新視野大學(xué)英語(yǔ)第三版Book2-unit6課文翻譯

1、Door closer,are you關(guān)門(mén)者”，你是嗎1 The next time you're deciding between rival options, one which is primary and the other which is secondary, ask yourself this question: What would Xiang Yu do1下次你要在兩個(gè)難于取舍的、主要的和次要的選擇之間做決定時(shí)，不妨問(wèn) 自己這樣一個(gè)問(wèn)題：項(xiàng)羽會(huì)怎么做2 Xiang Yu was a Chinese imperial general in the third centu

2、ry BC who took his troops across the Zhang River on a raid into enemy territory. To his troops' astonishment, he ordered their cooking pots crushed and their sailing ships burned.2項(xiàng)羽是公元前三世紀(jì)中國(guó)古代王朝的一位將軍。他帶領(lǐng)他的部隊(duì)橫渡漳 河，突襲進(jìn)入了敵方的領(lǐng)地。他下令砸鍋燒船，令他的部隊(duì)大為震驚。3 He explained that he was imposing on them a necessi

3、ty for attaining victory over their he said was surely motivating, but it wasn't really appreciated by many of his loyal soldiers as they watched their vessels go up in flames. But the genius of General Xiang Yu's conviction would be validated both on the battlefield and in modern social sci

4、ence research. General Xiang Yu was a rare exception to the norm, a veteran leader who was highly respected for his many conquests and who achieved the summit of success.3他解釋道，他強(qiáng)加給他們的是戰(zhàn)勝對(duì)手的必要舉措。他所說(shuō)的無(wú)疑十分鼓舞士氣，但當(dāng)他那許多忠誠(chéng)的士兵眼睜睜地看著他們的船只在火焰中被焚毀 時(shí)，他們并不贊成他的做法。不過(guò)項(xiàng)羽將軍的這種砸鍋焚船的做法所顯示出的天賦，在戰(zhàn)場(chǎng)上和現(xiàn)代社會(huì)科學(xué)研究中都將得到肯定。項(xiàng)羽將軍是

5、一個(gè)罕見(jiàn)的 不墨守成規(guī)的人，他是一位經(jīng)驗(yàn)豐富的領(lǐng)袖，由于他征戰(zhàn)無(wú)數(shù)并達(dá)到了成功的頂 峰，他深受尊敬。4 He is featured in Dan Ariely's enlightening new publication, Predictably Irrational, a fascinating investigation of seemingly irrational human behavior, such as the tendency for Keeping multiple options open. Most people can't marshal the w

6、ill for painful choices, not even students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where. Dr. Ariely teaches behavioral economics. In an experiment that investigated decision-making, hundreds of students couldn't bear to let their options vanish, even though it was clear they would p

7、rofit from doing so.4丹阿雷利極富啟迪性的新書(shū)可預(yù)見(jiàn)的非理性對(duì)項(xiàng)羽作了專(zhuān)題介紹。 這本書(shū)對(duì)看似非理性的人類(lèi)行為，譬如人類(lèi)總想留住多項(xiàng)選擇機(jī)會(huì)的傾向，進(jìn)行 了引人入勝的調(diào)查。大多數(shù)人都不能整理自己的思路來(lái)做痛苦的選擇，麻省理工學(xué)院上阿雷利博士行為經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)這門(mén)課的學(xué)生也不例外。在調(diào)查作決策的一項(xiàng)實(shí)驗(yàn)中，幾百名學(xué)生都不能忍受眼睜睜看著他們的選擇機(jī)會(huì)消失，即使他們很清楚這樣做對(duì)他們有利。5 The experiment revolved around a game that eliminated the excuses we usually have for refusing to

8、let go. In the real world, we can always say) "It's good to preserve our options." Want a good example A teenager is exhausted from soccer, ballet, piano, and Chinese lessons, but her parents won't stop any one of them because they might come ln handy some day!5實(shí)驗(yàn)是圍繞著一個(gè)游戲展開(kāi)的，這個(gè)游戲排除

9、了我們通常不肯放手的借 口。在現(xiàn)實(shí)世界里，我們總會(huì)說(shuō)：“保留我們的選擇機(jī)會(huì)是對(duì)的?！毕胍粋€(gè)好的例子嗎 一個(gè)十多歲的女孩被足球、芭蕾舞、鋼琴、中文課給累得筋疲力盡， 但她的父母不會(huì)讓她停止任何一項(xiàng)活動(dòng)，理由是它們有一天可能會(huì)派上用場(chǎng)！6 In the experiment sessions, students played a computer game that provided cash behind three doors appearing on the screen. The rule was the more money you earned,the better player y

10、ou were, given a total of 100 clicks. Every time the students opened door by clicking on it, they would use up one click but wouldn't get any , each subsequent click on that door would earn a fluctuating sum of money,with one door always revealing more money than the others. The important part o

11、f the rule was each door switch, though having no cash value, would also use up one of the 100 clicks. Therefore, the winning strategy was to quickly check all the doors and keep clicking on the one with the seemingly highest rewards。6在這個(gè)實(shí)驗(yàn)里，學(xué)生要玩一個(gè)電腦游戲：在電腦屏幕上會(huì)顯示三扇門(mén)，每 扇門(mén)后都會(huì)提供一些現(xiàn)金。該游戲的規(guī)則是每個(gè)人都只能點(diǎn)擊100次，

12、你點(diǎn)擊獲取的錢(qián)越多，你就玩得越好。學(xué)生每點(diǎn)擊一次打開(kāi)一扇門(mén)，他們會(huì)用掉一個(gè)點(diǎn)擊數(shù)，但卻不會(huì)得到任何錢(qián)。然而，隨后接著在那扇門(mén)上的每次點(diǎn)擊都會(huì)掙得數(shù)額不等的錢(qián)，三扇門(mén)顯示的錢(qián)總有一扇比另外兩扇多。這個(gè)游戲規(guī)則的重點(diǎn)是雖然每次換門(mén)沒(méi)有金錢(qián)回報(bào)，可還是會(huì)用掉一次點(diǎn)擊數(shù)。所以，制勝戰(zhàn)略是要迅速查看所有的門(mén)，然后只點(diǎn)擊那扇似乎是錢(qián)最多的門(mén)。7 While playing the game, students noticed a modified visual element: Any door left unclicked for a short while would shrink in size a

13、nd vanish. Since they already understood the game, they should have ignored the vanishing doors. Nevertheless, they hurried to click on the lesser doors before they vanished, trying to keep them open. As a result, they wasted so many clicks rushing back to the vanishing doors that they lost money in

14、 the end. Why were the students so attached to the lesserdoors They would probably protest that they were clinging to the doors to Keep future options open, but, according to Dr. Ariely, that isn't thetrue factor.7在玩游戲時(shí)，學(xué)生們注意到了一個(gè)視覺(jué)上的變化：如果有片刻沒(méi)點(diǎn)擊某扇 門(mén)，那扇門(mén)就會(huì)慢慢縮小并消失。由于他們已了解了游戲規(guī)則，他們本應(yīng)對(duì)要消失的門(mén)不予理睬。 然而，在它

15、們消失以前，他們卻迫不及待地去點(diǎn)擊那些變 小的門(mén)，試圖讓它們開(kāi)啟著。結(jié)果是，他們?cè)诖颐厝c(diǎn)擊那些快消失的門(mén)時(shí)浪費(fèi)了很多點(diǎn)擊數(shù)以至于最后輸了錢(qián)。為什么學(xué)生對(duì)那些變小的門(mén)如此依戀呢他們可能會(huì)爭(zhēng)辯說(shuō)，他們緊抓住這些門(mén)是為將來(lái)多留一些機(jī)會(huì)。但是，據(jù)阿雷利 博士說(shuō)，這不是真正的原因。8 Instead of the excuse to maintain future options open, underneath it all the student' s desire was to avoid the immediate, though temporary, pain of watchin

16、g options close. a closing a door on an option is experienced as a loss, and people are willing to pay a big price to avoid the emotion of loss," Dr, Ariely says. In the experiment, the price was easily measured in lost cash. In life, the corresponding costs are often less obvious such as waste

17、d time or missed opportunities.8在他們?yōu)閷?lái)多留一些機(jī)會(huì)的借口背后反映出的是所有的學(xué)生都不堪目 睹眼前的選擇機(jī)會(huì)被剝奪，盡管這種痛苦是臨時(shí)的。阿雷利博士說(shuō)：“每閉上一扇選擇之門(mén)就如同經(jīng)受了一次損失，人們寧愿付出很大的代價(jià)，也要避免情感的失落?！痹趯?shí)驗(yàn)中，損失很容易用丟失的現(xiàn)金來(lái)衡量。在生活中，相應(yīng)的損失就往往沒(méi)那么明顯，如浪費(fèi)時(shí)間，錯(cuò)過(guò)機(jī)會(huì)。9 "Sometimes these doors are closing too slowly for us to see themvanishing." writes. "We may wor

18、k more hours at our jobs withoutrealizing that the childhood of our Sons and daughters is slipping away."9 ”有時(shí)候，這些門(mén)是慢慢關(guān)閉的，我們沒(méi)有看到它們?cè)谇娜幌?，”阿?利博士寫(xiě)道：“我們可能花很多時(shí)間在工作上，卻沒(méi)有意識(shí)到我們子女的童年正 在悄悄溜走。”10 So, what can be done to restore balance in our lives One answer, Dr. Ariely says, is to implement more prohib

19、itions on overbooking. We can work to reduce options on our own, delegating tasks to others and even giving away ideas for others to pursue. He points to marriage as an example, "In marriage, we create a situation where we promise ourselves not to keep options open. We close doors and announce

20、to others we've closed doors."10那么，我們可以做些什么讓我們的生活恢復(fù)平衡呢阿雷利博士說(shuō)，一個(gè)辦法是制止更多的超額預(yù)約。我們可以自己減少選擇，將任務(wù)委派給其他人，甚至放棄一些點(diǎn)子，讓其他人去做。他用婚姻作為例子：“在婚姻中，我們承諾不保留選擇機(jī)會(huì)，我們就創(chuàng)造了獲得最佳選擇的有利局面。我們關(guān)上可選擇的 門(mén)，并告訴別人我們已作出選擇?！?1 since conducting the door experiment, Dr. Ariely says he has made a conscious effort to lessen his load.

21、He urges the rest of us to resign from committees, prune holiday card lists, rethink hobbies and remember the lessons of door closers like Xiang Yu.11阿雷利博士說(shuō)，自從進(jìn)行了這個(gè)點(diǎn)擊門(mén)的實(shí)驗(yàn)，他已經(jīng)有意識(shí)地努力減 輕自己的負(fù)擔(dān)。 他敦促我們辭去委員會(huì)的工作，刪減送節(jié)日賀卡的名單，重新 思考興趣愛(ài)好，并記住像項(xiàng)羽那樣的關(guān)門(mén)者給我們的啟示。12 In other words, Dr. Ariely is encouraging us to discard those things that seem to have outward merit in favor of those things that actually enrich our lives. We are naturally prejudiced to believe that more is better, but Dr. Ariely's research provides a dose of reality th