For years, psychologists have divided people into two basicpersonality types: introverts¹ and extroverts². But expertssuggest there's middle ground on the personality spectrum,and people refer to as "ambiverts" fall somewhere in between.

多年来心理学家一直把人的性格分成两种：内向型和外向型。不过有专家提出，在性格光谱中存在一种介于外向和内向之间的性格，人们称之为“中间性格”。

Ambiverts, as the name suggests, have both introverted and extroverted³ characteristics. Butneither trait is dominant⁴. As a result, ambiverts have more balanced personalities⁵.

中间性格，顾名思义就是包含内向和外向两种特征的性格类型，但两种特征都不占主导。因此，中间性格是一种更加平衡的性格。

You can tell if you're an ambivert by asking yourself how you'd behave in common situations.

想要判断自己是否是“中间性格”的人，可以问问自己在常见情形下会如何表现。

What do you crave⁶ after a long day at work when you need to refuel—a happy hour with friends,or your couch and the remote control? At a social event, at what point do you want to leave—assoon as you get there or after the last person has left? In a conversation, do you prefer to thinkthrough your answers before speaking, or throw out whatever idea comes to mind and bat it backand forth⁷?

当你工作了冗长的一整天后，你渴望通过什么方式充电——是和好友相处的欢乐时光，还是独自一人窝在沙发上看电视?在社交活动中，在什么情况下你想要离开——是刚到那儿就想走，还是等到最后一个人离开?在交谈中，你更喜欢在开口前把回答想透彻，还是会随意说出任何闪现在你脑中的想法?

If you're an ambivert, your preference will often be somewhere in the middle—you choose to havea drink with a friend after work but then afterward⁸ go home and take a long walk with the dog.

如果你是个中向性格者，你的偏好会落在两极之间的某个地方——你可能会选择下班后先和朋友喝上一杯，但之后回家长距离遛狗。