If you thought your life was over when you hit 30 or 40, then bad news–it may have happened much earlier.

如果你觉得30岁或者40岁的时候人生就无望了，那么坏消息来了。这个时间点可能更早一些。

Most people have enjoyed the best memories of their life by the age of 25, according to new research.

根据这项新研究，大多数人在25岁以前就拥有了他们一生中最美好的回忆。

A survey of retired people found the life changing highlights etched on their brains happened before they reached age of 25.

调查发现，退休人群认为让他们印象深刻的人生中至关重要的事情在他们25岁之前就发生了。

It is the first study of its kind to use a 'naturalistic approach' by collecting free flowing stories in which participants were asked to narrate their own biographies in just 30 minutes.

这次调查中在同类调查中首次使用“自然主义方法”，也就是随机收集故事，要求参与者用30分钟讲述他们的个人经历。

A week later they divided these into self defined 'chapters' which revealed a dramatic'reminiscence bump' between 17 and 24-years-old – when many people defined these parts beginning and ending.

一周之后，他们把这些故事划分成自定义的“篇章”，结果显示17岁到24岁这个阶段形成了明显的“回忆波峰”。许多人的故事的开头和结尾都在这个年龄阶段内。

Psychologist Kristina Steiner, of the University of New Hampshire in the US, said:'When people look back over their lives and recount their most important memories, most divide their life stories into chapters defined by important moments that are universal for many: a physical move, attending college, a first job, marriage, military experience, and having children.'

美国新罕布什尔大学的心理学家克里斯蒂娜·施泰纳说：“当人们回顾人生，追忆对他们最重要的事情时，大多数人把他们的人生故事划分成由许多重要时刻标记的章节：一次身体接触、上大学、第一份工作、结婚、参军以及生小孩。这些重要的时刻对许多人来说都是通用的。”

In the study, all the participants were white, and three in four of them had earned at least anundergraduate degree.

在这项调查中，所有的参与者都是白人，其中四分之三的人至少是大学本科毕业。