Being happy is more important to children than being famous or rich, a survey reveals.
 
Being happy is more important to children than being famous or rich, a survey reveals.

The poll of British primary school children also found that terrorism was considered the worst thing in the world - and that Simon Cowell was thought to be more famous than Jesus.

If children ran the world they would most want to ban knives and guns and have more school holidays.

The nation-wide drive to tackle the obesity¹ epidemic² appears to have registered with children, as fear of being fat has shot up the list of worries among the under-10s to number three, up from ninth place last year.

The survey of 1,800 children across the UK was carried out to mark National Kids' Day on December 18.

Spokesman Patricia Murchie said: "The idea is to give preteens a national voice for their views in a very simple format³.

"This age group has some very clear ideas on how the world could be changed for the better but is very rarely given the opportunity to express them."

Marriage appears to have risen in popularity among children with 82 per cent saying they will wed⁴ when they grow up compared with 76 per cent in 2006 and 72 per cent in 2005.

This is how the youngsters expressed their views:

What is the very best thing in the world: 1 Being happy. 2 Being famous. 3 Being healthy. 4 Being rich. 5 Families. 6 Good looks. 7 Nice food. 8 Friends. 9 Computer games. 10 Holidays.

What are the very worst: 1 Terrorists. 2 Drunks. 3 Being fat. 4 Bullies⁵. 5 Illness. 6 Dying. 7 Divorce. 8 School. 9 Telling lies. 10 Wars.

Who is the most famous person in the world: 1 The Queen. 2 Harry⁶ Potter. 3 God. 4 Father Christmas. 5 Simon Cowell. 6 Jesus. 7 Jonny Wilkinson. 8 Spider-Man. 9 Prince William. 10 David Cameron.

一项调查显示，在孩子们心目中，“快乐”比“成名”或“富有”更重要。

该项针对英国小学生的民意调查还发现，“恐怖主义”被认为是世界上最糟糕的事情；（美国偶像评委）西蒙•考维尔在孩子们心目中的知名度甚至超过了耶稣。

如果孩子们有朝一日成为世界的主人，他们最希望禁用刀和枪支，还会延长学校假期。

英国全国范围内兴起的“减肥运动”似乎也影响到了孩子。在10岁以下孩子最担心的问题排行榜中，“担心长胖”从去年的第九位升至第三位。

这项调查共有1800名英国儿童参加，主要是为了庆祝昨天（12月18日）的“全国儿童节”。

发言人帕特里西亚•穆歇尔说：“开展这项调查主要是为了让孩子们能以一种十分简单的方式来表达自己的观点。”

“10岁至13岁的孩子对于‘如何让世界变得更加美好’有一些十分明确的想法，但却很少有机会将它们表达出来。”

孩子们对于“婚姻”的兴趣似乎有所增长。82%的孩子称他们长大后会结婚，而去年和前年的这一比例则分别为76%和72%。

该项调查的结果如下：

世界上最美好的事情：1、快乐 2、成名 3、健康 4、富有5、家庭 6、外表出众 7、美食 8、朋友 9、电脑游戏 10、放假

世界上最糟糕的事情：1、恐怖分子 2、喝醉 3、肥胖 4、欺辱别人 5、生病 6、死亡  7、离婚 8、学校 9、说谎 10、战争

世界上最著名的人：1、女王 2、哈利•波特 3、上帝 4、圣诞老人 5、西蒙•考威尔 6、耶稣 7、约翰尼•维尔金森（英国橄榄球星） 8、蜘蛛人 9、威廉王子 10、大卫•卡梅伦（英国政治家，现任在野保守党领袖）

Vocabulary:

register with:（指事实等）铭记在心；（指人）记住或注意到（某事物）