30%美国人宁愿剁手指也要上网！

 Americans love the Internet. Some love it so much that they'd rather chop off a finger than stay offline forever, according to a new survey.

　　美国人酷爱互联网。最新的一项调查显示，有些美国人甚至爱到宁愿躲掉一根手指也不愿意今后永远不上网。

　　In March, researchers at AT&T asked over 2,000 Americans what they'd give up to stay connected, and people admitted that they'd part with some pretty essential things. Their answers, which are meant to be more fun than scientific, illustrate¹ the extent to which the Internet has become a nearly indispensablefeature of modern life.

　　今年三月，AT&T(美国电话电报公司)向超过2000名美国人发起了一项调查，询问他们愿意放弃什么来换取互联网的永久入场券，很多人承认，他们愿意牺牲一些很重要的东西。他们的答案表明了互联网在现代生活中有多么不可或缺，比起科学性，这些答案的趣味性要更强。

　　A full third of respondents said they would sacrifice a digit². Another third said they'd ditch their sense of taste. More than 15 percent of the people surveyed said they'd forgo³ human interaction before ditching the Internet, and nearly 20 percent said they'd give up love.

　　三分之一的受访者表示愿意牺牲一根手指。另外三分之一愿意放弃他们的味觉。超过15%的人则宁愿放弃与人交流，而近20%的人表示愿意放弃爱情。

　　Over half said they would allow a stranger to die if it meant holding onto their Internet connection. And a measly 35 percent said they would give up the Internet if doing so would allow them to cure cancer.

　　超过一半的人愿意让一个陌生人失去生命以确保他们能继续上网。而仅有35%的人愿意放弃上网来换取治愈癌症的能力。

　　Overall, men reported being more willing than women to part with things like body parts or their morality. Younger respondents placed a higher value on Internet access than older folks.

　　总的来说，研究结果显示男性比女性更愿意放弃他们身体的一部分或放弃道德。互联网的价值在年轻受访者眼里要高于年长的受访者。

　　双语：30%美国人宁愿剁手指也要上网！

　　While these findings might suggest that Americans are cold-hearted Internet fiends, online access is actually essential for a growing number of everyday activities — from shopping to applying for jobs to communicating with friends. Not having access to the Internet, or the ability to use it well, can come with significant personal and financial costs.

　　虽然这些结果也许反映出美国人是多么冷酷无情的网络狂魔，但互联网确实在越来越多的日常活动中扮演着重要的角色——从购物到求职再到社交。无法上网或网络连接不佳会为生活和财产带来很严重的后果。

　　AT&T's findings are provocative⁴, but they should be taken with a grain (or a handful) of salt. The researchers polled people from all 50 states and the District of Columbia, but their findings aren't nationally representative, according to a company spokesperson, so it's impossible to tell whether the results reflect the opinions of Americans as a whole. It also didn't control for race, income or location.

　　AT&T的调查结果是令人震惊的，但也不能尽信。虽然受访者来自全部50个州和哥伦比亚特区，但公司的一名发言人称结果没有全国代表性，因此不能断定结果是否反映了全美国人的选择。调查也没有严格控制种族、收入、地域的比例。

　　In 2013, a similar study found that 85 percent of respondents would rather go without water than give up mobile apps. A 2015 Pew study painted a less extreme picture: It found that, for nearly 70 percent of Americans, not having Internet access at home would be a "major disadvantage" in finding a job and accessing important health data and other information.

　　2013年，曾有一个类似的调查显示85%的受访者宁愿生活中没有水也不愿放弃手机应用。而2015年皮尤研究中心的一项研究展现的结果却没有那么极端：调查表明，对近70%的美国人来说，家中不能上网对他们找工作、寻找重要医疗和其他信息而言都是一个“重大缺陷”。

1 illustrate   

v.举例说明，阐明；图解，加插图

参考例句：

• The company's bank statements illustrate its success.这家公司的银行报表说明了它的成功。
• This diagram will illustrate what I mean.这个图表可说明我的意思。

2 digit   

n.零到九的阿拉伯数字，手指，脚趾

参考例句：

• Her telephone number differs from mine by one digit.她的电话号码和我的只差一个数字。
• Many animals have five digits.许多动物有5趾。

3 forgo   

v.放弃，抛弃

参考例句：

• Time to prepare was a luxuary he would have to forgo.因为时间不够，他不得不放弃做准备工作。
• She would willingly forgo a birthday treat if only her warring parents would declare a truce.只要她的父母停止争吵，她愿意放弃生日宴请。

4 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。