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当前位置:首页 -> 10级英语阅读 - > 双语:恭维是艺术还是欺骗
双语:恭维是艺术还是欺骗
添加时间:2019-04-03 08:50:41 浏览次数: 作者:未知
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  • How do you persuade someone to do something they might not feel so keen about?

    你怎么说服别人做一些他们可能兴趣不大的事情?

    *Flattery–the art of offering pleasing compliments–will often help you get what you want.

    *恭维——一门赞美别人,讨人欢心的艺术,会让你心想事成。

    Lucy Kellaway is a writer and columnist1 with the Financial Times. One day, she got an e-mail asking her to go to Scotland to give a speech for a charity.

    作家露西?凯拉韦是《金融时报》的专栏作家。一天,她收到一封电子邮件,邀请她前往苏格兰为一家慈善机构做演讲。

    She wanted to decline the invitation because there were good reasons to do so: Scotland is far away from London; she had never heard of the charity and barely knew the woman who wrote the message. Yet rather than say no, the columnist found herself saying yes instead.

    她觉得自己有充分的理由来婉拒这个邀请:苏格兰离伦敦太远;她从来没有听说过这家慈善机构,也几乎不认识发邮件的那位女士。但她并没有拒绝,相反这位专栏作家竟然一口答应了。

    Why?

    为什么?

    Because she was flattered. The e-mail began: “We haven’t met yet, but I hope we will.” The woman went on to *profess a huge admiration2 for Kellaway’s columns and claimed the charity’s committee would be “utterly3 over the moon” if she turned up.

    因为她受宠若惊。这封邮件一开头就写道:“虽然我们未曾谋面,但我非常希望能有机会与您见面。”接下来,这位女士滔滔不绝地表达了对凯拉韦的专栏的赞赏,并表示如果她能够出席,那么慈善委员会绝对会“欣喜若狂”。

    It would be hard for anyone to turn this woman down.

    任何人都很难拒绝这位女士的邀请。

    Writing in the Financial Times, Kellaway says that even though she didn’t believe the woman was really her fan, she was softened4 up nevertheless.

    凯拉韦在《金融时报》上写道,即便她不相信这位女士是她的忠实读者,但她还是被说服了。

    It is odd but true. According to a recent study from Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, flattery works even when the *recipient knows it is *insincere.

    这听上去很奇怪,但事实如此,香港科技大学的一项最新研究显示,即便被奉承者清楚这是虚伪之举,但它依然很奏效。

    The Harvard Business Review recounts an experiment researchers did to prove the effectiveness of flattery.

    哈佛商业评论》杂志详述了研究人员是如何通过实验来证明恭维的有效性的。

    A group of students were identified as potential shoppers. They were given a *flyer from a fictional5 clothing shop which said: “We are contacting you directly because we know that you are a fashionable and stylish6 person. Your dress sense is not only *classy, but also *chic…”

    一组学生被视为潜在消费者。他们收到由一家虚构的服装店发来的传单,上面写着:“我们之所以直接与您联系,是因为我们深知您是一位前卫的时尚达人。你的着装品位优雅且时髦。”

    They knew the compliment was impersonal7, and the motive8 was plain–the flyer asked them to shop at the store.

    他们都知道这份赞美并不客观,而且动机也很明确——这些传单就是让他们去商店购物。

    But the “shoppers” were charmed anyway and acted on their positive feelings by choosing a *coupon from the store that had flattered them.

    但不管怎么样,这些“购物者”还是十分受用,十分乐意去获取刚刚那家恭维他们的商家的优惠券。

    *Flagrant flattery may sway customers, but that doesn’t mean it can work in every situation.

    毫不掩饰的恭维可能会使打动顾客的芳心,但这并不意味着它在任何情况下都会奏效。

    Should you use flattery on your boss at work to get quicker promotion9? Better not, according to a research done by the University at Buffalo10 in the US. Their study showed that empty flattery often *backfires. Successful flattery takes skill. Researchers found out that insincere flattery often produces a negative response.

    工作中,你是否应该奉承老板以获得平步青云的机会呢?最好不要。美国布法罗大学的一项研究显示,虚假空洞的奉承往往适得其反。奏效的奉承需要技巧。研究者还发现虚伪的奉承往往还会产生负面反应。

    If a supervisor11 sees a *subordinate’s flattery as a *ploy to get ahead, they will tend to rate the employee lower on job performance.

    如果上司将下属的恭维视为其晋升伎俩,那么他们往往会低估下属的工作成就。

    But if the flatterer is skillful enough to fool the supervisor into thinking his or her praise is sincere, they will usually get positive feedback.

    但如果恭维技巧十足,就连上司也信以为真的话,那么他们一般都会做出积极回应。

    An article in The Economist12 agrees and argues that the ambitious should master the art of flattery.

    经济学人》杂志中的一篇文章对此表示赞同,并提出胸怀大志者应该掌握恭维的艺术。

    It quotes Jennifer Chatman, of the University of California, who conducted experiments in which she tried to find a point at which flattery became ineffective. It turned out there wasn’t one.

    文章援引了来自加州大学的詹妮弗?查特曼的实验为证。她曾进行了一项实验,试图找出恭维失效的临界点。而事实证明它根本不存在。

    Chatman says: “People who bring positive information, who make the boss feel good about the decisions he or she has made, who build up the boss’s confidence, those people are going to do better.”

    查特曼说:“那些能够带来正面信息的人,能让老板对其个人决策感觉良好的人,能增强老板自信心的人,会做的更好。”

     10级    双语 


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    1 columnist [ˈkɒləmnɪst] XwwzUQ   第9级
    n.专栏作家
    参考例句:
    • The host was interviewing a local columnist. 节目主持人正在同一位当地的专栏作家交谈。
    • She's a columnist for USA Today. 她是《今日美国报》的专栏作家。
    2 admiration [ˌædməˈreɪʃn] afpyA   第8级
    n.钦佩,赞美,羡慕
    参考例句:
    • He was lost in admiration of the beauty of the scene. 他对风景之美赞不绝口。
    • We have a great admiration for the gold medalists. 我们对金牌获得者极为敬佩。
    3 utterly ['ʌtəli:] ZfpzM1   第9级
    adv.完全地,绝对地
    参考例句:
    • Utterly devoted to the people, he gave his life in saving his patients. 他忠于人民,把毕生精力用于挽救患者的生命。
    • I was utterly ravished by the way she smiled. 她的微笑使我完全陶醉了。
    4 softened ['sɒfənd] 19151c4e3297eb1618bed6a05d92b4fe   第7级
    (使)变软( soften的过去式和过去分词 ); 缓解打击; 缓和; 安慰
    参考例句:
    • His smile softened slightly. 他的微笑稍柔和了些。
    • The ice cream softened and began to melt. 冰淇淋开始变软并开始融化。
    5 fictional [ˈfɪkʃənl] ckEx0   第8级
    adj.小说的,虚构的
    参考例句:
    • The names of the shops are entirely fictional. 那些商店的名字完全是虚构的。
    • The two authors represent the opposite poles of fictional genius. 这两位作者代表了天才小说家两个极端。
    6 stylish [ˈstaɪlɪʃ] 7tNwG   第9级
    adj.流行的,时髦的;漂亮的,气派的
    参考例句:
    • He's a stylish dresser. 他是个穿着很有格调的人。
    • What stylish women are wearing in Paris will be worn by women all over the world. 巴黎女性时装往往会引导世界时装潮流。
    7 impersonal [ɪmˈpɜ:sənl] Ck6yp   第8级
    adj.无个人感情的,与个人无关的,非人称的
    参考例句:
    • Even his children found him strangely distant and impersonal. 他的孩子们也认为他跟其他人很疏远,没有人情味。
    • His manner seemed rather stiff and impersonal. 他的态度似乎很生硬冷淡。
    8 motive [ˈməʊtɪv] GFzxz   第7级
    n.动机,目的;adv.发动的,运动的
    参考例句:
    • The police could not find a motive for the murder. 警察不能找到谋杀的动机。
    • He had some motive in telling this fable. 他讲这寓言故事是有用意的。
    9 promotion [prəˈməʊʃn] eRLxn   第7级
    n.提升,晋级;促销,宣传
    参考例句:
    • The teacher conferred with the principal about Dick's promotion. 教师与校长商谈了迪克的升级问题。
    • The clerk was given a promotion and an increase in salary. 那个职员升了级,加了薪。
    10 buffalo [ˈbʌfələʊ] 1Sby4   第7级
    n.(北美)野牛;(亚洲)水牛
    参考例句:
    • Asian buffalo isn't as wild as that of America's. 亚洲水牛比美洲水牛温顺些。
    • The boots are made of buffalo hide. 这双靴子是由水牛皮制成的。
    11 supervisor [ˈsu:pəvaɪzə(r)] RrZwv   第8级
    n.监督人,管理人,检查员,督学,主管,导师
    参考例句:
    • Between you and me I think that new supervisor is a twit. 我们私下说,我认为新来的主管人是一个傻瓜。
    • He said I was too flighty to be a good supervisor. 他说我太轻浮不能成为一名好的管理员。
    12 economist [ɪˈkɒnəmɪst] AuhzVs   第8级
    n.经济学家,经济专家,节俭的人
    参考例句:
    • He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem. 他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
    • He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers. 他是个经济学家,自以为什么都懂。

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