2018年06月六级第3套仔细阅读 Passage 2 原文翻译及答案解析

If you've ever started a sentence with, "If I were you..." or found yourself scratching your head at a colleague's agony over a decision when the answer is crystal-clear, there's a scientific reason behind it. Our own decision-making abilities can become depleted over the course of the day causing indecision or poor choices, but choosing on behalf of someone else is an enjoyable task that doesn't suffer the same pitfalls.

如果你曾经以'如果我是你……'开头说一句话，或者发现同事在答案显而易见的情况下为决定而苦恼时感到困惑，这背后有科学原因。我们自己的决策能力在一天中会逐渐耗尽，导致犹豫不决或做出糟糕的选择，但为别人做选择却是一项愉快的任务，不会受到同样的陷阱影响。

The problem is "decision fatigue," a psychological phenomenon that takes a toll on the quality of your choices after a long day of decision making, says Evan Polman, a leading psychologist.

心理学家Evan Polman说，问题是'决策疲劳'，这是一种心理现象，在一天漫长的决策后会影响选择的质量。

Physicians who have been on the job for several hours, for example, are more likely to prescribe antibiotics to patients when it's unwise to do so. "Presumably it's because it's simple and easy to write a prescription and consider a patient case closed rather than investigate further," Polman says.

例如，工作几个小时的医生更有可能在不明智的情况下给患者开抗生素。Polman说：'可能是因为开处方并认为患者病例结束比进一步调查更简单容易。'

But decision fatigue goes away when you are making the decision for someone else. When people imagine themselves as advisers and imagine their own choices as belonging to someone else, they feel less tired and rely less on decision shortcuts to make those choices. "By taking upon the role of adviser rather than decision maker, one does not suffer the consequences of decision fatigue," he says. "It is as if there is something fun and liberating about making someone else's choice."

但当你为别人做决定时，决策疲劳会消失。当人们想象自己是顾问，并将自己的选择视为属于别人时，他们感觉不那么累，并且更少依赖决策捷径来做出这些选择。他说：'通过扮演顾问而不是决策者的角色，人们不会承受决策疲劳的后果。这就好像为别人做选择有一种有趣和解放的感觉。'

Getting input from others not only offers a fresh perspective and thought process, it often also includes riskier choices. While this sounds undesirable, it can be quite good, says Polman. "when people experience decision fatigue-when they are tired of making choices-they have a tendency to choose to go with status quo," he says. "But the status quo can be problematic. Since a change in the course of action can sometimes be important and lead to a positive outcome."

从他人那里获取输入不仅提供了新的视角和思维过程，通常还包括更冒险的选择。Polman说，虽然这听起来不理想，但它可能相当好。他说：'当人们经历决策疲劳——当他们厌倦了做选择时——他们倾向于选择维持现状。但现状可能有问题，因为行动过程的改变有时很重要，并可能导致积极的结果。'

In order to achieve a successful outcome or reward, some level of risk is almost always essential. "People who are susceptible to decision fatigue will likely choose to do nothing over something," he says. "That's not to say that risk is always good, but it is related to taking action, whereas decision fatigue assuredly leads to inaction and the possible chagrin of a decision maker who might otherwise prefer a new course but is unfortunately hindered."

为了获得成功的结果或回报，某种程度的风险几乎总是必不可少的。他说：'容易决策疲劳的人可能会选择什么都不做，而不是采取行动。这并不是说风险总是好的，但它与采取行动有关，而决策疲劳肯定会导致不作为，以及决策者可能本倾向于新方向但不幸受阻的可能懊恼。'

Just because you can make good choices for others doesn't mean you'll do the same for yourself, polman cautions. "Research has found that women negotiate higher salaries for others than they do for themselves," he says, adding that people slip in and out of decision roles.

Polman警告说，你能为别人做出好选择并不意味着你也能为自己这样做。他说：'研究发现，女性为他人谈判的薪水比为自己谈判的要高，'并补充说，人们会滑入和滑出决策角色。