中英双语新闻——243 为何网络多“暴民”？

 　　Mi Lan loves to buy clothes from Taobao. It saves time and sometimes you can find really amazing bargains.

 

　　米兰（音译）喜欢在淘宝上买衣服。这既节省时间，有时你也会发现真正的惊喜折扣。

 

　　After a recent online shopping spree, Mi took photos of some of her most satisfying purchases and uploaded them to a lifestyle forum¹ on Tianya.cn. The 25-year-old hadn’t expected it would be the beginning of a nightmare.

 

　　在最近的一次淘宝血拼之后，米兰用照片拍下一些自己最为满意的购物成果，并将它们上传到天涯社区的生活论坛上。25岁的她没有想到这将是噩梦的开始。

 

　　The comments Mi received were mean. “You call this fashion? How old are you? 50?”, read one entry. Another accused Mi of advertising² for these clothes: “Get out of here with your ugly goods! Don’t waste people’s time!” Yet another comment questioned Mi’s financial situation, saying the clothes looked cheap but that even poor people should have a better fashion sense.

 

　　米兰收到的评论都是些刻薄的话语。一条评论写道：“你把这叫做时尚？你多大了？50岁吗？”；还有人指责米兰是在为这些衣服打广告：“带着你那些难看的衣服滚出去！不要浪费人们的时间！”；而更有甚者质疑米兰的经济状况，表示这些衣服看起来很廉价，就连穷人也比她有时尚品味。

 

　　“I just wanted to share my online shopping experience,” said a deeply mortified³ Mi, who deleted her photos from the website the next day. “But now I’ve lost confidence in my image. None of my friends told me before that I dressed in bad taste. Why are people so nasty online?”

 

　　对此，米兰十分伤心，第二天她删除了网站上的所有照片。她说：“我只想分享一下自己的网购经验，但现在我对自己的形象彻底丧失了自信。从没有朋友说我穿衣品味很差。网友们为何如此恶毒？”

 

　　Why? We used to think that people are rude online because hiding behind anonymity⁴, we feel like we can get away with anything. But since the rise of social networking sites, we are not as anonymous⁵ as we used to be.

 

　　为何会这样？我们过去认为网络暴民的产生是因为有匿名作掩护，我们认为自己可以为所欲为。但在社交网络崛起之后，我们也不再是匿名用户了。

 

　　Still, rudeness prevails. Sina’s Weibo, for example, requires users to register with their real identity, yet people do not shy away from using harsh words whenever they disagree with each other. It is worse with pundits⁶ and so-called “public intellectuals”, some of who might even resort to personal attacks. Politeness and good manners do not get you noticed on micro blogs, opinionated and provocative⁷ words will.

 

　　而“网络暴行”依旧十分普遍。例如，新浪微博要求用户实名制注册，而当人们出现意见分歧时，仍是恶语相向。而对于一些权威人士以及所谓的“公知”而言，这一现象更甚，他们中的一些人甚至会采取人身攻击的方式。微博上想赚眼球，靠的不是礼貌与教养，而是那些自以为是、挑衅式的言论。

 

　　Losing self-control

 

　　难以自制

 

　　Scientists and researchers have tried to find out why we misbehave when using social networking sites. According to a Wall Street Journal article, recent research suggests that browsing⁸ social networking sites lowers our self-control.

 

　　科学家和研究人员试图解密我们为何在使用社交媒体时会胡作非为。《华尔街日报》的一篇文章称，最新研究显示，浏览社交网站会降低我们的自控能力。

 

　　This is because most of us present an enhanced image of ourselves on Facebook or Weibo. This positive image–and the encouragement we derive⁹ from positive comments–boosts our self-esteem.

 

　　这是因为我们中的大多数人在Facebook或者微博上呈现的都是放大了的个人形象。这种积极形象以及我们从正面评论中获取的鼓励，使我们变得自满。

 

　　But when we have an inflated¹⁰ sense of self, we tend to show poor self-control. It’s a bit like drinking: alcohol might make us feel good, but too much booze impairs¹¹ our judgment¹² and makes us lose our self-control.

 

　　而当我们自我膨胀时，往往会表现是极差的自制力。这有点像喝酒一样：酒精有可能让我们感觉良好，但狂饮无度就会破坏我们的判断力，令我们失控。

 

　　Keith Wilcox, assistant professor of marketing¹³ at Columbia Business School and co-author of the study, explains: “You feel good about yourself so you feel a sense of entitlement. And you want to protect that enhanced view, which might be why people are lashing¹⁴ out so strongly at others who don’t share their opinions.”

 

　　哥伦比亚大学商学院市场营销学助理教授凯斯?威尔克斯是这项研究的发起人之一。他解释说：“因为自我感觉良好，所以你觉得理所当然。而且你想保护这种良好形象，这或许就是人们为何会猛烈抨击和自己意见相左人士的原因吧。”

 

　　We’re also less inhibited¹⁵ online because we don’t have to see the reaction of the person we’re addressing. Many people forget that they’re speaking out loud when they communicate online, especially when posting from a smartphone. “You are publishing but you don’t feel like you are,” says Sherry Turkle, professor of social studies of science and technology at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, US. “So what if you say ‘I hate you’ on this tiny little thing? It’s like a toy. It doesn’t feel consequential,” she told The Wall Street Journal in an interview.

 

　　我们在网上肆无忌惮，是因为我们不必看到说话对象的反应。很多人在线交流，特别是使用智能手机时，忘记了自己这是在公开场合发表言论。。麻省理工学院科技社会学研究教授雪莉?特克表示：“你在公开发表言论，但自己可能没意识到。”她在接受《华尔街日报》采访时表示：“所以如果就因为件小事，你说‘我恨透你了’，那又如何呢？这就好比一件无关紧要的东西，没什么大碍。”

 

　　Many social networking sites promise us a place where we are going to make friends. “If you get something hurtful there, you’re not prepared. You feel doubly affronted¹⁶, so you strike back,” Turkle says. Thus starts the vicious circle.

 

　　很多社交网站都承诺给我们一个交友平台。雪莉?特克说：“一旦你在那受到伤害，便会觉得措手不及。你会感觉受到了双重侮辱，所以会无情地反击。”恶性循环由此开始。

1 forum   

n.论坛，讨论会

参考例句：

• They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
• The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。

2 advertising   

n.广告业；广告活动 a.广告的；广告业务的

参考例句：

• Can you give me any advice on getting into advertising? 你能指点我如何涉足广告业吗?
• The advertising campaign is aimed primarily at young people. 这个广告宣传运动主要是针对年轻人的。

3 mortified   

v.使受辱( mortify的过去式和过去分词 )；伤害（人的感情）；克制；抑制（肉体、情感等）

参考例句：

• She was mortified to realize he had heard every word she said. 她意识到自己的每句话都被他听到了，直羞得无地自容。
• The knowledge of future evils mortified the present felicities. 对未来苦难的了解压抑了目前的喜悦。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 anonymity   

n.the condition of being anonymous

参考例句：

• Names of people in the book were changed to preserve anonymity. 为了姓名保密，书中的人用的都是化名。
• Our company promises to preserve the anonymity of all its clients. 我们公司承诺不公开客户的姓名。

5 anonymous   

adj.无名的；匿名的；无特色的

参考例句：

• Sending anonymous letters is a cowardly act.寄匿名信是懦夫的行为。
• The author wishes to remain anonymous.作者希望姓名不公开。

6 pundits   

n.某一学科的权威，专家( pundit的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The pundits disagree on the best way of dealing with the problem. 如何妥善处理这一问题，专家众说纷纭。 来自辞典例句
• That did not stop Chinese pundits from making a fuss over it. 这并没有阻止中国的博学之士对此大惊小怪。 来自互联网

7 provocative   

adj.挑衅的，煽动的，刺激的，挑逗的

参考例句：

• She wore a very provocative dress.她穿了一件非常性感的裙子。
• His provocative words only fueled the argument further.他的挑衅性讲话只能使争论进一步激化。

8 browsing   

v.吃草( browse的现在分词 )；随意翻阅；（在商店里）随便看看；（在计算机上）浏览信息

参考例句：

• He sits browsing over[through] a book. 他坐着翻阅书籍。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Cattle is browsing in the field. 牛正在田里吃草。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 derive   

v.取得；导出；引申；来自；源自；出自

参考例句：

• We derive our sustenance from the land.我们从土地获取食物。
• We shall derive much benefit from reading good novels.我们将从优秀小说中获得很大好处。

10 inflated   

adj.（价格）飞涨的；（通货）膨胀的；言过其实的；充了气的v.使充气（于轮胎、气球等）( inflate的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）膨胀；（使）通货膨胀；物价上涨

参考例句：

• He has an inflated sense of his own importance. 他自视过高。
• They all seem to take an inflated view of their collective identity. 他们对自己的集体身份似乎都持有一种夸大的看法。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 impairs   

v.损害，削弱( impair的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Smoking impairs our health. 吸烟会损害我们的健康。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Almost anything that impairs liver function can cause hepatitis. 任何有损于肝功能的因素，几乎都会引起肝炎。 来自辞典例句

12 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。

13 marketing   

n.行销，在市场的买卖，买东西

参考例句：

• They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。
• He often goes marketing.他经常去市场做生意。

14 lashing   

n.鞭打；痛斥；大量；许多v.鞭打( lash的现在分词 )；煽动；紧系；怒斥

参考例句：

• The speaker was lashing the crowd. 演讲人正在煽动人群。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The rain was lashing the windows. 雨急打着窗子。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 inhibited   

a.拘谨的，拘束的

参考例句：

• Boys are often more inhibited than girls about discussing their problems. 男孩子往往不如女孩子敢于谈论自己的问题。
• Having been laughed at for his lameness,the boy became shy and inhibited. 那男孩因跛脚被人讥笑，变得羞怯而压抑。

16 affronted   

adj.被侮辱的，被冒犯的v.勇敢地面对( affront的过去式和过去分词 )；相遇

参考例句：

• He hoped they would not feel affronted if they were not invited . 他希望如果他们没有获得邀请也不要感到受辱。
• Affronted at his impertinence,she stared at him coldly and wordlessly. 被他的无礼而冒犯，她冷冷地、无言地盯着他。 来自《简明英汉词典》