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The Subconscious: It’s All in Your Head 下意识：隐形的决策者

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Walking down the street, you suddenly want some McDonald’s French fries. Why? Could it be the giant golden arches that you just passed, or the smell of fry oil floating through the air? Strangely, either of those might cause your subconscious to make the decision to stop in and grab a snack. Some new studies show just how powerful our subconscious can be.

你走在街上，突然想吃麦当劳的薯条。为什么？是因为刚才经过的那个黄色大商标吗？还是因为空气中飘送的油炸味呢？令人纳闷的是，这两者都可能促使下意识作决定，使你走进快餐店买份点心。我们可从一些新研究看出，下意识的影响力有多大。

It turns out that even a simple cup of coffee can affect your opinion of someone. In a study, unaware that the experiment had already begun, participants came across a lab assistant in a hallway. The lab assistant was carrying many documents and asked the participant to hold his coffee for a moment. Some participants held hot coffee while others held iced coffee.

结果发现，即使是一杯咖啡都能影响你对某人的看法。在一项研究中，不知道实验已开始的受试者，在走廊上碰到实验助理。后者捧着许多文件，请受试者帮他端一下咖啡。有些受试者端着热咖啡，有些则端着冰咖啡。

Later, participants read about a fictional person, and were asked to rate that person’s character. Compared with the hot coffee group, those who held the iced coffee rated the character as being colder and more selfish. Their reactions seemed to have been affected by the temperature of the coffee.

之后，受试者阅读关于虚构人物的故事，且被要求评断这个人的个性。与热咖啡组相比，端冰咖啡的人将虚构人物评为更冷酷、更自私。他们的反应似乎受到咖啡温度的影响。

Vocabulary

单词发音

subconscious [sʌbˋkɑnʃəs] n. 下意识; 潜意识

float [flot] v. 漂浮

stop in 停留在 visit at residence or business

unaware [͵ʌnəˋwɛr] adj. 不知道的；未察觉到的

come across 偶然碰见 to meet or find by chance

fictional [ˋfɪkʃən!] adj. 虚构的

rate [ret] v. 对……评价

课文朗读

课文讲解

Scientists refer to what happened in the coffee study as “priming.” When your subconscious is “primed,” everyday sights, smells, sounds and touches can stimulate the subconscious mind to affect your actions in all sorts of ways. So seeing a briefcase might make you more competitive, or seeing the word “support” might make you more cooperative.

科学家将咖啡研究中所发生的现象称为「预示」。当下意识受到「预示」时，你每日所见到的、闻到的、听到的、摸到的事物，都会刺激你的下意识，进而以各种形式影响你的行为。所以看到公文包，可能会使你有更强的竞争心；看到「支持」这个词，可能会使你更乐于合作。

In 2005, Dutch psychologists had undergraduate students sit in a room and fill out a form. In some cases, the room smelled of cleaning fluid. After finishing the form, all of the students were given a crumbly snack. Those who smelled the cleaning solution cleared away the crumbs three times more often than those who did not. That is a huge increase in cleanliness.

2005年，荷兰心理学家安排大学生坐在房间里填表格。某些学生待的房间有清洁剂的味道。填完表格之后，所有的学生都拿到一份易碎的点心。与没有闻到清洁剂的学生相比，有闻到的人清理碎屑的次数多出三倍。爱干净的程度显然大增。

These studies don’t imply that our conscious minds are powerless against the subconscious. However, they do prove that our conscious minds can be greatly influenced by our subconscious. So the next time you get a craving for an unhealthy snack, or feel like you need to buy something expensive, take a look around. See if you can spot anything that might be secretly priming your subconscious mind!

这些研究并不表示，意识对下意识毫无招架之力，不过的确证明，我们的意识深受下意识影响。所以下次当你想吃不健康的零食，或觉得想要买昂贵的东西，环顾一下四周吧。看看是否能发现，正在悄悄预示你的下意识的东西。

−by Joe Henley

Vocabulary

单词发音

refer to .. as  把…称为…

stimulate [ˋstɪmjə͵let] v. 刺激

cooperative [koˋɑpə͵retɪv] adj. 乐意合作的

imply [ɪmˋplaɪ] v. 暗示；意味着

craving [ˋkrevɪŋ] n. 渴望，热望

More Information

单词发音

prime [praɪm] v. 事先给……指导；事先为……提供消息（或情报等）

sort [sɔrt] n. 种类

briefcase [ˋbrif͵kes] n. 公文包

undergraduate [͵ʌndɚˋgrædʒʊɪt] n. 大学生

crumbly [ˋkrʌmblɪ] adj. 脆的；易碎的

crumb [krʌm] n. 糕饼屑；碎屑

cleanliness [ˋklɛnlɪnɪs] n.〔保持〕清洁; 〔保持〕卫生

spot [spɑt] v.【口】认出，发现

Reading Questions

1.   What do we know about the coffee study mentioned in the article?

A.  The subjects didn’t know when the experiment began.

B.  The lab assistant measured how long the subjects could hold the coffee.

C.  The subjects had to drink as much as coffee as they could.

D.  The lab assistant gave the subjects coffee while they were reading a story.

2.   What is true of the people who held the iced coffee?

A.  They were less likely to understand what they had read in the study.

B.  They were more likely to find the fictional character to be selfish.

C.  They were less likely to be affected by the coffee they had held.

D.  They were more likely to ask the lab assistant to trade drinks with them.

3.  According to the article, what might happen if you smell cleaning fluid?

A.  You might leave the room right away.

B.  You might make a mess.

C.  You might clean up after yourself.

D.  You might request that the room be cleaned.

4.  Based on the article, which of the following can be inferred?

A.  Anything we see could have an effect on our subconscious minds.

B.  We should stop paying so much attention to our surroundings.

C.  There are very few trust-worthy studies on the subconscious mind.

D.  We are becoming less aware of what happens in our subconscious.

Answer