2021年12月四级第2套长篇阅读匹配原文翻译及答案

A) Humans are creatures of habit. We love to establish a routine and stick with it. Then we often put ourselves on auto-pilot. Routines can be incredibly useful in helping you get things done. However, too much of a routine can also make you incredibly boring. Nevertheless, many people live lives that are boringly predictable, or live a life where everything is outlined or planned.

人类是习惯的生物。我们喜欢建立日常习惯并坚持下去。然后我们常常让自己处于自动模式。习惯在帮助完成事情方面可能非常有用。然而，过多的习惯也会让你变得极其无聊。尽管如此，许多人过着可预测的无聊生活，或者过着一切都被规划好的生活。

B) To tell the truth, interesting people are more popular among their friends. If you don't arouse someone's curiosity or brighten someone's day, you probably come across as being a little bit dull. But that doesn't mean your life has ended and you can't do anything to change it. If you find yourself searching for something to say beyond small talk, try these tactics to find more interesting approaches to conversation.

说实话，有趣的人在朋友中更受欢迎。如果你没有引起别人的好奇或点亮别人的一天，你可能会显得有点乏味。但这并不意味着你的生活结束了，你无法做任何改变。如果你发现自己在闲聊之外寻找话题，尝试这些策略来找到更有趣的对话方式。

C) Recently, I was at a gathering of colleagues when someone turned to me and asked, "So, what's new with you?" Ordinarily, I think I'm a good conversationalist. After all, it's literally my job to talk to people and tell their stories or share their advice. And that's not exactly an unexpected question. Still, the only "new-to-me" topics that came to mind were my daughter's basketball tournament (锦标赛) and my feelings about that morning's political headlines- neither amusing nor appropriate topics at that moment.

最近，我在一次同事聚会上，有人转向我问道：“那么，你有什么新鲜事？”通常，我认为自己是个健谈的人。毕竟，我的工作就是与人交谈，讲述他们的故事或分享他们的建议。这并不是一个出乎意料的问题。然而，我想到的唯一“新”话题是我女儿的篮球锦标赛和我对那天早上政治新闻头条的感受——在那一刻，这两个话题既不有趣也不合适。

D) Oh, no, I thought. Have I become boring? But sharing our experiences in an authentic way to connect with other people is what makes us interesting, says associate professor Michael Pirson. The hesitation I felt in not sharing the ordinary things that were happening in my life, and the wild mental search for something more interesting, may have backfired and made me seem less interesting.

哦，不，我想。我变得无聊了吗？但迈克尔·皮尔森副教授说，以真实的方式分享我们的经历来与他人建立联系，正是让我们变得有趣的原因。我在不分享生活中发生的普通事情时感到的犹豫，以及疯狂地寻找更有趣的事物，可能适得其反，让我显得更无趣。

E) "If someone is making up some conversation that might be interesting, it's probably not going to land well," says Pirson, whose expertise includes trust and well-being, mindfulness, and humanistic management. "It's going to feel like a made-up conversation that people don't necessarily want to tune in to."

“如果有人编造可能有趣的对话，它可能不会取得好效果，”皮尔森说，他的专业领域包括信任与福祉、正念和人文管理。“这会感觉像是编造的对话，人们不一定想倾听。”

F) The most interesting people aren't those who've gone on some Eat, Pray, Love journey to find themselves. Instead, Pirson says, they're those who examine the ordinary. "Often, the 'boring things' may not be boring at all. Maybe they are actually little miracles," he says. Share your observations about the world around you — interesting stories you heard or things you noticed — and you may be surprised by the universal connection they inspire.

最有趣的人不是那些去经历《美食、祈祷和恋爱》之旅寻找自我的人。相反，皮尔森说，他们是那些审视平凡事物的人。“通常，‘无聊的事物’可能一点也不无聊。也许它们实际上是小小的奇迹，”他说。分享你对周围世界的观察——你听到的有趣故事或你注意到的事物——你可能会惊讶于它们所激发的普遍联系。

G) This is essentially how Jessica Hagy starts her day. The author of How to Be Interesting: An Instruction Manual, Hagy spends a lot of time thinking about what's interesting to her. People who are interesting are persistently curious, she says.

这基本上是杰西卡·哈吉开始一天的方式。作为《如何变得有趣：一本指导手册》的作者，哈吉花很多时间思考什么对她来说有趣。她说，有趣的人总是充满好奇。

H) Think about the everyday things around you and ask questions about them. What is that roadside monument I see on my way to work every day? Who built that interesting building in my city? What nearby attractions haven't I visited? Why do people do things that way? Use what you find to ask more questions and learn more about the world around you. "Having that sort of curiosity is almost like a protective gear from getting into boredom," she says. And when you find things that are truly interesting to you, share them.

思考你周围的日常事物并对它们提问。我每天上班路上看到的路边纪念碑是什么？我城市里那栋有趣的建筑是谁建的？附近哪些景点我还没去过？人们为什么那样做事？利用你的发现来提出更多问题，更多地了解周围的世界。“拥有那种好奇心几乎像是防止陷入无聊的防护装备，”她说。当你找到真正对你有趣的事物时，分享它们。

I) Television veteran Audrey Morrissey, executive producer of NBC's The Voice, is always looking for what will make a person or story interesting to viewers: It's usually a matter of individuality. "Having a strong point of view, signature style, or being a super-enthusiast in a particular field makes someone interesting," she says. That means embracing what is truly interesting or unique about yourself. "Many people are 'not boring' in the way that they can carry a conversation or can be good at a social gathering, etc. To be interesting means that you have lived life, taken risks, traveled, sought out experiences to learn for yourself and share with others," she says.

电视界资深人士奥黛丽·莫里西，NBC的《美国好声音》执行制片人，总是在寻找能让人物或故事对观众有趣的东西：这通常是个性问题。“拥有强烈的观点、标志性风格，或在特定领域成为超级热情者，会让人变得有趣，”她说。这意味着拥抱自己真正有趣或独特的方面。“许多人‘不无聊’，因为他们能进行对话或善于社交聚会等。变得有趣意味着你经历过生活、冒险、旅行、寻求经验为自己学习并与他人分享，”她说。

J) Of course, it's possible to be a fountain of knowledge and a boring person, says public relations consultant Andrea Pass. Paying attention to the listener is an important part of having a conversation that's interesting to both parties. Talking on and on about what's interesting to you isn't going to make you an interesting person, she says.

当然，可能成为一个知识渊博但无聊的人，公关顾问安德里亚·帕斯说。关注听众是让对话对双方都有趣的重要部分。滔滔不绝地谈论对你有趣的事情不会让你成为一个有趣的人，她说。

K) "If the listener is not paying attention, it's your sign to shorten the story or change direction. Make sure to bring the audience into the conversation so that it is not one-sided," Pass says. Be a better listener yourself, and give others opportunities to participate in the conversation by inviting them with questions or requests to share their own experiences or thoughts. (e. g., "Now, tell me about your favorite book," or "Have you ever been to that attraction?") Questions are a powerful tool, especially when they encourage others to disclose information about themselves. A 2012 study from the University of California, Santa Barbara, found that roughly 40% of the time we are talking, we're disclosing subjective information about our experience. And when we're doing so, our brains are more engaged. So one strategy to leave others with the impression that you're a sparkling conversation partner is to get others to talk about themselves.

“如果听众没有注意，这是你缩短故事或改变方向的信号。确保让观众参与到对话中，使其不是单方面的，”帕斯说。自己成为更好的倾听者，通过提问或请求分享他们自己的经历或想法，给他人参与对话的机会。（例如，“现在，告诉我你最喜欢的书，”或“你去过那个景点吗？”）问题是一个强大的工具，尤其是当它们鼓励他人透露关于自己的信息时。加州大学圣巴巴拉分校2012年的一项研究发现，我们大约40%的谈话时间在透露关于我们经历的主观信息。当这样做时，我们的大脑更投入。因此，给别人留下你是一个闪亮对话伙伴印象的一种策略是让他人谈论自己。

L) Being relatable is also essential, Morrissey says. "The best entertainment and storytelling comes from people who are relatable, those who don't shy away from opening up but freely share who they are and what they care about. These are the people viewers most relate to and find interesting. Being authentic, honest, and vulnerable is always interesting."

具有亲和力也很重要，莫里西说。“最好的娱乐和讲故事来自那些有亲和力的人，他们不回避敞开心扉，而是自由分享他们是谁以及他们在乎什么。这些是观众最能共鸣并觉得有趣的人。真实、诚实和脆弱总是有趣的。”

M) I have now come to realize that being boring, in actuality, is not only about who you are as a person, but also how you present yourself. No matter what, make sure you are having fun in life. Because when you are enjoying, people around you will begin to enjoy as well. Show some interest in them and they will definitely show some in you. If you are a very reserved person, this could be a little difficult at first. But with a little effort, you can definitely improve.

我现在逐渐意识到，无聊实际上不仅关乎你作为一个人是谁，还关乎你如何展示自己。无论如何，确保你在生活中享受乐趣。因为当你享受时，你周围的人也会开始享受。对他们表现出一些兴趣，他们肯定会对你表现出兴趣。如果你是一个非常内向的人，起初这可能有点困难。但稍微努力一下，你肯定能改进。