感恩节，感谢有你一路相伴。
🤔️小作业：
1. Which of the following is NOT mentioned as a common concern of thank-you note writers?
A) Their writing will be heavily scrutinized.
B) The recipient might feel awkward receiving the note.
C) The note might seem insincere.
D) The note will not reach the recipient in time.
无注释原文：
You Should Actually Send That Thank You Note You've Been Meaning to Write
From: The New York Times
Dear reader,
We want to let you know that we are grateful that you are taking the time to click on this headline. Because without you reading the story, what's the point?
We are now going to use your precious time to share a surprising new finding: People like getting thank you notes.
O.K., it's not that surprising. But what did surprise two psychologists as they attempted to get to bottom of why so few people actually send thank yous is that many people totally “miscalibrate” the effect of an appreciative email. They underestimate the positive feelings it will bring.
“They think it's not going to be that big a deal,” said Amit Kumar, a professor at the University of Texas at Austin who studies well-being.
They also overestimate how insincere the note may appear and how uncomfortable it will make the recipient feel, their study found.
But after receiving thank-you notes and filling out questionnaires about how it felt to get them, many said they were “ecstatic,” scoring the happiness rating at 4 of 5. The senders typically guessed they'd evoke a 3.
To be clear — the notes in question were not your typical “thanks for the Amazon gift card.” Rather, the 100 or so participants in each of the four experiments were asked to write a short “gratitude letter” to a person who had affected them in some way. Sample letters included missives of appreciation to fellow students and friends who offered guidance through the college admissions process, job searches and tough times. In lab experiments, Dr. Kumar observed that it took most subjects less than five minutes to write the letters.
The study, published last month in the journal Psychological Science, is an effort to fill a hole in the growing field of gratitude research. Numerous studies had documented a range of benefits to individuals who express gratitude, so then the question researchers turned to was — what's holding people back?
Along with underestimating the value of sending a note to another person, many seemed to be concerned with how much their writing would be scrutinized.
As it turned out, most recipients didn't care how the notes were phrased, they cared about warmth, Dr. Kumar and his co-author Nicholas Epley, a professor at the University of Chicago, found. Participants were also judged to be more competent at writing than they expected.
This finding was “a gem” that is “worthy of future research” said Sara Algoe, a professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, who also researches gratitude, in an email.
“I like that their work reinforces the value of just saying something,” she wrote.
Researchers also encouraged the writers of the thank-you messages to mention that a study had spurred their letters, something that doesn't usually happen in real life. How often do we get to tell someone, “a scientist asked me to do this” before making ourselves vulnerable? The study found that many subjects were concerned that recipients would feel awkward upon receiving the compliment-filled letters. (Recipients rarely did.) Wouldn't those concerns intensify without a good excuse for sending it?
Perhaps, said Dr. Kumar. But that should not undermine what he sees as the broader finding: People tend to undervalue the positive effect they can have on others for a tiny investment of time.
Most people don't read this far so thanks for that,
The New York Times Health and Science Desk
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注：完整题目见本文开头；中文文本为纽约时报官方译文，仅供参考
含注释全文：
You Should Actually Send That Thank You Note You've Been Meaning to Write 一封感谢信带来的幸福感
From: The New York Times
Dear reader,
亲爱的读者，
We want to let you know that we are grateful that you are taking the time to click on this headline. Because without you reading the story, what's the point?
我们想让你知道，我们非常感激你能花时间点开这篇文章的标题。因为如果没有你的阅读，又有什么意义呢？
headline
headline /ˈhed.laɪn/ 作动词，1）表示“以…为标题；以…为主要故事”，英文解释为“to have something as a headline or as the main story”举个🌰：The story was headlined "Killer dogs on the loose". 这篇报道的标题是：“杀人恶犬肆意逞凶”。
2）表示“（在娱乐活动中）扮演主角，充当主角”，英文解释为“to be the main performer at an entertainment event”举个🌰：The band's headlining appearance at the festival could be their last. 这支乐队音乐节上唱起了主角，但这可能是他们最后一次演出了。
作名词，表示“（报纸的）标题；（电视或广播的）内容提要”，英文解释为“a line of words printed in large letters as the title of a story in a newspaper, or the main points of the news that are broadcast on television or radio”举个🌰：The news of his death was splashed in headlines across all the newspapers. 所有报纸均以显着的标题刊登了他死亡的消息。
We are now going to use your precious time to share a surprising new finding: People like getting thank you notes.
我们现在将占用你宝贵的时间来分享一个意想不到的新发现：人们喜欢收到表达感谢的便条。
O.K., it's not that surprising. But what did surprise two psychologists as they attempted to get to bottom of why so few people actually send thank yous is that many people totally “miscalibrate” the effect of an appreciative email. They underestimate the positive feelings it will bring.
好吧，这不是那么令人意外。但是当两位心理学家想要弄清楚为什么事实上很少有人会寄感谢信时，让他们感到惊讶的是，很多人完全错误地估计了一封感谢邮件的效果。他们低估了它所能带来的积极感受。
get to the bottom of sth
get to the bottom of sth表示“对…寻根究底；找到…的真相”，英文解释为“to discover the truth about a situation”举个🌰：I'm not sure what is causing the problem, but I'm determined to get to the bottom of it. 我现在不能确定导致这个问题的原因是什么，不过我一定要弄个明白。
miscalibrate
calibrate /ˈkæl.ɪ.breɪt/ 1）表示“划分刻度，标定”，英文解释为“to mark units of measurement on an instrument such so that it can measure accurately”如：a calibrated stick for measuring the amount of oil in an engine 测量引擎中油量的标尺。
2）表示“校正（测量工具）”，英文解释为“to check a measuring instrument to see if it is accurate”
appreciative
appreciative /əˈpriː.ʃə.tɪv/ 表示“有鉴赏力的；感激的”，英文解释为“showing that you understand how good something is, or are grateful for something”举个🌰：I'm very appreciative of all the support you've given me. 你一直那么支持我，我非常感激。
underestimate
underestimate /ˌʌn.dəˈres.tɪ.meɪt/ 表示“低估；（对…）估计不足”，英文解释为“to fail to guess or understand the real cost, size, difficulty, etc. of something”举个🌰：Don't underestimate the difficulties of getting both parties to the conference table. 要让双方坐下来谈判，难度不可小觑。
“They think it's not going to be that big a deal,” said Amit Kumar, a professor at the University of Texas at Austin who studies well-being.
“他们觉得这不是个大事儿，”阿米特·库马尔(Amit Kumar)说。他是德克萨斯大学奥斯汀分校一位研究幸福感的教授。
They also overestimate how insincere the note may appear and how uncomfortable it will make the recipient feel, their study found.
他们的研究发现，人们还高估了便条所可能呈显出的不真诚，以及它可能给收信人带来的不适感。
recipient
recipient /rɪˈsɪp.i.ənt/ 表示“接受者；领受者；承受者”，英文解释为“a person who receives something”举个🌰：He was a recipient of the Civilian Service Award. 他被授予平民服务奖章。
But after receiving thank-you notes and filling out questionnaires about how it felt to get them, many said they were “ecstatic,” scoring the happiness rating at 4 of 5. The senders typically guessed they'd evoke a 3.
但是在收到表达感谢的便条，并填写了有关收信感受的调查问卷后，很多人说他们“欣喜若狂”，并将幸福指数打为4分（满分5分）。寄信人通常猜测他们会打3分。
questionnaire
questionnaire /ˌkwes.tʃəˈneər/ 表示“问卷；情况调查表”，英文解释为“a list of questions that several people are asked so that information can be collected about something”
ecstatic
ecstatic /ɪkˈstæt.ɪk/ 表示“狂喜的，欣喜若狂的”，英文解释为“extremely happy”举个🌰：He was greeted by an ecstatic crowd. 他受到狂热人群的热烈欢迎。
evoke
evoke /ɪˈvəʊk/ 表示“唤起（记忆）；引起（想法、情感、反应）”，英文解释为“To evoke a particular memory, idea, emotion, or response means to cause it to occur.”举个🌰：The music evoked memories of her youth. 这乐曲勾起了她对青年时代的回忆。
To be clear — the notes in question were not your typical “thanks for the Amazon gift card.” Rather, the 100 or so participants in each of the four experiments were asked to write a short “gratitude letter” to a person who had affected them in some way. Sample letters included missives of appreciation to fellow students and friends who offered guidance through the college admissions process, job searches and tough times. In lab experiments, Dr. Kumar observed that it took most subjects less than five minutes to write the letters.
需要明确的是，这里涉及的并非通常那种“谢谢你的亚马逊礼品卡”之类的便条。被分配到四组实验中的每组约100名参与者，实际上被要求写一封简短的“感恩信”，给曾经以某种方式影响过他们的人。样本信中有向在大学录取、求职以及人生的艰难时光里给过自己指导的同窗及好友的感谢信。在室内试验中，库马尔发现大多数受试者用来写这些感谢信的时间不到五分钟。
gratitude
gratitude /ˈɡræt.ɪ.tʃuːd/ 表示“感激之情，感谢”，英文解释为“the feeling or quality of being grateful”如：deep/eternal gratitude 深深的感谢/感激不尽。
missive
missive /ˈmɪsɪv/ 表示“书信；函件”，英文解释为“A missive is a letter or other message that someone sends.”如：the customary missive from your dear mother 你亲爱的母亲如常寄来的一封家书。
The study, published last month in the journal Psychological Science, is an effort to fill a hole in the growing field of gratitude research. Numerous studies had documented a range of benefits to individuals who express gratitude, so then the question researchers turned to was — what's holding people back?
这项研究上个月发表在《心理科学》期刊上，旨在弥补感恩研究这一新兴研究领域的空白。大量研究已经证明表达感激对个体的各种好处，那么研究者们致力的问题就是——是什么在阻止人们表达感激？
Along with underestimating the value of sending a note to another person, many seemed to be concerned with how much their writing would be scrutinized.
除了低估给别人寄便条的价值，很多人似乎还很在意他们的写作会受到怎样的审视。
scrutinize
scrutinize /ˈskruː.tɪ.naɪz/ 表示“仔细察看，审查”，英文解释为“If you scrutinize something, you examine it very carefully, often to find out some information from it or about it.”举个🌰：Her purpose was to scrutinize his features to see if he was an honest man. 她的目的是仔细察看他的特征看他是不是个诚实的人。
As it turned out, most recipients didn't care how the notes were phrased, they cared about warmth, Dr. Kumar and his co-author Nicholas Epley, a professor at the University of Chicago, found. Participants were also judged to be more competent at writing than they expected.
结果表明，大多数收信人并不在意便条上的内容是如何措辞的，库马尔和他的合著者、芝加哥大学教授尼古拉斯·艾普利(Nicholas Epley)发现，他们在意的是温情。受试者的写作水平得到的评判，也好于他们的预期。
phrase
phrase /freɪz/ 作动词，表示“用…方式表达，以…措词表达”，英文解释为“to express something with a particular choice of words”举个🌰：The declaration was carefully/cleverly/tactfully, etc. phrased. 宣言措词谨慎/巧妙/圆滑等。
作名词，1）表示“短语”，英文解释为“a group of words that is part of, rather than the whole of, a sentence”
2）表示“说法；用语；警句”，英文解释为“a short group of words that are often used together and have a particular meaning”
This finding was “a gem” that is “worthy of future research” said Sara Algoe, a professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, who also researches gratitude, in an email.
这项发现是一个值得后续研究的“珍宝”，北卡罗莱纳大学教堂山分校的教授莎拉·阿尔戈(Sara Algoe)在一封邮件中写道，她研究的也是感恩。
gem
gem /dʒem/ 1）表示“（尤指切割成规则形状的）宝石”，英文解释为“a jewel (= precious stone), especially when cut into a particular regular shape”
2）表示“难能可贵的人（或物）；被人喜爱的人（或物）；非常有用的人（或物）”，英文解释为“someone or something that is very good, pleasing, or useful”举个🌰：He's a real gem - you'd be a fool to break up with him. 他可真是个宝贝——你得是个傻瓜才会想要跟他分手。
“I like that their work reinforces the value of just saying something,” she wrote.
“说出来总是有价值的，他们的研究支持了这个观点，这是我喜欢的地方，”她写道。
reinforce
reinforce /ˌriː.ɪnˈfɔːs/ 1）表示“加强；充实；使更强烈；进一步证实（观点、看法等）”，英文解释为“to make a feeling, an idea, etc. stronger”举个🌰：Such jokes tend to reinforce racial stereotypes. 这样的笑话容易渲染种族偏见。
2）表示“加固；使更结实”，英文解释为“to make a structure or material stronger, especially by adding another material to it”举个🌰：All buildings are now reinforced to withstand earthquakes. 所有建筑现都已加固，以抗地震。
Researchers also encouraged the writers of the thank-you messages to mention that a study had spurred their letters, something that doesn't usually happen in real life. How often do we get to tell someone, “a scientist asked me to do this” before making ourselves vulnerable? The study found that many subjects were concerned that recipients would feel awkward upon receiving the compliment-filled letters. (Recipients rarely did.) Wouldn't those concerns intensify without a good excuse for sending it?
研究者们还鼓励这些感谢信的作者们在信中提及，是一项研究激励了他们写下这些信，这是现实生活中通常不会发生的事。我们什么时候会在袒露自己之前，跟人说是“一个科学家让我这样做的”呢？研究表明，很多受试者很在意收信人会在收到充满赞扬的信时感到尴尬。（收信人很少这样。）那些担心是否会在缺乏一个恰当的寄信理由时加剧？
spur
spur /spɜːr/ 表示“鼓动；激励；鞭策；刺激；鼓舞”，英文解释为“If one thing spurs you to do another, it encourages you to do it.”举个🌰：It's the money that spurs these fishermen to risk a long ocean journey in their flimsy boats. 是金钱驱使这些渔民驾驶单薄的小船冒险出海远航。Spurred (on) by her early success, she went on to write four more novels in rapid succession. 受到之前成功的鼓励，她紧接着又连续写了4部小说。
compliment
compliment /ˈkɒm.plɪ.mənt/ 可以作动词，也可以作名词，表示“赞美；称赞；钦佩；致敬；致意”，英文解释为“to tell sb that you like or admire sth they have done, their appearance, etc.”举个🌰：She complimented him on his excellent German. 她夸奖他德语棒极了。
区分：
📍complement /ˈkɒm.plɪ.ment/ 表示“补充；补足；使完善；为…增色”，英文解释为“to make something else seem better or more attractive when combining with it”举个🌰：Strawberries and cream complement each other perfectly. 草莓加奶油相得益彰。
Perhaps, said Dr. Kumar. But that should not undermine what he sees as the broader finding: People tend to undervalue the positive effect they can have on others for a tiny investment of time.
也许吧，库马尔说。但那不应该削弱他认为更具有广泛意义的一个发现：人们往往低估了自己花费少量的一点时间所能给别人带来的积极影响。
undermine
undermine /ˌʌn.dəˈmaɪn/ 表示“（常指逐渐地）削弱信心、权威等，损害”，英文解释为“to make someone less confident, less powerful, or less likely to succeed, or to make something weaker, often gradually”举个🌰：Criticism just undermines their confidence. 批评只是削弱了他们的信心。
Most people don't read this far so thanks for that,
大多数人都没读到这儿，因此，感谢你读完，
The New York Times Health and Science Desk
《纽约时报》健康与科学编辑部
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