新视野大学英语听说教程2 06b

 　　Judge by Appearances
A standard criticism of sociological research is that it goes to great lengths to prove what most people with common sense already know. Without exactly taking sides for or against that criticism ,Iwant to describe a sociological exercise that might seem to validate¹ it--exceptthat, for me and a classmate (and maybe for some who read this account),the experience made a common claim come alive.
During spring break from a local colllege,my friend and I went downtown to shop.First, however ,we made ourselves virtually unrecognizable to our friends and even to our famliies.We wore a faded cotton shirt over a T-shirtand a wrinkled skirt over sweat pants.Iwore a wool hat that concealed² my hair and an unfashionable coat and glasses with sunshades that clipped on.
The aim was to look like street people and to observe what difference that made in the way other people responded to us.We were also prepared to act out some mildly unusual behaviors that might speak of some emotional problems,without appearing seriously disturbed or dangerous,As it turned out,there was no need for dramatics;people turned us off or turned us out on the basis of appearance alone.
Our first stop (after parking our cars near the railroad tracks)was in the bargain store of a local charity,where we politely asked access to a bathroom and were refused.Next we entered the lobby of a large hotel,where we asked for a coffee shhop and a bathroom.The doorman said,"you must go to the twentieth floor."We weren't up to trying our act at an exclusiverestaurant,so we wandered around the first floor and left.From there we went to a second-hand³ shop,where we more or less blended with the customers, and then to the upper-scale stores and coffee shops during the lunch hour.
It was predudice time. Some of the children we encountered stared, pointed⁴, and laughed; adults gave ue long, doubting looks. Clerks in stores followed our track to watch our every move. In a lunchroom a second assistant hurried to the side of the cashier, where they took my $2 checkwithout askingfor ID; it seemed worth that price to have us out the door. At one doorway⁵ a clerk physically⁶ blocked the entrance apparently⁷ to discourage our entry.
We had money to cover small purchases, and , apart from wearing downscale clothing, we did nothing in any of these settings to draw attention to ourselves; we merely shopped quietly in our acccustomed manner. At one establishment we did blow our cover when we ordered French rolls with two special coffees; that may have been too far out of character for"bag ladies". Elsewhere we encountered ribbing, imitating, lack of trust, and rude stares.
So what did we learn? Mostly what everybody knows:People judge by appearences. Just looking poor brings with it prejudice, accompanied by removal of much of the social grated. Laking the culturally acceptable symbols of belonging in this setting, we became, to a degree, objects, with less inherent dignity as persons.
There was, however, one surprise--more accurately⁸, a shoke. It became clear most stronfly at the shop I mentioned earlier, the one where a clerk conspicuously⁹ positioned herself in the entrance on seeing ua. I had just noticed the place and had turned to my companion, saying,"I've never seen thie store. Let's go in."She looked at me with alarm;"You're not really going there, are you?"
I knew what she meant and shared her feeling. The place felt out of bounds for us. In a very few hours, we found ourselves acceping and internalizing the superficial and prejudiced judgments¹⁰ of ourselves that prevailed among the people we meet; we catalogued ourselves. Undoubtedly¹¹, it's a good lesson to learn, maybe especially for sociologists.

1 validate   

vt.（法律）使有效，使生效

参考例句：

• You need an official signature to validate the order.你要有正式的签字，这张汇票才能生效。
• In order to validate the agreement,both parties sign it.为使协议有效，双方在上面签了字。

2 concealed   

a.隐藏的，隐蔽的

参考例句：

• The paintings were concealed beneath a thick layer of plaster. 那些画被隐藏在厚厚的灰泥层下面。
• I think he had a gun concealed about his person. 我认为他当时身上藏有一支枪。

3 second-hand   

adj.用过的，旧的，二手的

参考例句：

• I got this book by chance at a second-hand bookshop.我赶巧在一家旧书店里买到这本书。
• They will put all these second-hand goods up for sale.他们将把这些旧货全部公开出售。

4 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

5 doorway   

n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径

参考例句：

• They huddled in the shop doorway to shelter from the rain.他们挤在商店门口躲雨。
• Mary suddenly appeared in the doorway.玛丽突然出现在门口。

6 physically   

adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律

参考例句：

• He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服，心绪也很乱。
• Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。

7 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

8 accurately   

adv.准确地，精确地

参考例句：

• It is hard to hit the ball accurately.准确地击中球很难。
• Now scientists can forecast the weather accurately.现在科学家们能准确地预报天气。

9 conspicuously   

ad.明显地，惹人注目地

参考例句：

• France remained a conspicuously uneasy country. 法国依然是个明显不太平的国家。
• She figured conspicuously in the public debate on the issue. 她在该问题的公开辩论中很引人注目。

10 judgments   

判断( judgment的名词复数 )； 鉴定； 评价； 审判

参考例句：

• A peculiar austerity marked his judgments of modern life. 他对现代生活的批评带着一种特殊的苛刻。
• He is swift with his judgments. 他判断迅速。

11 undoubtedly   

adv.确实地，无疑地

参考例句：

• It is undoubtedly she who has said that.这话明明是她说的。
• He is undoubtedly the pride of China.毫无疑问他是中国的骄傲。