【注意】do-gooder在詞典中的解釋往往含貶義，看牛津詞典的解釋：a person who tries to help other people but who does it in a way that is annoying 幫倒忙的人；幫忙不得法的人，看朗文解釋：someone who helps people who are in bad situations, but who is annoying because their help is not needed – used to show disapproval自以為好心的人，做好事不得法的人〔含貶義〕:☆ ?Ive got very little time for those interfering do-gooders.我沒時間去理睬那些礙手礙腳、自以為好心的人。【因此寫作慎用這個詞】
capacity someones ability to do something 能力，才能: capacity to do sth ☆ ?a capacity to think in an original way 創造性的思維能力； [+ for ] ☆ ?a childs capacity for learning孩子的學習能力
我們還需知道capacity的其他含義：
the amount of space a container, room etc has to hold things or people 容量，容積; 容納能力:☆ The fuel tank has a capacity of 40 litres.這個油箱能裝 40 升油。
someones job, position, or duty 職位; 地位; 身分; 職責;（=role ） in a professional / official etc capacity ☆ ?Rollins will be working in an advisory capacity on this project.羅林斯將以顧問的身份參與這個項目。（do sth ）in your capacity as sth ☆ ?I attended the meeting in my capacity as chairman of the safety committee.我是以安全委員會主席的身份參加這次會議的。
the amount of something that a factory, company, machine etc can produce or deal with〔工廠、公司、機器等的〕產量，生產力:
the size or power of something such as an engine〔引擎的〕功率，容積:

雖然沒有實物證據來支持這項研究中的主張，但「行善者」自稱他們的生活質量總體更高了，比如享受社交和培養更深厚友誼的能力增強了。該研究還指出，志願者可以培養出更好的專業技能，並且在進行時間管理和團隊合作方面通常要比之前更好了。

The same study found other mental and emotional benefits to spending your free time helping others: 93 percent of people reported an improved mood; 79 percent reported lower stress levels and 88 percent reported increased self-esteem by giving back.

mental relating to the health or state of someones mind 精神健康的; 精神狀態的; ☆ The centre provides help for people suffering from mental illness .這個中心為精神病患者提供幫助。
emotional relating to your feelings or how you control them 情緒（上）的，情感（上）的:
self-esteem the feeling of being satisfied with your own abilities, and that you deserve to be liked or respected 自尊（心）（=self-respect）raise / build (up) / boost sbs self-esteem
give back. If you give something back, you return it to the person who gave it to you. 歸還

同樣的研究還發現了將閑暇時間用於幫助他人所帶來的其他心理和情感上的好處:93%的人表示心情改善了;79%的人表示他們的壓力水平降低了，88%的人表示通過回饋社會自尊增強了。

And there』s more evidence to suggest that helping those in need is a smart move. A separate study involving more than 64,000 people age 60 and up from 1998 to 2010 found that volunteering can enhance cognition. Individuals who volunteered 100 hours a year scored about 6 percent higher in cognitive testing, on average than non-volunteers.

in need 在危難中；在窮困中的; in desperate/bad need: 迫切的需要
smart move 明智之舉【很好的詞，寫作推薦】，同義表達還有 sensible act；wise
separate not related to or not affected by something else不相關的; 不受影響的: ☆ Thats a separate issue.那是另一個問題。
age 60 and up 60歲及以上【同義詞替換】同上文中的表達 age 18 and older 18歲及以上
cognition the process of knowing, understanding, and learning something認識，認知: 【經濟學人】☆ The results, reported in Cognition, were that the fully recovered David rated an average of 1.77 and the dead David -0.29. 在《認知》雜誌上報道的結果顯示，完全康復的大衛得到的評價均值為1.77，死去的大衛得到的評價均值為-0.29。

還有更多的證據表明，幫助那些需要幫助的人是明智之舉。另一項研究從1998年開始到2010年結束，涉及64000多名60歲及以上的人，該研究發現做志願活動可以增強認知能力。每年做志願活動100個小時的人在認知測試中的評分要比非志願者平均高出約6%。

—結束—

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