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Angry Types Just Can’t Butt Out 性格冲动，戒烟难成

课文朗读

课文讲解

繁體中文譯本

Arnold and Faye are at an outdoor concert in Vancouver, Canada:  阿诺和菲出席一场在加拿大温哥华的室外音乐会：

A: Would you look at that guy smoking over there? I can’t stand people like that! Always lighting up in public places …

妳看到那边那个正在抽烟的人吗？我受不了那种人！总在公共场所点起烟来…

F: Relax, Arnie. He can’t help it if he has an addiction.

放轻松点，小诺。如果他已经上了瘾，自己也控制不住。

A: Addiction? Whatever. More like insensitivity. I’d say. I’m going to give him a piece of my mind.

上瘾？不管妳讲什么理由，我还是认为他对别人敏感度不够。我要去对他说清楚我的意思。

F: Your aggressive response shows that you and he may have more in common than you think.

你对他这样急切的积极反应，显示出你和他本质之间相似性很高，大有可能比你自己所想高得多。

A: What’s that supposed to mean?

妳说这话是什么意思？

F: Well, scientists have found that people who get angry easily are also more likely to become regular smokers. Nicotine triggers a strong reaction in their brains.

关于这点，科学家已经查出来，容易生气的人也比较容易抽烟成瘾。尼古丁会对他们的脑子引发强烈反应。

A: Nonsense. Being high-strung has never made me want to smoke.

胡说八道。我神经绷紧的时候一点也不会想抽烟。

F: But you’ve never tried it, have you? If you had, you might find it hard to stop.

不过你并没有抽过烟，对吧？如果你抽烟，或许你就很难戒烟了。

A: I have free will, don’t I? I resent being lumped into the same category as that man with that disgusting habit.

我是有自由意志的人啊，不是吗？我讨厌被归类成像那个人一样，带有抽烟恶习。

F: Hear me out. When interviewed about their first smoking experience, only heavy smokers reported having felt a buzz. If some people are “born to smoke,” don’t you think he deserves your compassion?

听我说完。当访问瘾君子们一开始抽烟时的经验，只有老烟枪才说他们会感觉有一股快感。倘若有些人是「生下来就注定要抽烟」，自己毫无选择，你不觉得他们值得你同情吗？

A: Maybe. But if he doesn’t butt out soon, all he’ll get from me is a knuckle sandwich!

或许如此。不过倘若他不快点把烟弄熄，可就要吃我一顿老拳！

Vocabulary

单词发音

butt out 走开 to not get involved in something; to cease interference or involvement

addiction [əˋdɪkʃən] n. 成瘾；上瘾

insensitivity [͵ɪnsɛnsəˋtɪvətɪ] n. 无感觉；感觉迟钝

give sb. a piece of (one’s) mind  责备某人; 坦诚相告 frank and severe criticism; censure

suppose [səˋpoz] v. 认为应该

nicotine [ˋnɪkə͵tin] n.【化】烟碱；尼古丁

trigger [ˋtrɪgɚ] v. 触发，引起

high-strung [ˋhaɪˋstrʌŋ] adj. 十分敏感的；易激动的；神经紧张的 tending to be very nervous and easily excited

free will 自由意志

resent [rɪˋzɛnt] v.〔因受委屈而〕对…感到愤恨﹐不满; 憎恶

lump [lʌmp] v. 把……归并到一起；把……混为一谈

buzz [bʌz] n.【俚】（因为酒等）愉悦的陶醉

compassion [kəmˋpæʃən] n. 怜悯；同情

knuckle sandwich 对准嘴的一拳 Inf.  a punch

Sentence of the Day

For hostile people, the dice may be loaded when it comes to taking up smoking.

对性格冲动的人而言，一旦抽烟就很难戒得掉。

the dice may be loaded  骰子被灌了铅 if the dice are loaded against someone, they are not likely to succeed

take up 开始学, 喜欢上

课文讲解

Why is it that some people try to quit smoking unsuccessfully for decades, while others have no problem stopping cold turkey? And why, of the nearly 6,000 American teenagers who start smoking every day, will only one-third become addicted? The answer may lie in a recently found link between personality type and brain activity.

为什么有些人试着戒烟戒了几十年都不成功，而有些人完全不用借外力，说戒烟马上就能戒烟毫无问题？又为什么，在美国每天有近六千名青少年开始吸烟，其中只有三分之一会上瘾？这答案或许从最近发现的人格种类和脑部活动之间的关连性可以看得出来。

Scientists at the University of California Irvine have discovered that people who are inclined towards angry or aggressive reactions may also be more susceptible to the effects of nicotine. In a controlled experiment, researchers used PET scans to measure the brain activity of people wearing nicotine patches.

加州大学尔湾分校的科学家发现个性易怒冲动的人比较容易受尼古丁影响。在一项控制实验中，研究人员用正子断层扫描【注】来评量贴着尼古丁贴布受试者的脑部活动。

Participants were divided into two groups based on their responses to a series of standardized personality tests. Those prone to angry were called the “hostile” group, and the more easy-going participants were labeled “non-hostile.” Both groups contained smokers and non-smokers.

受试者依照他们接受一连串标准化人格测验的反应结果被分为两组。容易发怒的一组称为「有敌意组」，另一组个性比较温和的称为「无敌意组」。两组内都有吸烟者与非吸烟者两种人。

Interestingly, the PET scans revealed that nicotine caused high levels of brain activity in hostile people, but no increased activity whatsoever in the brains of non-hostile ones. This finding was true regardless of whether participants were smokers or not. As a result, the UC Irvine scientists have concluded that aggressive people are more likely to get hooked on tobacco than laid-back people.

有趣的是，正子断层扫描显示尼古丁会引起「有敌意组」强烈的脑部活动，但是对「无敌意组」的人脑部活动毫无影响。这项发现无论是对吸烟者或非吸烟者均成立。因此，加州大学尔文分校的科学家们得到一项结论，就是个性冲动易怒的人比个性温和的人容易对尼古丁上瘾。

－by Francoise Raunet

【注】：PET是「Positron Emission Tomography正子断层扫描」的缩写。

Vocabulary

单词发音

cold turkey 突然停止服用毒品而感到不舒适  immediate, complete withdrawal from something on which one has become dependent, such as an addictive drug.

addicted [əˋdɪktɪd] adj. 有瘾的﹐ 上瘾的

inclined [ɪnˋklaɪnd] adj. 有...倾向

susceptible [səˋsɛptəb!] adj. 易受……影响的; 敏感的[F][（+to）]

patch [pætʃ] n. 贴片

prone [pron] adj. 有……倾向的，易于……的[F][（+to）][+to-v]

hostile [ˋhɑst!] adj. 怀敌意的；不友善的

easy-going 脾气随和的﹐温和的

reveal [rɪˋvil] v. 显示；展示

whatsoever [ˏhwɑtso`ɛvɚ] adv. (用于名词词组后，强调否定陈述)丝毫，任何

regardless of  不管, 不顾

hooked [hʊkt] adj.【非正式】〔吸毒〕成瘾的

laid-back [ˋled͵bæk] adj.【俚】悠闲的；懒散的；闲散的

Sentence of the Day

Type A personalities become regular smokers more often than type B personalities.

A型性格(冲动型)的人比B型性格(温和型)的人更容易抽烟上瘾。