【英语时差8,16】数位时代对情绪的影响

Harvard University professor John Palfrey recently spoke¹ in Taipei on the subject of youth and contemporary media, the digital age, and parenting. I read the news on his lecture with care.

"(Palfrey) said it is down to parents and schools to determine which life skills－human interaction, argument making, [or] analysis－children should develop. Digital content can be a powerful tool to support those goals..."

I would like to put in a word for the first skill, human interaction.

One deficiency from which I feel many college students suffer these days is in self-knowledge and an understanding of how their words and actions affect others. That may be another way to speak of "EQ," or "emotional quotient."

"IQ" designates a student's ability to grasp and express ideas and to know how to put knowledge to good use, so it follows that EQ points to people's understanding of themselves and their impact on those around them.

I sometimes wonder if too many of our young friends are overly computer literate², even as they are starving inwardly from loneliness and alienation³. How many college students in Taiwan are more adept⁴ at Internet use and software than they are at human relationships? Too many, I am afraid.

1 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

2 literate   

n.学者；adj.精通文学的，受过教育的

参考例句：

• Only a few of the nation's peasants are literate.这个国家的农民中只有少数人能识字。
• A literate person can get knowledge through reading many books.一个受过教育的人可以通过读书而获得知识。

3 alienation   

n.疏远；离间；异化

参考例句：

• The new policy resulted in the alienation of many voters.新政策导致许多选民疏远了。
• As almost every conceivable contact between human beings gets automated,the alienation index goes up.随着人与人之间几乎一切能想到的接触方式的自动化，感情疏远指数在不断上升。

4 adept   

adj.老练的，精通的

参考例句：

• When it comes to photography,I'm not an adept.要说照相，我不是内行。
• He was highly adept at avoiding trouble.他十分善于避开麻烦。