If you want to know whether your relationship will last, don't listen to those sweet nothings. But do pay close attention to the rest of your partner's language.

如果你想知道自己和另一半的关系能否持久，那些“甜蜜的废话”就不用听了，倒是不妨去听听另一半的“闲言碎语”。

According to scientists, it is possible to predict whether a couple will break up by using a word association test - and it's much more accurate than simply asking them how they feel about each other.

科学家近日指出，通过一项所谓的“文字联系测试”便有可能预测出两人是否会分手——而这种方法得出的结论要比直接询问双方感受得出的结论更加精确。

In a study, volunteers were shown positive words, such as "peace" and "sharing", and negative words, such as "grief" and "hostile", alongside words they had supplied to describe their partner. In the first test, they were asked to press a button whenever they saw either positive words or partner-related words, and in the second, to do it whenever they saw negative words or partner-related words. The test had a time limit.

研究中，志愿者们面对的词汇不仅有自己曾用来描述另一半的词汇，还有积极词如“平和”、“乐于分享的”，也有消极词如“悲伤”、“怀有敌意的”。在第一项测试中，志愿者被要求一看到积极或者自己曾用来形容另一半的词汇就压下按钮，而在第二项测试中，志愿者需要在看到消极或者自己曾用来形容另一半的词汇按下按钮。测试均有时间限制。

Study author Ronald Rogge said: "What really excited me in our results was that our measure seemed to do a better job of predicting outcomes than what the people told us about their relationships. People who exhibited negative feelings to their partners were about seven times more likely to break up over the next year."

研究论文撰稿人罗纳德-罗格称：“让我振奋的是，在预测二人关系方面，我们的这种计量方法似乎要比听人们讲述他们的关系得到的效果好一些。那些在实验中表示出对另一半消极感受的志愿者在第二年分手的可能性要比普通情况高出7倍还多。

"It really is giving us a unique glimpse into how people were feeling about their partners - giving us information that they were unable or unwilling to report. A lot of people don't want to tell you if they're starting to feel less happy in their relationship," Rogge said.

“‘文字联系测试’让我们得以窥到人们对另一半的真实感受——该测试提供了人们不能或者不愿诉说的信息。许多人开始对自己和恋人的关系不甚满意时并不想告诉你真实情况，”罗格说道。