Some people believe that personal happiness is directly related to economic success. Others believe there are other factors. Discuss the two sides and give your opinion.
对幸福的追求一直都是人类世世代代的梦想，尽管人类一直困惑于幸福的真谛。幸福是什么?幸福和经济的成功有密切联系吗?个人经济上的成功能够直接带来幸福吗?就个人而言，我不认为经济上的成功是人类幸福的唯一前提。
The pursuit of happiness has long been the dream of generations of human beings. They have always been puzzled by the essence of happiness. What is happiness? Is it closely related to one’s economic success? Will one’s financial success lead to happiness directly? Personally, I don’t agree that one’s economic success is the only prerequisite of one’s happiness in life.
幸福有很多种。俗话说得好，“一个人的美食可能是另一个人的毒药”。幸福可能意味着成为一个成功的受人尊敬的领袖，或是一份稳定舒适的大型跨国公司的工作，又或是市区的大房子、一套漂亮的家具等等。然而，幸福也可以是一个和谐平静的家庭，或是一个体贴热情的朋友，或者只是一个微笑、一个手势、一个暗示。事实上，幸福可以是你能够想到的任何事情。至少，我们可以有两种幸福：精神幸福和物质幸福。
Happiness may fall into different categories. An old saying goes like this: “One man’s meat is another man’s poison”. Happiness may mean being a successful and respected leader of a company, or a stable and comfortable job in a large international company, or a big flat downtown, a fantastic set of furniture, etc. However, happiness can also be a harmonious and peaceful family, or a hospitable and considerate friend, or just a smile, a gesture, a hint. In fact, happiness may be composed of anything you could ever think of. At least, we may have two types of happiness: spiritual happiness and materialistic happiness.
一方面，一个人的物质幸福依赖于经济上的成功，尽管不是完全依赖。没有稳定的经济后盾，很难想象如何过上轻松简单的生活，更不用说富庶奢侈的生活了。如果买不起房子、车，甚至是一本书，任何人提到这种生活都会害怕。当然，有一些人只要基本的生活需求得到满足就可以立刻感到很幸福。但是我们仍然必须承认，这些人也需要某种意义上的经济成功。
One’s materialistic happiness is dependant on one’s economic success, though not completely. Without a strong and steady economic background, one could never imagine an easy and simple life, let alone an affluent and luxurious one. If you aren’t able to afford a house, a car, or even a book, anybody would be horrified at the mere mention of this kind of life. Definitely, some people will feel happy right away if their basic demands for life are satisfied. However, we have to admit that these people still need to be successful materialistically to some degree.
另一方面，个人经济上的成功不见得能带来精神层面的幸福。众所周知，金钱不能带来一切，甚至有人说金钱是万恶之源。经济上的成功可能就是建立在牺牲时间、健康和爱情的基础之上，而这三件事情是个人精神层面幸福的基本要素。我们对于这个画面并不陌生：一位职场成功的男士带着一颗破碎的心独自品味孤独。
On the other hand, one’s success in economy may not necessarily lead to one’s spiritual happiness. As we all know, money doesn’t get you everything and some even say that money is the root of all evils. One’s financial success may be built on the sacrifice of time, health and love, which are the three most essential elements of spiritual happiness. All of us are not new to this picture: a successful business man tasting loneliness alone with a broken heart.
以我的观点，经济上的成功只是幸福的一个重要因素，但绝对不是唯一因素。尽管我们每一个人对于幸福有完全不同的理解，要幸福就要精神上和物质上都能得到满足。
In my point of view, one’s economic success is only one of the key factors of happiness, but never the only one. To be happy, one needs to be both spiritually and materially satisfied though each of us may have a totally different picture of happiness.