身分焦慮：英語精讀講義

The first question you tend to get asked when you meet someone at a party is,

在聚會上認識新朋友時，你最常被問到的第一個問題往往是，

"So what do you do?" 語氣意圖

「那麼，你是做什麼的？」

And according to how impressive your answer is,

根據你的回答有多令人印象深刻，

people are either really keen to get to know you better 講解

人們要麼非常渴望進一步了解你，

or swiftly leave you behind by the nuts.

要麼迅速把你撇在堅果碟旁。

We're anxious because we live in a world of snobs,

我們感到焦慮，是因為我們生活在一個勢利眼的世界，

people who take a tiny part of us, our professional identities,

這些人只取我們身上的一小部分——即我們的職業身份，

and use these to come to a complete verdict 片語搭配

並以此來下達一個徹底的定論，

about how valuable we are as humans.

評判我們作為人的價值。

The opposite of a snob is your mother.

勢利眼的對立面是你的母親。

She doesn't care about your status,

她不在乎你的地位，

she cares about your soul.

她在乎的是你的靈魂。

Yet most people aren't our mothers,

然而，大多數人並不是我們的母親，

and that's why we worry so much about judgment and humiliation.

這就是為什麼我們如此擔心評判和羞辱。

It's said we live in materialistic times,

人們常說我們生活在一個物質主義的時代，

but it's more poignant than that.

但事實比這更加令人心酸。

We live in times where emotional rewards

我們生活的時代，情感上的回報

have been pegged to the acquisition of material things. 慣用語

已經與獲取物質財富掛鉤。

What people want when they go after money, big jobs, or fancy cars 片語動詞

當人們追求金錢、高薪工作或豪華汽車時，他們想要的

is rarely the things in themselves, 文法

往往不是這些東西本身，

so much as the attention and respect,

而是由此帶來的關注和尊重，

if you like, the love, 語氣意圖

或者說，是愛，

that are given to those who have them.

那些給予擁有這些東西的人的愛。

Next time you see a guy driving by in a Ferrari,

下次當你看到一個開著法拉利駛過的人時，

don't think it's someone unusually greedy, 表達脈絡

不要認為他異常貪婪，

think it's someone with a particularly intense vulnerability and need for love.

請把他看作是一個特別脆弱、極度需要愛的人。

We're also anxious because we're constantly told

我們感到焦慮也是因為我們不斷被告知

that we could become anything.

我們有可能成為任何想成為的人。

We hear it from our earliest days.

我們從小就聽到這種說法。

It should be great that there's so much opportunity in the modern world,

在現代世界裡有如此多的機會本來是件好事，

but what if we fail in such a world? 文法

但如果我們在這個世界裡失敗了呢？

What if you don't manage to get to the top 慣用語

如果你沒能成功登頂，

when there was said to be every chance?

儘管據說每個人都有機會呢？

The self-help shelves of bookstores

書店裡的自助類書架上

are filled with two kinds of books

擺滿了兩種書籍，

that capture the modern anxious condition.

它們捕捉到了現代人的焦慮狀態。

The first have titles like,

第一種書的書名諸如，

"How to make it big in 15 minutes" 慣用語

「如何在15分鐘內大獲成功」

or "Be an overnight millionaire".

或者「成為一夜暴富的百萬富翁」。

The second have titles like,

第二種書的書名則像是，

"How to cope with low self-esteem". 片語搭配

「如何應對低自尊」。

The two genres are related.

這兩種類型是相關的。

A society that tells people they could have everything,

一個告訴人們他們可以擁有一切的社會，

but where in fact only a tiny minority can,

但實際上只有極少數人能做到，

will end up with a lot of dissatisfaction and grief. 片語動詞

最終會產生大量的不滿與悲傷。

There's a related problem.

還有一個相關的問題。

Our societies are to a large extent 片語搭配

我們的社會在很大程度上

deemed to be fair. 用詞

被認為是公平的。

Back in the olden days,

回到過去的日子，

you knew the system was totally rigged. 用詞

你知道制度是完全被操縱的。

It wasn't your fault if you were a peasant,

如果你是個農民，那不是你的錯，

and not to your credit if you were the lord. 片語搭配

如果你是個領主，那也不是你的功勞。

But now we're told our societies are meritocracies, 文化背景

但現在我們被告知我們的社會是菁英體制，

places where the rewards go to those who really merit them,

在這種社會裡，回報歸於那些真正配得上的人，

the hard-working clever among us.

也就是我們之中那些勤奮又聰明的人。

It sounds lovely,

這聽起來很美好，

but there's a nasty sting in the tail. 慣用語

但其背後隱藏著可怕的刺。

If you really believe in a society

如果你真的相信在一個社會中

where those at the top deserve to get there,

處於頂層的人理應得到那個位置，

that has to mean that those at the bottom 表達脈絡

那麼這也必然意味著處於底層的人

deserve to be there too.

同樣是咎由自取。

Meritocracies make poverty 文法

菁英社會讓貧窮

seem not just unpleasant, 文法

看起來不僅令人不快，

but also somehow deserved.

而且在某種程度上是罪有應得的。

In medieval England,

在中世紀的英格蘭，

people used to call the poor unfortunates, 文化背景

人們曾經稱呼窮人為「不幸的人」，

literally people who had not been blessed

字面意思是那些沒有得到

by the goddess of fortune.

幸運女神眷顧的人。

Nowadays, especially in the United States,

如今，特別是在美國，

where meritocracy is big,

這個十分推崇菁英理念的地方，

they call them, rather tellingly, 表達脈絡

他們用一種相當說明問題的詞來稱呼窮人：

losers.

「魯蛇」（失敗者）。

We scarcely believe in luck nowadays anymore

如今我們幾乎不再相信運氣

as something that can explain where we end up.

可以用來解釋我們最終的命運。

No one will believe you

沒人會相信你，

if you say you were fired because of bad luck.

如果你說你是因為運氣不好而被解僱的。

Your professional position has become

你的職業地位已經成為

the central verdict on your character. 慣用語

評判你品格的核心標準。

No wonder suicide rates rise exponentially 片語搭配

難怪一旦一個社會加入了所謂的現代世界，

the moment a society joins the so-called modern world. 用詞

自殺率就會呈指數級上升。

How can we cope?

我們該如何應對？

Well, first off,

那麼，首先，

by refusing to believe that any society really ever can be meritocratic.

拒絕相信任何社會能真正實現徹底的優勝劣汰。

Luck or accident continue to determine

運氣或意外依然決定了

a critical share

很大一部分的因素，

of where people end up in the hierarchy.

決定了人們最終在階層中的位置。

Treat no one, not least yourself, 片語搭配

不要把任何人——尤其是你自己——

as though they entirely deserve to be where they are. 文法

當作是完全理應處於他們目前的位置。

Secondly,

其次，

make up your own definition of success 片語動詞

建立你自己對成功的定義，

instead of uncritically leaning on society's. 片語動詞

而不是不加批判地依賴社會的定義。

There are so many ways to succeed,

成功的方法有很多，

and many of them have nothing to do with status 片語搭配

其中很多與地位無關，

as it's currently defined

至少不是按照當前

within the value system of industrial capitalism.

工業資本主義價值體系所定義的那種。

Those who succeed at making money

那些在賺錢方面成功的人，

rarely succeed at empathy or family life.

很少能在同理心或家庭生活上同樣成功。

Thirdly, and most importantly,

第三，也是最重要的一點，

we should refuse to let our outer achievements 文法

我們應該拒絕讓我們的外在成就

define our sense of self entirely.

完全定義我們的自我認知。

There remain so many vital sides of us

我們身上仍然有很多重要的一面

that will never appear on our business cards,

永遠不會出現在名片上，

that don't stand a chance of being captured 片語搭配

也完全不可能被捕捉到，

by that maddeningly blunt

尤其是透過那個令人發狂般生硬

and unimaginative question,

且毫無想像力的問題：

"So, what do you do?" 表達脈絡

「那麼，你是做什麼的？」