每日英語 #003: 跟隨好人

ESLPOD

資料來源: ESLPOD

Follow the Nice Guy 追隨好人

A 2010 article in the Wall Street Journal discussed some research on leaders and those “in power” (who have power in an organization), and the results may surprise you.

2010年，《華爾街日報》的一篇文章討論了關於領導者和那些「有權勢的人」（在組織中擁有權力的人）的研究，結果可能會讓你驚訝。

“People give authority to people they “genuinely” (really; honestly) like,” according to a psychologist at the University of California, Berkeley.

根據加州大學柏克萊分校的一位心理學家的說法，「人們會把權力交給他們『真正』（真實地；誠實地）喜歡的人。」

In most social and business “settings” (situations), people who are “agreeable” (nice; don’t argue with others) and “extroverted” (open to talking to others; friendly) are the most respected and typically the most powerful.

在大多數社交和商業「環境」（情境）中，「隨和的」（友善的；不與他人爭論的）和「外向的」（樂於與他人交談的；友好的）人是最受尊敬的，通常也是最有權勢的。

However, something happens after they have gained power, what psychologists call the “paradox of power.”

然而，在他們獲得權力後會發生一些事情，心理學家稱之為「權力的悖論」。

A “paradox” is something that is self-contradictory, that is, something that contains two or more things that are opposite of each other, that don’t seem to agree or that work against each other.

「悖論」是指自相矛盾的事物，即包含兩個或更多互相對立的東西，這些東西看起來不一致或互相對立。

The paradox of power is that in order to be powerful, you must be kind, but once you are powerful, you change into someone who is no longer nice.

權力的悖論是，為了變得有權勢，你必須善良，但一旦你擁有權力，你會變成一個不再友善的人。

People in power or with authority are often less “sympathetic to” (understanding of) other people’s concerns and emotions.

有權力或權威的人通常對他人的關注和情感「同情」（理解）較少。

Now that they have power, it doesn’t seem important to them to be “considerate” (nice; careful to not harm) to other people.

既然他們擁有了權力，對他們來說，不再那麼重要的是「體貼」（友善；小心不傷害）他人。

People who believe they are powerful are also more likely to believe that the normal rules of life and society don’t “apply to” (have to be followed by) them.

相信自己有權勢的人也更可能相信，生活和社會的正常規則不適用於（必須遵守）他們。

For example, rich and powerful people may believe that everyone should follow the “traffic laws” (rules for driving) except them — they are important people, with important things to do, so they don’t need to follow the rules.

例如，富有和有權勢的人可能認為，除了他們以外，每個人都應該遵守「交通法規」（駕駛規則）——他們是重要人物，有重要的事情要做，所以他們不需要遵守規則。

Another word for this concept is “arrogance,” the idea that you are better than everyone else.

這個概念的另一個詞是「傲慢」，即認為自己比其他人更優越。

Is there a “cure” (solution; fix) for the paradox of power?

是否有「治療方法」（解決方案；修復方法）來解決權力的悖論？

Some psychologists argue that the only way to keep powerful people from “abusing” (misusing) their power is to have some sort of oversight.

一些心理學家認為，防止有權勢的人「濫用」（誤用）權力的唯一方法是進行某種形式的監督。

“Oversight” is when other people are watching what leaders are doing and criticize or correct them when they do something wrong.

「監督」是指其他人監視領導者的行為，並在他們做錯事時批評或糾正他們。

(The verb is “to oversee,” which is similar to the verb “to supervise.”)

（這個動詞是「監督」，類似於動詞「管理」。）

The problem with this solution, however, is that people in power often don’t think that they need any oversight, and use their authority to prevent other people from criticizing them.

然而，這個解決方案的問題在於，有權勢的人通常不認為他們需要任何監督，並且利用他們的權力來防止他人批評他們。

重要單字及解釋

1. In power [ɪn ˈpaʊər] - 有權勢的，在位的
2. Genuinely [ˈdʒɛnjʊɪnli] - 真正地，誠實地
3. Setting [ˈsɛtɪŋ] - 環境，情境
4. Agreeable [əˈɡriːəbl] - 隨和的，友善的
5. Extroverted [ˈɛkstrəvɜːrtɪd] - 外向的，友好的
6. Paradox [ˈpærədɒks] - 悖論，自相矛盾的事物
7. Sympathetic to [ˌsɪmpəˈθɛtɪk tu] - 同情，理解
8. Considerate [kənˈsɪdərɪt] - 體貼的，友善的
9. Apply to [əˈplaɪ tu] - 適用於
10. Traffic laws [ˈtræfɪk lɔːz] - 交通法規
11. Arrogance [ˈærəɡəns] - 傲慢
12. Cure [kjʊr] - 治療方法，解決方案
13. Abusing [əˈbjuːzɪŋ] - 濫用，誤用
14. Oversight [ˈoʊvərˌsaɪt] - 監督
15. To oversee [tu ˌoʊvərˈsiː] - 監督
16. To supervise [tu ˈsuːpərˌvaɪz] - 管理