The good of gardening
园艺疗法益心养神
Do you have a hobby that helps you relax and unwind? For some people, there is no better way to switch off than spending time in the garden. This small private area of green space can be their oasis of calm.
你有什么能帮助自己放松休息的习惯吗？对于有些人来说，没有比待在花园更轻松的事了。这一小片清静的绿色空间能让人无比平静放松。
It's no wonder some of us turn to gardening as a form of therapy. A survey conducted by the Royal Horticultural Society, found that 82% of people in the UK said that gardening makes them happier. It also found that 70% of them, given the choice, would prefer to spend their working day in the garden with just 9% opting for an office.
难怪有些人倾向于把做园艺作为一种疗法。皇家园艺协会的调查显示，82%的英国人表示做园艺使人更快乐。此外，他们当中有70%的人表示，如果可以选择的话，他们更愿意选择在花园里上班；他们当中只有9%的人愿意选择待在办公室上班。
For those with green fingers, the pleasure of gardening comes from getting out in the fresh air, in all weathers and communing with nature - even if there are a few too many creepy-crawlies! It can also be seen as a sort of digital-detox - time away from technology. Some experts actually believe that getting outside to dig and plant things acts as a 'natural high'.
那些园艺能手的乐趣在于能风雨无阻地呼吸室外的新鲜空气并与大自然融为一体——即使花园里会有一些虫子也丝毫不影响！而且这也可以作为数码排毒的方式——也就是能远离电子科技的时候。有些专家还认为在室外挖掘和种植是一种“自然的兴奋”。
Dr Christopher Lowry, a neuroscientist at the University of Colorado, injected a bacterium commonly found in soil into mice to see what affect this would have on them. He found the bacterium had a similar effect on the mice as an antidepressant drug might. When we dig in soil we ingest this bacterium through our lungs or cuts in our skin so Dr Lowry concluded that since the mice seemed happier when treated with soil bacteria, it's likely we would be too.
科罗拉多大学的神经系统学家克里斯托佛·洛瑞博士给小鼠注射了一种常见的土壤细菌并观察由此对实验体带来的影响。他发现这种细菌在小鼠体内的作用和抗抑郁药物是相似的。我们在挖掘土地的时候会将这种细菌吸入肺部然后再渗入皮肤。克里斯托佛·洛瑞博士由此得出的结论是我们很有可能和小鼠一样因为吸入了这种细菌而变得更加快乐。
Gardening can also be used as a way of treating addiction. There's evidence that recovering alcoholics who have been given the opportunity to plant, grow, and even sell their produce, have managed to stop their addictive habits. Scot Stephenson, for example, got expelled from school and started a vocational qualification in gardening. He says "I got my NVQ level 2 which is my first qualification and enjoyed it ever since."
园艺也是一种戒瘾的手段。有数据证明，那些有机会接触播种，培育甚至销售自己培育成果的戒酒者都成功戒掉了酒瘾。比如，斯科特斯蒂芬森被学校开除后开始研修园艺。他说：“我拿到了国家职业2级证书，这是我拿到了第一个职业证书，从那以后我就很享受这项工作。”
Whatever the reason, there are many therapeutic benefits to getting your hands dirty, doing some physical hard work and then watching your garden grow. Does this sound like your idea of fun?
无论出于何种原因，双手沾沾泥土，身体力行并看着自己的培育成果都有很好的疗效。这是你们关于快乐的看法吗？
词汇表
unwind
放松，减压
switch off
不在关注（工作或另人精神紧张的事情）
oasis of calm
宁静的一刻
therapy
（非药物）疗法
green fingers
园艺能手
communing
与（大自然）交流、融为一体
creepy-crawlies
爬虫，蠕虫
digital-detox
数码排毒
natural high
（不靠药物）自然的兴奋、高兴
bacterium
细菌（复数为 bacteria）
antidepressant drug
抗抑郁药物
addiction
嗜好，瘾
recovering alcoholics
目前滴酒不沾的酗酒者
expelled
被开除
vocational
职业技术的