EZCNN 易英网

i Generation i世代

 

课文朗读

 

课文讲解

 

繁體中文譯本

 

What will be the outcome of a generation tethered to technology?  这个备受科技束缚的世代，究竟会引发什么样的后果呢？

 

Move over, Millennials. You’re not the younger generation anymore.

千禧世代，靠边闪吧！因为你们不再算是年轻的世代了。

 

For the past decade, you were the ones to watch. But now, as the eldest among you are fast approaching 30, there’s a new group just begging for some attention. They’re still kids, and although there’s a lot the experts don’t yet know about them, one thing they do agree on is that what kids use and expect from their world has changed rapidly.

过去十年来，你们（千禧世代）原本是备受瞩目的焦点，但如今你们之中最年长的都快步入而立之年了，有另一个新的族群也想吸引大家的关注，他们虽然还只是孩子，而且专家对这个族群还有很多不了解之处，但大家都公认的一点就是，这些孩子所使用的东西及他们对世界的期望，都已出现急遽变化。

 

And it’s all because of technology.

而这一切都是因为科技的关系。

 

“It’s simple a part of their DNA,” says Dave Verhaagen, a child and adolescent psychologist. “It shapes everything about them.”

「科技已经成了他们DNA的一部份了，」儿童及青少年心理学家大伟．魏哈根指出，「科技形塑了他们周遭的一切。」

 

To the psychologists, sociologists, and generational and media experts who study them, their digital gear sets this new group apart, even from their tech-savvy Millennial elders. They want to be constantly connected and available in a way even their older siblings don’t quite get. These differences may appear slight, but they signal an all-encompassing sensibility that some say marks the dawning of a new generation.

对研究这个族群的心理学家、社会学家，和世代及媒体专家来说，这个新族群最与众不同之处，就是他们的数字装备，这点就连同样精通科技的千禧世代大哥大姊们也望尘莫及。他们希望能持续保持联系，让亲朋好友随时都能找得到他们，而这种倾向就连较年长的千禧世代都不大能理解。这个族群的行为差异虽然看似微小，但却足以显示出一种无所不包的情感特性，以致于有些人认为，这无疑标示了另一种全新世代的开端。

 

It’s all about me  唯我独尊

 

The contrast between Millennials and this younger group was so evident to psychologist Larry Rosen that he has declared the birth of a new generation in a new book, Rewired: Understanding the iGeneration and the Way They Learn. Rosen says the tech-dominated life experience of those born since the early 1990s is so different from the Millennials that they warrant the distinction of a new generation, which he has dubbed the “iGeneration.”

有鉴于千禧世代和年纪更轻的新世代之间，有着明显的差异，以致于心理学家拉瑞．罗森在新书《重新联机：了解i世代及其学习方式》中宣称，有一个新世代诞生了。罗森表示，一九九０年代初期以后诞生的族群，备受科技主宰的生活经历和千禧世代截然不同，因此有必要区分为另一个新世代，而他称之为i世代。

 

“The technology is the easiest way to see it, but it’s also a mind-set and the mind-set goes with the little ‘i,’ which I’m taking to stand for ‘individualized,’” Rosen says. “Everything is customized and individualized to ‘me.’”

「爱用科技产品当然是他们最显而易见的特性，但除此之外，还有一种特殊的心态，而这种心态还伴随着小i而来，我用小i来代表 individualized（具有个人特色的），」罗森如此说道，「一切都是量身打造，都具有『我』的个人特色。」

 

He says the iGeneration includes today’s teens and middle-schoolers, but it’s too soon to tell about elementary-school ages and younger.

他指出，i世代包括了当今青少年和国中生，至于是否也适用于小学生和年纪更小的族群，目前还言之过早。

 

单词发音

 

More Information

millennials [mɪˋlɛnɪəlz] n. 千禧世代（人口统计学家用于描述出生于1980至2000年的人）

gear [gɪr] n. 设备，装置

set somebody/something apart 区别, 使…与众不同 to show someone or something to be different or special

tech-savvy [tɛk ˈsævɪ] adj. 精通科技的  possessing an ability for and practical knowledge of technology 

slight [slaɪt] adj. 微小的；少量的

encompass [ɪnˋkʌmpəs] v. 包含

sensibility [͵sɛnsəˋbɪlətɪ] n. 感性, 感觉, 情感

dawning [ˋdɔnɪŋ] n. 开端

rewire [riˋwaɪr] v. 给…更换电线; 给…重新布线

individualized [͵ɪndəˋvɪdʒʊəl͵aɪzd] adj. 有个性的，具有个人特色的

 

 

 

 

课文朗读

 

课文讲解

 

Rosen [also] says the iGeneration believes anything is possible. “If they can think of it, somebody probably has or will invent it,” he says. “They expect innovation.”

罗森还指出，i世代相信一切皆有可能，「凡是他们脑子里想得到的东西，就代表那东西很可能已经或即将有人发明出来，」他说道，「他们期待创新。」

 

They have high expectations that whatever they want or can use “will be able to be tailored to their own needs and wishes and desires, because everything is.”

这批世代抱有一种高度的期待，那就是希望他们想要或能利用的一切事物都「将能按照自己的需求、期盼和想望量身打造，因为一切原本就是如此。」

 

Rosen says portability is key. They are inseparable from their wireless devices, which allow them to text as well as talk, so they can be constantly connected.

罗森表示，可移植性就是关键，而且这个世代和无线器材难分难舍，这些器材让他们能传简讯，与人谈话，因而得以随时保持联系。

 

Growing up faster?  快速长大？

 

Verhaagen says this continual contact with peers isn’t limited to teens, either.

魏哈根指出，这种和同侪保持联系的倾向也不仅限于青少年而已。

 

“We’re seeing children in third and fourth grade have the ability to get online and chat or have their own cellphone,” he says. “Their relationships are taking a more adolescent tone.”

「我们发现有三、四年级的小学生已经会上网聊天，或是拥有自己的手机，」他表示，「而他们的人际关系已经变得带有点青少年的调调了。」

 

Even preschoolers aren’t immune. “You have kids from 18 months old who have a mouse in their hands,” Verhaagen says. “That’s going to make a big difference in how their brains work.”

即使是学龄前儿童也无法免疫，「甚至有小孩才一岁半就会拿鼠标了（译注：指会玩计算机），」魏哈根指出，「这将大大影响他们脑部的发展运作。」

 

Many researchers are trying to determine whether technology somehow causes the brains of young people to be wired differently. Based on some research related to multitasking, Rosen says, he’s inclined to believe some “rewiring” is going on.

很多研究人员都开始试图了解科技是否已经导致年轻世代的脑部运作发生改变。罗森指出，根据和一心多用（译注：i世代的特性之一就是一心多用，也就是能同时做很多事情）相关的研究显示，他偏向于相信的确产生了某种「重新联机」（译注：指使用科技产品让孩子的脑部发展产生了实质的变化）。

 

“They should be distracted and should perform more poorly than they do,” he says. But findings show teens “survive distractions much better than we would predict by their age and their brain development.”

「他们原本应当会变得更容易分心，而且表现得比平常更差才对，」他指出，可是一些研究结果却显示，就他们才青少年的年纪和脑部发展来说，他们「对引人分心的事物所受到的影响程度，其实并没有我们预期的那么严重。」

 

Whether middle- and high-schoolers are really a separate generation, as Rosen suggests, or “late-wave Millennials” isn’t clear.

不过，究竟国中生和高中生是否真如罗森所言，应视为另一种不同的世代，还是该视为「晚期千禧世代」，则仍是未知数。

 

“I think you’re going to find a lot of disagreementabout this,” Rosen says. “I don’t think you can define a generation when you’re in the middle of it. The best you can do is try to characterize the similarities and differences and the overlap.”

「我认为，在这点上，各界意见应该会相当分歧，」罗森表示，「我认为，当局者迷，大家会难以界定自己所属的世代。顶多也只能试着描述个中的相似处和差异，以及其中重迭的部份而已。」

 

单词发音

 

More Information

portability [͵portəˋbɪlətɪ] n. 可携带；轻便

inseparable [ɪnˋsɛpərəb!] adj. 分不开的；不可分离的

wire [waɪr] v. 布线

multitasking [͵mʌltɪˋtɑskɪŋ] n.【计算机】多重任务处理；多重任务执行;  (引申為一心多用) the process of doing more than one thing at a time

inclined [ɪnˋklaɪnd] adj. 倾向的; 有……倾向的

distracted [dɪˋstræktɪd] adj. 注意力分散的

characterize [ˋkærəktə͵raɪz] v. 描绘……的特性

 

 

 

 

课文朗读

 

课文讲解

 

Rosen suggests, however, that new generations arise based on their use of new technologies; he says identifiable new generational groups are emerging more frequently than in the past.

不过，罗森指出，新世代的兴起，是基于他们对新科技的使用，而可以辨识区隔出来的新世代族群，出现频率已比以往更加频繁了。

 

The Baby Boom generation, for example, most often thought of as those born from 1946 through 1964, lasted almost 20 years. But Generation X, born from about 1965 through 1980, was five years shorter. And the Millennials (also known as Gen Y) appear to be about 10 years, he suggests.

他指出，举例来说，婴儿潮世代大多被界定为一九四六年至一九六四年出生的人，这期间将近二十年。但诞生于一九六五年至一九八０年间的X世代，涵盖时期就（比婴儿潮世代）少了五年。至于千禧世代（又被称为Y世代）则似乎只涵盖了十年左右。

 

Education reform  教育改革

 

Because these kids are more immersed and at younger ages, Rosen says, the educational system has to change significantly.

罗森表示，由于这些孩子更加浸淫（在科技的世界里），同时接触的年纪也更小，因此教育体系势必要进行大幅改革才行。

 

“The growth curve on the use of technology with children is exponential, and we run the risk of being out of step with this generation as far as how they learn and how they think,” Rosen says. “We have to give them options because they want their world individualized.”

「孩子们运用科技的成长曲线出现巨幅增长，因此无论就这个世代的学习方式或思考模式而言，我们都很容易会有跟不上他们的脚步的危险，」罗森表示，「我们必须给他们更多选择的机会，因为他们希望自己的世界能更带有个人色彩。」

 

Verhaagen agrees.

魏哈根也同意这个说法。

 

“They know almost every piece of information they want is at their disposal whenever they need it,” Verhaagen says. “They’re less interested in learning facts and learning data than in knowing how to gain access to it and synthesize it and integrate it into their life. … Their brains are developing in ways where they’re taking in astronomical amounts of information, screening out unimportant details and focusing on the parts they need.”

「他们知道，他们想得到的几乎所有讯息，都能在他们需要的时候任凭处置，」魏哈根表示，「对于学习事实和吸收信息，他们并不是那么感兴趣，而是更热衷于如何取得、综合这些信息，并融合到生活之中。……他们的脑部已经进化到足以吸收庞大的信息，并能筛除无关紧要的细节，只把重点锁定在他们需要的部份上。」

 

Even for kids like Kiley Krzyzek, 15, who didn’t know a world before the Internet, these rapid changes are striking. She got a cellphone when she was 12.

十五岁的琪莉．克里塞克对因特网时代以前的世界一无所知，但即使是对像她这类的孩子来说，这些快速的变化也相当令人瞠目结舌。她在十二岁时拥有自己的手机。

 

“Now kids are getting cellphones when they’re, like, in fifth grade,” she says. “Which I think is crazy.”

「如今孩子们才小学五年级就已经有手机了，」她表示，「我认为这样实在太夸张了。」

 

−by Sharon Jayson

 

单词发音

 

More Information

immersed [ɪˋmɝst] adj. 专注的; 浸入的，沉入的

exponential [͵ɛkspoˋnɛnʃəl] adj. 越来越快的; 【数】指数的  describes a rate of increase which become quicker and quicker as the thing that increases becomes larger

as far as  就…来说 to the degree that

at one’s disposal 供任意使用, 可自行支配 available, ready, to hand, accessible

synthesize [ˋsɪnθə͵saɪz] v. 综合；合成 to combine different ideas or things to make a whole that is new and different from the items considered separately 

 

 

 

单词发音

 

Vocabulary Focus

tether [ˋtɛðɚ] v.（用绳、链等）拴 to limit or restrict someone by seemingly tying him or her to something

all-encompassing [ɔlɪnˋkʌmpəsɪŋ] adj. 无所不包的 including everything

warrant [ˋwɔrənt] v. 使有（正当）理由，成为……的根据 to make a particular activity necessary

mind-set [ˋmaɪnd͵sɛt] n. 心态 a person’s attitudes or opinions resulting from earlier experiences

late-wave 晚期的 occurring during the latter part of some event or phenomenon

growth curve 生长曲线；增长曲线；成长曲线 a representation on a graph showing changes and growth in a specific area over time

out of step with 与..不谐调 not as current or as up-to-date as others

astronomical [͵æstrəˋnɑmɪk!] adj.（指数量）庞大的 extremely large

 

 

Generation Z