美大选

“推手民调”里的小秘密

距离美国大学日还有不到一个月的时间，两党候选人在辩论中使出各种招数突出自己、诋毁对方。据说，从上实际90年代中期开始，美国大选过程中，就开始出现一些以影响民意为目的的民调，英文叫做push poll 。

Push poll is an opinion poll whose real purpose is to influence people’s opinions rather than to collect information about them.

Push poll 指以民调之名行影响民意之实的民意调查，这种调查的母的不是收集人们的意见，二是影响人们的看法，即“推手民调”。 In essence, a push poll is something approaching a smear campaign masquerading as an opinion poll, a push poll typically involves phoning very large numbers of voters and,in the guise of doing a survey to find out how certain pieces of information may affect their voting preferences ,feeding-bottle the false or damaging information about a particular candidate .the idea the is to ‘push ’them away from any rival candidate and steer

them towards the candidate that the caller supports . 从本质上来看，“推手民调”更像是伪装成民意调查的“抹黑大战（smear campaign）”。这种调查通常会电话联络大量的选民，假装调查哪些“信息”会影响选民的投票决定，而在此过程中向选民灌输有关某个候选人的虚假或破 坏性信息。这样做的目的是将选民从竞争对手那里“推开”，转而支持调查方这边的候选人。

The essential difference between a push poll and a valid opinion poll is that the latter merely attempts to elicit opinions, whilst the former aims to change and influence them. In a push poll, large numbers of respondents are contacted, but little or no effort is made to collect and analyze response data because no-one is really interested in this information once the phone call is over, the main aim having been to negatively influence the targeted candidate.

“推手民调”和真正的民调之间的本质区别是，民意调查只是为了收集民意，而“推手”调 查是为了改变和影响民意。在“推手”调查中，大量受访者会接到调查信息，但是并没有人做后续的信息收集和分析工作，因为在调查电话挂断以后，就没有人再对 那些信息感兴趣了。“推手”调查的主要目的是对某个特定候选人产生负面影响。

背单词时常见的“浴缸效应”

很多人都说他们学英语的时候最大的障碍就是单词记不住。经常记住了前面的，忘了后面的；要不就是单词字母记错了顺序。有人研究发现，单词的开头和结尾比中间部分更容易被记住。你有这个体会吗？ The 'bathtub effect' is perhaps the most commonly reported finding in the literature on memory for words. People remember the beginnings and ends of words better than the middles, as if the word were a person lying in a bathtub, with their head out of the water at one end and their feet out at the other. And, just as in a bathtub the head is further out of the water and more prominent than the feet, so the beginnings of words are, on average, better remembered than the ends.

“浴缸效应”大概是与背单词有关的文献记录中最常见的一个现象了。人们记单词的时候， 对词的头和尾往往比中间部分记得更牢。这就好像单词是躺在浴缸里的一个人，头和脚都露出水面。而同时，

头露出水面的部分往往比脚要多，而且比脚更加显眼。 因此，单词

的开头部分一般都比结尾部分更容易被记住。

For example:

His name is long and rarely seen. I can only recall it begins with “Ja” and end with “son”. Caught by the bathtub effect again.

他的名字有点长而且很少见。我只记得是以Ja开头，以son结尾的。“浴缸效应”又犯了。

大热的“江南style”

最近一段时间，韩国一个名为“江南style”的歌曲视频在网上疯传，有些网友还总结出了视频里的舞步，命名为“骑马舞”。江南style本身也就成了一个热门词。

"gangnam Style" is a Korean neologism mainly associated with upscale fashion and lavish lifestyle associated with

trendsetters in Seoul’s Gangnam district, which is considered the most affluent part of the metropolitan area. In colloquial usage, it is comparable to the English slang terms “swag” or “yolo”.

Gangnam Style（江南风格，更广为人知的说法为“江南style”）是一个韩语新词，多用来形容首尔江南区走在时尚前沿、过着奢华生活的“弄潮儿”们。江南区被认为是首尔市内最有钱的区域。Gangnam Style相当于英语口语中的swag（拽）或yolo（you only live once，意为“人生只有一次”）。

你愿意做MRS degree吗？

很多年以来，我们都用“千军万马过独木桥”来形容高考。通过这个考试，很多人改变了自己的命运，实现了事业追求。可你知道吗，在遥远的美国，有那么一部分女孩子上大学不是为了追求事业，而是为了找老公的哦。

Possible holders of an MRS degree are

women who attend college just to meet

potential husbands with high social

standing and future earning potential.

有些女孩子上大学就是为了找到一个有地位

又有经济前景的老公，这样的女孩子就叫做

未来的“学位夫人”。

This phenomenon, which occurs predominantly at private Christian institutions, has turned America’s ‘Bible colleges’ into ‘bridal colleges’. On these campuses, engagement is not only an eagerly awaited (and accepted) part of a relationship, but marriage is often promoted and planned around graduation. 这种现象多见于美国的私立基督教会学校，使得这些“圣经学校”都变成了“新娘学校”。在这些学校，订婚是她们在恋爱关系中热切期待（并接受）的一个步骤，临近毕业的时候通常就要开始规划婚姻了。 Although independence and career goals for women are now accepted on college campuses, evidence still exists of women going the old-fashioned route: investing their money in pursuing a future lifestyle rather than in an academic conquest.

虽说现在的大学校园中，女生追求独立和事业发展已是普遍现象，不过有证据显示仍然有一部分女生选择走传统路线：将学费作为追求未来生活方式的投资，而不是用于追求学术成就。

lipstick effect 口红效应

在美国，每当经济不景气的时候，口红的销量就会明显上升。这是为什么呢？原来，在经济不景气的情况下，人们仍然会有强烈的消费欲望，但是实际经济能力又无法承担珠宝首饰、衣服等高价消费品，于

是人们便会转而购买相对比较廉价的商品。口红作为一种“廉价的非必要之物”成为女性消费者的首选商品，于是就有了一个有趣的经济现象lipstick effect，即“口红效应”。

The lipstick effect is the theory that when facing an economic crisis consumers will be more willing to buy less costly luxury goods. Instead of buying expensive fur coats, women will buy expensive lipstick.

口红效应指的是在经济危机时消费者更愿意购买相对廉价的奢侈品这样一个理论。女性消费者在经济危机时选择购买的不是价格不菲的皮草服装，而是高档口红。

The underlying assumption is that consumers will buy luxury goods even if there is a crisis. When consumer trust in the

economy is dwindling, consumers will buy goods that have less

impact on their available funds. Obviously men will not be buying lipstick, but could be tempted by expensive beer or smaller, less costly gadgets.

口红效应揭示的是这样一种思维：就算在经济不景气的情况下，人们仍然有购买奢侈品的愿望。当人们意识到经济在下滑的时候，他们会购买一些对其现有资金影响不大的商品。男性消费者当然不会去买口红了，不过他们可能会买高档啤酒或一些小巧又不太贵的小玩意。

“有异性没人性”英文这样说！

原本经常联络的几个朋友，忽然有一个好久都没消息了。一打听，原来是忙着谈恋爱呢。这种情况通常会被朋友们称作“重色轻友”或者“有异性没人性”。英文里对这个情况的称呼更加形象生动，就一个词：hiberdating。

Hiberdating means dating in the

winter months, or the situation

that someone ignores all their

other friends when they are dating

a boyfriend/girlfriend. The second meaning is more popular. The word

hiberdating is a blending of the word “hibernating” and “dating”, which means a person is in a state of

inactivity(hibernating) among friends when dating someone. Hiberdating指在冬季约会恋爱，或者指某人在谈恋爱期间忽略其他朋友的情况，也就是我们常说的“有异性没人性”。第二种用法更普遍一些。Hiberdating这个词是hibernating（冬眠）和dating（约会）两 个词的合成词，由此便可知它的意思是一个人在约会恋爱期间中断与朋友联络的状况。

For example:

I haven't seen or heard from Jennifer since she started hiberdating Teddy four months ago.

自从4个月前詹妮弗跟泰德约会以来，我就一直没有过她的消息。 “分开同居”渐成时尚

两个人谈恋爱，感情深厚然后搬到一起住,似乎已经不是什么新鲜事了。不过近几年，在英国、瑞典以及日本等国，恋人们却开始流行“分开同居”了。英国国家统计局的一份报告中说，英国有近35％的人选择这种同居方式。这到底是怎么回事呢？

Living Apart Together (LAT) is a term for couples who, while committed to each other, decide to have separate homes rather than one shared residence.

“分开同居”（Living Apart Together

，英文缩写为LAT）指一对情侣保持固定的情感关系但却不住在一起。

There are three approaches LAT couples can take, concerning decision to keep separate domestic residences. The majority are the "gladly apart", along with the "regretfully apart" (due to work commitments, family responsibilities, legal or

residency requirements, or other reasons) and the "undecidedly apart" (committed but not especially moving towards cohabitation at the time).

伴侣选择“分开同居”一般有以下

三种情形：“乐意分开”、“无奈

分开”（由于工作原因、家庭责任、

法律或居住要求，以及其它原因）

和“暂时分开”（有感情基础，但

还没有朝同居那个方向考虑）。

Those gladly apart

couples claim that their motives include:

自愿选择“分开同居”的伴侣们列出的原因有：

LAT is having kept their relationship fresh.

“分开同居”能够让他们的关系时刻保持新鲜感。

Having both an intimate relationship and one's own space is a treat.

既能保持一段亲密关系又能拥有自己的空间，这是一种享受。

The anticipation of time together is always being special. 盼望相聚的日子总是很特别。

Having bases in two cultures – for example both a busy city and a country village.

能够在两种不同文化的氛围中生活——比如，一个是繁忙的都市，一个是静谧的乡村。

Freedom to do things without consultation, and the freedom not to do things in one's own abode.

在自己的地盘，想做什么或者不想做什么都由自己来决定。

Independent finances and homes meaning that financial dispute and negotiation is not a source of friction in the couple's relationship.

独立的经济和住所意味着在两人的关系中经济纠纷不会成为关系破裂的原因。

Ability to focus on work or one's own activities without interruption at times when one wishes to work.

在想要专心工作的时候能够集中注意力，不会有人打扰。

It girl是什么样的女孩？

她有无法抵挡的魅力。她的态度、她的经历，当然还有她的style，永远都是媒体关注的焦点。她就是我们要说的It girl。

An It girl or It-girl is a charming, sexy young woman who receives intense media coverage unrelated or disproportional to personal achievements. The reign of an "It girl" is usually temporary; some of the rising It girls will either become fully-fledged celebrities or their popularity will fade. The term "It boy", much less frequently used, is the male equivalent. This term is unrelated to the abbreviation IT.

It girl（或It-girl）指受到媒体

密切关注、魅力无限、性感迷人的年

轻女子，她们受到的关注与她们个人

的成就没有太多关联，或者关注度与

其个人成就 极不匹配，中文多译作

“物质女孩”或“名门无良女”。It

girl当红的时间一般都比较短，受

到瞩目的It girl，有点可能会蜕变成真正意义上的名人，有的可能就此销声匿迹了。与其相对应的It boy指同样境况的年轻男子。这

里的It跟我们通常所说的信息工程（information technology）这个词的缩写IT一点关系都没有。

The term was coined by English romance novelist and

screenwriter Elinor Glyn to describe actress Clara Bow as she appeared in the 1927 Hollywood silent film It. Glyn described the term thus:

"IT" is that quality possessed by some which drawstring all others with its magnetic force. With "IT" you win all men if you are a woman—all women if you are a man. "IT" can be a quality of the mind as well as a physical attraction.

这个说法最初是由英国爱情小说家及剧作家艾琳娜?格林提出的，她在形容19xx年好莱坞无声电影《It》中女演员克莱拉?鲍的时候用了这个词。格林是这样说的：

“It”是有些人身上具有的一种特质，这种特质独有的吸引力能够让这些人得到所有人的关注。如果你是女人，有了“It”，你就可以赢得所有的男人——如果你是男人，有了“It”，你就可以赢得所有的女人。“It”可以是精神上的吸引力，也可以是肉体上的吸引力。 Since 1927 the term has been extended beyond the world of film, referring to whoever in society, fashion or the performing arts was in vogue at the time, and eventually extending beyond young female performing artists to mere "media celebrities".

19xx年以后，It girl这个说法就不限于电影界了，它可以指社会上、时尚界或演艺界任何一个走在潮流前线的人，后来It girl的界限不断延伸，从年轻的演艺明星到纯粹的“媒体名人”，都可以用It girl来指代。

草莓族 Strawberry Generation

坊间对80后的议论还没有褪去，针对90后的种种说法又袭来了。“他们的素质都很不 错，可就是承受不了打击，太容易受伤害了。”这话听着是不是很耳熟呢？是啊，大概因为80后和90后这样的情况太普遍了吧，所以人们用了一个很生动的比喻 来指代他们

——Strawberry Generation。

They look chic and sophisticated.

They are soft and get hurt easily.

They seem unbearably spoilt and

can't take much pressure. They

are the so-called "Strawberry

Generation".

他们看起来时尚又世故。他们软弱也容易受伤。他们好像被宠得一塌糊涂，承受不了什么压力。他们就是所谓的“草莓族”。

The term was coined by a Taiwan writer in one of her books about office rules. It refers to the post-60s generation of office

workers, who grew up in a protected environment and got easily dented - just like strawberries - by life's lightest knocks. “草莓族”这个说法是由一位台湾作家在她一本关于办公室法则的书中创造出来的，它指的是60年代后出生的办公室职员，他们像草莓一样是在多方保护的环境中长大的，生活中轻微的碰撞就能让他们受到伤害。

This expression is now finding its way into the mainland, and refers to young workers, of only child families, who have been active in the workforce for just a year or two. They

are generally well educated but are self-centered and give too much importance to appearance and material comforts.

这个说法现在中国大陆也很流行，指刚刚参加工作一两年的独生子女一代。他们大都受过良好的教育，但多以自我为中心，过分注重外表和物质享受。

为朋友打气的英文励志口号

心情低落的时候，朋友的鼓励就像“加油站”，一两句简单的话就会让我们力量满满！——“加油！你没问题的！”“相信自己！”——那么这些话在英语里怎么说呢？一起来学习吧。

1. Stopping acting like a baby! Pull yourself together! 别耍孩子气了，振作起来。

Pull oneself together 常用在口语中，意思就是重新振作起来，镇静下来。

2. Chin up! Only two exams left.

别垂头丧气的！只剩两门考试了。

Chin up或者keep your chin up 就是别灰心，别气馁。当别人处境困难时，可以用这句话鼓励。

3. Be prepared for a rough time. And hang in there. 准备吃苦，坚持下去。

Hang in there 别泄气，坚持下去。当朋友想要放弃的时候，说这句话，让他们咬牙坚持下去。

4. I'm sure it'll work out.

别担心总会有办法的。

Work out（某种事情）有效的，切实可行，成功。比如：The plan worked out badly. 计划实行得很不成功。

5. You can do anything if you really want to. That's the spirit! 只要你想做，你就一定能做得到。那才是好样的！

That’s the spirit! 用于鼓励他人的勇气、决心，意思是那样才对，那才算好样的。

最后复习一下：

pull oneself together 振作起来

chin up 别灰心，别气馁

hang in there 坚持住

It'll work out. 总会有办法的

That’s the spirit! 那样才对，那才算好样的

“豆竿家庭”是你生长的环境吗？

四世同堂式的大家庭曾在中国很普遍，七大姑八大姨齐聚一个屋檐下也不足为奇。但随着社会的发展，家庭模式也有了新的变革。核心家庭（nuclear family）、丁克家庭（DINK family）都是时下常见的家庭模式。其实，大家庭并没有消失，只是换了种模式，他们成了beanpole family。

Beanpole family，一般译作“豆竿家庭”，指的是：

A family whose living members come from many generations, but with few members in each generation.

几代同堂，但是每一代人数都很少的家庭。

豆竿家庭不朝横向发展，而朝纵向传宗接代，像菜豆茎依附竹竿爬升一样瘦长。当家庭传宗接代的功能丧失，这种家庭就成为截断家庭，像豆竿断枝一样，无后了。

近年来，在很多国家都出现了这样的家庭，新生代的人数普遍减少，多为独生子女，而老一代 人的寿命又在延长，所以整个家庭的模式就像插在地上帮助豆秧向上攀爬的豆竿（beanpole）一样，又细又长。这种家庭最初在英国被称为 verticalized family（垂直化家庭）。 The rising divorce rate partly explains the growth of the 'beanpole' family. With almost one in two marriages ending in divorce, many adults have at least two families, each with a single child.

不断上升的离婚率是“豆竿家庭”产生的一部分原因。在大约每两段婚姻中有一段以离婚告终的情况下，很多成年人都至少有两个家庭，每个家里还都有一个孩子。

杠杆女 VS 经适男

娶妻当娶“杠杆女”，嫁人要嫁“经适男”，最近这话在网络和现实生活中都很流行。这“杠杆女”和“经适男”到底指什么样的人呢？

The term “lever women” refers to wives or girlfriends who play their advantages to the full to help their husbands or boyfriends succeed in careers. Such women are compared to levers to lift their husbands or boyfriends.

“杠杆女”指充分发挥自己的优势和特长帮助老公或男友在事业上取得成功的女性。这样的女性就像一根杠杆一样，可以把他们的老公或男友给“撬”起来。

“经济适用男”则是身高一般、发型传统，相貌过目即忘；性格温和，发了工资会给老婆一部分；不酗酒、不关机、不赌钱、仅有少量的红颜知己；有责任感，认真工作，热爱家庭，应酬只限于

工作上的，月薪不高，有支付住房首付的能力；从事平凡职业的男人。

More and more women now tend to seek a "budget husband" instead of wealthy men just as home buyers now look for budget houses rather than villas during the economic crisis. Although not earning a lot, the budget husbands don't have bad habits such as drinking, smoking or gambling and are family-oriented. 现在越来越多的女性不再想着找“金龟婿”了，而是倾向于找“经济适用男”（简称“经适男”）做老公。这个趋势跟经济危机时期，买房的人不再考虑买别墅，而是四处搜寻经济适用房的情况很类似。“经济适用男”虽然收入不高，但是他们没有抽烟、喝酒或赌博等恶习，而且他们还很顾家。