2021年经济学人 与陌生人社交的艺术(1)

Book Review

书评

Hello, Stranger. By Will Buckingham.

《你好陌生人》威尔·白金汉

The Power of Strangers. By Joe Keohane.

《陌生人的力量》乔·基奥恩

Fractured. By Jon Yates.

《断裂》乔恩·耶茨

Attitudes to strangers tend to follow a familiar pattern.

人们对陌生人的态度往往遵循一种常见的模式。

Children are taught never to speak to unknown grown-ups, especially those regarded by their parents as untrustworthy.

孩子们被教育永远不要和不认识的成年人说话，尤其是那些被父母认为不可信赖的人。

The onset¹ of adolescence² and young adulthood³ brings a bursting desire to interact with all sorts of people, particularly the kind who might not elicit⁴ family approval.

随着青春期和成年初期而来的，是一种与各种人交往的强烈愿望，尤其是那些可能得不到家人认可的人。

Whether the resulting encounters are sexual or social, they confer a thrilling frisson of escape.

无论最终的邂逅是性的还是社交的，它们都给予人一种逃避的快感。

Social circles generally narrow again as people find life-partners, form households and produce offspring of their own.

当人们找到生活伴侣、组建家庭、繁衍后代时，社交圈通常会再次缩小。

Time becomes scarce; new friendships are often based on sharing the burden of child care.

时间变得稀缺；新的友谊通常建立在分担照顾孩子的负担之上。

Some people never recover the youthful zest⁵ for unforeseen liaisons⁶.

有些人永远无法恢复年轻时对意外邂逅的热情。

Professional duties swell⁷ even as parental⁸ ones diminish, and the inclination⁹ sags¹⁰.

即使作为父母的职责减少，职业责任也会增加，从而降低社交倾向。

In old age, even if curiosity and charisma¹¹ remain undimmed, frailty¹² makes new serendipitous¹³ connections harder to establish.

到了老年，即使好奇心和魅力丝毫不受影响，脆弱也会使新的邂逅更难建立。

But that is not the whole story.

但这并不是故事的全部。

In mid-life and beyond people can still experience the joy of a random¹⁴ meeting, however short, which somehow touches a nerve.

人到中年或中年以后，仍能体验到偶遇的快乐，尽管这种快乐很短暂，但不知何故却触动了人们的神经。

That might involve nothing more than a smile, or a chance remark that hits an emotional spot; or it might be an unexpectedly deep conversation on a plane or train,

可能只是一个微笑，或者是一句触及到情感点的偶然评论；也可能是在飞机或火车上的一次意外的深度对话，

a surge of mutual¹⁵ understanding that is life-affirming even if the interlocutor is never seen again.

即使相互再也见不到，这股相互理解的浪潮也会给生活带来积极影响。

This aspect of the promise and peril¹⁶ of strangers has enticed¹⁷ storytellers — from the rapture¹⁸ of “Brief Encounter” and “Before Sunrise” to the ruin of “Strangers on a Train”.

从《相见恨晚》和《爱在黎明破晓前》的狂喜到《火车怪客》的毁灭，陌生人的承诺和危险吸引了各路故事讲述者。

The knowledge that the exchange will be a one-off can permit a delicious, uninhibited frankness.

认识到交流是一次性的这个前提，才能体会美好的、无拘无束的坦率。

In the age of covid-19 and Zoom¹⁹, the chronological²⁰ pattern has been warped²¹.

在新冠肺炎和视频交流的时代，一直以来的模式被改变了。

Instead of their hazy²² possibilities and risks, strangers have assumed an all-too-literal role as a looming²³ source of infection.

陌生人不再是他们模糊不清的可能性和风险，而是承担了一个完全字面意义上的潜在传染源的角色。

During lockdowns they are officially to be avoided.

在封锁期间，与陌生人接触是被禁止的。

Yet youngsters still long, dangerously, for the ecstasy²⁴ of communion, not just with edgy²⁵ individuals but anonymous²⁶ crowds.

然而，危险的是，年轻人仍然渴望交流的狂喜，不仅想与令人激动的个体交流，也想与无名的人群交流。

People of all ages have come to miss the human stimulation²⁷ of busy high streets or trains, or the comforting sense of fellowship in a cinema or theatre audience.

各个年龄层的人已经开始怀念繁忙的大街小巷和车流带给人的刺激，或者在电影院或剧院观众间的舒适的友谊感。

1 onset   

n.进攻，袭击，开始，突然开始

参考例句：

• The drug must be taken from the onset of the infection.这种药必须在感染的最初期就开始服用。
• Our troops withstood the onset of the enemy.我们的部队抵挡住了敌人的进攻。

2 adolescence   

n.青春期，青少年

参考例句：

• Adolescence is the process of going from childhood to maturity.青春期是从少年到成年的过渡期。
• The film is about the trials and tribulations of adolescence.这部电影讲述了青春期的麻烦和苦恼。

3 adulthood   

n.成年，成人期

参考例句：

• Some infantile actions survive into adulthood.某些婴儿期的行为一直保持到成年期。
• Few people nowadays are able to maintain friendships into adulthood.如今很少有人能将友谊维持到成年。

4 elicit   

v.引出,抽出,引起

参考例句：

• It was designed to elicit the best thinking within the government. 机构的设置是为了在政府内部集思广益。
• Don't try to elicit business secrets from me. I won't tell you anything. 你休想从我这里套问出我们的商业机密, 我什么都不会告诉你的。

5 zest   

n.乐趣；滋味，风味；兴趣

参考例句：

• He dived into his new job with great zest.他充满热情地投入了新的工作。
• He wrote his novel about his trip to Asia with zest.他兴趣浓厚的写了一本关于他亚洲之行的小说。

6 liaisons   

n.联络( liaison的名词复数 )；联络人；（尤指一方或双方已婚的）私通；组织单位间的交流与合作

参考例句：

• She embarked on a series of sexual liaisons with society figures. 她开始接二连三地与社会名流有染。 来自辞典例句
• One of Wentworth's favorite movies is Dangerous Liaisons. went最喜欢的电影之一是《危险关系》。 来自互联网

7 swell   

vi.膨胀，肿胀；增长，增强

参考例句：

• The waves had taken on a deep swell.海浪汹涌。
• His injured wrist began to swell.他那受伤的手腕开始肿了。

8 parental   

adj.父母的；父的；母的

参考例句：

• He encourages parental involvement in the running of school.他鼓励学生家长参与学校的管理。
• Children always revolt against parental disciplines.孩子们总是反抗父母的管束。

9 inclination   

n.倾斜；点头；弯腰；斜坡；倾度；倾向；爱好

参考例句：

• She greeted us with a slight inclination of the head.她微微点头向我们致意。
• I did not feel the slightest inclination to hurry.我没有丝毫着急的意思。

10 sags   

向下凹或中间下陷( sag的第三人称单数 )； 松弛或不整齐地悬着

参考例句：

• The bed sags in the middle, and is uncomfortable. 床的中间往下塌，很不舒服。
• He sags his pants; doo rags and a stockin cap. 他穿着松弛的裤子。抹布一样的帽子。

11 charisma   

n.(大众爱戴的)领袖气质，魅力

参考例句：

• He has enormous charisma. He is a giant of a man.他有超凡的个人魅力，是个伟人。
• I don't have the charisma to pull a crowd this size.我没有那么大的魅力，能吸引这么多人。

12 frailty   

n.脆弱；意志薄弱

参考例句：

• Despite increasing physical frailty,he continued to write stories.尽管身体越来越虛弱，他仍然继续写小说。
• He paused and suddenly all the frailty and fatigue showed.他顿住了，虚弱与疲惫一下子显露出来。

13 serendipitous   

adj.偶然发现的

参考例句：

• There was a serendipitous second advantage working with a library of equations. 利用方程库有个意外收获的附带好处。 来自互联网
• Strategic networking prepares us for serendipitous moments. 战略性人际交往让我们为不时之需做好准备。 来自互联网

14 random   

adj.随机的；任意的；n.偶然的(或随便的)行动

参考例句：

• The list is arranged in a random order.名单排列不分先后。
• On random inspection the meat was found to be bad.经抽查，发现肉变质了。

15 mutual   

adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的

参考例句：

• We must pull together for mutual interest.我们必须为相互的利益而通力合作。
• Mutual interests tied us together.相互的利害关系把我们联系在一起。

16 peril   

n.(严重的)危险；危险的事物

参考例句：

• The refugees were in peril of death from hunger.难民有饿死的危险。
• The embankment is in great peril.河堤岌岌可危。

17 enticed   

诱惑，怂恿( entice的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He enticed his former employer into another dice game. 他挑逗他原来的老板再赌一次掷骰子。
• Consumers are courted, enticed, and implored by sellers of goods and services. 消费者受到商品和劳务出售者奉承，劝诱和央求。

18 rapture   

n.狂喜；全神贯注；着迷；v.使狂喜

参考例句：

• His speech was received with rapture by his supporters.他的演说受到支持者们的热烈欢迎。
• In the midst of his rapture,he was interrupted by his father.他正欢天喜地，被他父亲打断了。

19 zoom   

n.急速上升；v.突然扩大，急速上升

参考例句：

• The airplane's zoom carried it above the clouds.飞机的陡直上升使它飞到云层之上。
• I live near an airport and the zoom of passing planes can be heard night and day.我住在一个飞机场附近，昼夜都能听到飞机飞过的嗡嗡声。

20 chronological   

adj.按年月顺序排列的，年代学的

参考例句：

• The paintings are exhibited in chronological sequence.这些画是按创作的时间顺序展出的。
• Give me the dates in chronological order.把日期按年月顺序给我。

21 warped   

adj.反常的；乖戾的；（变）弯曲的；变形的v.弄弯，变歪( warp的过去式和过去分词 )；使（行为等）不合情理，使乖戾，

参考例句：

• a warped sense of humour 畸形的幽默感
• The board has warped. 木板翘了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

22 hazy   

adj.有薄雾的，朦胧的；不肯定的，模糊的

参考例句：

• We couldn't see far because it was so hazy.雾气蒙蒙妨碍了我们的视线。
• I have a hazy memory of those early years.对那些早先的岁月我有着朦胧的记忆。

23 looming   

n.上现蜃景（光通过低层大气发生异常折射形成的一种海市蜃楼）v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的现在分词 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近

参考例句：

• The foothills were looming ahead through the haze. 丘陵地带透过薄雾朦胧地出现在眼前。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Then they looked up. Looming above them was Mount Proteome. 接着他们往上看，在其上隐约看到的是蛋白质组山。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 回顾与展望

24 ecstasy   

n.狂喜，心醉神怡，入迷

参考例句：

• He listened to the music with ecstasy.他听音乐听得入了神。
• Speechless with ecstasy,the little boys gazed at the toys.小孩注视着那些玩具，高兴得说不出话来。

25 edgy   

adj.不安的；易怒的

参考例句：

• She's been a bit edgy lately,waiting for the exam results.她正在等待考试结果，所以最近有些焦躁不安。
• He was nervous and edgy, still chain-smoking.他紧张不安，还在一根接一根地抽着烟。

26 anonymous   

adj.无名的；匿名的；无特色的

参考例句：

• Sending anonymous letters is a cowardly act.寄匿名信是懦夫的行为。
• The author wishes to remain anonymous.作者希望姓名不公开。

27 stimulation   

n.刺激，激励，鼓舞

参考例句：

• The playgroup provides plenty of stimulation for the children.幼儿游戏组给孩子很多启发。
• You don't get any intellectual stimulation in this job.你不能从这份工作中获得任何智力启发。