2013年考研英语二阅读理解第三篇翻译+重点单词汇总
scientists have found that although we are prone to snap overreactions, if we take a moment and think about how we are likely to react, we can reduce or even eliminate the negative effects of our quick, hard-wired responses.
科学家已经发现:我们虽然易于做出快速过激反应,但是,如果花点时间揣度一下我们可能会做何反应,就可以减少甚至消除快速本能反应的负面影响。
snap decisions can be important defense mechanisms; if we are judging whether someone is dangerous, our brains and bodies are hard-wired to react very quickly, within milliseconds. but we need more time to assess other factors. to accurately tell whether someone is sociable, studies show, we need at least a minute, preferably five. it takes a while to judge complex aspects of personality, like neuroticism or open-mindedness.
快速决策可能是重要防御机制;如果要判断某人是否具有危险性,毫秒间我们的大脑和身体便会本能地快速做出反应。但是,我们需要更多时间来评定其他因素。研究表明:要准确辨别某人是否好交际,我们至少需要一分钟,五分钟会更好。想要评判某人性格的复杂面,如神经过敏或思想开阔,则需要花上一段时间。
but snap decisions in reaction to rapid stimuli aren’t exclusive to the interpersonal realm. psychologists at the university of toronto found that viewing a fast-food logo for just a few milliseconds primes us to read 20 percent faster, even though reading has little to do with eating. we unconsciously associate fast food with speed and impatience and carry those impulses into whatever else we’re doing, subjects exposed to fast-food flashes also tend to think a musical piece lasts too long.
但是,因瞬间刺激而做出快速决策并不专属于人际范畴。多伦多大学的心理学家发现,即便阅读和进餐没什么关系,但只看几毫秒的快餐标识就会促使我们将阅读速度加快20%。我们无意识地将快餐与快速和急躁联系起来,并将这些冲动带到任何一件我们正在做的事情中。接触闪烁快餐标识的受试者也往往会认为一首音乐持续时间太长了。
yet we can reverse such influences. if we know we will overreact to consumer products or housing options when we see a happy face (one reason good sales representatives and real estate agents are always smiling), we can take a moment before buying. if we know female job screeners are more likely to reject attractive female applicants, we can help screeners understand their biases-or hire outside screeners.
然而,我们可以扭转这些影响。如果我们知道,自己在选择消费品或房屋时看见笑脸会做出过度反应(这是优秀销售代理和不动产代理总是面带笑容的理由之一）,就可以在购买之前等一等。如果我们知道,女性招聘官更可能拒绝有魅力的女求职者,就可以 助招聘官们认识自己的偏见——-或是聘请外部招聘官。
john gottman, the marriage expert, explains that we quickly “thin slice” information reliably only after we ground such snap reactions in “thick sliced” long-term study. when dr. gottman really wants to assess whether a couple will stay together, he invites them to his island retreat for a much longer evaluation: two days, not two seconds.
婚姻专家约翰·戈特曼解释说,这些快速反应只有基于对“厚片”信息进行长期研究之后,我们才能可靠而又快速汲取“薄片”信息。当戈特曼博士真想评定夫妻俩是否会共同生活时,他会邀请他们去他岛上呆上两天,而非两秒,以进行更长期的评价。
our ability to mute our hard-wired reactions by pausing is what differentiates us from animals: dogs can think about the future only intermittently or for a few minutes. but historically we have spent about 12 percent of our days contemplating the longer term. although technology might change the way we react, it hasn’t changed our nature. we still have the imaginative capacity to rise above temptation and reverse the high-speed trend.
通过暂停来减缓本能反应的能力使得我们有别于动物:狗只能间歇地或是持续几分钟来思考未来。但是,从历史上看来,我们大约花费12%的时间来思索更长远。尽管科技可能改变我们的反应方式，但它还没有改变我们的天性。我们仍然具有丰富的想象能力，去超越诱惑、扭转快速趋向。
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