三、社会与心理
TEXT 26
In cities throughout the United States, municipal officials, residents and advocates are deba ting how to address the pressing issue of public homelessness. The problem:These conversations continue to overlook how property owners and businesses have shaped our abysmal response to homelessness over the past 40 years.
A recent report out of the University of California at Berkeley reveals that across the state，Business Improvement Districts（BIDs）, which enable property and business owners to collect tax assessments to fund services within a particular area, use their power to“enact, preserve，and strengthen laws that punish homeless people for life-sustaining activities that they have no choice but to undertake in public, such as sitting, resting, sleeping, and food sharing. ”BIDfunded private security forces also illegally harass the homeless to push them out of public spaces. The results are both human rights violations and practices that exacerbate homelessness rather than address its causes.
BIDs have engaged in these practices since they began to spread in the 1980s, a period that—not accidentally—coincided with the rise of modern homelessness. The history of BIDs in New York City exemplifies the connection between the two. During the 1980s, as a result of diminishing affordable housing and cutbacks to a variety of social services, the city's homeless population grew into the tens of thousands.
Officials didn't have homelessness in mind when they initially permitted BIDs in the early 1980s. They hoped real estate owners would help improve commercial areas through organizing promotional activities and providing supplemental services such as street cleanings. But owners and businesses, alarmed at the growth of homelessness and fearing it would chase consumers away, also began to use BIDs to shape the response to homelessness.
Local officials promised a host of reforms for BIDs. But little changed. Instead, in subsequent decades, BIDs have multiplied not only in New York but across the country. Why? Rather than increase oversight and regulation of BID activity, municipal officials have generally been much more likely simply to encourage their growth. After all, BIDs can help to provide services such as sanitation, marketing and visitor assistance without drawing from municipal tax revenue.
Such tactics distract from proven solutions, such as increasing affordable housing and housing first policies, which will bring cities—and the country—much closer to addressing the continued crisis of homelessness. They also remind us about the danger of letting private entities shape our public spaces and guide public policy:their interests don't always coincide with the public good, and can hurt society's most vulnerable.
1.The problem of homelessness can't be solved until ________.
[A]the cause of the problem is fully understood
[B]officials work out more effective measures
[C]property and business owners pay more taxes
[D]the homeless are willing to settle down
2.What's good for businesses and property owners ________.
[A]also benefits the homeless
[B]only hurts the homeless
[C]probably hurts the residents
[D]never benefits the communities
3.In Paragraph 3, “the two”refers to ________.
[A]population growth and the rise of homelessness
[B]human rights violation and law-enforcing practices
[C]the initiation of BIDs and increased homelessness
[D]the diminished home price and decreased services
4.The BIDs had originally been intended to ________.
[A]push the homeless out of public places
[B]enhance security for rich communities
[C]urge business owners to pay more taxes
[D]improve services within commercial areas
5.It is implied in the last paragraph that private businesses ________.
[A]are more concerned with earning a profit
[B]are unable to provide good public services
[C]can better address the homelessness problem
[D]will continue their efforts to help the homeless
考研必备词汇
1.municipal/mjuː ˈnisipəl/a．市（政）的
2.advocate/ ˈædvəkit/n．辩护者，拥护者，倡导者
3.address/ə ˈdres/vt．处理；集中精力对付
4.overlook/ˈəuvə ˈluk/vt．忽略；俯瞰
5.assessment/ə ˈsesmənt/n．评估；评估的税额
6.enact/i ˈnækt/vt．制定；颁布
7.undertake/ˈʌndə ˈteik/vt．承担，接受
8.harass/ ˈhærəs/vt．骚扰，不断打扰
9.exacerbate/iɡ ˈzæsəbeit/vt．加重，使恶化
10.coincide/ˈkəuin ˈsaid/v．同时发生，巧合
11.exemplify/iɡ ˈzemplifai/vt．举例说明
12.diminish/di ˈminiʃ/vt．减少，削弱
13.affordable/ə ˈfɔːdəbl/a．付得起的，廉价的
14.cutback/ ˈkʌtbæk/n．缩减，削减
15.real estate 房地产
16.promotional/prə ˈməuʃnəl/a．增进的，促销的
17.supplemental/ˈsʌpli ˈmentl/a．补充的
18.a host of 大量，大群
19.subsequent/ ˈsʌbsikwənt/a．后来的，其后的
20.multiply/ ˈmʌltiplai/v．成倍增加
21.oversight/ ˈəuvəsait/n．监督，监管；忽视
22.sanitation/ˈsæni ˈteiʃən/n．（公共）卫生
23.tactics/ ˈtæktiks/n．战术，战略
24.distract/dis ˈtrækt/v．分散注意，分心
25.entity/ ˈentiti/n．实体，组织
26.vulnerable/ ˈvʌlnərəbl/a．脆弱的，易受伤害的
其他词汇
abysmal 深不可测的；糟糕的
疑难长句注解
1.A recent report out of...food sharing.（第二段）
句中that引导的宾语从句很长，其主干结构是Business Improvement Districts...use their power to“enact, preserve, and strengthen laws that...”。其中，laws后面that引导的是定语从句，修饰laws；在这个定语从句中还有一个that引导的定语从句，修饰activities。在这个句子中，across the state指加利福尼亚州各处；property owners指房主；business owners指企业主；tax assessments指对房产或其他财产的评估，通常由地方政府的评估师来做，根据财产状况决定税率高低，加利福尼亚州对此进行了改革，让私营的BIDs项目去做这件事情，收到的税用于社区的开支。
2.But owners and businesses...to homelessness.（第四段）
本句的主干结构是owners and businesses...also began to use BIDs to...，其中alarmed at...and fearing...是过去分词和现在分词作状语，表示原因。本文中，shape the response to homelessness指私营的BIDs影响到为处理无家可归问题而制定的政府政策。
3.Such tactics distract...homelessness.（第六段）
本句中，Such tactics指第五段提到的政府所采取的策略；proven solutions指已经被证明有效的解决方法；affordable housing和housing first都指让低收入人也住得起房的政策；bring...closer to原意为“让……靠近”，这里指靠近目标。
译文
在美国各个城市，市政府官员、居民和支持者都在讨论怎样解决大众的无家可归的紧迫问题。问题是：这些谈话仍然在忽视业主和公司如何在过去40年里影响我们对无家可归问题做出的糟糕反应。
加州大学伯克利分校最近发布的一份报告显示，在加利福尼亚州，商业改进区（BIDs）——它让业主和企业主收取评估税以资助所在区的服务，用它们的权力来“制定、维护和加强法律，惩罚无家可归的人，因为他们只能在公共场所进行维持生计的活动，包括坐、休息、睡觉和分享食物”。受BIDs资助的私人保安人员还违法骚扰无家可归者，把他们赶出公共场所，结果不仅侵犯人权，还加剧无家可归而不是解决问题。
从1980年代开始流行以来，BIDs一直坚持这种做法，结果此后一直伴随着现代无家可归现象的加剧，这不是巧合。BIDs在纽约市的历史发展过程就是很好的例子，证明了二者之间的联系。在1980年代，由于缩减可支付住房并削减各种社会服务，纽约市无家可归者人数增加到几万人。
在1980年代早期，官员们起初批准BIDs时没有考虑到无家可归者。他们希望房地产主能组织宣传活动，提供清理街道这样的附加服务，以此帮助改善商业区域。但是，由于业主和公司对无家可归者数量的增加感到恐慌，害怕会吓走顾客，他们开始用BIDs来影响如何应对无家可归现象。
地方官员许诺对BIDs进行一系列改革。但是几乎没有任何变化。相反，在之后的几十年里，BIDs不仅在纽约市而且在全国成倍增加。为什么？因为市政府官员没有增加对BIDs活动的监督和管理，却通常更可能仅仅鼓励了它们的发展。毕竟，BIDs能帮助提供服务，比如卫生、销售和访客援助，而不用从市政府税收中提钱。
这些策略让我们分心，使我们不再关注那些被证明有效的方法——比如增加可支付住房和住房第一的政策，这些方法才能使我们的城市——和国家——更接近解决持续的无家可归危机。它们也提示我们，让私营组织左右我们的公共场所和引导公共政策是危险的：它们的利益与公众利益不总相一致，而且可能伤害社会最弱势的群体。
TEXT 27
Over the course of a year, psychologists at Stanford University recruited 223 participants for a study that would help scientists create personalized nutrition and exercise programs—or so they were told. What the two researchers, Brad Turnwald and Alia Crum, most wanted to investigate was how the participants would react after they took DNA tests and learned their genetic propensities for exercise and diet.
To find out, they came up with a somewhat devious approach. The placebo effect is rooted in physiology:When someone takes a sugar pill and reports less pain, his or her brain is actually releasing natural painkillers called endorphins. Perhaps something similar happens when you find out about your genes.
The Stanford team devised two experiments. About half of the participants got a result—a fake one—for a gene linked to exercise, then had to run on a treadmill. The other half got a result for a gene linked to hunger, then had to drink a 480-calorie smoothie. Those told they had the“worse”version of the genes quit running earlier and reported feeling hungrier than those told they had the“better”version of the genes. Curiously, even their lung function and hunger-hormone levels appeared to change.
“I'm not all that surprised at the results, ”says Steven Heine, a psychologist at the University of British Columbia who was not involved with the study. Heine studies how people react to DNA-test results, and he says they tend to interpret genetic information“in very deterministic ways. ”
Turnwald and Crum, in their study, decided to straight-up give participants a random genetic result. Considering the deception involved, Turnwald says, they didn't want to deliver a madeup genetic risk for diseases such as Alzheimer's or cancer, but they did want to pick something meaningful. They settled on obesity and selected two genes:CREB1, which is linked to aerobicexercise capacity, and FTO, which is linked to hunger cues.
Compared with their initial baseline tests, people who were told they had the high-risk version of CREB1 ran for less time than before, and people who were told they had the protective version of FTO reported being less hungry than before. The team didn't rely just on these self-reported measures. The people who ran on treadmills wore masks measuring the oxygen and carbon dioxide in their breaths. The people who drank smoothies had their blood drawn to test for hungerhormone levels. The participants' bodies agreed with their perceptions of fatigue and hunger.
If these effects persist over time, the genetic information could end up being a self-fulfilling prophecy.
1.The experiment aims to find out ________.
[A]what happens when the subjects know they have bad genes
[B]which part of a person's personality is genetically determined
[C]whether diet and exercise can change genetic tendencies
[D]how genetic factors determine the way we eat and exercise
2.The researchers found that ________.
[A]both groups are affected physiologically and psychologically
[B]the first group are more seriously affected than the second
[C]the second group are affected physically but not mentally
[D]the first group turn out to be feeble-minded people
3.Steven Heine has the opinion that ________.
[A]there is nothing new with the Stanford research
[B]people believe in a big role of genes in their life
[C]DNA-tests often provide misleading information
[D]people should not get involved in DNA-tests
4.It can be inferred that, compared with the first experiment, the second one is ________.
[A]less believable
[B]less revealing
[C]more specific
[D]more meaningful
5.If the psychological and physiological reactions last for some time, ________.
[A]participants will reveal the deceptive information
[B]participants will get tired of any kind of exercise
[C]participants will report less fatigue and hunger
[D]participants are very likely to catch the disease
疑难长句注解
1.recruit/ri ˈkruːt/vt．征募，招募
2.participant/pɑː ˈtisipənt/n．参与者
3.personalize/ ˈpəːsənəlaiz/vt．使私人化，使个性化
4.nutrition/njuː ˈtriʃən/n．营养，滋养
5.investigate/in ˈvestiɡ eit/vt．调查，研究
6.genetic/dʒi ˈnetik/a．遗传的，基因的
7.come up with 提出
8.devious/ ˈdiːviəs/a．迂回的；偏离正道的
9.placebo/pləˈ siːbəu/n．安慰剂
10.physiology/ˈfizi ˈɔlədʒi/n．生理学；生理（机能）
11.release/r ˈi liː s/vt．释放；发表，发行
12.fake/feik/a．假的，冒牌的
13.calorie/ ˈkæləri/n．卡，卡路里
14.version/ ˈvəːʃən/n．版本；说法
15.hormone/ ˈhɔːməun/n．荷尔蒙，激素
16.interpret/in ˈtəːprit/vt．解释，说明；口译
17.random/ ˈrændəm/a．随机的；偶然的
18.deception/di ˈsepʃən/n．欺骗，蒙骗
19.deliver/di ˈlivə/vt．给予，提供；投递，传递
20.settle/ ˈsetl/vt．定居；决定，解决
21.obesity/əu ˈbisiti/n．肥胖（症）
22.cue/kjuː/n．提示，暗示
23.initial/i ˈniʃəl/a．起初的，开始的
24.baseline/ ˈbeislain/a．基础的
25.perception/pə ˈsepʃən/n．知觉，感受；认识
26.fatigue/fə ˈtiːɡ/n．疲劳，困乏
27.persist/pəː ˈsist/vi．坚持；持续，耐久
28.self-fulfilling/ˈself-ful ˈfiliŋ/a．自我实现的
29.prophecy/ ˈprɔfisi/n．预言
其他词汇
1.propensity 倾向，癖好
2.endorphin 胺多酚（一种分泌物质）
3.treadmill 踏车，跑步机
4.smoothie 冰果露
5.deterministic 决定论的，宿命论的
6.straight-up 直接地
7.Alzheimer's 老年痴呆症
8.aerobic 有氧的
疑难长句注解
1.Over the course of a year...were told.（第一段）
研究者告诉参与者，实验的目的是创造个性化的营养和锻炼项目，但是从下文来看，这是在骗参与者。他们真正的目的是研究参与者知道自己有不好的基因后会有何种心理和生理反应；而且就连基因测试结果也是编造的，完全是出于实验的目的。正是在这种意义上，第二段第一句说他们使用的方法是devious approach，即不是正经手段。
2.Considering the deception...meaningful.（第五段）
本句中deliver和上一句中give的意思差不多，即告诉参与者测试结果；made-up genetic risk指假造的遗传测试结果；for与risk搭配指患病危险。在后半句中，pick指从诸多疾病中选出一种病，something meaningful指不轻不重的病症——既不像老年痴呆症和癌症那样重，也不能是微不足道的病症。
3.If these effects persist...prophecy.（第七段）
本句中，over time指过一段时间；end up doing sth．指最终产生某种结果；self-fulfilling的意思是becoming real or true by virtue of having been predicted or expected，即一个东西仅仅是因为被预测或期待就最终成为真的，虽然起初的预测毫无基础。这个句子的基本意思是：接受实验的人被告诉某个虚假的结果后，他们的心理产生了变化，随之他们的生理也产生了变化。如果这种悲观的心理和身体变化持续下去，他们可能真的会患上某种疾病——比如肥胖症。
译文
在一年的过程中，斯坦福大学的心理学家们招募了223人来参与一项研究，该研究有助于科学家创造个性化的营养和锻炼项目——或者至少这些参与者是被这样告知的。Brad Turnwald和Alia Crum这两位研究者最想调查的是：在参与者接受了DNA测试并知道自己的锻炼与饮食的遗传倾向后，他们有何反应。
为了寻找答案，他们提出了一个有点偏离正道的方法。安慰剂效应有生理基础：当某人吃糖制的药片并说疼痛减轻时，他或她的大脑实际在释放一种叫作胺多酚的自然止疼药。当你知道自己的基因时，类似的事情也许会发生。
斯坦福研究小组设计了两个实验。有一半参与者得到与锻炼有关的基因的测试结果——假造的结果，然后让他们使用跑步机跑步。另一半得到与饥饿有关的基因结果，然后让他们喝480卡路里果露。与被告知有“更好”基因的人相比，被告知自己有“更差”基因的人更早放弃跑步，报告说自己感觉更饿。奇怪的是，甚至他们的肺功能和饥饿荷尔蒙水平似乎也变了。
没有参加研究的英属哥伦比亚大学心理学家Steven Heine说，“我对结果并不感到那么惊奇。”Heine研究人如何对DNA测试结果做出反应，他说，人们倾向于“以非常决定论的方式”解读遗传信息。
在他们的研究中，Turnwald和Crum决定直接给参与者随机的遗传测试结果。Turnwald说，考虑到其中涉及欺骗，他们不想提供某些疾病的虚假的遗传风险信息——比如老年痴呆症或癌症，但是他们确实想找一种比较有分量的病症。他们最终决定选肥胖症并选择了两个基因：CREB1，与有氧锻炼能力有关；FTO，与饥饿感有关。
与他们起初的基础测试相比，那些被告知他们CREB1基因有高风险的人比以前跑得时间更短，被告知他们有FTO保护基因的人与以前相比说他们饿的次数少了。研究小组没有只依靠参与者的这些自我报告。他们让跑步机上跑步的人戴上面罩，来测试他们呼气中的氧气和二氧化碳含量。他们给喝果露的人抽血化验其饥饿荷尔蒙分泌量。参与者的身体与他们对疲劳和饥饿的认识是一致的。
如果这些效果持续一些时间，遗传信息最终可能成为一种自我应验的预言。
TEXT 28
Much remains uncertain about Hurricane Florence's landfall in the Carolinas, but one thing is certain:When the storm finally arrives, thousands of residents will find themselves unprepared. Lack of preparation helps explain the severity of material losses after recent disasters, even when people have been warned. And lack of preparation, research shows, is caused by cognitive biases that lead people to underplay warnings and make poor decisions. Residents knew all too well that a storm was at their doorstep and they just thought it wouldn't affect them．Then, the bias of herd thinking compounded the problem. Looking around and seeing that few others were making preparations, residents felt no social pressure to do more.
Several other psychological biases also undermine preparation for dangerous natural events. Myopia prevents short-term, costly investments（buying insurance or evacuating, for instance）to stave off a potential future loss. Unfortunately, most of us tend to be shortsighted in this way, focusing on the immediate cost or inconvenience of preemptive action rather than the more distant, abstract penalty for failing to act. That leads us to forgo sound preparation.
Amnesia is also evident in people's reactions to news of a storm heading their way. Even when we have been through a disaster before, we tend to forget what it felt like the last time. While we may remember the bare facts of the event, emotions are what tend to drive action, and those memories fade the fastest. Examples of this type of forgetting are evident in many areas. After the financial meltdown of 2008—2009, as after other crises, there were calls to curb excessive risktaking on Wall Street, to minimize the possibility of a recurrence. But after the recovery, investors were right back at it; they had a hard time reimagining the downturn.
Inertia and simplification are also enemies of sound decision-making. When we are unsure of what to do in the face of an incoming storm, we tend to stick to the status quo—doing nothing. If we are uncertain about when to evacuate, we tend not to evacuate at all. And we tend to simplify our course of action, selectively focusing on a few factors. When preparing for a hurricane, many things may need doing. In the face of such complexity, we may take care of one or two tasks and consider the job done.
It may be discouraging to learn how our minds work to defeat us. But there is a silver lining:Knowing why we underprepare is the first step to knowing how to avoid these mistakes.
1.The herd thinking causes people ________.
[A]to follow the general population in their action
[B]to think that they would not be affected anyway
[C]to ignore social pressure and stay mentally inactive
[D]to make the situation more complicated than it is
2.The word“Myopia”（Para. 2）probably means ________.
[A]dangerous natural disaster
[B]lack of long-range perspective
[C]blind and silly unpreparedness
[D]fear of large immediate cost
3.The 2008—2009 financial meltdown is mentioned to show ________.
[A]financial disasters are similar to natural ones
[B]recovery from such a disaster takes a hard time
[C]people are oblivious to the pain a disaster causes
[D]behind such a disaster there is an emotional reason
4.When we are at a loss about how to cope with a natural disaster, we ________.
[A]forget it and do nothing about it
[B]minimize the effect of the disaster
[C]turn to seek professional assistance
[D]tend not to take any action at all
5.The text is written to answer the question“ ________”
[A]How should people cope with natural disasters？
[B]Why do people not have any fear for disasters？
[C]Why do people stay put during hurricanes？
[D]How hurricanes damage people psychologically？
疑难长句注解
1.hurricane/ ˈhʌrikən/n．飓风
2.resident/ ˈrezidənt/n．居民
3.severity/si ˈveriti/n．严重（性）；严厉
4.cognitive/ ˈkɔɡ nitiv/a．认知的
5.bias/ ˈbaiəs/n．偏见，偏差
6.underplay/ˈʌndə ˈplei/vt．表演不充分；轻视
7.compound/kəm ˈpaund/vt．使复合；使变坏
8.undermine/ˈʌndə ˈmain/vt．暗中破坏；使变弱
9.evacuate/i ˈvækj ueit/vt．抽空；疏散，撤离
10.abstract/ ˈæbstrækt/a．抽象的
11.penalty/ ˈpenlti/n．惩罚；罚款
12.forgo/fɔː ˈɡəu/vt．放弃
13.amnesia/æm ˈniːziə/n．健忘症
14.fade/feid/v．褪色；削减
15.meltdown/ ˈmeltdaun/n．融化；熔断；灾难
16.curb/kəːb/vt．控制，约束
17.excessive/ik ˈsesiv/a．过量的，过分的
18.minimize/ ˈminimaiz/vt．减到最低（小）程度；最小化
19.recurrence/r ˈi kʌrəns/n．再发生，重现
20.recovery/ri ˈkʌvəri/n．恢复；重新获得
21.downturn/ ˈdauntəːn/n．开始下降；低迷（期）
22.inertia/i ˈnəːʃə/n．惯性，惰性
23.stick to 坚持；黏附
24.status quo/ˈsteitəs ˈkwəu/n．现状
25.course of action 行动过程；做法
26.complexity/kəm ˈpleksiti/n．复杂（性）
其他词汇
1.landfall 登陆；初见大陆
2.herd thinking 从众心理
3.myopia 近视；缺乏远见
4.stave off 避开，挡开
5.preemptive 先发制人的
疑难长句注解
1.Unfortunately, most of us tend...to act.（第二段）
本句包含一个现在分词短语，对be shortsighted做出解释。在现在分词短语中，preemptive action指an action which is undertaken or initiated to deter or prevent an anticipated, usually unpleasant situation or occurrence，为延缓或阻止预期的——经常是不愉快的状况或事件而做出的或发起的行动，比如本段提到的buying insurance or evacuating，而more distant, abstract penalty指不事先做出准备而导致的可预测的结果。理解这句话的关键是从灾难未发生的视角，而不是灾难发生后的视角。这样，immediate cost是指灾难未发生时花的钱，与本段第二句中short-term, costly investments意思差不多；inconvenience of preemptive action也是指预防措施——比如撤离带来的麻烦。另外，也是因为灾难还没有发生，后果还没有造成，因此由后果带来的惩罚也是“遥远的”（distant）和“抽象的”（abstract）。
2.But after the recovery...the downturn.（第三段）
句中the recovery指the recovery from the financial meltdown，即从金融危机中复苏，be at something指从事某项活动，it指上一句中的excessive risk-taking，动词reimagine是re-imagine，名词downturn与meltdown意思差不多。
译文
有关飓风“佛罗伦斯”在南北卡罗来纳州登陆后的状况，现在有很多事情还不清楚，但是有一件事是确定的：当暴风雨最终到来时，有成千上万的人将发现自己没做好准备。缺乏准备解释了为什么在最近发生的灾难后物质损失那么严重，即使人们已经受到警告。而且，研究证明，缺乏准备是由认知偏差造成的，它们让人不重视这些警告，做出糟糕的决定。居民们很清楚地知道，暴风雨快要来临，他们只是认为它影响不到自己。此外，还有从众思维带来的偏差，这使问题变得更复杂。居民们四处望望，发现很少有人在做准备，于是就感觉不到做事情的社会压力。
几个其他的心理偏差也妨碍了为危险的自然灾害做准备。短见阻碍短期的大投资（比如购买保险或撤离）来避免潜在的未来损失。不幸的是，我们大多数人倾向于这样目光短浅，关注先发行为的直接成本或不方便，而不关注不作为带来的更长远、更抽象的惩罚。这令我们放弃有效的准备。
从人们听到暴风雨将至的新闻的反应来看，他们显然还患有健忘症。即使我们以前经历过一次灾难，我们也倾向于忘记上次对它的感受。虽然我们可能记得那件事的一些赤裸裸的事实，但是只有情感才能促使我们行动，而情感记忆消退得最快。这类健忘的例子在很多领域很明显。在2008年至2009年的金融灾难发生后，像其他危机发生后一样，华尔街有人呼吁减少过度冒险行为，把灾难再次发生的可能性最小化。但是复苏后，投资者又恰恰重回老路，他们已经难以再次想象那场衰退。
惰性和简化也是理性决策的天敌。当我们面对将至的暴风雨不知所措时，我们倾向维持现状——无所事事。如果我们拿不准什么时候撤离，我们就根本不撤离。而且，我们倾向于简化行动过程，有选择地关注其中的几个因素。在为飓风做准备时，有很多事情需要做。面对这样复杂的情况时，我们可能做了其中一两件事情就认为已经做好准备了。
知道我们如何败给了自己的心理可能令人沮丧。但是也存在一种希望：知道我们为什么准备不充分是懂得如何避免这些错误的第一步。
TEXT 29
New research suggests our unconscious self-beliefs influence what we value in luxury items，and that rather than targeting particular kinds of consumers, marketers should shape our self-beliefs to fit with their brand.
In this age of diffusion lines, fast fashion and social media influencers, luxury brands can feel as ubiquitous as blue jeans—one of fashion's many paradoxes, says luxury marketing expert Dr Yuri Seo. Research by him and others reveals the reasons why people buy luxury items are many and varied:to signal social status, for escapism, self-transformation and investment, among others. “Consumers no longer have a strong, clear understanding of what luxury is, and because the concept of luxury is fuzzy, marketers can shape consumers' thinking about it. ”
People hold unconscious beliefs about the malleability of their personality, morals, intelligence and other personal traits. These self-theories are“implicit”—we can't easily put them into words, but they show through in our attitudes and behaviour. Two distinct self-theories have been identified. People who hold the“entity theory”believe their personal traits are relatively fixed, and so they cannot improve or change themselves through their own efforts. “Incremental theorists”believe their characteristics are relatively malleable; they can change themselves if they try hard enough. It seems the same person can hold both self-theories simultaneously, with one or the other dominant depending on the context.
“For entity theorists, one way of gaining self-esteem is to consume products or brands with positive personalities, ”says Dr Seo. “Incremental theorists are less likely to signal their own value through luxury items, because they believe they should improve themselves. Traditional luxury marketing, which emphasises symbolic values like tradition and history, primes you to think like an entity theorist. But if you want to appeal to incremental theorists, you need to focus on the more functional values—design, innovation, durability. ”
Seo and his collaborators ran a series of experiments to tease out the effects, and potential use to marketers, of self-theories. They found the most appealing ads were the ones where the text and slogan worked together. Participants who saw an ad that talked about Prada being“committed to consistency and unwavering steadfastness”, putting them in an entity frame of mind, rated the sunglasses more favourably when the text matched the symbolic value slogan; those who read that“At Prada, we are evolving...You change and Prada is changing with you”formed more favourable attitudes when the text was paired with the functional slogan.
So if you prime consumers to think incrementally, you can emphasise things that advantage your brand—like personal connection, innovation, sustainability.
1.Recent study shows that ________.
[A]consumers' attitudes to luxury brands vary a lot
[B]social media and fast fashion influence each other
[C]self-beliefs shape what luxury means to people
[D]self-beliefs incline people to some kinds of luxury
2.Brand marketers can shape consumer's thinking because ________.
[A]brands are evolving along the times
[B]people today like to buy luxury items
[C]luxury brands signal social status
[D]people really don't know what luxury is
3.The word“malleability”（Para. 3）probably means ________.
[A]characteristic
[B]flexibility
[C]transformation
[D]conception
4.People with different theories about their personality ________.
[A]value different aspects in luxury products
[B]tend to buy products of different brands
[C]all emphasize functional and traditional values
[D]all can be changed by the values in luxury
5.To attract entity-minded consumers, marketers should emphasize ________.
[A]personal connection
[B]sustainable values
[C]innovation in design
[D]historical connection
疑难长句注解
1.diffusion/di ˈfjuːʒən/n．散布，扩散
2.ubiquitous/juː ˈbikwitəs/a．无所不在的
3.paradox/ ˈpærədɔks/n．似乎矛盾；悖论
4.fuzzy/ ˈfʌzi/a．模糊的
5.malleability/ˈmæliə ˈbiliti/n．韧性，可塑性
6.trait/treit/n．特性，特征
7.implicit/im ˈplisit/a．含蓄的，不言明的
8.distinct/dis ˈtiŋkt/a．清晰的，不同的
9.entity/ ˈentiti/n．实体；部门
10.incremental/inkri ˈmentəl/a．增加的，递增的
11.simultaneously/ˈsiməl ˈteinjəsli/ad．同时地
12.dominant/ ˈdɔminənt/a．支配的，统治的；占优势的
13.context/ ˈkɔntekst/n．语境，上下文；环境
14.self-esteem/ ˈselfis ˈtiːm/n．自信，自尊
15.symbolic/sim ˈbɔlik/a．象征的，符号的
16.appeal/ə ˈpiːl/vi．呼吁，恳求；上诉；借助；有吸引力
17.durability/ˈdjuərə ˈbiliti/n．耐久性，耐用性
18.collaborator/kə ˈlæbəreitə/n．合作者
19.tease out 找出；弄清，理清
20.potential/pəu ˈtenʃl/a．潜在的，可能的
21.slogan/ ˈsləuɡən/n．口号
22.participant/pɑː ˈtisipənt/n．参与者
23.consistency/kən ˈsistənsi/n．一贯，前后一致
24.unwavering/ʌn ˈweivəriŋ/a．不动摇的，不犹豫的
25.steadfastness/ ˈstedfæstnis/n．不动摇，坚定不移
26.frame of mind 心态，心境
27.rate/reit/vt．对……评估，把……列入等级
28.evolve/i ˈvɔlv/v．进化，发展
29.sustainability/səˈsteinə ˈbiliti/n．可持续性
其他词汇
1.blue jeans 牛仔服
2.escapism 逃避现实
3.prime 事先指导，使准备
疑难长句注解
1.In this age of diffusion lines...Dr Yuri Seo.（第二段）
本句中，diffusion lines指大品牌的副线产品，这些产品也是由Prada这样的奢侈品品牌制作的，但风格更大众化，因此价格更低；fast fashion也是一种品牌的低价快速制作和销售模式。之所以说是“时尚的悖论”，是因为奢侈品都是为少数有钱人定制的，但是现在却是无处不在，人人都能买得起。
2.Seo and his collaborators...self-theories.（第五段）
本句是一个省略句，可读成Seo and his collaborators ran a series of experiments to tease out the effects of self-theories, and potential use of self-theories to marketers．其中，ran experiments指做实验，词组tease out意为“弄清，理清”。
3.Participants who saw...slogan.（第五段）
第一个分句的主干结构是Participants...rated the sunglasses more favorably..., rated（评级）是第一个分句的谓语；putting them in an entity frame of mind指灌输给他们一种实体论的思想。第二个分句的主干结构是those...formed more favourable attitudes...，其中was paired with跟上半句中的matched基本上意思相同。
译文
新的研究表明，我们无意识的自我信念影响我们看重奢侈品的哪些方面；而且，市场销售者应该塑造我们的自我信念，让这些信念与他们推销的品牌相一致，而不是把某些类型的消费者作为推销对象。
在这样一个品牌副线、快速时尚和社交媒体起着影响作用的时代，你可以感到奢侈品牌跟牛仔服一样到处可见，这是时尚的众多悖论之一，奢侈品营销专家Yuri Seo博士说。他和其他人所做的研究揭示了人们购买奢侈品的原因有很多而且多样，其中包括展示社会地位、逃避现实、自我改变和投资。“消费者对于什么是奢侈品不再有很强的、清晰的意识；而且，因为奢侈品的概念变得模糊，营销者可以塑造消费者看待奢侈品的方式。”
对于其个性、道德标准、智力和其他个人特征的可塑性，人们有无意识的信念。这些自我理论是“隐性的”——我们不能轻易地用词语表达它们，但是它们表现在我们的态度和行为上。我们可以区分两个不同的自我理论。坚持“实体理论”的人认为，他们的个性相对固定，因此他们不能通过自身的努力改进或改变自己。坚持“增量理论”的人认为，他们的个性相对来说是可塑的；如果他们足够努力，就可以改变自己。同一个人似乎可以同时拥有两种自我理论，根据情景其中一个可能占主导地位。
“对实体论者来说，获得自信的一种方法是带着积极的个性来消费产品或品牌”, Seo博士说，“而增量论者更不可能通过奢侈品来展示自己的价值，因为他们认为应该改进自己。传统的奢侈品销售强调像传统和历史这样的象征价值，促使你像实体论者一样思考。但是如果你想吸引增量论者，你需要强调更多功能性价值——设计、创新、耐久性。”
Seo及其合作者进行了一系列实验来弄清自我理论的影响及其对销售者的潜在用途。他们发现，大多数有吸引力的广告是那些广告文本和标语同时出现的广告。参与实验的人看一个广告，其中谈到普拉达“致力于连贯性和不可动摇的稳定性”，这使参与者产生一种实体论的心态，当广告文本和其象征性价值标语更匹配时，参与者对普拉达墨镜的评价更加积极正面；对那些读到“普拉达在改变……你也可以改变，普拉达随着你而变”的人来说，当广告文本和功能性标语搭配在一起时，参与者对这个品牌的态度更加正面。
可见，如果你想促使消费者采用增量思维方式，那么你可以强调有利于你的品牌的东西，比如个人联系、创新、持续性。
TEXT 30
We've learned not to make sweeping generalizations about men being from Mars and women from Venus, to recognize that people aren't easily pigeonholed by gender even if some broad truths remain. But millennials and baby boomers, Generations X（middle-aged）and Z（barely out of their teens）, are somehow fair game for the crudest of stereotyping. So all hail a recent report from a team of generational researchers at Ipsos Mori that challenges this idea of a vast unbridgeable chasm.
It's true:the lives of many so-called millennials are unfolding differently to their elders, primarily thanks to their far shakier economic circumstances. They do think, and behave, measurably differently in some ways. But they also seem to think and behave surprisingly alike in others，or else are simply a few steps further down a very recognisable ideological path chosen by previous generations. Their views on gay sex, for example, aren't overwhelmingly different from middleaged Generation Xers or even older baby boomers.
Which means that much of what you read about a“millennial mindset”is dubious, to say the least. They don't actually want jaw-droppingly different things out of their working lives, the Mori report argues. And far from being lazy, if anything they put in slightly longer hours than average. They're not all gifted digital natives, just people with the time and patience to Google how to do stuff; and if they seem perennially glued to their phones then over-55s spend almost as many hours tethered to electronic devices, once laptops and other screens are also included.
And while it would be surprising if their expectations of life weren't high, given their unprecedentedly high levels of education, there's little hard evidence for the popular idea that millennials are spoilt, entitled narcissists who didn't do enough competitive sports at school and collapse in a sobbing heap if things don't go their way. Employers talking about having to teach college leavers how to spell and put the kettle on may simply be forgetting what it was always like to be young and just starting out.
It's all too easy to confuse what researchers call life-cycle effects. Being occasionally self-absorbed or a bit clueless is a condition of being young, not some curse unique to those born in the 80s, which helps explain why back in the 70s the generation we know now as baby boomers were themselves caricatured as a narcissistic“me generation”of kids hellbent on their own self-fulfilment.
Time wasted arguing over which generation is definitively the worst could be more usefully spent asking why we swallow divisive age-related myths so easily.
1.Millennials and baby boomers become easy targets for ________.
[A]age discrimination
[B]generational research
[C]narrow classification
[D]crude treatment
2.According to the recent report, Generation Z ________.
[A]does not become easy target for research
[B]does not have a totally different mindset
[C]regards gay sex from a totally new viewpoint
[D]lives a more miserable economic life
3.Generation Z and Generation X resemble each other in their ________.
[A]perspective on gay sex
[B]attitude toward work
[C]addiction to the screens
[D]expectation of life
4.To the complaint of employers, the author's attitude is one of ________.
[A]reserved consent
[B]moderate tolerance
[C]complete agreement
[D]forthright dismissal
5.According to the author, young people are likely to be .
[A]goal-lacking
[B]self-centered
[C]self-appreciating
[D]time-wasting
考研必备词汇
1.sweeping/ ˈswiːpiŋ/a．包括范围广的，完全的
2.generalization/ˈdʒenərəlai ˈzeiʃən/n．概括，一般化
3.baby boomer 婴儿潮时期出生的人
4.stereotype/ ˈstiəriəutaip/vt．刻板地看待，僵化看待
5.hail/heil/vt．欢呼，为……喝彩
6.chasm/ ˈkæzəm/n．鸿沟；分歧
7.unfold/ʌn ˈfəuld/vt．展开，展现
8.circumstance/ ˈsəːkəmstəns/n．情况，境况
9.measurably/ ˈmeʒərəbli/ad．可测量地，显著地
10.ideological/ˈaidiə ˈlədʒikəl/a．思想认识的；意识形态的
11.gay/ɡ ei/a．同性恋的
12.overwhelmingly/ˈəuvə ˈwelmiŋli/ad．压倒性地，势不可当地
13.mindset/ ˈmaindˈset/n．思想倾向，心态
14.dubious/ ˈdjuːbjəs/a．怀疑的，不确定的
15.to say the least 毫不夸张地说
16.put in 投入（时间等）
17.glue/ɡ luː/vt．粘上；牢牢盯住
18.laptop/ ˈlæptɔp/n．手提电脑
19.unprecedentedly/ʌn ˈpresidəntidli/ad．空前地
20.entitle/in ˈtaitl/vt．授权；给……命名
21.collapse/kə ˈlæps/vi．倒塌，崩溃
22.sob/sɔb/vi．抽泣，哽咽
23.heap/hiːp/n．堆vt．堆放
24.kettle/ ˈketl/n．水壶
25.start out 动身，开始
26.self-absorbed/ ˈself-əb ˈsɔːbd/a．专注自我的
27.clueless/kluːlis/a．无线索的，无所适从的
28.curse/kəːs/n．诅咒，咒骂
29.caricature/ˈkærikə ˈtj uə/vt．讽刺地描述
30.self-fulfilment/ ˈself-ful ˈfilmənt/n．自我实现
31.definitively/di ˈfinitivli/ad．确定地，明确地
32.swallow/ ˈswɔləu/vt．吞，咽
33.divisive/di ˈvaisiv/a．分裂的；区分的
34.myth/miθ/n．神话，虚构的事
其他词汇
1.Mars 火星
2.Venus 金星
3.pigeonhole 把……分类
4.millennial 千禧年
5.unbridgeable 不可逾越的
6.jaw-droppingly 惊掉下巴地
7.perennially 永久地
8.tether 栓系；束缚
9.narcissist 自我陶醉者
10.hellbent 死心塌地的，热衷
疑难长句注解
1.We've learned not to make...truths remains.（第一段）
本句包含两个并列的不定式短语，需要注意的是，前一个不定式短语被否定，后一个则表达肯定的内容，即We've learned not to make...,（we've learned）to recognize...。在第一个不定式短语中，sweeping意为“包揽无余的，概括性极高的”；在第二个不定式短语中，pigeonhole是动词，指把某个东西归入一个狭隘的类别。
2.But they also seem to think...generations.（第二段）
本句是由or引导的并列句，连接两个谓语部分。在第一部分中，in others是in other ways的省略，与上一句的in some ways照应。在第二部分中，a few steps further down是强调Z世代的思想虽然跟随时代向前发展，但与X世代的人的思想轨迹也相差不了几步，这里强调的是：二者在思想和行为上没有天壤之别。
3.They're not all gifted...also included.（第三段）
本句是一个由and引导的并列句，其中，第二个分句又包含一个if引导的条件从句和主句（then...included）。在前半句中，digital native指自幼熟悉网络和手机等数字技术的人，这里Google用作动词，指在Google上搜索。在后半句中，（be）glued to和（be）tethered to意思相近，都指“沉湎于”, over-55s指55岁以上的人，即X世代。
4.And while it would be surprising...their way.（第四段）
这个句子很长，由while引导的让步状语从句和一个主句组成。在主句中，that引导的从句作popular idea的同位语，同位语从句中又包含一个who引导的定语从句。在while引导的让步状语从句中，given相当于一个介词，表示一个给定的或假设的状况。在主句中，spoilt和entitled都修饰narcissists，词组go one's way指按自己的意愿进行或做事。
5.Being occasionally self-absorbed...self-fulfilment.（第五段）
本句由一个主句和一个非限定性定语从句组成。在主句中，self-absorbed指第三段提到的沉湎于网络和手机；clueless指“感到困惑，无所适从”，即第四段提到的什么事情也不想做，什么事情也不会做。在which引导的从句中，which指主句中提到的状态，之所以提到70年代，是因为出生在50年代的baby boomers到那时也是20岁左右；在why引导的从句中，主干结构是the generation...were...caricatured as...，其中hellbent是bent的俚语，词组bent on意为“致力于，专注于”。
译文
我们学会了不进行广泛的概括，不说男人来自火星，女人来自金星；我们承认，人不能被狭隘地按性别归类，即使这存在一些广泛的真实性。但是，千禧一代和婴儿潮一代，X世代（已进入中年）和Z世代（还不到二十岁的人）却是最能轻易被刻板化的对象。据此，我们都应该欢迎近期的一份报告，它是Ipsos Mori机构一个研究代际关系的小组发表的，对那种认为各代人之间存在不可逾越的巨大鸿沟的看法提出了挑战。
当然，许多所谓千禧世代人向他们的长者呈现出不同的生活，这主要是因为他们面临动荡得多的经济环境。在某些方面，他们的思维和行为有很大不同。但是，在其他方面，他们也似乎在思维和行为上有惊人的相似之处，或者确切地说，与前几代人选定的可辨认的思维方式差不了多少。比如，他们对同性恋的看法与中年的X世代的人——甚至与更老的婴儿潮世代的人并不存在天壤之别。
这意味着，你原来读到的有关“千禧世代心态”的很多东西毫不夸张地说都是可疑的。Mori机构的报告争辩说，他们实际上没有从自己的工作生活中索要令人瞠目的另类东西。他们不仅没有偷懒，而且花费了比常人多一点的时间。他们并非都是天才的数字原生代，只不过是有时间和耐心在谷歌上搜索做事诀窍的人；而且，如果他们看起来像是永远粘在电话上的人，那么55岁以上的人也几乎花同样多的时间拴在电子设备上——如果我们把笔记本电脑和其他屏幕类产品也算在内的话。
而且，虽然千禧一代对生活的期望值不高——考虑到他们接受了前所未有的高水平的教育，这令人吃惊——但是，不少人认为他们是被宠坏了，是名副其实的自我陶醉者，在学校没有参加足够的竞技运动，如果事不遂愿，就会哭倒在地，这类看法几乎没有可信证据。雇主们大谈得教会大学毕业的人如何拼写、如何把茶壶放在炉子上（烧水），但是他们可能忘记了：自己年轻时是一个什么样子以及刚刚开始独立生活时是什么样子。
人们太容易混淆研究者称作生活周期效果的东西。偶然的自我沉迷或有点不知所措，是因为尚处年轻状态，不是出生于1980年代的人独有的某个诅咒，这解释了为什么在1970年代，我们现在所称作的婴儿潮世代自己也被讥讽为自我陶醉的“唯我独尊的一代”，只热心于他们的自我实现。
争论哪一代人肯定最糟糕是浪费时间，这个时间可以更有效地花在搞清楚我们为什么不假思索地接受与年龄有关的虚假分界线。
TEXT 31
On Sunday morning in Berlin, three of the greatest marathoners in history will face off under highly intriguing and unusual conditions. It will be a race for the ages, pitting the reigning Olympic champion against a former world-record holder and perhaps the best all-around long-distance runner ever.Bookmakers are putting the odds of a new world marathon record at greater than 60 percent.
It's a truth universally acknowledged in the sporting world that the toughest obstacles to surmount are those we erect in our own minds. A barrier like the four-minute mile, we're told, is impregnable—until someone like Roger Bannister shows, as he did in 1954, that it can be breached, and then everyone else follows. To me, the bout in Berlin seems like not just a clash of three heavy weights but a real-life test of the“mental barriers”theory of human endeavor. Faith in the primacy of mind over body is a maxim as eagerly embraced in board rooms as in locker rooms.
This empowering idea is now ubiquitous. For the ambitious athlete who seeks to overcome a favored foe or break through to a new level of performance, the right attitude to overcoming obstacles is laid out clearly by the king of self-help books, Norman Vincent Peale, in The Power of Positive Thinking．Peale counsels, “You will break it. Something has to break, and it won't be you, it will be the obstacle. ”
Some physiologists now argue that your subjective sense of effort, rather than the metabolic state of your muscles, is the final arbiter of your limits. When you feel that it's impossible to continue, it is. And consequently, anything that changes your sense of effort alters your limits:subconscious messages flashing a happy face or an encouraging word extend your endurance; so does training in motivational self-talk, in which you learn to substitute phrases like“I've trained for this! ”for“I'm dying! ”in your midrace internal monologue.
So, if the weather is good and the stars are aligned, I expect to see Kipchoge set out at an impossible pace, in pursuit of an impossible time. And because any man can do what any other has done, I expect Bekele and Kipsang to follow. The tension will mount as the trio clip off mile after reckless mile, and we'll hold our breaths waiting for the inevitable moment when the physiological debt comes due. I expect to see carnage and mayhem and beauty and truth in the final miles.
Something will have to break—but, despite myself, I don't think it will be Kipchoge.
1.Most people expect the sports event in Berlin will ________.
[A]make history in marathon race
[B]create opportunities for bookmakers
[C]constitute an obstacle to the runners
[D]have racers face unusual conditions
2.The“mental barriers”theorists hold that ________.
[A]there are no real obstacles in sports at all
[B]many sports barriers are insurmountable
[C]mental power precedes physical power
[D]weightlifting is tougher than marathon race
3.The expression“this empowering idea”refers to the idea that ________.
[A]mental endeavor enables runners to overcome barriers
[B]ambition always gives sportsmen the power to win
[C]a wonderful self-help book is an empowering tool
[D]an obstacle will break you if you do not break it
4.The change in attitude brings about changes in the ________.
[A]mind
[B]motivation
[C]metabolism
[D]endurance
5.Which of the following did not run the Berlin marathon？
[A]Kipchoge.
[B]Bannister.
[C]Bekele.
[D]Kipsang.
考研必备词汇
1.intriguing/in ˈtriːɡ iŋ/a．引起兴趣的，有魅力的
2.pit/pit/vt．使对立
3.reign/rein/vi．统治，称王；盛行
4.champion/ ˈtʃæmpjən/n．冠军；捍卫者，拥护者
5.odds/ɔdz/n．赌注；可能性
6.marathon/ ˈmærəθən/n．马拉松
7.universally/ˈj uːni ˈvəːsəli/ad．普遍地，一般地
8.acknowledge/ək ˈnɔlidʒ/vt．承认；答谢
9.obstacle/ ˈɔbstəkl/n．障碍（物）
10.surmount/səː ˈmaunt/vt．超越；克服
11.erect/i ˈrekt/vt．树立，建立
12.barrier/ ˈbæriə/n．障碍（物）
13.breach/briːtʃ/vt．攻破，突破；违约
14.bout/baut/n．打仗；竞争
15.clash/klæʃ/n．冲撞，冲突
16.endeavor/in ˈdevə/n．努力，尽力
17.primacy/ ˈpraiməsi/n．首位，首要
18.maxim/ ˈmæksim/n．格言，箴言
19.embrace/im ˈbreis/vt．拥抱；接受
20.empower/im ˈpauə/vt．赋予权力（或力量）21.ubiquitous/juː ˈbikwitəs/a．无所不在的
22.foe/fəu/n．敌人，对手
23.counsel/ ˈkaunsəl/vi．出主意；建议
24.physiologist/ˈfizi ˈɔlədʒist/n．生理学家
25.subjective/sʌb ˈdʒektiv/a．主观的
26.metabolic/ˈmetə ˈbɔlik/a．新陈代谢的
27.arbiter/ ˈɑːbitə/n．仲裁者，裁判
28.endurance/in ˈdjurəns/n．忍耐；耐力
29.substitute/ ˈsʌbstitjuːt/vt．替代
30.monologue/ ˈmɔnəlɔɡ/n．独白
31.align/ə ˈlain/vt．排成队；校准；结盟
32.set out 出发，开始
33.tension/ ˈtenʃən/n．紧张
34.reckless/ ˈreklis/a．不顾一切的，无所顾忌的
35.inevitable/in ˈevitəbl/a．不可避免的
其他词汇
1.marathoner 马拉松选手
2.face off（体育）开球
3.bookmaker 赌注登记经纪人
4.impregnable 难以攻破的
5.heavyweight 重量级拳击手
6.locker room 更衣室
7.trio 三人
8.clip off 剪下；减少
9.carnage 残杀
10.mayhem 混乱
疑难长句注解
1.It will be a race for the ages...runner ever.（第一段）
本句包含一个主句和一个现在分词短语，在现在分词短语中，and前后指的是同一个人：他既是前世界纪录保持者，也可能是有史以来最佳全能长跑运动员。在主句中，a race for the ages是说这是马拉松比赛历史上一场重要的赛事，pit...against意为“让……对抗（较量）”, reigning champion指现任冠军。
2.A barrier like the four-minute mile...follows.（第二段）
本句破折号后是一个有补充说明性质的时间状语从句。在主句中，four-minute mile指四分钟内跑完一英里；Roger Bannister曾经是英国中长跑运动员，在1954年，他成为第一个突破一英里跑四分钟大关的人。在从句中，then everyone else follows是说在Bannister突破四分钟大关之后，随后又有很多人突破了这个大关，这说明，这个难关实际上是一种心理障碍。
3．For the ambitious athlete...Positive Thinking．（第三段）
本句的主干结构是the right attitude...is laid out...by...。在For引导的介词短语中，favored foe相当于说“宿敌”, laid out意为“（精心）安排，展示”。
4.So, if the weather is good...time.（第五段）
本句中the stars指著名运动员；are aligned指他们状态良好，而不是指他们“排成队”；词组set out意为出发，set out at an impossible pace是说跑步速度快；in pursuit of an impossible time则指用时短。
5.The tension will mount as...comes due.（第五段）
本句中the trio指本段提到的三名运动员；clip off本来指“剪掉”，这里clip off mile指跑过一英里；the physiological debt comes due（生理债到期）是一种比喻，是说达到身体极限，即比赛进入比耐力的阶段。
6.I expect to see carnage...miles.（第五段）
本句中，carnage指三人之间的博弈，mayhem指你追我赶的场面，beauty指运动美，truth指谁将最终胜出——谁是最后的强手。
译文
星期天上午在柏林，历史上最伟大的三个马拉松运动员将在非常引人注目、非同一般的状况下开始比赛。这是跨时代的历史性比赛，让现任奥林匹克冠军与前世界纪录保持者——也许是有史以来最好的全能长跑运动员角逐。赌可能创下马拉松比赛新纪录的人多达60%以上。
在体育界有一个公认的真理，最难跨越的障碍是我们树立在自己心中的障碍。人们告诉我们说，像四分钟一英里这样的障碍是难以攻破的——直到1954年Roger Bannister获得成功，他的成功说明，这个障碍可以被突破，然后其他人纷纷跟随。在我看来，柏林的对决似乎不仅是三个重量级选手的角逐，而且是对人类行为的“心理障碍理论”的实际测验。相信心智能力优先于身体能力，这是在董事会会议室和更衣间都被热情信奉的箴言。
这种力量赋予性的看法已经随处可见。对雄心勃勃的运动员来说，企图战胜宿敌或突破到一个新的竞技水平所需要的克服障碍的正确态度，由自助类书籍之王Norman Vincent Peale在《积极思维的力量》一书中进行了陈述。Peale建议，“你可以打破它。必须要打破某个东西，要打破的不是你，而是障碍。”
一些生理学家现在争辩说，你的主观努力——而不是肌肉的代谢状态是你极限的最终裁判者。当你感觉不可能继续下去时，就果然不可能了。结果，任何改变你主观努力的东西也改变了你的极限：当下意识的信息闪现出一张欢乐的笑脸或传出一个鼓励的词语时，你的耐力就增强了；训练提升动机的自言自语也能达到同样效果，当你跑到半程时，你心里要自言自语地说“我为此受过专门训练”，而不是说“我快撑不住了”。
所以，如果天气好，明星们调整好状态，我期望看到Kipchoge以不可思议的步伐出发，追求不可思议的时间。而且，因为任何人可以做任何其他人能做的事情，我期望Bekele和Kipsang紧随其后。随着三人跑过艰难的一英里又一英里，比赛将变得更加紧张，而我们将屏住呼吸，等待那个不可避免的时刻的来临：那个体力债到期的时刻。我期望在最后的几英里看到绝杀、混乱、美和真理。
某个东西必将被击破，但是不管我怎么想，被击破的不会是Kipchoge。
TEXT 32
Now that the American economy has emerged from the Great Recession, there is new research that looks at its impact on the quality of the country's relationships.Its findings are not encouraging.Daniel Schneider, a sociologist at the University of California, Berkeley, found that among mothers in heterosexual relationships, those who lived in areas hit harder by drops in employment rates during the Great Recession experienced higher rates of domestic violence and controlling behavior.
The researchers were tracking two things:abusive or controlling behavior and economic conditions, both personal and local.To measure abusive and controlling behavior, they asked if the women's romantic partners had tried to keep them from seeing friends and family, tried to prevent them from going to school or work, withheld or took money from them, or slapped, kicked，hit, or sexually assaulted them.To track the economic conditions, the researchers gathered data about changes in local unemployment rates in the 20 cities where these mothers lived, as a proxy for the general economic uncertainty in their areas, and additionally asked the women about their household finances.
After controlling for the women's race, education, and number of children, Schneider and his colleagues found that in places where the unemployment rate rose by 50 percent during the previous 12 months, the prevalence of abuse jumped from 10 percent of respondents reporting it to 12 percent.Schneider says that rapid spikes in unemployment“generate a general climate of fear and uncertainty”in society as a whole.This anxiety, which is most common during large economic downturns like the Great Recession, appears to have a strong impact on relationship dynamics and this impact may operate in particularly gendered ways by threatening men's sense of control in the economic domain.
Separately, Schneider has published results indicating that for white women and women with some college education, sharp spikes in unemployment increased the chances of being abused more than such spikes did for nonwhite women and women without any college education, though these results were not included in the published article in Demography.This is likely because, compared with their more advantaged counterparts, individuals who had experienced unemployment in the past were better able to adapt and their relationships were less disrupted by the hardships created by the Great Recession.
Schneider's Demography study did have its limits.For example, it measured economic uncertainty through changes in unemployment rates, though there are other factors that also contribute to households' financial anxiety.Nevertheless, the study shows a strong link between experiencing the worst of the Recession and experiencing abuse and controlling behavior—an alarming development that carries over into other realms, harming women's health and job prospects.
1.The new study found that during the Great Recession ________.
[A]women suffered higher unemployment rates
[B]people were more reluctant to initiate relationship
[C]women were more likely to be abused by partners
[D]mothers had greater tendency to control children
2.The researchers tried to correlate ________.
[A]abusive behavior and controlling behavior
[B]economic uncertainty and domestic violence
[C]personal and local economic conditions
[D]economic conditions and jobless rates
3.Being unemployed is especially damaging to ________.
[A]the stability of the social order
[B]the relationship between people
[C]women's ability to raise children
[D]men's ability for economic control
4.It can be inferred that educated women suffer more abuse because their partners ________.
[A]are often less educated and nonwhite
[B]have less unemployment experience
[C]are arrogant and less tolerant of them
[D]are hit by the Recession more seriously
5.The best title for the text is ________.
[A]American Marriage in the Time of the Recession
[B]The Cause of Domestic Violence and its Elimination
[C]The Nature of an Ideal Heterosexual Relationship
[D]Social Unrest and Women's Economic Situation
考研必备词汇
1.now that 既然
2.recession/ri ˈseʃən/n．后退；衰退
3.impact/ ˈimpækt/n．冲击，影响
4.encourage/in ˈkʌridʒ/vt．鼓励，激励；怂恿
5.sociologist/ˈsəusi ˈɔlədʒist/n．社会学家
6.domestic/də ˈmestik/a．家庭的；国内的
7.violence/ ˈvaiələns/n．暴力；猛烈，激烈
8.abusive/ə ˈbjuːsiv/a．虐待的，辱骂的
9.withhold/wið ˈhəuld/vt．阻止，拒绝给
10.slap/slæp/vt．打，掌掴
11.assault/ə ˈsɔːlt/vt．攻击，侵犯
12.proxy/ ˈprɔksi/n．代用品，代理人
13.additionally/ə ˈdiʃənəli/ad．另外，附加地
14.household/ ˈhaushəuld/a．家庭的 n．家庭，一户
15.finance/fa ˈi næns/n．金融，财政；经济状况
16.prevalence/ ˈprevələns/n．盛行，流行
17.respondent/ris ˈpɔndənt/n．回答问题者
18.spike/spaik/n．峰值，激增
19.generate/ ˈdʒenəˈreit/vt．产生，引起；生殖
20.downturn/ ˈdauntəːn/n．衰退，下降
21.dynamic/dai ˈnæmik/n．动力；动态关系
22.gender/ ˈdʒendə/n．性别
23.domain/dəu ˈmein/n．领域，领土；范围
24.demography/diː ˈmɔɡ rəfi/n．人口学，人口统计
25.counterpart/ ˈkauntəpaːt/n．对应的人或物
26.disrupt/dis ˈrʌpt/vt．使中断，使分裂
27.realm/relm/n．区域，领域
28.prospect/ ˈprɔspekt/n．景象，前景
其他词汇
1.heterosexual 异性（恋）的
2.control for 控制
疑难长句注解
1.After controlling for...12 percent.（第三段）
词组control for指在实验中考虑到某些变量，但这些变量不是实验中主要测量的对象，本文中，作者主要测量的是经济状况（地区经济状况和个人经济状况）与家庭暴力之间的关系。在found的宾语从句中，the prevalence...12 percent是主句，其中respondents指接受问卷调查的人。
2.This anxiety...economic domain.（第三段）
本句中relationship dynamics指夫妻之间的（动态）关系；operate意为“发生作用”; particularly修饰gendered, “以特别性别化的方式”意思是说，这种影响在两性关系上体现得特别明显。另外，sense of control in the economic domain指失业使丈夫失去了支撑家庭经济开支的能力。
3.Nevertheless, the study...job prospects.（第五段）
本句中，development可以译成“动向，发展趋势”；词组carry over（in）to指把影响或后果带给某个东西或带进某个领域；名词realm指领域，这里的other realms指除了伤害婚姻关系以外，还伤害女性的身体健康和工作前景。
译文
美国经济已经走出大衰退，新的研究调查它对美国人际关系质量的影响。其发现并没有令人感到鼓舞。Daniel Schneider是加州大学伯克利分校社会学家，他发现，处于两性关系中的母亲，如果在大衰退时期居住于就业率下降更严重的地区，她们会遭遇更高频率的家暴和（被）控制行为。
研究者追踪研究了两件事情：虐待行为或控制行为和经济状况——包括个人经济状况和当地经济状况。为了测量虐待和控制行为，他们问是否女性的男女关系伙伴曾经试图阻碍她们去看朋友和家人，阻碍她们上学或上班，不让她们花钱或从她们那拿钱，掌掴、踢、打她们，或对她们进行性攻击。在追溯经济状况时，研究者收集母亲们居住的20个城市当地失业率变化的数据，以此作为那些地区不安定的总体经济形势的代表。他们还询问女性其家庭经济状况。
在考虑过女性的种族、教育水平和孩子数量等因素之后，Schneider及其同事们发现，如果某些地区在过去一年里失业率上升50%，这些地方虐待的盛行程度就从受访者人数的10%提高到12%。Schneider说，失业率的迅速上升在整个社会中“制造出一个恐惧和不安定的大氛围”。这种担忧在像大衰退这样的大规模经济下行过程中最常见，它似乎对人际关系产生强烈冲击，而且这种冲击在男女关系上特别明显，威胁到男人在经济领域的控制感。
Schneider也单独发表了一篇论文，其中的结果表明，与非白人和没有接受大学教育的女性相比，对白人女性和受过大学教育的女性来说，失业率的激增增加了她们遭受家暴的机会，但是这一结果没有被包括在《人口统计》杂志上发表的那篇文章里。这种情况是可能的，因为与那些更有优势的人相比，在过去经历过失业的人更容易适应，因此他们的关系被大衰退带来的困难打破的可能性更小。
Schneider在《人口统计》上发表的文章的确有其局限性。比如，它通过失业率变化来测量经济不确定性，可是还有其他因素导致家庭经济上的焦虑。然而，这项研究表明在经历最严重的经济衰退和经历虐待和控制行为之间存在很强的联系，这是一个值得警惕的动向，它可能被转移到其他方面，影响到女性的健康和工作前景。
TEXT 33
In the quest to study human happiness, including its causes and effects, even agreeing on a definition is a formidable undertaking.Joy, euphoria, contentment, satisfaction—each of these, at times, has been used as a proxy or emphasized in research studies.
Studies that probe the link between happiness and health outcomes are still relatively rare in scientific work, but the new Lee Kum Sheung Center for Health and Happiness at Harvard aims to change that as it pursues a new approach to health maintenance:focusing on specific factors that promote the attainment and maintenance of high levels of well-being.In this, the center represents a sharp departure from traditional medicine that focuses on risk factors and treatments for disease.
Among the center's first goals:to catalog and standardize the measures used to describe and evaluate happiness and related factors.“There are more than 100 different measures already in use for the various forms of well-being, ”says Laura Kubzansky, the Lee Kum Kee professor of social and behavioral health.“And it may be that the instrument we need for our research does not yet exist.”Happiness, after all, is a term that encompasses physical, emotional, and social factors.Although the different facets of wel-l being frequently occur together, measuring one does not always shed light on whether the others are present; thus, different measures may be needed to capture these distinctive facets.
The researchers also hope to solidify evidence that emotional health influences physical health, and not just the other way around.This notion was challenged last year, when The Lancet published a study finding no connection.But critics took issue with the study's methodology, noting that in adjusting for self-rated health, the study's authors essentially adjusted for the very factor they were trying to investigate as a predictor.
The debate exemplifies the tension underlying research in this area:the public seems to find the subject enormously compelling, but some segments of the scientific community remain skeptical.Kubzansky and her colleagues aim to amass enough evidence of biological connections between emotional and physical health that eventually the link will be taken for granted, much as exercise is generally regarded as beneficial.“People focus on problems because that's what catches our attention, and people want to solve them, ”says Kubzansky.But she is optimistic that the culture will begin to shift, thanks to the new center:“My hope is that with a convening platform to pull people together, we'll be able to change how people think about health, and how to maintain it throughout their lives.”
1.The center's approach is new in that ________.
[A]it investigates the causes and effects of happiness
[B]it tries to avoid giving a definition to happiness
[C]it probes into the link between happiness and health
[D]it studies factors leading to high levels of happiness
2.Measuring one aspect of happiness ________.
[A]is useless for understanding the true nature of happiness
[B]doesn't necessarily help researchers understand other aspects
[C]helps researchers set up standards for measuring others
[D]helps researchers evaluate various forms of well-being
3.The researchers want to find more evidence about ________.
[A]how emotional health influences physical health
[B]how physical health is related to emotional health
[C]how to adjust their findings for self-rated health
[D]how to investigate self-rated health as a predictor
4.Some researchers doubt the possible connections between ________.
[A]the public's attitude and that of scientists
[B]exercise and emotional health
[C]emotional health and physical health
[D]attainment of happiness and maintenance of it
5.The text is written to answer the question“________ ”
[A]Can happiness make you healthier？
[B]Is happiness the same as satisfaction？
[C]Is happiness maintenance possible?
[D]Can measuring happiness be standardized？
考研必备词汇
1.quest/kwest/n．探寻，调查
2.formidable/ ˈfɔːmidəbl/a．可畏的，难以完成的
3.undertaking/ˈʌndə ˈteikiŋ/n．事业，任务
4.contentment/kən ˈtentmənt/n．满足，满意
5.proxy/ ˈprɔksi/n．代理，代用物
6.emphasize/ ˈemfəsaiz/vt．强调
7.probe/prəub/vt．探究，调查
8.outcome/ ˈautkʌm/n．结果，后果
9.pursue/pə ˈsj uː/vt．追赶；追求，从事
10.maintenance/ ˈmeintinəns/n．维持，保持；保养
11.attainment/ə ˈteinmənt/n．获得，达到；成就
12.represent/ˈrepri ˈzent/vt．代表；描述，再现
13.departure/di ˈpaːtʃə/n．出发，启程；离开，偏离
14.catalog/＇kætəlɔːg/vt．记载，为……编目
15.evaluate/i ˈvælj ueit/vt．评价，估价
16.well-being 幸福，安宁
17.instrument/ ˈinstrumənt/n．工具，手段；仪器
18.encompass/in ˈkʌmpəs/n．包含，包括；围绕
19.facet/ ˈfæsit/n．方面
20.shed light on 对理解……有启发
21.capture/ ˈkæptʃə/vt．抓获，捕获；夺得
22.distinctive/dis ˈtiŋktiv/a．明显不同的，有区别的
23.solidify/sə ˈlidifai/vt．充实，巩固；使团结
24.the other way around 相反（的情况）
25.take issue with 对……持有异议，不赞同
26.rate/reit/vt．估价，评级
27.exemplify/iɡ ˈzemplifai/vt．举例说明或证明
28.tension/ ˈtenʃən/n．紧张；压力
29.underlie/ˈʌndə ˈlai/vt．在……下；支撑
30.enormously/i ˈnɔːməsli/ad．巨大地
31.compelling/kəm ˈpeliŋ/a．有说服力的，引人注目的
32.segment/ ˈseɡ mənt/n．片，段，部分
33.community/kə ˈmjuːniti/n．社会，社区；共同体
34.skeptical/ ˈskeptikəl/a．怀疑的
35.amass/ə ˈmæs/vt．积累，收集
36.optimistic/ˈɔpti ˈmistik/a．乐观（主义）的
37.thanks to 由于，多亏
38.convene/kən ˈviːn/vt．召集，聚集
39.platform/ ˈplætfɔːm/n．平台；讲台；站台
其他词汇
euphoria 安乐感，幸福感
疑难长句注解
1.But critics took issue...predictor.（第四段）
词组take issue with意为“不赞同”, note意为“指出，提到”, adjust for意为“为……进行调整”, self-rated health指自己对自己的身体健康状况做出的评价，very是形容词，意为“正是，恰恰是”, predictor意为“预测指数”。本句的意思是，由于研究者想测量的是情绪健康对身体健康的影响，因此他们不能对情绪健康做出调整，因为他们是把情绪健康当作预测身体健康的一个指数。也就是说，在实验中，你可以调整次要变量，但不能调整主要的、唯一的变量。
2.The debate exemplifies...skeptical.（第五段）
本句中the debate指上一段提到的情绪健康到底能否影响身体健康，tension实际上指冒号后面提到的两种看法：一方面公众认为这个话题值得研究，另一方面科学家认为没有什么价值。这里，some segments of the scientific community指某些科学领域里的科学家。
译文
在探究人类幸福（包括其原因和效果）的过程中，甚至连在定义上达成一致都是一件困难的事情。欢乐、幸福感、满足、满意，有时其中每个词都被用作替代语或被各种研究加以强调。
有些研究探寻幸福与健康状态的关系，这类研究在科学领域仍然相对较少，但是哈佛大学新成立的李锦裳健康与幸福研究中心旨在改变这一现状，采用新的方法研究健康的维持：重点研究具体的因素，这些因素能促进人们获得并维持高水平的幸福状态。在这个方面，该中心代表与传统医学的决裂，因为传统医学重点研究风险因素和疾病防治。
中心的第一个目标包括：对用于描述和评价幸福和相关因素的测量方法进行归类和标准化。李锦记社会与行为健康教授Laura Kubzansky说，“现在使用的测量方法有100多种，用来描述各种形式的幸福状态。而且，很可能我们研究需要的测量工具尚且不存在。”毕竟，幸福是一个涵盖身体的、情绪的和社会因素的术语。虽然幸福的不同方面经常一起发生，但是测量一个方面并不总是能帮我们确定其他因素是否也在起作用。因此，可能需要不同的测量方法来捕捉这些不同的方面。
研究者还希望进一步充实情绪影响身体健康——而不是相反——的证据。这一想法去年受到挑战，当时《柳叶刀》杂志上发表了一项研究，发现二者没有联系。但是批评者对该项研究的方法进行了批评，指出，在为自评的健康做出调整时，发表该项研究的作者们基本上是调整了自己试图作为预测指数加以研究的那个因素。
这一争论提供了一个例子，说明这个领域的研究处于紧张状态：公众似乎认为对这个课题的研究相当急迫，但是科学界的一些人却持怀疑态度。Kubzansky及其同事的目标是收集足够证据，证明情绪健康和身体健康之间的生物学联系，以至于人们最终把这种联系看作理所当然的，就像他们理所当然地认为锻炼通常有益于健康一样。Kubzansky说，“人们侧重于问题，因为这是吸引注意力的东西，人们想解决问题。”但是她保持乐观态度，认为新中心的成立将使研究氛围发生变化。她说，“我希望，有了这样一个把人聚集在一起的平台，我们就能够改变人们看待健康的方式，而且也能使人们终生保持健康的方式。”
TEXT 34
Was your insanely successful older sibling born to achieve? Is your youngest child preprogrammed to seek the limelight? No, says a massive new study analyzing the traits of 377,000 high school students.At least, the study says, not enough to make any practical difference.In the end, researchers found that first-born children have a single-point advantage when it comes to IQ along with some measured personality differences from those who are born later.First-borns were more“extroverted, agreeable and conscientious”overall, according to the study, which was published in the Journal of Research in Personality.
But the correlation on those personality differences is so tiny that it really doesn't speak to any noticeable effect between individuals born first and those born later.“In terms of personality traits and how you rate them, a 0.02 correlation doesn't get you anything of note, ”University of Illinois psychology professor Brent Roberts, the study's lead author, said in a statement.“You are not going to be able to see it with the naked eye.You're not going to be able to sit two people down next to each other and see the differences between them.It's not noticeable by anybody.”
The researchers say their study is the biggest ever conducted on the subject of birth order, IQ and personality.It's also unusual in another way:Instead of comparing siblings from within the same family, it compared each individual participant to the rest of the sample.The study's authors also controlled for a number of factors that could have influenced the results:family size, parental socioeconomic status, family structure, age and gender.
The notion that birth order can determine a lot about your personality stems from the work of Alfred W.Adler, a onetime colleague of Sigmund Freud.As the study notes, Adler's ideas about birth order were at the center of a huge disagreement that led to Adler's resignation from the Psychoanalytic Society.He eventually branched off on his own and founded the discipline of indi vidual psychology.
The fact that Adler, like Freud, characterized first-born children as neurotic messes and middle children（of which Adler was one）as being relatively healthier probably had something to do with it.Since then, the basis for those explanations has changed, but familiar breakdowns of personality traits that supposedly apply to each sibling by order of birth have been popularized by an entire genre of parenting books and pop-psychology resources.That popularity often seems to have outpaced the actual evidence supporting the theory.So the authors of the study think it necessary to give the theory its due credit with large scale research.
1.Scientists have concluded from their study that ________.
[A]birth order does not make much difference
[B]only personality differences can be measured
[C]birth order doesn't influence a child's personality
[D]extroverted children are likely to be conscientious
2.The result of the study might imply that________ .
[A]it is very difficult to identify personality differences
[B]naked eyes work better in distinguishing people
[C]one should not have biased view about any child
[D]more research needs to be done to verify the correlation
3.The main difference between the present study and former ones is that ________.
[A]it focuses on birth order, IQ and personality
[B]it is not a longitudinal study with families
[C]it bases its experiments on Freud's idea
[D]it controls as many factors as possible
4.What was true about Alfred Adler？
[A]He borrowed from Freud his idea about personality.
[B]He developed his own version of psychoanalysis.
[C]He thought the Psychoanalytic Society was disagreeable.
[D]His personal experience made him hate the first-born children.
5.The study led by Roberts aims to________ .
[A]recast the image of the first-born children
[B]provide evidence to support Adler's theory
[C]give the theory about birth order its due place
[D]overturn the theory about personality traits
考研必备词汇
1.insanely/in ˈseinli/ad．疯狂地，不清醒地
2.sibling/ ˈsibliŋ/n．兄弟姐妹
3.limelight/ ˈlaimˈlait/n．众人注目的中心
4.massive/ ˈmæsiv/a．大规模的，巨大的
5.trait/treit/n．特征，特点
6.make a difference 有很大差别，产生明显效果
7.personality/ˈpəːsə ˈnæliti/n．性格，个性；人
8.extroverted/ ˈekstrəuvəːtid/a．外向性格的
9.conscientious/ˈkɔnʃi ˈenʃəs/a．自觉的，本着良心的
10.correlation/ˈkɔr ˈi leʃiən/n．关联，相关性
11.noticeable/ ˈnəutisəbl/a．显著的，引人注目的
12.rate/reit/vt．估价，评价
13.statement/ ˈsteitmənt/n．陈述，声明
14.naked/ ˈneikid/a．赤裸的，明摆着的
15.participant/pɑː ˈtisipənt/n．参与者
16.sample/ ˈsæmpl/n．样本，抽样
17.gender/ ˈdʒendə/n．性别
18.stem from 起源于，发源于
19.colleague/ ˈkɔliːɡ/n．同事，同仁
20.resignation/ˈreziɡ ˈneiʃən/n．辞职
21.discipline/ ˈdisiplin/n．学科；纪律
22.neurotic/njuə ˈrɔtik/a．神经（病）的
23.mess/mes/n．杂烩；杂乱的状态
24.have something to do with 与……有关
25.breakdown/ ˈbreikdaun/n．分类；崩溃，故障
26.genre/ ˈʒɑːŋrə/n．类型，体裁
27.outpace/aut ˈpeis/vt．比……跑得快，超出
28.give credit to 承认，归功于
29.due/djuː/a．应有的，适当的
其他词汇
1.speak to 证明，引起
2.of note 重要的，引起兴趣的
疑难长句注解
1.Is your youngest child...limelight?（第一段）
本句中，be pre-programmed意为“被编好程序的”，本句中是比喻，可以理解为“天生的，与生俱来的”; limelight本来指舞台灯光，转义为“众人注目的中心”, seek the limelight就是“出风头”。
2.In the end, researchers found...born later.（第一段）
本句中，when it comes to...later是状语部分，其中when it comes to指“在……方面”, from those who are born later是differences所要求的，意思是“与后来出生的儿童在个性上的差别”。这个句子的大概意思是，从智商和性格差别两方面来看，老大比后来出生的孩子只有一个优势。
3.The fact that Adler...to do with it.（第五段）
本句的主干结构是The fact...had something to do with it．其中，have something to do with意为“与……有关”, it指上一段提到的Adler的理论，即由于Adler本人不是老大，他就把老大说得很糟糕。换言之，研究者们认为，Adler的理论中带有偏见和主观色彩。
4.Since then, the basis for...resources.（第五段）
本句是由but连接的并列句，第二句分句较长，其主干机构是familiar breakdowns of personality traits...have been popularized by...，即“对性格特征的分类被……广为传播”。词组parenting books指育儿方面的书，pop-psychology resources指大众心理学方面的图书资料。
译文
你那位特别成功的兄长天生就会功成名就吗？你最小的孩子是否天生就喜欢出风头？不是的！一项大型的新研究分析了37.7万名高中生的心理特征，得出了否定的答案。这项研究指出，至少可以说没有足够的证据证明（老大和老小之间）有什么实际差别。最终，研究者们发现，与后生的孩子相比，在智商以及某些可测量的个性差别上，老大只有一个优势。他们总体上更“外向、和蔼、自觉”。这项研究发表于《个性研究杂志》上。
但是，这些个性差异之间的相关性是如此小，以至于它真的不能证明老大和其他孩子之间有明显差别。“就个性特征和你评价它们的方式来说，0.02的相关性不代表什么重要差别，”伊利诺伊州立大学心理学教授Brent Roberts负责这项研究，他在一份声明中指出，“你用肉眼看不出差别。你不可能让两个人并排坐在一起，看出他们的差别。任何人都看不出二者的差别。”
研究者说，他们的研究是针对出生顺序、智商和个性这个话题迄今为止所做的最大规模研究。它还有一个不同寻常之处：它没有比较同一个家庭中的兄弟姐妹，而是将每一个参与研究的个体与样本中的其他人作对比。发表这项研究的作者们也控制了许多可能影响结果的因素，比如家庭大小，父母的社会经济状况，家庭结构，年龄和性别。
出生顺序可能在很大程度上决定个性，这个想法产生自阿尔弗雷德·阿德勒的研究，他曾经是西格蒙德·弗洛伊德的同事。这项研究提到，阿德勒有关出生顺序的看法引起了强烈的争议，这导致阿德勒退出精神分析学会。他最终建立分支出了自己的流派，建立了个体心理学学科。
阿德勒像弗洛伊德一样，把老大刻画成一个精神症状的大杂烩，把中间的孩子（阿德勒是其中之一）描述成比较健康，这一事实也许与此相关。此后以来，这类解释的基础发生了变化，但是根据出生顺序所做的类似的个性特征分类，仍然时常出现在各种育儿书籍和大众心理资料中。这类文献资料的流行通常超出了实际证据对这种理论的支持。因此，该研究的参与者认为有必要用一次更大规模的研究来还原这种理论的本来面目。
TEXT 35
Nicholas Epley recently made news when he paid commuters$5 to talk to a stranger on a Chicago train.The people were happier for having done it.But the point of his experiment was to shatter expectations.Most people presumed they would be happier sitting alone than talking to a stranger; but they were not.They also expected, on average, that fewer than half of their fellow passengers would be willing to talk with them.When people actually tried talking, though, no one was rebuffed.
Epley is a professor of behavioral science at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.In a recent lecture he recounted that people tend to evaluate one another in two general dimensions:how interpersonally warm we seem to be, and how competent we seem to be.His latest work suggests that the way to deliver on both without going overboard on effort is to make promises.In Epley's latest social experiment, people were asked to consider a hypothetical scenario in which a friend had promised to give feedback on a paper.Either the friend did just as promised，gave really exceptional comments, or did less than they promised.“People were no more positive when someone did more than they said they would, ”Epley explained.“Breaking a promise seemed to hurt, but exceeding a promise didn't seem to help.”
Then in the piè ce de ré sistance, researchers made real promises to subjects in a lab, then broke those promises and evaluated the subjects' reactions.To the researchers' knowledge, everything in prior psychology research had involved imagined or recalled promises.No one had actually created a laboratory experiment that manipulated promise keeping.The experimenters gave subjects a set of 40 puzzles and told the subjects they would be paid on the basis of how many they completed.Then other people promised to help out by doing a certain number of the puzzles.Some over- and under-delivered on their promises.People were upset when the person didn't make good on their promise, but they were barely happier when the person over-delivered than when they did just what they said they would do.
I was surprised.His results are really about promises as interpersonal contracts.Expectations are in only one person's head, and they follow a relatively linear pattern.Less is worse，more is better.But promises have a peak at the level of fairness that is above and beyond the expectation point.That explains why people seem to be unimpressed by that kind of unexpected boon called the fairness premium.
1.The experiment in the first paragraph illustrates the point that ________.
[A]things often turn out not to be what we expect
[B]there are actually no strangers around you
[C]you make more friends when you don't fear rebuff
[D]paying people to talk to stranger is ridiculous
2.Making promise is an efficient way of ________.
[A]getting difficult things done quickly
[B]making oneself appear warm and competent
[C]throwing in an exceptionally good comment
[D]expressing a positive attitude towards life
3.Breaking a promise ________.
[A]doesn't disappoint people
[B]takes more effort than keeping it
[C]causes resistance from others
[D]can be really upsetting
4.Exceeding a promise ________.
[A]delivers an extra boon
[B]is worse than promise keeping
[C]does not create a bigger gain
[D]is often acknowledged with gratitude
5.The fairness premium is proved to ________.
[A]have no effect on promise making and delivering
[B]be most effective in explaining unexpected results
[C]be unimpressive because it follows a linear pattern
[D]be remarkable for sustaining interpersonal relationship
考研必备词汇
1.commuter/kə ˈmjuːtə/n．通勤者，上下班者
2.shatter/ ˈʃætə/vt．打破，毁坏
3.presume/pri ˈzj uːm/vt．假定，推测
4.fellow/ ˈfeləu/n．同伴，伙伴
5.passenger/ ˈpæsindʒə/n．乘客
6.rebuff/ri ˈbʌf/vt．断然拒绝，驳斥
7.recount/ ˈriː ˈkaunt/vt．讲述，叙述
8.dimension/di ˈmenʃən/n．维度，范围；尺寸
9.interpersonal/ˈintə ˈpəːsənl/a．人际的
10.competent/ ˈkɔmpitənt/a．有能力的
11.deliver on 达到；履行诺言
12.hypothetical/ˈhaipə ˈθetikəl/a．假设的
13.scenario/si ˈnɑːriəu/n．情景，状况
14.feedback/ ˈfiːdbæk/n．反馈
15.exceptional/ik ˈsepʃənl/a．除外的，特别的，异常的
16.exceed/ik ˈsːi d/vt．超出
17.subject/ ˈsʌbdʒikt/n．受试者，实验对象；科目；主题
18.prior/ ˈpraiə/a．以前的，优先的
19.recall/ri ˈkɔːl/vt．召回；回想，回忆
20.manipulate/mə ˈnipjuleit/vt．操纵，操作
21.puzzle/ ˈpʌzl/n．字谜；谜，困惑
22.upset/ʌp ˈset/vt．使不安；打翻
23.make good on 完成，履行；补偿
24.contract/ ˈkɔntrækt/n．契约，合同
25.linear/ ˈliniə/a．线性的，直线的
26.boon/buːn/n．恩惠，好处
27.premium/ ˈprimjəm/n．溢价，贴水；奖励
其他词汇
1.go overboard 爱走极端，狂热追求
2.piè ce de ré sistance 主菜
疑难长句注解
1.Expectations are in only...linear pattern.（第四段）
这里所谓“期望只存在于一个的头脑中”，指以前如果有人做出承诺，另外一个人会期望这个承诺兑现，但是Epley的研究却发现，承诺是一种interpersonal contracts，涉及做出承诺者和接受承诺者之间的关系——在接受承诺者看来，只要做出承诺者按约定兑现承诺就行，不必多兑现。所谓“遵循线性模式”指以前人们认为，少代表坏，多代表好，但是新的研究证明，多出一定程度就不再被认为好。
2.But promises have...expectation point.（第四段）
这句承接上一句指出，多了未必好，任何东西都有限度，超出了公平的限度之后，人们就不再认为某个东西越多越好。承诺的兑现也是如此，超出了期望值之后，如果人们决定自己不应该得那么多，他们反而不会更高兴。最后一句话讲的也基本上是这个意思。
译文
Nicholas Epley最近上了新闻，他给上班族5美元，让他们在芝加哥火车上跟陌生人说话。这样做之后人们感觉更快乐。但是，他实验的目的是打破人们的期望。大多数人原以为，他们独坐时更快乐，而不是与陌生人说话；但是他们并不幸福。他们总体来说也期望不到一半的旅伴愿意同他们说话。但是，当人们真正试图交谈时，谁也没有被拒绝。
Epley是芝加哥大学布斯商学院行为科学教授。在最近一次讲座中他讲述说，人们倾向于从两个总维度评价彼此：我们在人际关系上的热情程度，我们表面看起来能力如何。他在最近的著作中说，实现二者而又不用做出太多努力的方法是作出许诺。在Epley最新的社会实验中，他要求人们考虑一个假设的情景，在其中，一个朋友许诺对一篇论文给予反馈。朋友或者就像他许诺的那样给予真正不同寻常的评论，或者没有完全兑现承诺。Epley解释说：“当某人所做的超出了他所许诺的时，人们并没有给予他更高评价。不信守诺言似乎很伤人，但是超出许诺也没有用。”
然后在最核心的一次实验中，研究者对实验室里的研究对象作出了真正的承诺，接着就打破了自己的承诺，借此研究他们的反应。研究者们知道，从前的心理学研究总是涉及想象的或回忆的承诺。没有人实际创造过能操控是否保守承诺的实验室实验。实验者给予实验对象一套40件拼图游戏，告诉他们，将根据他们完成的多寡给予他们报酬。然后，其他人许诺帮助他们完成其中的一部分。有的人做的超出了自己许诺，有的人则没有达到。当有人不能兑现其承诺时，人们会感到不安；但是，无论那个人做的超出自己的承诺，还是只是完成了许诺的事情，人们几乎都没有感觉更快乐。
这是我始料未及的。Epley的研究结果真正涉及作为人际约定的承诺。期望只存在于人的大脑中，它们遵循的是一个相对线性的模式。更少意味着更坏，更多意味着更好。但是承诺在公平之上或超越公平后有一个峰值。这解释了为什么当发生被叫作“公平溢价”的那种预料之外的好处时，人们似乎并不为之所动。
TEXT 36
We're getting more stupid.That's one point made in a recent article in the New Scientist, reporting on a gradual decline in IQs in developed countries such as the UK, Australia and the Netherlands.Such research feeds into a long-held fascination with testing human intelligence.Yet such debates are too focused on IQ as a life-long trait that can't be changed.Other research is beginning to show the opposite.
Defined loosely, intelligence refers to our ability to learn quickly and adapt to new situations. IQ tests measure our vocabulary, our ability to problem-solve, reason logically and so on.But what many people fail to understand is that if IQ tests measured only our skills at these particular tasks, no one would be interested in our score.The score is interesting only because it is thought to be fixed for life.
Psychologists are aware that intelligence scores are somewhat subject to cultural influence and social opportunity, but some have still insisted that we cannot raise our IQ by much.This is be cause our general intelligence is a fixed trait that is insensitive to education, “brain training”, diet, or other interventions.The most serious consequence of this is the use of IQ tests to blame educational difficulties on students rather than on teaching systems.
Those who hang dearly onto the notion that IQ is fixed for life have managed to ignore decades of published research in the field of applied behaviour analysis.This has reported very large IQ gains in children with autism who have been exposed to early intensive behavioural interventions once they have been diagnosed with learning difficulties.Another 2009 Norwegian study examined the effects of an increase in the duration of compulsory schooling in Norway in the 1960s which lengthened the time in education for Norwegians by two years.The researchers used records of cognitive ability taken by the military to calculate the IQ of each individual in the study.They found that IQ had increased by 3.7 points for every extra year of education received.
My own research has shown that understanding relations between words, such as“more than”, “less than”or“opposite”is crucial for our intellectual development.One recent pilot study showed that we can considerably raise standard IQ scores by training children in relational language skills tasks over a period of months.
So it's about time we reconsidered our ideas about the nature of intelligence as a trait that cannot be changed.Undoubtedly, there may be some limits to the development of our intellectual skills. But in the short term, the socially responsible thing to do is not to feel bound by those limits.
1.The basic idea of intelligence test is that ________.
[A]we are all biologically limited in our intelligence levels
[B]we can be made wiser by performing mental tasks
[C]the decline in intelligence has many reasons behind it
[D]such test can improve our ability to learn and adapt
2.It is implied in the third paragraph that ________.
[A]education cannot change our general intelligence
[B]IQ score helps educators diagnose students' difficulties
[C]current educational problems are caused by bad teaching
[D]students have difficulties in improving their IQ score
3.The finding from the Norwegian study ________.
[A]shows education has the greatest effect on IQ of all the interventions
[B]challenges the idea that intelligence is insensitive to intervention
[C]points to compulsory education as an effective means to improve IQ
[D]contradicts the result from the military research on cognitive ability
4.One of the social responsibilities in training children is to ________.
[A]train them to better understand relational language skills
[B]help them achieve long-term intellectual development
[C]help them work towards or exceed their intellectual limits
[D]show them what factors limit their intellectual development
5.The author makes the point that ________.
[A]intelligence is not limited by anything
[B]development level affects IQ score
[C]IQ tests can be fruitfully applied
[D]intelligence is not fixed for life
考研必备词汇
1.gradual/ ˈɡrædjuəl/a．逐渐的
2.decline/di ˈklain/n．下降
3.IQ（intelligence quotient）智商
4.feed into 喂进，提供
5.fascination/ˈfæsi ˈneiʃn/n．魅力，吸引力；入迷
6.intelligence/in ˈtelidʒəns/n．智力；情报
7.trait/treit/n．特征，特点，品质
8.opposite/ ˈɔpəzit/a．对面的，相反的；反对的
9.vocabulary/və ˈkæbjuləri/n．词汇量
10.somewhat/ ˈsʌmwɔt/ad．有点儿，稍微
11.subject/səb ˈdʒekt/vt．使受到，使遭到；使服从
12.intervention/ˈintəː ˈvenʃən/n．干预，插入
13.consequence/ ˈkɔnsikwəns/n．后果
14.hang onto 坚持；以……为依靠
15.for life 终身
16.intensive/in ˈtensiv/a．密集的，加强的；精深的
17.diagnose/ ˈdaiəɡnəuz/vt．诊断
18.duration/djuə ˈreiʃən/n．持续；持续时间
19.compulsory/kəm ˈpʌlsəri/a．强迫的，强制的，义务的
20.schooling/ ˈskuːliŋ/n．学校教育
21.lengthen/ ˈleŋθən/vt．加长，延长
22.cognitive/ ˈkɔɡnitiv/a．认知的
23.crucial/ ˈkruːʃəl/a．至关重要的，关键的
24.intellectual/ˈinti ˈlektjuəl/a．智力的，脑力的；知识的
25.pilot study 先期研究，预研究
26.in the short term 从短期来看
27.bind/baind/vt．捆绑；束缚，约束
其他词汇
autism 自闭症
疑难长句注解
This has reported...difficulties.（第四段）
本句中，IQ gains指“智商的提高”, be exposed to指“接触，接受”, behavioural interventions指行为干预。
译文
我们正在变得更愚蠢，《新科学家》最近的一篇文章提出了这样的观点，它报道了像英国、澳大利亚和荷兰这样的发达国家智商的逐渐下降。这类研究归入我们长期以来对测试人类智力的迷恋。但是这种争论过于集中于智商，把它看作终生不变的特征。其他研究开始导向相反的结论。
从不太严格的意义上来讲，智力指我们快速学习并适应新情景的能力。智力测验测试我们的词汇、我们解决问题的能力和逻辑推理能力等。但是很多人不明白的是，如果智力测验仅仅测量我们完成这些具体任务的技能，没有人会对我们的智商分数感兴趣。分数之所以引起人们的兴趣，是因为它被认为是终生不变的。
心理学家意识到，智商分数在某种程度上受到文化影响和社会机会的影响，但是有些人仍然坚持认为，我们的智商提高不了多少。这是因为我们的总体智力具有固定的特点，它对教育、心智训练、饮食或其他干预方式是不敏感的。这一看法的最严重后果是，智力测验被用来把教育问题推责到孩子身上，而不是教育体制。
那些顽固地认为智商终生固定不变的人都忽视了应用行为分析领域里数十年来发表的研究成果。这些研究报告说，一旦自闭症儿童被诊断出学习困难，通过集中的早期行为干预，就能大大地提高他们的智商。2009年挪威的一项研究检验了20世纪60年代挪威延长义务教育时限——延长两年教育时间——产生的效果。研究者使用军方对认知能力的记录，来计算研究者每一个人的智商。他们发现，接受教育的时间每多出一年，智商就能增加3.7分。
我自己的研究也表明，理解词汇之间的关系，比如“更多”“更少”“相反”，对我们的智力发展至关重要。最近的一项试点研究表明，通过在几个月内训练儿童完成表达关系的语言技能任务，我们能大幅度提高智商分数。
因此，我们现在应该重新考虑我们对智力本质的认识，不应该把它看作不能改变的特征。无疑，我们的心智能力发展可能受到一些限制，但是从短期来看，对社会负责的做法是：我们不应该受到这些限制的约束。
TEXT 37
For a long time, I didn't quite“get”plastic surgery.Well, I got it, but I rejected it because，in my mind, cosmetic intervention was so offensive a technological advance, so damning a commentary on individual vanity and collective insecurity, that it was deserving of my total dismissal，even contempt.Plastic surgeons and their patients were an alien species to be kept at arm's length:curiosities to be regarded with confusion, amusement and more than a little pity.
That was then and this is now, and now is my fourth decade of existence, which means that I'm all too understanding of the fact that life—and our ideas of how we interact with and move about in the world—are a lot more complicated.So I read with interest the news that a study just published in the Journal of the American Medical Association（JAMA）Facial Plastic Surgery found that plastic surgery barely made its recipients look more youthful in the eyes of others. Forty-nine patients who were photographed before and after getting brow-lifts and face-lifts were assumed to be only three years younger by a group of reviewers.And there was no difference in their perceived attractiveness before and after the surgeries.
My initial reaction was a default dismissal, an echo of the scorning, knowing posture I'd adopted long ago.Of course plastic surgery is a waste of money and an expression of privilege and self-absorption that doesn't provide real, meaningful results, I thought.Did it really take a study to tell us this? The problem with that attitude is that it's unclear what“real, ”“meaningful”or, for that matter, “attractiveness”even mean.After all, some of the most traditionally“beautiful”people I know are also some of the most miserable, and no matter how you spin it, that isn't attractive at all.
All this is to say that there's something interesting going on here, and perhaps a missed opportunity.On the one hand, the results of the JAMA study make a distinction between youth and attractiveness, which feels somewhat revolutionary in America's youth-obsessed atmosphere.On the other, the study itself feels somewhat pointless, because if patients feel better about themselves post-op, it doesn't really matter how 50 strangers define them.
What would have been really interesting is if the study's administrators had taken the independent reviewers' ratings and gone over them with the actual patients in the photographs.I think that sort of feedback would have been more revealing, because I suspect that the majority of plastic-surgery recipients aren't so much trying to look younger or more beautiful as they are trying to look more like themselves.I get it.And much as I believe we should encourage healthy selfesteem and the concept of aging gracefully, we should also make room for the idea that plastic surgery is not always at odds with those things.It may, in fact, be a natural extension of them.
1.The author used to think that plastic surgery ________.
[A]was an unsafe intervention
[B]was an act of human vanity
[C]was performed with curiosity
[D]was an advanced technology
2.The study's major finding is that plastic surgery________ .
[A]makes recipients look younger and attractive
[B]makes recipients move about more cautiously
[C]does not meet recipients' desire for beauty
[D]does not help recipients become more attractive
3.How did the author regard the JAMA study when she first read it？
[A]It proved nothing but common sense.
[B]It failed to define some key words clearly.
[C]It caused great misery to surgery recipients.
[D]Its marvelous findings changed her attitude.
4.What did the study fail to do according to the author？
[A]Distinguishing youth from attractiveness.
[B]Taking the recipients' photos after surgery.
[C]Asking recipients why they received surgeries.
[D]Asking the reviewers to write down their comments.
5.To the author, plastic surgery is acceptable as longer as ________.
[A]it boosts self-confidence and self-respect
[B]it does no harm to the natural growth of the body
[C]it gives people both youth and attractiveness
[D]it does not waste the recipients too much money
考研必备词汇
1.surgery/ ˈsəːdʒəri/n．外科，外科手术
2．cosmetic/kɔz ˈmetik/a．化妆用的；美容的n.化妆品
3.intervention/ˈintə ˈvenʃən/n．介入；干涉
4.offensive/ə ˈfensiv/a．冒犯的；讨厌的；进攻性的
5.commentary/ ˈkɔməntəri/n．评注，评论
6.vanity/ ˈvæniti/n．虚荣心
7.dismissal/dis ˈmisl/n．驳回；打发走；解雇
8.alien/ ˈeiljən/n．外国人，外来人
9.keep...at arm's length 与……保持距离
10.recipient/ri ˈsipiənt/n．接受者，接收者
11.initial/i ˈniʃəl/a．最初的，开始的，开头的
12.default/di ˈfɔːlt/n．缺省，默认；缺席，不到场
13.scorn/skɔːn/vt．蔑视，嘲笑
14.posture/ ˈpɔstʃə/n．姿态，态度
15.privilege/ ˈprivilidʒ/n．特权
16.absorption/əb ˈsɔːpʃən/n．吸收；专心
17.for that matter 关于那一点；就那件事而论
18.spin/spin/vt．编造；纺；旋转
19.obsess/əb ˈses/vt．使着迷，被（妄想等）缠住
20.pointless/ ˈpɔintlis/a．无意义的，不得要领的
21.administrator/əd ˈministreitə/n．管理人；行政官员；实施者
22.rating/ ˈreitiŋ/n．分等级，评估
23.feedback/ ˈfiːdbæk/n．反馈
24.self-esteem/ ˈself-is ˈtiːm/n．自信，自尊
25.gracefully/ ˈɡreisfulli/ad．优雅地，得体地
26.make room for 为……让出地方；考虑到，容忍
27.be at odds with 与……不一致；与……不和
28.extension/iks ˈtenʃən/n．扩大；延长
其他词汇
post-op（= post-operative）手术后的
疑难长句注解
1.Well, I got it, but I rejected...contempt.（第一段）
本句中，get it指明白了plastic surgery。本句的主干结构由so...that连接，其中两个so引导的短语都跟that配合使用。词组a commentary on意为“对……评价”，所谓“对个人虚荣心和集体不安全感的评价”，这里实际上指暴露了个人虚荣心和集体不安全感。另外，be deserving of意为“值得”。
2.Plastic surgeons...a little pity.（第一段）
本句中，alien species原本指“外星人”, keep someone at arm's length指“与某人保持距离”，指不结交他们或不以他们为友。名词curiosities这里是可数名词，指令人好奇的人或物。
3.After all, some of the most...attractive at all.（第三段）
本句中，spin意为“描述”，特别是指带有想象力或夸大其词的描述，that指the most traditionally“beautiful”people I know。因此，that isn't attractive at all的意思是：这些漂亮的人怎么也算不上有魅力。
4.What would have been...like themselves.（第五段）
这两句实际上是一个句子，表语部分是if the study's administrators had taken..., that sort of feedback would have been more revealing。总体来说，这是一个虚拟条件句，作者假设了一种情况，而这个情况是那项研究没有做的，即询问接受美容手术的人他们做手术的目的。在这个句子中，what would have been really interesting是主语从句，if the study's...like themselves整个作表语，其中if the study's administrators...photographs是条件从句，that sort of feedback would have been more revealing是主句。
5.And much as I believe...those things.（第五段）
在much as中，much强调as引导的比较状语从句，类似just as（正像）；所谓“优雅地变老”（aging gracefully）指以良好的形象和良好的心态对待变老过程，作者在这里显然把整容也看作“优雅地变老”的一种方式；词组make room for意为“考虑到”，转义为“更宽容地看待”某事；be at odds with意为“与……相矛盾”。
译文
长期以来，我不太“理解”整形手术。后来我明白了，但是我还是排斥它，因为在我心目中，整形干预是一种令人不快的技术进步，是对个人虚荣心和集体不安全感的一种可憎的注脚，以至于它应该得到我的全部否定，甚至是蔑视。整形手术医生及其病人是一种星外来客，应该跟他们保持一定距离：他们应该被看作一些怪物，令人感到困惑、好奇，还带有一点儿怜悯。
这是那时的看法，现在不一样了，我现在已经度过了40多个春秋，这意味着我太理解这样一个事实了：生活复杂得多，而且，我们如何与世界发生互动，如何在这个世界上开展活动，我们对此也有复杂多样的看法。我饶有兴趣地阅读了一条新闻，它报道了《美国医学协会面部整形手术杂志》上刚刚发表的一项研究，该研究发现，整形外科手术几乎无法让接受手术者在别人看来更年轻。有49人在做额头和面部整形手术前后都留了影，他们被一组看照片的人认为年轻了仅3岁。而且，在手术后，他们都没有被认为更有魅力。
我最初的反应是一如既往的否定，采取了我多年前采取的嘲讽的、无所不知的那种姿态。当然，整形手术是金钱浪费，是特权和自我陶醉的一种表现，我认为，它不会产生任何实际的有意义的效果。这还需要做一项研究来告诉我们吗？我的这种态度也存在一个问题：“实际的”“有意义的”或“有魅力”，这些词到底是什么意思？这难以说清。毕竟，某些最具传统意义上“漂亮”的人物也是最不幸的人，无论你怎样狡辩，他们怎么也说不上有魅力。
这等于说，这里存在一件有趣的事情，也许是一个错过的机会。一方面，JAMA发表的研究结果区分了年轻和有魅力，在美国这种崇拜年轻的氛围中，这本身就令人感到带有一定的革命性。另一方面，这些研究本身令人感到毫无意义，因为如果病人在手术后自我感觉更好，其他50个陌生人怎样看待他们对他们来说无关紧要。
真正有趣的本来应该是：如果这项研究的实施者拿来独立评价人所做的评价，跟照片中实际的病人把它们过一遍，我认为，这种反馈就更具有说服力，因为我怀疑，绝大部分接受整形手术的人不是为了看上去更年轻、更漂亮，而是更像他们自己。我明白了。而且，正像我认为我们应该鼓励健康的自我尊重和体面地看待变老一样，我们也应该宽容地看待如下观念：整形手术不一定与这些价值观相矛盾。实际上，它可能是这些价值观的自然延伸。