
In recent years, researchers from diverse fields have agreed that short-termism is now a significant problem in industrialised societies. The inability to engage with longer-term causes and consequences leads to some of the world’s most serious problems: climate change, biodiversity collapse, and more. The historian Francis Cole argues that the West has entered a period where “only the present exists, a present characterised at once by the cruelty of the instant and by the boredom of an unending now”.
It has been proved that people have a bias (偏向) towards the present, focusing on loud attractions in the moment at the expense of the health, well-being and financial stability of their future selves or community. In business, this bias surfaces as short-sighted decisions. And on slow-burning problems like climate change, it translates into the unwillingness to make small sacrifices (牺牲) today that could make a major difference tomorrow. Instead, all that matters is next quarter’s profit, or satisfying some other near-term desires.
These biased perspectives cannot be blamed on one single cause. It is fair to say, though, that our psychological biases play a major role. People’s hesitancy to delay satisfaction is the most obvious example, but there are others. One of them is about how the most accessible information in the present affects decisions about the future. For instance, you might hear someone say: “It’s cold this winter, so I needn’t worry about global warming.”Another is that loud and urgent matters are given too much importance, making people ignore longer-term trends that arguably matter more. This is when a pop star draws far more attention than, say, gradual biodiversity decline.
As a psychologist once joked, if aliens (外星人) wanted to weaken humanity, they wouldn’t send ships; they would invent climate change. Indeed, when it comes to environmental transformations, we can develop a form of collective “poor memory”, and each new generation can believe the state of affairs they encounter is nothing out of the ordinary. Older people today, for example, can remember a time with insect-covered car windscreens after long drives. Children, on the other hand, have no idea that insect population has dropped dramatically.
近年来,来自不同领域的研究人员一致认为,短期主义现在是工业化社会的一个重大问题。无法处理长期原因和后果导致了世界上一些最严重的问题:气候变化、生物多样性崩溃等等。历史学家弗朗西斯·科尔(Francis Cole)认为,西方已经进入了一个“只有现在才存在的时期,一个既有当下的残酷,又有无休止的当下的无聊”的时代。
事实证明人们有偏见(偏向)着眼于当下,以牺牲未来自我或社区的健康、福祉和财务稳定为代价,关注当下的巨大吸引力。在商业中,这种偏见表现为目光短浅的决定。在气候变化等缓慢发展的问题上,它转化为不愿做出微小牺牲(牺牲)今天,这可能会对明天产生重大影响。相反,最重要的是下个季度的利润,或者满足其他一些短期愿望。
不能将这些有偏见的观点归咎于单一原因。不过,可以公平地说,我们的心理偏见起着重要作用。人们对延迟满足的犹豫是最明显的例子,但也有其他例子。其中之一是关于当前最容易获取的信息如何影响未来的决策。例如,你可能会听到有人说:“今年冬天很冷,所以我不必担心全球变暖。”另一个原因是,大声而紧迫的事情被过于重视,使人们忽视了可以说更重要的长期趋势。这是一个流行歌星吸引更多关注的时候,比如说,生物多样性的逐渐下降。
正如一位心理学家曾经开玩笑说的那样,如果外星人(外星人)想要削弱人类,他们不会派船;他们会发明气候变化。事实上,当涉及到环境转型时,我们可以发展出一种集体“记忆力差”的形式,每个新一代都可以相信他们所遇到的情况并不寻常。例如,今天的老年人在长途驾驶后还记得有一段时间汽车挡风玻璃被昆虫覆盖。另一方面,孩子们不知道昆虫数量急剧下降。
句子成分分析:
[In recent years], researchers (from diverse fields) have agreed | that shorttermism is [now] a significant problem-
[in industrialised societies].
句子语法结构详解:
* agreed 为谓语,采用现在完成时。
* that 为连词,引导宾语从句。
* is 为系动词作谓语,采用一般现在时。
* have 为助动词。a 为不定冠词。
句子相关词汇解释:
Phrase:
in recent year | 近年 |
Vocabulary:
researcher [ri:'sә:tʃә] | n. | 研究人员 |
diverse [dai'vә:s] | a. | 不同的,相异的,多种多样的,形形色色的 |
field [fi:ld] | n. | 1) 领域,界, 专业 2) 田,田地,牧场 3) (某种用途的)场地, 场所 |
agree [ә'gri:] | vt. | 1) 同意,赞成 2) 答应, 应允 |
short-termism | n. | 只注重短期效益的思维方式 |
now [nau] | ad. | 现在, 目前 |
significant [sig'nifikәnt] | a. | 1) 别有含义的,意味深长的 2) 有重大意义的,显著的 |
problem ['prɔblәm] | n. | 1) 棘手的问题,难题,困难 2) 逻辑题,数学题 |
n. | 1) 社会 2) 协会,社团 |
句子成分分析:
People's hesitancy todelay satisfaction is the most obvious example, || but there are others.
句子语法结构详解:
* to delay 为不定式,作后置定语。
* is 为系动词作谓语,采用一般现在时。
* but 为并列连词,连接并列句,表转折。
* there 引导 there be ... 句型, 表示“有”的意思。
* are 为系动词作谓语,采用一般现在时。
* other 为不定代词。People's 为名词所有格。the 为定冠词。
句子相关词汇解释:
Vocabulary:
people ['pi:pl] | n. | 1) 人,人们,大家 2) 国民,人民,臣民,群众 |
hesitancy | n. | 犹豫;踌躇;迟疑不决 |
delay [di'lei] | vt. | 1) 延迟,推迟 2) 使达到,使耽搁,使拖延 |
satisfaction [,sætis'fækʃәn] | n. | 1) 满意,满足 2) 达到 |
most [mәust] | ad. | 1) 最(与形容词或副词连用构成最高级) 2) (程度上)最大,最多,最高 |
obvious ['ɔbviәs] | a. | 1) 明显的,显然的,易理解的 2) 公认的,当然的 |
example [ig'zæmpl] | n. | 1) 例子,实例,例证 2) 样品,样板,范例 |
but [bʌt] | conj. | 1) 但是 2) 而, 却 |
other ['ʌðә] | n. | 1) 其他人, 其他的(事物) 2) 其余的人或事物, 剩下的人或事物 |
句子成分分析:
One (of them) is about | how the most accessible information (in the present) affects decisions [about the future].
句子语法结构详解:
* is 为系动词作谓语,采用一般现在时。
* how 为连接副词,引导宾语从句。
* affects 为谓语,采用一般现在时。动词采用第三人称单数形式。
* them 为人称代词宾格。the 为定冠词。
句子相关词汇解释:
Vocabulary:
one [wʌn] | pron | 1) 一个人(或物) 2) (代表前面提到的,避免重复) |
about [ә'baut] | prep. | 1) 关于, 有关(...的) 2) 在...附近 3) 在...各处 |
most [mәust] | ad. | 1) 最(与形容词或副词连用构成最高级) 2) (程度上)最大,最多,最高 |
accessible [әk'sesәbl] | a. | 1) 可到达的,可接近的,可进入的,可使用的,可见到的 2) 容易理解的,易懂的 |
information [,infә'meiʃәn] | n. | 1) 信息,消息,情报,资料,资讯 2) 书的信息内容 |
present ['preznt] | n. | 1) 目前, 现在 2) 礼物, 赠品 |
affect [ә'fekt] | vt. | 1) 影响 2) (疾病)侵袭,感染 |
decision [di'siʒәn] | n. | 1) 决定,抉择 2) 果敢,决断力 |
future ['fju:tʃә] | n. | 1) [语法]将来式 2) 未来 |
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