【英语时差8,16】"失礼"的科学解释

The Science Of The Faux Pas "Dear Yael and Don: The other night,I was at a party,and one of the people I was talking with was pretty overweight.I was trying to be careful not to say anything affensive,but in suddenly I blurted² out something...Is there a scientific explanation for my behaviour?" Y:Good quuestion!There are many possible reasons why we say things out loud we mean to keep to ourselves. But one compelling explanation is that the very act of straining to avoid saying something embarrassing or awkward raises the risk of doing just that. D:Wait,you mean to say that we say things because we are trying too hard to be appropriate? Y:Sort of.Scientists explain it as a struggle between the conscious and unconscious mind.Say you’re at a party and someone near you is smoking. It’s obnoxious³, but you don’t want to make a big deal, so you consciously try to think about something else. But meanwhile, your unconscious mind is on the lookout⁴ for any smoking related thoughts. D:So even though I'm not trying to think thoughts about smoking,I'm still thinking them. Y:Right,and if you’ve had a bit to drink, or you are tired, or stressed, whatever,an unconscious smoking thought can burble to the conscious surface. And before you know it you blurt¹ out something about how second hand smoke is a deadly killer⁵. D:So,in a sense,we are at the mercy of our unconscious minds? Y:Sometimes. In certain situations, at least, we’re not in total control of what we think, and how we act.

1 blurt   

vt.突然说出，脱口说出

参考例句：

• If you can blurt out 300 sentences,you can make a living in America.如果你能脱口而出300句英语，你可以在美国工作。
• I will blurt out one passage every week.我每星期要脱口而出一篇短文！

2 blurted   

v.突然说出，脱口而出( blurt的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She blurted it out before I could stop her. 我还没来得及制止，她已脱口而出。
• He blurted out the truth, that he committed the crime. 他不慎说出了真相，说是他犯了那个罪。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 obnoxious   

adj.极恼人的，讨人厌的，可憎的

参考例句：

• These fires produce really obnoxious fumes and smoke.这些火炉冒出来的烟气确实很难闻。
• He is the most obnoxious man I know.他是我认识的最可憎的人。

4 lookout   

n.注意，前途，瞭望台

参考例句：

• You can see everything around from the lookout.从了望台上你可以看清周围的一切。
• It's a bad lookout for the company if interest rates don't come down.如果利率降不下来，公司的前景可就不妙了。

5 killer   

n.杀人者，杀人犯，杀手，屠杀者

参考例句：

• Heart attacks have become Britain's No.1 killer disease.心脏病已成为英国的头号致命疾病。
• The bulk of the evidence points to him as her killer.大量证据证明是他杀死她的。