每日英語 #104: Needing Novelty 需要新奇感

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Needing Novelty 需要新奇感

Imagine you are a teacher and you have students in your classroom who get bored easily, make snap “judgments” (sudden decisions without thinking about it), “lose their temper” (get angry) easily, and who like things to be “disorganized” (not organized or neat). If you are that teacher, you might be “feeling sorry for yourself” (pitying yourself) because these students are “troublemakers” (people who often create problems), right?

想像你是一名老師，班上有些學生很容易感到無聊，做出匆忙的「判斷」（不經思考就做出的決定）、容易「發脾氣」（生氣），並且喜歡讓事情「雜亂無章」（不整齊或不有序）。如果你是這位老師，你可能會「自憐」（為自己感到可憐），認為這些學生是「麻煩製造者」（經常引起問題的人），對吧？

The “conventional wisdom” (something believed by most people) and past research tells us that people who “seek” (look for; try to find) “novelty” (the new and unusual) all the time in people, things, and experiences have “personalities” (personal traits or characteristics) that will lead to trouble. People who seek novelty all the time are said to be more “prone to” (likely to be/have) “attention deficit disorder” (behavior problems, especially in children, who are not able to focus, who act without thinking, and who seem to have too much energy), “compulsive spending” and “gambling” (spending money or playing games of chance for money without being able to stop), “alcoholism” (being addicted to drinking alcohol), “drug abuse” (being addicted to illegal drugs), and criminal behavior.

「傳統智慧」（大多數人相信的事）和過去的研究告訴我們，那些總是在人、事物和經驗中「尋求」（尋找；嘗試找到）「新奇感」（新的和不同尋常的事物）的人，擁有的「人格特質」（個人特徵或性格）可能會導致麻煩。據說那些總是尋求新奇感的人更容易「傾向於」（更有可能有）「注意力缺陷障礙」（行為問題，尤其是兒童，無法集中注意力，行事不經思考，並且看似精力過剩），「強迫性消費」和「賭博」（無法停止花錢或賭博），「酗酒」（對飲酒上癮），「藥物濫用」（對非法藥物上癮），以及犯罪行為。

A 2012 research reported in the New York Times suggests that there is an “upside” (positive or good aspect) to novelty-seeking. If novelty-seeking “personality traits” (characteristics) are combined with “curiosity” (wanting to know about things) and “persistence” (not quitting; not giving up), novelty-seekers can do great things that benefit the entire society. They may be “adventurous” (willing to take risks) in finding solutions to difficult problems and “survive” (continue to live) because they can make decisions quickly and think in new and unusual ways when they are in difficult situations.

2012年《紐約時報》報導的一項研究表明，尋求新奇感有一個「好處」（正面的或好的方面）。如果尋求新奇感的「人格特質」（特徵）與「好奇心」（想了解事物的渴望）和「毅力」（不輕易放棄）結合在一起，那麼尋求新奇感的人能夠做出有利於整個社會的偉大事情。他們可能會在尋找解決困難問題的過程中變得「勇於冒險」（願意承擔風險），並且能夠「生存」（繼續活下去），因為他們能夠在困難的情況下迅速做出決策並以新穎和不同尋常的方式思考。

重要單字

• Judgment /ˈdʒʌdʒmənt/ - the ability to make decisions or form opinions.
• Temper /ˈtɛmpər/ - a person's state of mind seen in terms of being angry or calm.
• Disorganized /dɪsˈɔːrɡəˌnaɪzd/ - not arranged in a neat or effective way.
• Novelty /ˈnɒvəlti/ - the quality of being new, original, or unusual.
• Attention deficit disorder /əˈtɛnʃən ˈdɛfɪsɪt dɪsˈɔːrdər/ - a behavioral disorder characterized by inattentiveness.
• Compulsive /kəmˈpʌlsɪv/ - resulting from or relating to an irresistible urge.
• Persistence /pərˈsɪstəns/ - firm or obstinate continuance in a course of action despite difficulty or opposition.
• Curiosity /ˌkjʊərɪˈɒsɪti/ - a strong desire to know or learn something.
• Adventurous /ədˈvɛntʃərəs/ - willing to take risks or to try out new methods, ideas, or experiences.
• Survive /sərˈvaɪv/ - continue to live or exist, especially in spite of danger or hardship.