英語聽力原文:
Psychologists tell us boundaries are healthy, that it's important to reveal yourself to friends, family and lovers in stages, at appropriate times. But few boundaries remain. The digital bread crumbs you leave everywhere make it easy for strangers to reconstruct who you are, where you are and what you like. In some cases, a simple goolge search can reveal what you think. Like it or not, increasingly we live in a world where you simply cannot keep a secret.
心理學(xué)家告訴我們和別人保持界限是健康的,而且在適當(dāng)?shù)臅r(shí)機(jī)逐步地向你的朋友、家人和戀人透露你的個(gè)人情況很重要。但是現(xiàn)在已經(jīng)沒有多少界限存在了。你處處留下的“數(shù)字面包碎屑”很容易讓陌生人推向出你是誰,你在哪里,你對(duì)什么感興趣。在有些情況下,一次簡單的Google搜索就可以暴露你的想法。無論我們喜歡與否,我們?cè)絹碓缴钤谝粋€(gè)無法保密的世界里。
The key question is: Does that matter?
問題的關(guān)鍵是:這很重要嗎?
For many Americans, the answer apparently is "no".
對(duì)于許多美國人來說,答案很顯然是“不重要”。
When opinion polls ask Americans about privacy, most say they are concerned about losing it. A survey found an overwhelming pessimism about privacy, with 60 percent of respondents saying they feel their privacy is "slipping away, and that bothers me."
在一次關(guān)于隱私的美國民意調(diào)查時(shí),大部分人很擔(dān)心失去它。有一項(xiàng)調(diào)查發(fā)現(xiàn),人們對(duì)于隱私的安全性非常地悲觀,60%的被調(diào)查者說他們感覺“隱私正離他們遠(yuǎn)去,這讓他們煩惱不已。”
But people say one thing and do another. Only a tiny fraction of Americans change any behaviors in an effort to preserve their privacy. Few people turn down a discount at tollbooths to avoid using the EZ-Pass system that can track automobile movements. And few turn down supermarket loyalty cards. Privacy economist Alessandro Acquits has run a series of tests that reveal people will surrender personal information like Social Security numbers just to get their hands on a pitiful 50-cents-off coupon.
但是人們言行不一。只有一小部分美國人改變自己的行為,以保護(hù)自己的隱私。很少有人會(huì)拒絕收費(fèi)站的打折,本來若是拒絕的話就可以避免使用能跟蹤汽車行蹤的 EZ-Pass系統(tǒng)。很少有人會(huì)拒絕超市的會(huì)員優(yōu)惠卡(積分卡)。隱私經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)家壓力山德羅·奎斯蒂進(jìn)行了一系列的測(cè)試,表明人們會(huì)透露像社??ㄌ?hào)這樣的個(gè)人信息,就只是為了能拿到微不足道的便宜50美分的優(yōu)惠券。
But privacy does matter — at least sometimes. It's like health: when you have it, you don't notice it. Only when it's gone do you wish you'd done more to protect it.
但是隱私的確很重要——至少有些時(shí)候是這樣。它就如同健康:當(dāng)你擁有它時(shí),你沒有注意它,當(dāng)你失去它后,你才后悔你沒有盡力保護(hù)好它。
英語詞匯整理:
1. crumb n. 碎屑,面包(或糕餅)屑
eg: I stood up, brushing crumbs from my trousers.
我站起來,撣去褲子上的食物碎屑。
短語:
to a crumb 精細(xì)地;精確地
crumb rubber 廢膠末
bread crumb 面包心;面包碎屑
2. apparently adv. 顯然地
eg: He sat at a different table, apparently without noticing her.
他在另一張桌邊坐下,顯然沒有注意到她。
短語:
aim apparently 明顯地以......為目標(biāo)
apparently drowned 溺水假死
3. respondent n. 應(yīng)答者,被告
eg: The court holds the respondent responsible for the losses.
仲裁庭認(rèn)為被告應(yīng)當(dāng)對(duì)損失負(fù)責(zé)。
短語:
respondent post 回貼
respondent will 答辯會(huì)
respondent bank 代理銀行
4. fraction n. 小部分
eg: Their economy is still a fraction of ours.
他們的經(jīng)濟(jì)仍然是我們的一部分。
短語:
a fraction of a second 頃刻,轉(zhuǎn)瞬間
not by a fraction 一點(diǎn)也不
to a fraction [口語]完全地;地地道道地
5. preserve v. 保護(hù),保存
eg: We will do everything to preserve peace.
我們將竭盡全力維護(hù)和平。
短語:
(Heaven) preserve us! (表示沮喪、反對(duì)等)我的天啊!
poach (trespass) on someone's preserves 侵犯某人的利益(或活動(dòng)范圍)
6. tollbooth n. 過路收費(fèi)亭
eg: I looked at the tollbooth. Inside it, the man was dancing.
我朝收費(fèi)亭里望去,有個(gè)人在里邊跳舞。
7. loyalty n. 忠誠,忠心
eg: His loyalty is above suspicion.
他的忠誠無可置疑。
短語:
out of loyalty to 出于對(duì)......的忠誠
loyalty to 對(duì)......的忠誠
8. surrender v. 交出,放棄
eg: He had to surrender the watches to the police in which the heroin was hidden.
他被迫向警察交出了那些藏有海洛因的手表。
短語:
surrender to 向...交出...;向......讓步/屈服
surrender at discretion 無條件投降
9. coupon n. 禮券,(購物)優(yōu)惠券
eg: Tear off this coupon and use it to get 25p off your next jar of coffee.
撕下這張優(yōu)待券,用它再買一瓶咖啡可省25便士。
短語:
coupon rate 票面利率
coupon bond 附息票債券
coupon code 優(yōu)惠碼
佳句采摘:
It's like health: when you have it, you don't notice it. Only when it's gone do you wish you'd done more to protect it.
它就如同健康:當(dāng)你擁有它時(shí),你沒有注意它,當(dāng)你失去它后,你才后悔你沒有盡力保護(hù)好它。