《经济学人》双语：英国人如何应对孤独感?

原文标题：
How to tackle loneliness
Five years on, is Britain’s strategy to combat loneliness working?
Why it’s worth fighting harder against loneliness
如何应对孤独感？
5年过去了，英国对抗孤独感的策略有效果吗？
人们应该更加努力地与孤独感作斗争，为什么值得一搏呢？

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“WHERE DO THEY all come from?” wondered Paul McCartney in 1966.

1966年，保罗·麦卡特尼心生疑问：“它们都是从哪里来的？”。

Britain’s government has taken a more analytical approach to lonely people.

英国政府对孤独人群采取了更具分析性的方法。

Five years ago it launched a “loneliness strategy”, to tackle “one of the greatest public-health challenges of our time.”

5年前，英国推出了一项“孤独战略”，以应对“我们这个时代最大的公共卫生挑战之一”。

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) developed measures to test it.The government provided funds for research.

国家统计局（ONS）制定了相应标准进行测试。政府提供经费进行研究。

It told doctors to try “social prescribing”, sending patients to social events rather than to the pharmacy. And it appointed a loneliness minister.
政府要求医生尝试“社交处方”，让病人去参加社交活动，而不是去药房。政府还任命了一位孤独部长。

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Loneliness is one of many briefs that Andrew Stuart, MP for Pudsey, West Yorkshire, has at the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.

“孤独”是西约克郡普德西市议员安德鲁·斯图尔特在数字、文化、媒体和体育部的众多事务之一。

Yet it is tempting to scoff. Stephen Colbert, a comedian, joked that “Minister for Loneliness” sounded like “a Victorian euphemism for ‘gigolo’”.

然而，这很容易引来嘲笑。喜剧演员斯蒂芬·科尔伯特调侃说，“孤独部长”听起来像是“维多利亚时代对‘舞男’的委婉称呼”。

Loneliness is hard to pin down: the government defines it as “a subjective, unwelcome feeling of lack or loss of companionship.”

孤独很难界定：政府将其定义为“主观的、不受欢迎的缺乏或失去陪伴的感觉”。

Like all emotions, it is difficult to measure. So is the success of interventions designed to tackle it.
与所有情绪一样，很难衡量孤独。因此，旨在解决孤独问题的干预措施也很难成功。

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It has probably become more common. Some 8.3m people lived alone in 2022, a 16% increase in two decades.

孤独感更加蔓延了。2022年，约有830万人独自生活，20年来增长了16%。

Many Britons have less cash for going out than before. And socialising online is no substitute for the real thing.

许多英国人出门的现金比以前少了。在线社交不能替代真实的社交。

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The Campaign to End Loneliness, a charity, says 7% of British adults report being lonely often or always.

慈善机构“终结孤独运动”表示，7%的英国成年人称经常或总是感到孤独。

Those aged between 16 and 29 are twice as likely to report feeling lonely as those over 70.

16-29岁年轻人报告的孤独感是70岁以上老人的2倍。

A large study by Pamela Qualter, a professor of psychology at Manchester University, and others found that people in countries (like Britain and America) that score high for individualism also report greater loneliness.
曼彻斯特大学心理学教授帕梅拉·奎尔特和其他人的一项大型研究发现，在个人主义得分较高的国家（如英国和美国），人们也更容易感到孤独。

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This matters because it seems to have a terrible effect on health.

这很重要，因为孤独似乎对健康有着非常糟糕的影响。

A large study in Nature Human Behaviour, a journal, found that people who are lonely are more likely to die early.

《自然人类行为》杂志上的一项大型研究发现，孤独的人更有可能早逝。

That may be because they have no one to remind them to eat healthily, exercise or go to the doctor.

这可能是因为没有人提醒他们健康饮食、锻炼或看医生。

Stress and unhappiness may affect the body in ways not yet understood. The sick may also be more likely to become socially isolated.
压力和不快乐可能以一种未知的方式影响身体。病人也可能更容易被社会孤立。

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The government has done much to reduce stigma around mental ill health: the NHS repeatedly encourages people to consider their mental state (though it is unable to provide talking therapy to many who need it).

为了减少心理健康问题带来的耻辱，政府做了很多工作：英国国家医疗保健服务体系一再鼓励人们关注自己的心理状态（尽管系统无法大量为需要的人提供谈话治疗）。

Mr Stuart hopes the same thing will happen with loneliness. That seems unlikely because admitting to loneliness can seem to reflect on a person in painfully personal ways.

斯图尔特也希望人们能同样关注自己的孤独感。这似乎不太可能，因为承认自己孤独似乎会令个人痛苦。

Depression can strike anyone; no one wants to be thought of as love-less or friendless.
（久而久之）抑郁症随时会降临到任何人的头上；没有人希望被认为是没有爱或没有朋友的人。

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Having public figures talk about loneliness would help. Alluding to specific causes is a useful start.

让公众人物谈论孤独感会有所帮助。提及具体原因是一个良好的开端。

That is why Mr Stuart talks about growing up gay, and feeling alone.

因此，斯图尔特谈到了他成长过程中的同性恋身份和孤独感。

Speaking about loneliness might also encourage people to consider that others are suffering. Small interactions are crucial, says Professor Qualter.
谈论孤独感可能也会鼓励人们去关注正遭受孤独的其他人。奎尔特教授说小小的互动至关重要。

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With this in mind the government has funded a few initiatives.

有鉴于此，政府资助了一些举措。

NHS receptionists are being trained to identify lonely people.Not every harried staffer considers that the old man who arrives hours early for his appointment might not have seen anyone in days.

英国国家医疗保健服务体系的前台人员正在接受培训，以识别孤独的人。并不是每个忙碌的员工都意识到，提前几个小时来就诊的老人可能已经好几天没见过人了。

People who sign up for such courses seem likely to be empathetic already, though.

不过，报名参加此类培训的人似乎已经具备了同理心。

Lesley Emongo, a receptionist in Peterborough, says the training gave her strategies for dealing with the many lonely patients she encounters.
彼得伯勒的前台人员莱斯利·埃蒙戈说，培训为她应对那些孤独的病人提供了策略。

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The ONS’s standard questions for surveys may be the most useful intervention.

国家统计局的标准调查问题可能是最有用的干预措施。

It hopes academics and charities will measure loneliness in the same way so “we will build a much better evidence base more quickly”.

它希望学术界和慈善界能以同样的方式来衡量孤独感，这样“我们就能更快地建立一个更好的证据基础”。

Professor Qualter says there is no evidence yet that any interventions have been effective.This may be because the things that make people lonely—such as poverty or disabilities—also make them hard to reach.

奎尔特教授说，目前还没有证据表明任何干预措施是有效的。这可能是因为让人们感到孤独的原因——比如贫困或残疾——也是让他们很难接触的结果。

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The professor would like to see more ambition, including designing public services with spaces that encourage congregation.

这位教授希望看到更多的雄心壮志，包括设计能促进人群聚集的公共服务空间。

Austerity brought brutal cuts to many places, like youth clubs, where people once gathered.

紧缩政策使许多场所数量大幅削减，比如人们曾经聚集的青年俱乐部。

A loneliness strategy is unlikely to make up for those losses.
一个孤独战略很难弥补这些损失。

（恭喜读完，本篇英语词汇量716左右）
原文出自：2023年8月12日《The Economist》Britain版块
精读笔记来源于：自由英语之路

本文翻译整理: Irene

本文编辑校对: Irene
仅供个人英语学习交流使用。

【补充资料】（来自于网络）
英国的孤独战略Loneliness Strategy。英国投票决定脱离欧盟后，欧洲人曾开玩笑说，脱欧会让英国成为一个被隔离的孤独岛国。事实上，英国的确存在严重的孤独问题。乔·考克斯孤独委员会（Jo Cox Commission on Loneliness）2017年发布的报告显示，英国有超过900多万人经常或总是感到孤独。该问题促使英国首相特雷莎·梅（Theresa May）于2018年1月17日任命了首位孤独部长。英国最大的老年人慈善机构英国时代(Age UK)首席执行官马克·罗宾逊警告说，孤独可能严重到导致死亡。他说：“有研究已证实，孤独比每天吸15支烟对人体的危害更大。但孤独并非不可战胜，老年人生活中可以没有孤独。”“长期的孤独，会演变成抑郁症。这就是孤独的危险所在。”英国国家统计局（Office for National Statistics）将帮助创建衡量孤独程度的方法，设立专门的基金会，帮助政府和慈善机构制定更广泛的战略，以找到解决孤独问题的方案。

【重点句子】（3个）
Loneliness is hard to pin down: the government defines it as “a subjective, unwelcome feeling of lack or loss of companionship.”
孤独很难界定：政府将其定义为“主观的、不受欢迎的缺乏或失去陪伴的感觉”。

Stress and unhappiness may affect the body in ways not yet understood. The sick may also be more likely to become socially isolated.
压力和不快乐可能以一种未知的方式影响身体。病人也可能更容易被社会孤立。

Having public figures talk about loneliness would help. Alluding to specific causes is a useful start.
让公众人物谈论孤独感会有所帮助。提及具体原因是一个良好的开端。