第1612期:The benefits of spring cleaning

You may well have heard of the term ‘spring cleaning’: the act of giving your house a deep clean in the spring months. Even though, for many of us, that ritual of a once-a-year blitz of dirt and grime is dying out, some of us still practise it. However, there could be a good reason the tradition isn’t as popular as it was.

您可能听说过“春季大扫除”这个词：在春季对您的房子进行深度清洁。尽管对我们中的许多人来说，每年一次的尘土和污垢闪电战的仪式正在消失，但我们中的一些人仍在实践它。然而，这个传统不像以前那么受欢迎可能是有充分理由的。

The spring months are associated with new life and warmth – a stark contrast to the cold, gloomy winter that preceded. For protection against the freezing weather outside, people would seal their doors and windows as best they could to keep the heat in. In a time when many houses had fireplaces, open fires would churn out smoke and soot, coating rooms with layers of muck and gunk.

春天的几个月与新的生活和温暖有关——与之前寒冷、阴沉的冬天形成鲜明对比。为了抵御外面的寒冷天气，人们会尽可能地密封门窗以保持热量。在许多房屋都有壁炉的时代，明火会产生烟雾和煤烟，使房间涂上一层层的泥土和垃圾。

It therefore made sense for people to start cleaning in the spring, when the weather was warmer and windows opened, to freshen up their houses, swabbing the floors and cleaning the walls. However, open fires are no longer commonplace in modern British homes, with people preferring central heating to filthy smoke. And it’s not just the way of heating our homes that has changed. In the past, cleaning was designated to specific times and days, as simple chores like washing clothes took a long time. The rise of gadgets such as the washing machine means that tasks are quicker and more efficient.

因此，人们在春天开始打扫卫生是很有意义的，那时天气暖和，窗户打开，让他们的房子焕然一新，擦拭地板和清洁墙壁。然而，在现代英国家庭中，明火已不再常见，人们更喜欢中央供暖而不是肮脏的烟雾。改变的不仅仅是我们家的取暖方式。过去，清洁是指定时间和日期，因为洗衣服等简单的家务需要很长时间。洗衣机等小工具的兴起意味着任务更快、更高效。

However, psychologists such as Dr Jonathan Fader, argue that the mental health benefits of clearing the house of mess means that a spring clean is hugely positive. The perception of your house being cluttered can cause the stress hormone cortisol to rise.

然而，乔纳森·费德博士等心理学家认为，清理乱七八糟的房子对心理健康的好处意味着春季大扫除是非常积极的。感觉你的房子杂乱无章会导致压力荷尔蒙皮质醇升高。

So, while the tradition is still there, and it’s nice to have a big purge of dirt once in a while, it is no longer as necessary – or limited to just the spring. That said, the psychological benefits of having a tidy home means that a once-a-year purge of unnecessary items, rather than dirt, can make you feel much better.

所以，虽然传统仍然存在，偶尔大扫除污垢是件好事，但它不再是必要的——或者仅限于春天。也就是说，拥有一个整洁家的心理好处意味着，每年清理一次不必要的物品，而不是污垢，可以让你感觉好多了。

词汇表

deep clean 深度清洁
blitz 突击、集中力量的清洁
dirt 灰尘
grime 污垢
soot 煤灰
muck 脏东西
gunk 脏的黏性物质
freshen up 使…洁净，使…变得焕然一新
swab （用拖把或湿布）擦洗
filthy 肮脏的
chore 家庭杂务，日常琐事
washing machine 洗衣机
clearing 清洁，整理
mess 脏乱的东西
cluttered 堆得乱七八糟的，杂乱的
purge 清理
tidy 整洁的