论文部分内容阅读
这是“学习小提示”：为了增加写作效果，作者运用了不少省略了句子成分的短句，阅读时请注意。相信每个人都有过这样的经历——在食堂要排队打饭，公车到站也要排队上车，去过上海世博会的同学想必一提起排队就愤怒。是的，我们似乎变得越来越急躁，对“等”感到越发不耐烦——也许有些人还没看完这段话就已经跳到正文咯——
You’re in a hurry. You need to know what this story is about. 1)Stat.
Okay, okay. It’s about impatience. And, so you don’t have to 2)wade through the whole thing, here is the last sentence of the story:
In other words, 3)imprudence, not impatience, is the problem.
C U L8R[即later]
In the past few decades we have become the
Impatient Nation. We want quick answers to complex problems—the economy, diseases, personal relations.
We: Speed date. Eat fast food. Use the
self-checkout lines in grocery stores. Pay extra for overnight shipping. 4)Honk when the light turns green. Speak in half sentences. Start things but don’t fin[即finish]...
We twitter stories in 140 characters or less, yet some tweets are too long. We 5)cut corners, take shortcuts. We txt[即text].
We have also become impatient with...wait for it...impatience.
Speaking for many Americans, 6)prolific author Valerie Frankel wrote in the March 2010 issue of Self magazine: “I’ve always imagined that my impatient
nature is a sign of my success—something that all busy, hard-driving, intelligent people share.” But it might be “a bad habit I needed to break, not only for my family but also for the sake of my own
7)well-being.”
Studies show that impatience can be harmful.
In 2003, the Journal of the American Medical Association pointed out that impatience may lead to increased risk of 8)hypertension among young adults. A 2004 report in the Journal of Biosocial
Science linked a rise in American impatience with an increase in 9)obesity—as Americans spent more of their income, and saved less, they also gained weight. And in 2007, Science Daily reported that, impatient people may not be as 10)savvy as patient people when it comes to money matters—and so run a greater risk of financial insecurity.
In other words, impatience can make people tense, fat and broke. The good news, according to Frankel, is that impatience is a behavior, not a
personality characteristic. It is an 11)outgrowth of “living in a chaotic world,” she observed. And so she set out to mend her 12)fretful ways.
“Do I still feel impatient? Of course! But I have been
better about not letting impatient-related rage take over,” she says. This helps “to remember
that long lines and bad
service are part of ordinary, imperfect life. I’m not special, and therefore, not 13)exempt
from daily 14)irritation. Everyone has to deal with it.”
Now, Now
Some people blame our national impatience on
technology. A columnist writes, “Technology has made us impatient. We no longer enjoy pausing. Or remembering.
We log on, tune in, dial up and speed off like drag
racers注1, leaving in our 15)wake a 16)swirling cloud of
historical dust, memory, perspective and people.”
But technology only does what we want it to do. And we want it to do whatever it does faster. Here’s a quick thought experiment注2: Name one technological
task you wish could be performed slower. We want computers on NOW. Files downloaded NOW. Phones displaying info[即information] NOW.
But impatience is not just about 17)acceleration. It’s about 18)agitation. Ants in the pants. 19)Edginess,
20)rashness, 21)impetuousness.
We: 22)Clamor for more safety in the skies, then complain when security takes too long—and is
inconvenient. Can’t take the time to drive to the video store or to wait for a DVD to arrive in the mail, so we order them 23)on demand or stream them on the Web—well, clips of movies at least.
Impatience as a Virtue
Whoa now. 24)Cool your jets. Impatience isn’t
always a bad thing.
Sure, it can be the sign of a troubled mind: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention puts
impatience at the top of the list of 25)symptoms in
diagnosing someone with 26)traumatic brain injuries.
But impatience can also be the sign of a healthy mind: Wired注3 magazine lists impatience as a desirable
characteristic in the “27)X-factor” that leads to success.
Some of our most 28)revered leaders are impatient people. Bill and Melinda Gates describe themselves as impatient optimists. “The world is definitely getting
better,” Melinda Gates says publicly. “But it’s not getting better fast enough.”
And here is President Obama on the subject. “The people are frustrated, they’re anxious, they’re scared about the future,” he said. “And they have a right to be impatient about the pace of change. I’m impatient.”
Impatience can be a virtue. The country’s Founding
Fathers were an impatient 29)lot. In an 1822 letter, John Adams described the writing of the Declaration of
Independence: “We were all 30)in haste,” he said of the
31)drafting committee, which included Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin. “Congress was impatient.”
The fact is: Everybody would be impatient if
delayed and frustrated long enough. It’s only when people have an 32)excessively 33)short fuse and get impatient quickly that someone’s impatience becomes a problem for others.
Poorly thought out impatience can cause grief rather than relieve it.
In other words, imprudence, not impatience, is the problem.
你总是急急忙忙的。你只想知道这篇文章在讲什么，想马上知道。
好啦，好啦。这篇文章讲的是急躁。你不必费尽千辛万苦读完整篇文章，以下是本文的最后一句话：
换句话说，问题的本质是轻率，而不是急躁。
回见
过去几十年来，美国发展成一个急躁的国度。我们要求复杂问题得到快速解决——从经济到疾病，以及个人关系。
我们：闪电约会；吃快餐；在杂货店使用自助结账系统；为连夜运送货物支付额外费用；交通灯一转绿就鸣喇叭；说话只说半句；做很多事情却从不完成……
我们用140字（或更少）来发微博，有时觉得这样的微博都嫌太长了。我们抄近路，走捷径，改发短信。
我们也对……耐心等等……“急躁”感到不耐烦。
多产作家瓦莱丽·弗兰克尔道出了许多美国人的心声。她在《悦己》杂志2010年3月号中写道：“我总以为自己的急躁性格是我获得成功的一个标志——所有冲劲十足又有才智的大忙人都具备这一点。”但是，它也许是“一个我需要改正过来的坏习惯，不仅是为了我的家庭，也是为了自身的幸福”。
研究表明，急躁可能给人带来危害。
《美国医学会杂志》在2003年指出，急躁可能增加年轻人患上精神紧张的危险。2004年，《生物社会科学杂志》中的一份报告发现美国人越发急躁的性格与肥胖症患者增多不无关系——美国人在花掉更多收入、存款日渐减少的同时，其体重也在不断增长。而《科学日报》也在2007年报道称，在处理金钱问题时，急躁的人往往比不上有耐心的人精明能干——也因此更容易造成财务不稳定。
换句话说，急躁会使人变得紧张、肥胖而且身无分文。弗兰克尔则说，一个好消息就是急躁只是一种行为表现，并非性格特征。她注意到这只是“活在一个混乱不堪的世界”的产物，于是开始着手纠正自己焦躁的处事
方式。
“我还会感到急躁吗？当然会！但是我已经学着更好地控制急躁情绪，不再轻易发怒，”她说。这能让她“记住长长的排队等候队伍和糟糕的服务只是不完美的普通生活中的一部分。我并不特殊，因此没有可能免受日常的厌烦事儿之苦。每个人都需要面对”。
现在，就现在
有些人认为国人的急躁性子应该归咎于科技。一位专栏作家这样写道：“科技让我们变得急躁不已。我们不再享受停下来的感觉，也不喜欢记忆。我们就像加速赛车手那样开机登录、收看节目、拨号上网，然后快速关机，在自己身后留下一缕盘旋的青烟，抛下历史的尘埃、记忆、观念和人。”
然而科技只是按照我们的要求发展，而我们则希望它做什么都越来越快。来一个快速的思维实验：说出一个你希望能慢点完成的科技任务。我们想要电脑马上就开机，文件即时完成下载，电话也要立刻显示信息。
但是急躁并不是加速就能解决的。它是一种焦虑感，让人坐立不安、急躁难耐、轻率鲁莽。
我们要求提高空中安全指数，却又抱怨安检时间太长——而且极其不便。等不及驱车到音像店买DVD，也等不及邮局送货上门，于是我们在网上预订或者观看影片——呃，至少看到电影片段也行。
急躁也可以是好事
吃惊吧。冷静冷静，急躁也不总是一件坏事。
当然了，它可能是脑袋出问题的迹象：（美国）食品及药物管理局将“急躁”列为诊断创伤性脑损伤的首要症状。
不过，急躁也可以是健康思想的表现：美国《连线》杂志将急躁列入通往成功的重要因素中应该具备的性格特征。
在最受尊敬的领导人当中，有好些人是急性子。比尔和梅琳达·盖茨将自己描述为急性的乐观主义者。“世界确实变得越来越美好，”梅琳达·盖茨公开宣称。“但其变美的速度还不够快。”
让我们来听听奥巴马总统怎么看待这个问题。“人们倍感挫折，他们非常担忧，害怕未来，”他说。“他们有权对改革的步伐感到不耐烦。我也急躁不已。”
急躁也可以是一种美德。这个国家的开国元勋们都是一群急躁的家伙。在一封写于1822年的信中，约翰·亚当斯如此描述《独立宣言》的起草：“我们全都匆匆忙忙，”他这么形容包括托马斯·杰佛逊和本杰明·富兰克林在内的起草委员会。“整个国会都急躁不安。”
事实上，如果拖延或受挫的时间太长，每个人都会变得急躁。只有在人们的急性子走向极端，太容易变得不耐烦的情况下，一个人的急躁才有可能成为别人的麻烦。
不经大脑的一味急躁更可能带来不幸而非减免痛苦。
换句话说，问题的关键是轻率，而不是急躁。
You’re in a hurry. You need to know what this story is about. 1)Stat.
Okay, okay. It’s about impatience. And, so you don’t have to 2)wade through the whole thing, here is the last sentence of the story:
In other words, 3)imprudence, not impatience, is the problem.
C U L8R[即later]
In the past few decades we have become the
Impatient Nation. We want quick answers to complex problems—the economy, diseases, personal relations.
We: Speed date. Eat fast food. Use the
self-checkout lines in grocery stores. Pay extra for overnight shipping. 4)Honk when the light turns green. Speak in half sentences. Start things but don’t fin[即finish]...
We twitter stories in 140 characters or less, yet some tweets are too long. We 5)cut corners, take shortcuts. We txt[即text].
We have also become impatient with...wait for it...impatience.
Speaking for many Americans, 6)prolific author Valerie Frankel wrote in the March 2010 issue of Self magazine: “I’ve always imagined that my impatient
nature is a sign of my success—something that all busy, hard-driving, intelligent people share.” But it might be “a bad habit I needed to break, not only for my family but also for the sake of my own
7)well-being.”
Studies show that impatience can be harmful.
In 2003, the Journal of the American Medical Association pointed out that impatience may lead to increased risk of 8)hypertension among young adults. A 2004 report in the Journal of Biosocial
Science linked a rise in American impatience with an increase in 9)obesity—as Americans spent more of their income, and saved less, they also gained weight. And in 2007, Science Daily reported that, impatient people may not be as 10)savvy as patient people when it comes to money matters—and so run a greater risk of financial insecurity.
In other words, impatience can make people tense, fat and broke. The good news, according to Frankel, is that impatience is a behavior, not a
personality characteristic. It is an 11)outgrowth of “living in a chaotic world,” she observed. And so she set out to mend her 12)fretful ways.
“Do I still feel impatient? Of course! But I have been
better about not letting impatient-related rage take over,” she says. This helps “to remember
that long lines and bad
service are part of ordinary, imperfect life. I’m not special, and therefore, not 13)exempt
from daily 14)irritation. Everyone has to deal with it.”
Now, Now
Some people blame our national impatience on
technology. A columnist writes, “Technology has made us impatient. We no longer enjoy pausing. Or remembering.
We log on, tune in, dial up and speed off like drag
racers注1, leaving in our 15)wake a 16)swirling cloud of
historical dust, memory, perspective and people.”
But technology only does what we want it to do. And we want it to do whatever it does faster. Here’s a quick thought experiment注2: Name one technological
task you wish could be performed slower. We want computers on NOW. Files downloaded NOW. Phones displaying info[即information] NOW.
But impatience is not just about 17)acceleration. It’s about 18)agitation. Ants in the pants. 19)Edginess,
20)rashness, 21)impetuousness.
We: 22)Clamor for more safety in the skies, then complain when security takes too long—and is
inconvenient. Can’t take the time to drive to the video store or to wait for a DVD to arrive in the mail, so we order them 23)on demand or stream them on the Web—well, clips of movies at least.
Impatience as a Virtue
Whoa now. 24)Cool your jets. Impatience isn’t
always a bad thing.
Sure, it can be the sign of a troubled mind: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention puts
impatience at the top of the list of 25)symptoms in
diagnosing someone with 26)traumatic brain injuries.
But impatience can also be the sign of a healthy mind: Wired注3 magazine lists impatience as a desirable
characteristic in the “27)X-factor” that leads to success.
Some of our most 28)revered leaders are impatient people. Bill and Melinda Gates describe themselves as impatient optimists. “The world is definitely getting
better,” Melinda Gates says publicly. “But it’s not getting better fast enough.”
And here is President Obama on the subject. “The people are frustrated, they’re anxious, they’re scared about the future,” he said. “And they have a right to be impatient about the pace of change. I’m impatient.”
Impatience can be a virtue. The country’s Founding
Fathers were an impatient 29)lot. In an 1822 letter, John Adams described the writing of the Declaration of
Independence: “We were all 30)in haste,” he said of the
31)drafting committee, which included Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin. “Congress was impatient.”
The fact is: Everybody would be impatient if
delayed and frustrated long enough. It’s only when people have an 32)excessively 33)short fuse and get impatient quickly that someone’s impatience becomes a problem for others.
Poorly thought out impatience can cause grief rather than relieve it.
In other words, imprudence, not impatience, is the problem.
你总是急急忙忙的。你只想知道这篇文章在讲什么，想马上知道。
好啦，好啦。这篇文章讲的是急躁。你不必费尽千辛万苦读完整篇文章，以下是本文的最后一句话：
换句话说，问题的本质是轻率，而不是急躁。
回见
过去几十年来，美国发展成一个急躁的国度。我们要求复杂问题得到快速解决——从经济到疾病，以及个人关系。
我们：闪电约会；吃快餐；在杂货店使用自助结账系统；为连夜运送货物支付额外费用；交通灯一转绿就鸣喇叭；说话只说半句；做很多事情却从不完成……
我们用140字（或更少）来发微博，有时觉得这样的微博都嫌太长了。我们抄近路，走捷径，改发短信。
我们也对……耐心等等……“急躁”感到不耐烦。
多产作家瓦莱丽·弗兰克尔道出了许多美国人的心声。她在《悦己》杂志2010年3月号中写道：“我总以为自己的急躁性格是我获得成功的一个标志——所有冲劲十足又有才智的大忙人都具备这一点。”但是，它也许是“一个我需要改正过来的坏习惯，不仅是为了我的家庭，也是为了自身的幸福”。
研究表明，急躁可能给人带来危害。
《美国医学会杂志》在2003年指出，急躁可能增加年轻人患上精神紧张的危险。2004年，《生物社会科学杂志》中的一份报告发现美国人越发急躁的性格与肥胖症患者增多不无关系——美国人在花掉更多收入、存款日渐减少的同时，其体重也在不断增长。而《科学日报》也在2007年报道称，在处理金钱问题时，急躁的人往往比不上有耐心的人精明能干——也因此更容易造成财务不稳定。
换句话说，急躁会使人变得紧张、肥胖而且身无分文。弗兰克尔则说，一个好消息就是急躁只是一种行为表现，并非性格特征。她注意到这只是“活在一个混乱不堪的世界”的产物，于是开始着手纠正自己焦躁的处事
方式。
“我还会感到急躁吗？当然会！但是我已经学着更好地控制急躁情绪，不再轻易发怒，”她说。这能让她“记住长长的排队等候队伍和糟糕的服务只是不完美的普通生活中的一部分。我并不特殊，因此没有可能免受日常的厌烦事儿之苦。每个人都需要面对”。
现在，就现在
有些人认为国人的急躁性子应该归咎于科技。一位专栏作家这样写道：“科技让我们变得急躁不已。我们不再享受停下来的感觉，也不喜欢记忆。我们就像加速赛车手那样开机登录、收看节目、拨号上网，然后快速关机，在自己身后留下一缕盘旋的青烟，抛下历史的尘埃、记忆、观念和人。”
然而科技只是按照我们的要求发展，而我们则希望它做什么都越来越快。来一个快速的思维实验：说出一个你希望能慢点完成的科技任务。我们想要电脑马上就开机，文件即时完成下载，电话也要立刻显示信息。
但是急躁并不是加速就能解决的。它是一种焦虑感，让人坐立不安、急躁难耐、轻率鲁莽。
我们要求提高空中安全指数，却又抱怨安检时间太长——而且极其不便。等不及驱车到音像店买DVD，也等不及邮局送货上门，于是我们在网上预订或者观看影片——呃，至少看到电影片段也行。
急躁也可以是好事
吃惊吧。冷静冷静，急躁也不总是一件坏事。
当然了，它可能是脑袋出问题的迹象：（美国）食品及药物管理局将“急躁”列为诊断创伤性脑损伤的首要症状。
不过，急躁也可以是健康思想的表现：美国《连线》杂志将急躁列入通往成功的重要因素中应该具备的性格特征。
在最受尊敬的领导人当中，有好些人是急性子。比尔和梅琳达·盖茨将自己描述为急性的乐观主义者。“世界确实变得越来越美好，”梅琳达·盖茨公开宣称。“但其变美的速度还不够快。”
让我们来听听奥巴马总统怎么看待这个问题。“人们倍感挫折，他们非常担忧，害怕未来，”他说。“他们有权对改革的步伐感到不耐烦。我也急躁不已。”
急躁也可以是一种美德。这个国家的开国元勋们都是一群急躁的家伙。在一封写于1822年的信中，约翰·亚当斯如此描述《独立宣言》的起草：“我们全都匆匆忙忙，”他这么形容包括托马斯·杰佛逊和本杰明·富兰克林在内的起草委员会。“整个国会都急躁不安。”
事实上，如果拖延或受挫的时间太长，每个人都会变得急躁。只有在人们的急性子走向极端，太容易变得不耐烦的情况下，一个人的急躁才有可能成为别人的麻烦。
不经大脑的一味急躁更可能带来不幸而非减免痛苦。
换句话说，问题的关键是轻率，而不是急躁。