TED演讲：温和的成功哲学(2)

 　　And the dominant¹ kind of snobbery³ that exists nowadays is job snobbery. 今天，最主要的势利就是对职业的势利。

　　You encounter it within minutes at a party, 你在派对中不用一分钟就能体会到，

　　when you get asked that famous iconic question of the early 21st century, "What do you do?" 当你被问到这个21世纪初最有代表性的问题：你是做什么的？

　　And according to how you answer that question, people are either incredibly delighted to see you, 你的答案将会决定对方接下来的反应，对方可能对你在场感到荣幸，

　　or look at their watch and make their excuses. 或是开始看表然后想个借口离开。

　　Now, the opposite of a snob² is your mother. 势利鬼的相反，是你的母亲。

　　Not necessarily your mother, or indeed mine, but, as it were, the ideal mother, somebody who doesn't care about your achievements.  不一定是你我的母亲，而是一个理想母亲的想象，一个永远义无反顾的爱你，不在乎你是否功成名就的人。

　　But unfortunately, most people are not our mothers. 不幸地，大部分世人都不怀有这种母爱。

　　Most people make a strict correlation⁴ between how much time, and if you like, love 大部分世人决定要花费多少时间给于多少爱，

　　not romantic love, though that may be something 不一定是浪漫的那种爱，虽然那也包括在内，

　　but love in general, respect they are willing to accord us, 世人所愿意给我们的关爱、尊重，

　　that will be strictly⁵ defined by our position in the social hierarchy⁶. 取决于我们的社会地位。

　　And that's a lot of the reason why we care so much about our careers and indeed start caring so much about material goods. 这就是为什么我们如此在乎事业和成就以及看重金钱和物质的原因。

　　You know, we're often told that we live in very materialistic⁷ times, that we're all greedy people. 我们时常被告知我们处在一个物质挂帅的时代，我们都是贪婪的人。

　　I don't think we are particularly materialistic. 我并不认为我们特别看重物质。

　　I think we live in a society which has simply pegged⁸ certain emotional rewards to the acquisition of material goods. 而是我认为我们活在一个物质能带来大量情感反馈的时代。

　　It's not the material goods we want; it's the rewards we want. 我们想要的不是物质，而是背后的情感反馈。

　　It's a new way of looking at luxury goods. 这赋予奢侈品一个崭新的意义。

　　The next time you see somebody driving a Ferrari, don't think, "This is somebody who's greedy." 下次你看到那些开着法拉利跑车的人，你不要想“这个人很贪婪”，

　　Think, "This is somebody who is incredibly vulnerable and in need of love." 而是“这是一个无比脆弱、急需爱的人”。

　　In other words...feel sympathy, rather than contempt. 同情他们，不要鄙视他们。

1 dominant   

adj.支配的，统治的；占优势的；显性的；n.主因，要素，主要的人(或物)；显性基因

参考例句：

• The British were formerly dominant in India.英国人从前统治印度。
• She was a dominant figure in the French film industry.她在法国电影界是个举足轻重的人物。

2 snob   

n.势利小人，自以为高雅、有学问的人

参考例句：

• Going to a private school had made her a snob.上私立学校后，她变得很势利。
• If you think that way, you are a snob already.如果你那样想的话，你已经是势利小人了。

3 snobbery   

n. 充绅士气派, 俗不可耐的性格

参考例句：

• Jocelyn accused Dexter of snobbery. 乔斯琳指责德克斯特势力。
• Snobbery is not so common in English today as it was said fifty years ago. 如今＂Snobbery＂在英语中已不象50年前那么普遍使用。

4 correlation   

n.相互关系，相关，关连

参考例句：

• The second group of measurements had a high correlation with the first.第二组测量数据与第一组高度相关。
• A high correlation exists in America between education and economic position.教育和经济地位在美国有极密切的关系。

5 strictly   

adv.严厉地，严格地；严密地

参考例句：

• His doctor is dieting him strictly.他的医生严格规定他的饮食。
• The guests were seated strictly in order of precedence.客人严格按照地位高低就座。

6 hierarchy   

n.等级制度；统治集团，领导层

参考例句：

• There is a rigid hierarchy of power in that country.那个国家有一套严密的权力等级制度。
• She's high up in the management hierarchy.她在管理阶层中地位很高。

7 materialistic   

a.唯物主义的，物质享乐主义的

参考例句：

• She made him both soft and materialistic. 她把他变成女性化而又实际化。
• Materialistic dialectics is an important part of constituting Marxism. 唯物辩证法是马克思主义的重要组成部分。

8 pegged   

v.用夹子或钉子固定( peg的过去式和过去分词 )；使固定在某水平

参考例句：

• They pegged their tent down. 他们钉好了账篷。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She pegged down the stairs. 她急忙下楼。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》