托福阅读背景材料：天真与“无鞋”

 　　Researchers at the University of Kansas say that people can accurately¹ judge 90 percent of a stranger's personality simply by looking at the person's shoes.

　　堪萨斯大学的研究人员称，只需看看一个人穿的鞋，就能准确地判断陌生人的90%的性格。

　　"Shoes convey a thin but useful slice of information about their wearers," the authors wrote in the new study published in the Journal of Research in Personality. "Shoes serve a practical purpose, and also serve as nonverbal cues with symbolic² messages. People tend to pay attention to the shoes they and others wear."这项新研究发表在《个性研究杂志》上，作者写道：“鞋子可传达其主人的细微但有用的信息。鞋子有其实际用途，但也作为非言语信号传递着象征性信息。人们一般都会注意自己和他人穿的鞋。”

　　Medical Daily notes that the number of detailed³ personality traits detected in the study include a person's general age, their gender⁴, income, political affiliation⁵, and other personality traits, including someone's emotional stability.

　　《医学日报》指出，研究发现鞋子可透露的个性特征细节包括一个人的大概年龄、这个人的性别、收入、政治立场，还有包括情绪稳定性在内的其他个性特征。

　　Lead researcher Omri Gillath said the judgments⁶ were based on the style, cost, color and condition of someone's shoes. In the study, 63 University of Kansas students looked at pictures showing 208 different pairs of shoes worn by the study's participants. Volunteers in the study were photographed in their most commonly worn shoes, and then filled out a personality questionnaire.

　　首席研究员欧姆瑞·吉拉斯说，这些判断是基于所穿的鞋的样式、价格、颜色和新旧程度做出的。在研究过程中，63名堪萨斯大学的学生观看了研究参与者穿的208双不同的鞋的图片。参加该研究的志愿者都是穿着自己平日里最常穿的鞋拍的照，然后他们填写了一份性格调查问卷。

　　So, what do your shoes say about your personality?

　　那么，你的鞋反映了你的什么性格特点呢?

　　Some of the results were expected: People with higher incomes most commonly wore expensive shoes, and flashier footwear was typically worn by extroverts⁷.

　　部分研究结果是在意料之中的：收入高的人大多穿价格昂贵的鞋子，而颜色鲜亮的鞋子通常是性格外向的人穿的。

　　However, some of the more specific results are intriguing⁸. For example, "practical and functional⁹" shoes were generally worn by more "agreeable" people, while ankle boots were more closely aligned¹⁰ with "aggressive" personalities¹¹.

　　不过，一些更具体的研究结果则十分有趣。例如，“实用、功能性的”鞋子通常是性格“随和”的人穿的，而短靴的主人则大多是性格“强势”的人。

　　The strangest of all may be that those who wore "uncomfortable looking" shoes tend to have "calm" personalities.

　　最奇怪的也许是那些爱穿“看起来不舒服的”鞋子的人竟然性格一般比较“沉着冷静”。

　　And if you have several pairs of new shoes or take exceptional care of them, you may suffer from "attachment¹² anxiety," spending an inordinate¹³ amount of time worrying about what other people think of your appearance.

　　此外，如果你有好几双新鞋子或者格外爱惜保养这些新鞋，那么你可能患上了“依恋焦虑症”，因为你花了过多的时间来担心其他人对你外表的看法。

　　There was even a political calculation in the mix with more liberal types wearing "shabbier and less expensive" shoes.

　　研究甚至还发现了鞋子和政治立场之间的关系，那些穿“比较破旧和廉价”的鞋子的人更可能是自由党派。

　　The researchers noted¹⁴ that some people will choose shoe styles to mask their actual personality traits, but researchers noted that volunteers were also likely to be unaware¹⁵ that their footwear choices were revealing deep insights into their personalities.

　　研究人员指出，有些人会通过选择鞋子的样式来掩饰他们真实的性格特征，不过研究人员也指出，志愿者们一般都不会意识到自己对鞋的选择会让人窥见性格深处。

 

1 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。

2 symbolic   

adj.象征性的，符号的，象征主义的

参考例句：

• It is symbolic of the fighting spirit of modern womanhood.它象征着现代妇女的战斗精神。
• The Christian ceremony of baptism is a symbolic act.基督教的洗礼仪式是一种象征性的做法。

3 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。

4 gender   

n.（生理上的）性，（名词、代词等的）性

参考例句：

• French differs from English in having gender for all nouns.法语不同于英语，所有的名词都有性。
• Women are sometimes denied opportunities solely because of their gender.妇女有时仅仅因为性别而无法获得种种机会。

5 affiliation   

n.联系，联合

参考例句：

• There is no affiliation between our organization and theirs,even though our names are similar.尽管两个组织的名称相似，但我们之间并没有关系。
• The kidnappers had no affiliation with any militant group.这些绑架者与任何军事组织都没有紧密联系。

6 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。

7 extroverts   

性格外向的人( extrovert的名词复数 )； 活跃、愉快、爱交际的人

参考例句：

• In the second half, the students were criticized. Extroverts were unfazed. 在后半部分，举不动时学生要受批评，外向性格的学生表现出不满。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 大脑与疾病
• Extroverts prefer lively conversation to brooding on the meaning of life. 性格外向的人喜欢高谈阔论，而不愿思索人生的意义。

8 intriguing   

adj.有趣的；迷人的v.搞阴谋诡计(intrigue的现在分词)；激起…的好奇心

参考例句：

• These discoveries raise intriguing questions. 这些发现带来了非常有趣的问题。
• It all sounds very intriguing. 这些听起来都很有趣。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 functional   

adj.为实用而设计的，具备功能的，起作用的

参考例句：

• The telephone was out of order,but is functional now.电话刚才坏了，但现在可以用了。
• The furniture is not fancy,just functional.这些家具不是摆着好看的，只是为了实用。

10 aligned   

adj.对齐的，均衡的

参考例句：

• Make sure the shelf is aligned with the top of the cupboard.务必使搁架与橱柜顶端对齐。

11 personalities   

n. 诽谤，（对某人容貌、性格等所进行的）人身攻击； 人身攻击；人格, 个性, 名人( personality的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There seemed to be a degree of personalities in her remarks.她话里有些人身攻击的成分。
• Personalities are not in good taste in general conversation.在一般的谈话中诽谤他人是不高尚的。

12 attachment   

n.附属物，附件；依恋；依附

参考例句：

• She has a great attachment to her sister.她十分依恋她的姐姐。
• She's on attachment to the Ministry of Defense.她现在隶属于国防部。

13 inordinate   

adj.无节制的；过度的

参考例句：

• The idea of this gave me inordinate pleasure.我想到这一点感到非常高兴。
• James hints that his heroine's demands on life are inordinate.詹姆斯暗示他的女主人公对于人生过于苛求。

14 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

15 unaware   

a.不知道的，未意识到的

参考例句：

• They were unaware that war was near. 他们不知道战争即将爆发。
• I was unaware of the man's presence. 我没有察觉到那人在场。