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discomfort
小升初作文真题
时间：2010-10-08
【www.jinghuajt.com--小升初作文真题】
discomfort篇(1):2017年9月份公共英语四级考试阅读真题及答案
距离2016年9月公共英语考试越来越近了，为了让大家了解公共英语阅读考试难易程度，yjbys网小编为大家提供了3月份公共英语考试真题及答案详解，以下是2015年9月份公共英语四级考试阅读真题及答案。
阅读A:
Directions:
Read the following text and fill each of the numbered spaces with ONE suitable word. Write your answers on the ANSWER SHEET.
In the years after World War II, Americans typically assumed the full responsibilities of adulthood by their late teens or early 20s. Most young men had (21 )__ school and were working full-
time, and most young women were (22)__ and raising children. People who grew (23) __in this era of growing affluence were economically serf-sufficient and able to take care of others by the time they had weathered adolescence. Today, adulthood no longer (24) __ when adolescence ends.
Social scientists are beginning to recognize a new phase of life: early adulthood. Some features of this stage resemble coming of age (25) __ the late 19th and early 20th centuries,(26)__ youth fingered in a state of semi-autonomy, waiting (27)__ they were sufficiently well-off to marry, have children and establish an independent (28) __ However, there are important differences (29)__ how young people today define and achieve adulthood from those of both the recent and the more distant past.
This new stage is not merely an extension of adolescence, (30) __ has been maintained in the mass media. Young adults are physically mature and often (31) __ impressive intellectual,
social and psychological skills. Nor are young people today reluctant to accept adult responsibilities. Instead, they are busy (32) __ up their educational credentials and practical skills in an ever more demanding labor market. Yet, many have not become fully adult, (33) __ they are not ready, or perhaps not permitted, to do (34) __ . For a growing number, this will not happen until their late 20s or even early 30s. In (35) __, American society will have to revise upward the “normal” age of full adulthood, and develop ways to assist young people through the ever-lengthening transition.
阅读B:
Directions:
Read the following three texts. Answer the questions below each text by choosing A, B, C or D. Mark your answers on the ANSWER SHEET.
Text 1
In the last 30 years, science and technology have had a truly dramatic impact on sports. There are three major reasons for this. First, new artificial materials have appeared and been used in
many sports--sometimes to revolutionary effect. Second, our design expertise has improved, partly through the development of computers and other technical tools. We know more and can plan and predict more accurately in many critical areas. The third reason why science and technology have had an increasing impact is that there is now the money and the motivation for them to do so. In a variety of ways, sport has become very big business, and in the matter of winning or losing, very large amounts of money may be at stake.
Technology has influenced specific sports in many ways. Wherever a commercial mass market is involved, technical change may be promoted largely for the sake of change, to make this season"s product seem different from that of last season. An example of this trend is in the endless search for the perfect sports shoe. Anatomically precise support for the heel and ankle, air sacs for extra spring and comfort each year bring apparent new refinements. Even in retirement, basketball"s Michael Jordan remains one of sport"s biggest earners because of the deal he signed endorsing the Air Jordan shoe; and one of the richest sportspeople of all, though his winnings these days are minimal, is the veteran golfer Arnold Palmer, thanks to his endorsements of the latest in golf technology.
More significant still in modem sports have been more general effects of technological advance. It has provided the means for timing athletes to thousandths of a second--and the means of replaying an event to check who won or to see if a break-rule occurred. It has put sport on television, so millions can watch without moving from their own homes. It has provided the means for testing for illegal drugs. It has also, for better or worse, given sportsmen and women a new attitude towards their own bodies encouraged also by the high stakes, the sponsorship and the fevered media attention. Technology helps them plan the best diet and exercise regimes; it has created heart and lung monitors that measure stress and oxygen intake; and it allows athletes to keep a constant check on their own physical problems and progress. In terms of nutrition (fuel) and training (maintenance), the modem sportsperson is treated--and treats himself or herself--like a machine.
36. According to the author, sport has become very big business in the sense that
A it needs high-tech materials.
B it requires business management.
C it involves the wide use of computers.
D it seems a matter of big money.
37. The example of sports shoes suggests that the technological advances in modem sports are
A encouraged by commercial interests.
B supported by famous sportspeople.
C attributed to basketball performance.
D subjected to computer technology.
38. The text suggests that some of the rich sportsmen
A cooperate with companies to develop high-tech sports products.
B are interested in promoting the development of science and technology.
C are selfishly earning money by promoting new sports products.
D play a positive role in promoting high-tech sports products.
39. By saying “the modern sportsperson is...like a machine”, the author emphasizes the sense of
A rigidity. B inhumanity. C preciseness.
D automation.
40. The statement that best summarizes the text is
A sportspeople seek high-tech products for better performance.
B science and technology have played a significant role in sports.
C science and technology have helped improve the sports environment.
D some sportspeople have benefited financially from new technology.
Text 2
Most of us Americans have a vague, uneasy sense of wicked wastefulness. We throw out the never-opened pack of food that"s past its sell-by date before answering a call on the fourth mobile phone we have had in five years. We gaze around our living space groaning at the sheer quantity of little-used clothing, blocking it up like a blood clot in an arterial vein.
Our despair is genuine at the way we are running out of the earth"s resources and at the fact that we have so much when two-thirds of the world"s population only just get enough to eat and drink. Yet we feel completely powerless to do anything about it, too busy, irritable and tired to focus on practical steps.
For the problem goes even deeper than material wastefulness: We know we are wasting our time, our being, our lives. We have compromised in our choice of career, lovers, friends ; we put on a face to meet the faces that we meet. Trapped in marketing characters, not only in our office politics but in our intimate relationships, too, we play too many games.
Deep down, we know that it"s time to "get a life", to stop being distracted by pointless consumerism, unreal relationships, and "Affluenza-infected" career ambitions.
The first step to salvation is to understand how much it is not your fault. If you read Vance Packard"s 1958 book about the advertising industry, The Hidden Persuaders, it proves that long ago retailers were devising ways to deliberately deceive us into confusing mixed wants with true needs in order to keep the consumption bandwagon rolling. In recent years, manufacturers have intention- ally speeded up the rate at which electronic goods become obsolescent and instead of the proper re- pair customer services that used to exist, there are merely expensive help-lines, When your toaster or printer or MP3 music device breaks down after only a year, it is no accident that there is no one who will repair them--" it"d cost more than buying a new one, love".
So this is a selfish capitalist system which is designed to maximize profits through rapid turn- over of "newer, better" goods that break down sooner and are designed to be irreparable. It"s not your fault !
What you can do is withdraw as much as possible from the consumption game. Every time you are about to buy something ask yourself, "do I need this, or do I just want it."?"
41. Most Americans, according to the author, feel uneasy about
A depending too much on modern technology.
B failing to solve problems in their lives.
C having too little living space.
D wasting too many resources.
42. By saying "we play too many games", the author wants to show
A we are wasting our lives.
B we make too many mistakes.
C we do not take our life seriously.
D I we are too busy enjoying ourselves.
43. To make ourselves feel better, we should first
A figure out whom to blame for our excessive consumption.
B avoid making unnecessary purchases in our daily life.
C pick out misleading messages in the advertisement.
D exercise caution when making a big purchase.
44. We learn from Paragraph 5 that
A the quality of goods is getting worse recently.
B customers are more often misled nowadays.
C we are deceived into making a purchase.
D advertisers have become very clever.
45. The author advises us to buy
A more than we need. B only what we want.
C more than we want. D only what we need.
Text 3
Susan Baroness Greenfield is a British institution. In a country that perceives its scientists as white-coated eccentrics, and probably male, Lady Greenfield is fashionable, extravagant, and female. At least, that is the image she has sought to project as a populariser of science. She is accused, though, of bringing another British institution, the Royal Institution (RI), to the verge of bankruptcy. The RI, of which she was director from 1998 until last Friday (January 8th), has made her job redundant. She says she plans to respond with a suit for sexual discrimination.
Lady Greenfield, a neuroscientist at Oxford University, was recruited to shake up the two century old institution because she had made a name for herself, particularly on television, as one of the popular faces of science. The RI is, in part, a members" club famous for its Christmas lectures "adapted to a juvenile audience", which are broadcast on television every year, and its Friday evening discourses (black ties, please, gentlemen), in which prominent scientists chat about their work for precisely an hour--no more and no less--before everyone is served tea and chocolate cake. But it is also a serious research laboratory (one of the longest-established in the world), looking into things like the medical applications of nanotechnology.
Lady Greenfield"s offence, if offence it be, was to modernize the RI"s headquarters in May- fair, one of the most stylish parts of London, without proper cost control. The redecoration included a high-class bar and restaurant that are open to the general public. Sadly, these opened for business in October 2008--the least favorable moment imaginable for such a venture.
The redecoration, which cost ——22m, much of which was raised by selling the institution"s shares of property, has left the RI —— 3m in debt, and the trustees have decided that one way to cut costs is to cut the job of director. Lady Greenfield, the first female director in a line that stretches back through Michael Faraday to Humphry Davy, seems to suspect that financial considerations were not the only ones when this decision was made.
Instead of a director, the RI is to be led by a newly-invented chief executive officer, in the person of Chris Rofe. Mr. Rofe, who was appointed in April 2009, has a degree in business administration, not science. Given the debt, though, perhaps an alchemist, a person who devotes himself to turning ordinary metals into gold, would be the most appropriate person for the job.
46. By saying Lady Greenfield is "a British institution", the author means
A she is well-known in Britain.
B she owns a British association.
C she is suing a British institution.
D she is accused by a British institution.
47. Which of the following is true of the RI?
A It provides one-hour-long club activities for famous scientists.
B It offers special annual Christmas lectures for young people.
C It enjoys a long history of scientific research in medicine.
D It makes a name for popularizing science on television.
48. Lady Greenfield was blamed for
A misunderstanding the significance of the RI"s modernization.
B misjudging the RI"s business opportunities in London.
C mismanaging the costs for the RI"s redecoration.
D mistiming the opening of the redecorated RI.
49. It can be learned from Paragraph 4 that
A the RI has sold all its property for redecoration.
B the redecoration has undermined the RI"s reputation.
C the RI fired Lady Greenfield to cut redecoration costs.
D Lady Greenfield thought her dismissal unfair.
50. How does the author feel about the prospects of the RI"s getting out of financial trouble?
A Confident. B Suspicious. C Optimistic. D Cautious.
阅读C:
Directions:
In the following text, some sentences have been removed, For Questions 51 -55, choose the most suitable one from the list A-G to fit into each of the numbered blanks. There are two extra choices, which do not .fit in any of the blanks. Mark your answers on the ANSWER SHEET.
The Internet and mobile phones have transformed our connections to people around the world. This technology has also, however, led to a widening gender gap in poorer countries. For it is largely men who control the information revolution that helps to educate, inform and empower.
In low- and middle-income countries, a woman is 21 percent less likely than a man to own a mobile phone, according to research done by GSMA. In Africa, women are 23 percent less likely than a man to own a cell phone. In the Middle East the figure is 21 percent and in South Asia, 37 percent.
The factors driving women"s lack of connectivity vary from community to community. But the end result is always the same: disempowerment. (51) __
This disturbing finding is highlighted by the United Nations/Overseas Development Institute- led MY World survey, a major, inclusive global poll. Respondents were asked to rank their priori- ties--including political freedoms, better healthcare, protection from violence and crime--in making the world better. They could vote paper, online or by mobile phone. (52) __
The survey has already gathered 1.5 million votes. Women are just as keen as men to have their views heard engagement offline is a 50-50 split between women and men, online women have voted more than men, with a 5248 split.
(53) __ Consider Yemen, where 121,000 people voted on their mobile phones. Of those, 81,000 were men.
Overall, women respondents picked education, healthcare and better job opportunities as their top priorities in making the world better. (54) __
Getting more mobile phones into the hands of women in low- and middle-income countries will not be easy because the reasons behind their lack of ownership are so varied. But there are some solutions.
In these countries there are typically three key barriers: Mobile phones are too expensive, the monthly bills are too high or there is no urgent need to own one. Governments should help lower these barriers. They should set up transparent regulatory systems that would encourage more mobile phone providers to enter the market. More competition means lower prices and more affordable plans.
(55) __ Governments should also subsidize computer and smartphone ownership for low-income people.
A A mobile phone can bring benefits to women, and many of these we in the West take for granted: personal safety, reliable connection to friends and family and access to commerce and job opportunities.
B Most important for a world dominated by Facebk and Twitt and e-polls, a mobile phone gives women a voice.
C But mobile voting has told a different story. The difference in response rates between the sexes is obvious. Of the roughly 380,000 respondents who took the survey via mobile, only 25 percent were women.
D But if you saw only the mobile vote, their views would have been diluted because men dominated. If women owned mobile phones in equal numbers, their access to education, healthcare and better jobs would indeed be improved.
E Women are not just missing out on educational and economic opportunities because they don"t own mobile phones. They are losing a voice.
F The results will help world leaders as they deliberate on the post-2015 global development agenda this week, during the conference of the U. N. Commission on the Status of Women.
G In addition, governments should ensure that women have access to microfinance plans to help purchase phones. They should strive to make equal access to mobile connectivity part of their development plans.
阅读D:
Directions:
Read the following text carefully and then translate the underlined segments into Chinese. Write your translation clearly on the ANSWER SHEET.
We have known the elephants, the greatest land mammal of them all--highly sensitive, intelligent, family-oriented, big-toothed creatures--for a very long time, and they have known us. It has been a tortuous relationship, and one that is still evolving. (56) We have looked up to elephants as gods, but killed them for their ivory, and captured and enslaved them to be our beasts of burden in work and war, and for our entertainment.
Earlier this month, Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus announced that it had decided to phase elephants out of its public spectacles, retiring its remaining forty-three working elephants to a park it owns in Florida, where twenty-nine elephants already live. (57) The decision follows years of pressure from animal-rights groups, and is part of a trend that has been gathering strength for years. Most other circuses in the United States and Western Europe have stopped using the animals because the routine use of prods, cages, and chains, both to transport elephants and to force their obedience, has come to be seen by growing numbers of people, including circus goers,
as cruel.
The Ringling news is striking. (58) In our gradual awakening to the idea that we must protect the elephant from enslavement and cruelty, it may be possible to hear echoes of other dawnings of conscience. As someone born at a time of widespread consensus that human slavery was one of history"s most despicable and shameful practices, (59) I"ve always been intrigued by the realization that, during the life of my great-great-grandfather, there were a significant number of otherwise intelligent and sensitive white Americans and Europeans who apparently did not see it that
way.
And then I recall the excitement that I felt at going to the circus as a child. There were at least flashes of discomfort when I watched as trainers used prods to make elephants hold each other"s tails with their trunks and sway back and forth to music, or shouted commands for them to kneel, to put their bottoms in the air. But, in the end, (60) the spectacle, the noisy excitement of the crowds, and the presence of grownups all signaled an acceptance of things as they were, and one"s awareness of the elephants" humiliation became somehow less acute. As an adult, it has been easier to perceive the treatment of circus elephants for what it is: cruel.
参考答案：
21.completed/finished
【精析】本题考查句意推断。由上下文以及人生成长阶段的常识可知，此句要表达的意思是大多数年轻男性在二十岁左右已经完成学业，开始工作了，故填completed/finished均可。
22.married
【精析】本题考查句意推断。由后文的raising children可知，此句要表达的是多数年轻女性已结婚生子，故填married。
23.up
【精析】本题考查动词词组的搭配及用法。根据句意不难理解，此句的主语是在这个黄金发展时代成长起来的人们，grow up意为“成长，长大”，故填up。
24.begins/tarts/commences l
【精析】本题考查前后文的结构对照。句中将“成年期”与“青年期”对照，后半句说的是青年期的结束，由推测可知，前半句应为成年期的开始。整句表达的是，成年期并不随着青春期的结束而开始，故填 begins/starts/commences均可。
25.in
【精析】本题考查介词的用法。在十九世纪末二十世纪初，用介词 in，故填in。 l
26.when
【精析】本题考查关系副词的用法。此句为when引导的非限制性定语从句，修饰前面表示时间的先行词“十九世纪末二十世纪初”，故：填when。 I
27.until/till I
【精析】本题考查句意推断及连词的用法。由上下文得知，此句表达 的是年轻人要等到足够富有了才结婚生子，故填until/till均可。
28.family/household/home
【精析】本题考查句意推断。由上下文可推断，此处要表达的意思是建立一个独立的家庭，故填family/household/home均可。
29.in {
【精析】本题考查句意理解及介词的用法。此句要表达的是如今的 青年人在定义与实现成年期问题上与过去的人有很大不同。表达“在…方面”应用介词in，故填in。
30.which
【精析】本题考查非限制性定语从句。前面主句中的“an extension of adolescence”为先行词。此句意为“这个新阶段并不像大众媒体所坚持认为的那样是青少年时期的延伸”，故填which。
31.have/own/possess
【精析】本题考查句意理解及句型结构。此句由and连接两个并列谓语，意为“年轻的成年人生理发育成熟，常常拥有惊人的智慧、社交技能和心理承受技能”，故填have/own/possess均可。 I 32.building/strengthening
【精析】本题考查动词短语的搭配及用法。整句句意为“年轻人忙于加强他们的教育背景，提升实践技能”。building/strengthening意为 “建立，增进，加强”，又因为be busy(in)doin9的固定搭配，故填
building/strengthening均可。
33.because/for/since
【精析】本题考查逻辑关系。此句意为“很多年轻人还没有完全成年是因为他们还没有准备好”，故填because/for/since均可。 I
34.so/this
【精析】本题考查句意理解。很多年轻人没有完全成年因为他们还没有准备好这样做。so/this指代前面的“become fully adult”，故填so /this均可。
35.fact/reality
【精析】本题考查介词短语：in fact/in reality“事实上，实际上”，故填 fact/reality 均可。
Text 1
36.D 37.A 38.D 39.C 40.B
Text 2
41.D 42.A 43.A 44.B 45·D
Text 3
46 A 47·B 48.C 49. D 50.B
51.E 52.F 53.C 54.D 55.G
56·我们一方面崇敬大象，将它们视为神，另一方面却杀害它们，夺取象牙，捕获并奴役它们，将它们变成替我们干活和打仗的牲畜，还要供我们娱乐。
57·这项决定是动物权益组织多年来施压的结果，也反映了近年来力量渐盛的一种趋势。
58·在我们逐渐觉醒，认识到必须保护大象，使它们免于奴役和虐待的时候，或许我们也能听到源于良心的其他叩问。
59·我一直对一个问题感到很好奇，那就是，我发觉，在我高曾祖父生活的时代，为数众多的美国白人和欧洲白人聪慧而又善解人意，却唯独在这件事情上明显不这样认为。
60_整个场面、拥挤人群发出的欢呼以及在场成年人的表现都说明，人们认可事情这样的存在方式，不知怎么，他们对于大象所受到的耻辱没有那么敏感了。
discomfort篇(2):2015年6月大学英语四级阅读模拟试题（二）
Section C
Directions: There are 2 passages in this section. Each passage is followed by some questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A.,B., C. and D.. You should decide on the best choice and mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the centre.
Passage One
Questions 56 to 60 are based on the following passage.
Fried foods have long been frowned upon. Nevertheless, the skillet (长柄平底煎锅) is about our handiest and most useful piece of kitchen equipment. Strong woodcutters and others engaged in active labor requiring 4,000calories per day or more will take approximately one-third of their rations prepared in this fashion. Meat, eggs, and French toast cooked in this way are served in millions of homes daily. Apparently the consumers are not beset with more signs of indigestion than afflicted by those who insist upon broiling, roasting, or boiling. Some years ago one of our most eminent physiologists investigated the digestibility of fried potatoes. He found that the pan variety was more easily broken down for assimilation than when deep fat was employed. The latter, however, dissolved within the alimentary tract ( 消化道 ) more readily than the boiled type. Furthermore, he learned, by watching the progress of the contents of the stomach by means of the fluoroscope (荧光检查仪), that fat actually accelerated the rate of digestion. Now all this is quite in contrast with "authority". Volumes have been written on nutrition, and everywhere the dictum ( 权威意见) has been accepted--no fried edibles of any sort for children. A few will go so tar as to forbid this style of cooking wholly. Now and then an expert will be bold enough to admit that he uses them himself, the absence of discomfort being explained on the ground that he possesses a powerful gastric ( 胃的 )apparatus. We can of course sizzle perfectly good articles to death so that they will be leathery and tough. But thorough heating, in the presence of shortening, is not the awful crime that it has been labeled. Such dishes stimulate rather than retard contractions of the gall bladder. Thus it is that bile ( 胆汁 ) mixes with the nutriment shortly after it leaves the stomach.
We don"t need to allow our foodstuffs to become oil soaked, but other than that, there seems to be no basis for the widely heralded prohibition against this method. But notions become fixed. The first condemnation probably rose because an "oracle" ( 圣贤) suffered from dyspepsia (消化不良) which he ascribed to some fried item on the menu. The theory spread. Others agreed with him, and after a time the doctrine became incorporated in our textbooks. The belief is now tradition rather than proved fact. It should have been refuted long since, as experience has demonstrated its falsity.
56. This passage focuses on__________.
A. why the skillet is a handy piece of kitchen equipment
B. the digestibility of fried foods
C. how the experts can mislead the public in the area of food preparation
D. why fried foods have long been frowned upon
57. People engaged in active labor eat fried foods because __________.
A. they are healthful
B. they are much cheaper
C. they can be easily digested
D. they can provide the calories the workers need
58. The author implies that the public should__________.
A. prepare some foods by frying
B. avoid fried foods if possible
C. fry foods for adults but not for children
D. prepare all foods by frying
59. When the author says that "an "oracle" suffered from dyspepsia which he ascribed to some fried item on the menu" he is being__________.
A. grateful
B. factual
C. sarcastic
D. humorous
60. The passage was probably taken from__________.
A. a medical journal
B. a publication addressed to the general public
C. a speech at a medical convention
D. an advertisement for cooking oil
【参考译文】
很长时间以来，人们都不喜欢油炸食品。然而，长柄平底煎锅基本上是我们厨房里最方便、最有用的厨具。[57]健壮的伐木工人以及其他从事体力劳动的人员，每天需要4000卡路里或者更多的热量，他们吃的食物中的有三分之一是用这种煎锅来烹饪的。用煎锅烹制的肉、蛋和法式土司每天都会出现在千百万人家的餐桌上。很明显，困扰这些食用者的不是消化不良的迹象越来越多，而是那些坚持只用烘、烤、煮的方法烹饪的人对他们的折磨。数年前，一位非常著名的生理学家研究了油炸薯条的可消化性。他发现，用平底锅烹制食物时，不用油炸要比油炸的更容易被吸收。汪是，比起蒸煮过的食物，经过油炸的食物更容易在消化道里分解。并且，当通过荧光检查仪观察胃里食物的消化过程时他还发现，实际上脂肪可加快消化的速度。而现在这些发现都与“权威”说法相悖、营养方面的书籍汗牛充栋，其中油炸食品有害的权威说法随处可见——孩子绝对不能吃任何油炸食物。一些书籍甚至完全禁止使用煎炸这种烹饪方式。时不时还会有某位专家大胆地指出自己进行了亲身试验，但他吃了油炸食物身体却安然无恙的原因在于自己的胃功能强大。当然，我们可以重复阅读这些好文章.直到感觉味同嚼蜡、无聊透顶。但是(油炸)这种含有起酥油的彻底加热的方式，并不像之前人们所定义的那样糟糕。这样的食物不仅不会阻碍胆囊收缩，反而会刺激其收缩。这样，这些胆汁就能在营养物从胃里流出之后迅速与其混合。
discomfort篇(3):让人孤独的职场【双语阅读】
史蒂夫(Steve)曾在伦敦金融城一家大银行当分析师，他从一开始就知道自己得花大把时间在电子表格上。他始料未及的是，在这样一家有几千名员工的全球银行，他居然会感到孤独。以下是小编为大家搜索整理的让人孤独的职场【双语阅读】，希望能给大家带来帮助!更多精彩内容请及时关注我们应届毕业生考试网!
As an analyst in a bulge-bracket bank in the City ofLondon, Steve knew that he was in for long hoursspent churning through spreadsheets. What he wasnot prepared for, at a global bank that hiresthousands of people, was loneliness.
史蒂夫(Steve)曾在伦敦金融城一家大银行当分析师，他从一开始就知道自己得花大把时间在电子表格上。他始料未及的是，在这样一家有几千名员工的全球银行，他居然会感到孤独。
The environment, says the 27-year-old, whoprefers not to use his real name, was “toxic”. Therewas “rarely any support for new joiners, no mentorship” in the business.
这位27岁的年轻人不愿使用真名，他说，那种环境是“有毒的”，公司“很少为新加入的员工提供什么支持，没有人当导师”。
His youth was a factor. In his early 20s, being on a team with experienced professionals was“intimidating”. A snide comment from a manager would immediately make him feel “verysmall”.
他的年轻是一方面原因。那时他才20来岁，而团队其他成员都是经验丰富的专业人士，这难免“令人心生畏惧”。来自经理的每一句冷嘲热讽，都会在瞬间让他觉得自己“很渺小”。
Over time, his “self-esteem [took] a nosedive” and he started to isolate himself. “Better to notsay a word if the slightest murmur could lead to embarrassment,” he says. That affected hisperformance at work and meant that he further cordoned himself off.
随着时间推移，他的“自尊心严重受挫”，他开始把自己孤立起来。“如果小声嘀咕一两句都可能招来难堪，那还是闭嘴为好，”他说。这影响了他在工作中的表现，也使他更进一步封闭自己。
A 2011 study from California State University and the Wharton School confirms what Steveknew: that management should not treat loneliness as a private problem but rather one thataffects the business.
加利福尼亚州立大学(California State University)和沃顿商学院(Wharton School)在2011年所做的一项研究，印证了史蒂夫的感受：管理层不应把员工的孤独感当作一个私人问题，而应该当作一个会影响业务的问题来处理。
“An employee’s work loneliness triggers emotional withdrawal from their organisation,” thestudy says. “The results also show that co-workers can recognise this loneliness and see ithindering team member effectiveness.”
“员工在工作中产生的孤独感会导致其在情感上疏远自己的组织，”该研究报告写道，“结果还表明，同事们可以分辨出这种孤独感，看到它在妨碍团队成员的有效性。”
Steve felt not only “lonely but increasingly helpless”. The people who manned the corporateemployee assistance phones were based in another city and were disconnected from themain business. After four years, he decided to leave and work for a fintech start-up.
史蒂夫不仅“感到孤独，而且越来越无助”。负责接听员工帮助热线电话的人在另一座城市，而且与公司主营业务毫无关联。4年后，他决定离职，跳槽到一家金融科技初创企业。
He has since realised, through talking to his former colleagues, that he was far from alone infeeling lonely at work. Books have started to appear on loneliness in the past decade, such asEmily White’s Lonely: A Memoir; Olivia Laing’s The Lonely City; and, more academically,Loneliness: Human Nature and the Need for Social Connection by John Cacioppo, the directorof the University of Chicago’s Center for Cognitive and Social Neuroscience.
后来，通过与前同事们交谈，他发现，在工作中感到孤独的绝不只他一个人。过去10年中开始出现了一些关于孤独的著作，比如埃米莉?怀特(Emily White)的《孤独：自传》(Lonely: A Memoir)，还有奥利维亚?莱恩(Olivia Laing)写的《孤独的城市》(The Lonely City)，以及学术性更强的《孤独是可耻的：你我都需要社会联系》(Loneliness: Human Nature and the Need for Social Connection)，该书作者约翰?卡乔波(JohnCacioppo)是芝加哥大学(University of Chicago)认知和社会神经科学中心主任。
In the UK, the Campaign to End Loneliness is working to influence public policy on isolation andto develop an evidence base, while the Jo Cox Commission on Loneliness, launched in thewake of the Labour MP’s murder in 2016, continues her activism in this area.
英国有一项“终结孤独运动”(Campaign to End Loneliness)，致力于影响有关社会隔绝的公共政策，并打造一个证据基础。还有个乔?考克斯孤独委员会(Jo Cox Commission on Loneliness)，是在工党议员乔?考克斯2016年遇害后成立的，该委员会继续推进她生前在该领域开展的活动。
It is important to distinguish between subjective loneliness and objective isolation, says ProfCacioppo, who has been studying the causes and effects of loneliness for more than 20 years.Loneliness is a “lack or loss of companionship [which] happens when we have a mismatchbetween the quantity and quality of social relationships that we have, and those that wewant”, according to the Campaign to End Loneliness.
卡乔波教授表示，有必要区分主观的孤独与客观的孤立。20多年来，他一直在研究产生孤独感的原因和后果。按照“终结孤独运动”的定义，“当我们所拥有的社会关系的数量及质量与我们所希望拥有的不匹配时，我们会感到缺乏或缺失陪伴，这就是孤独”。
This means, says Prof Cacioppo, that one can feel socially isolated even when around friends,family and crowds — or co-workers. As Steve’s experience shows, you may be surrounded byhundreds or thousands of colleagues yet still feel lonely.
卡乔波说，这意味着，一个人即便身边有家人朋友，身处人群中，或者有一大堆同事，也仍可能感到与社会隔绝。正如史蒂夫的经历所表明的，你身边周围或许有几百名甚至几千名同事，但你仍可能觉得孤单。
Despite their prevalence, social media are making people feel disconnected — “alone together”,in the words of Sherry Turkle, a psychologist and professor at MIT. “We think constantconnection [through smartphones and email] will make us feel less lonely,” she writes. “Theopposite is true.”
社交媒体尽管广为流行，却反而使人们感到隔绝——用麻省理工学院(MIT)心理学家雪莉?特克尔(SherryTurkle)教授的话来说就是“一起孤独”(alone together)。她写道：“我们以为(通过智能手机和电子邮件)经常联系会使我们感觉没那么孤独，事实正相反。”
A forthcoming paper, co-authored by Prof Cacioppo, suggests that the relationship withtechnology is more complex. The internet may be used to enhance existing relationships andforge social connections but may also be a way of escaping “the social world” and thusincreasing loneliness.
卡乔波与人合写的一篇即将发表的论文则提出，人与科技的关系更加复杂。人们可能利用互联网增强已有的关系和打造新的社会联系，但也可能借互联网来逃避“社交世界”，从而加剧孤独感。
Adam Grant, professor of management and psychology at Wharton, has observed Americansare less likely to foster friendships at work, because they do not envisage sticking around. “Wedon’t invest in the same way. We view co-workers as transitory ties, greeting them with arms-length civility.”
沃顿商学院管理学及心理学教授亚当?格兰特(Adam Grant)注意到，如今美国人在工作中不那么可能交朋友了，因为他们不打算长干。“我们不再以过去那种方式投入，我们把与同事的关系视为是暂时的，会礼貌地保持着距离。”
While the popular expression may be that “it’s lonely at the top”, researchers have found thatit can be pretty lonely at the bottom. A paper published in the scientific journal OrganizationalBehavior and Human Decision Processes in 2015 found that employees with low levels ofautonomy and power felt lonely. Adam Waytz, a psychologist at Northwestern University’sKellogg School of Management, explains in the paper that “having power reduces the need tobelong”. Power confers access to resources that give people the sense that they could easilyaffiliate with others and find connection regardless of whether or not this is actually the case,he says.
“身居高位不胜孤独”的说法或许很流行，但研究人员发现，底层员工可能非常孤独。科学期刊《组织行为与人类决策过程》(Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes) 2015年刊载的一篇论文发现，自主与权力级别较低的员工会感到孤独。西北大学凯洛格商学院(Northwestern University’s KelloggSchool of Management)的心理学家亚当?韦兹(Adam Waytz)在论文中解释说，“拥有权力会减少对归属感的需要”。他说，权力带来利用资源的渠道，让人感觉他们能轻易与人交往，找到交情，无论事实是否如此。
Virtual working is a more obvious cause of loneliness. Rachel, who worked until recently incorporate communications at a financial services company headquartered in New York, was theonly one in her department based in the UK. “In the beginning I loved it,” says Rachel, who alsoprefers to remain anonymous. She was proud of being a pioneer and liked having a globalrole.
虚拟工作是引发孤独感的一个较明显原因。雷切尔(Rachel)原来在一家金融服务公司的公关部工作，公司总部在纽约，整个部门只有她一个人在英国工作，但是最近她已经辞职了。“刚开始我很喜欢这份工作，”雷切尔说，她也不愿透露全名。那时她为自己走在时代前沿感到骄傲，并喜欢担任一个全球性的职位。
But ultimately she became enveloped by loneliness. “I didn’t see anyone — my team werebased in New York. I missed the office banter. On Fridays they would say they were going for adrink and I felt excluded.” Rachel felt that she was “out of sight, out of mind”.
但最终她被孤独感包围了。“我谁都见不到——我的团队在纽约，我怀念办公室里的谈笑，一到周五他们会说要出去喝一杯，我觉得自己不是团队的一份子。”雷切尔觉得大家“看不到她，也不会想到她”。
Every time the phone rang she turned into a chatterbox, desperate for contact. She had toremind herself to end the conversation before she pummelled the caller with her enthusiasm.When her son came home from school, “I would hug him like I hadn’t seen him for weeks.” Afterit took its toll on her health and productivity, she left the job.
每次电话一响，她就成了一个话唠，渴望与人交谈。她必须提醒自己适时结束谈话，以免对方受不了她的热情。儿子放学回家时，“我会紧紧地拥抱他，就像我好几个星期没见他了一样”。孤独感损害了她的健康，也影响了工作效率，于是她辞职了。
In retrospect, she believes that her team should have made more effort to include her. “Theycould have created more opportunities for banter and discussions offline,” perhaps by buildingfive minutes of conversation into a team conference call.
回头来看，她认为她原来的团队应该多做一些努力来帮助她融入团体。“他们本来可以创造更多机会，在线下进行谈笑和讨论”，比如说在团队电话会议中安排五分钟的谈话。
Shefaly Yogendra, a governance and risk consultant, also experienced virtual-office loneliness,this time working from home with teams in Asia and California. “Office banter is a sociallubricant. It humanises people and makes them seem not like robots,” she says. “There is anexistential quality to loneliness.” For her, the solution was not to find throngs of co-workersbut to “calm the monkey mind” through yoga.
公司治理及风险顾问谢发里?约詹德拉(Shefaly Yogendra)也体会到了虚拟办公室所带来的孤独感，与她合作的团队分别在亚洲和美国加州，而她在自己家中工作。“办公室谈笑是一种社交润滑剂，它使人富于人性，使他们看起来不像机器人。”她说，“孤独有一种与存在有关的品质。”她的解决办法不是为自己找到大批同事，而是通过练瑜伽“让心猿安定下来”。
Sometimes working alone at home can be the answer to loneliness. Deborah Parietti, founder ofRed Beetle Travelling Food, an ecommerce business selling Italian produce, says that she feelsless lonely now than she did working in marketing for an employer.
有时候，独自在家工作恰恰是一种克服孤独感的办法。Red Beetle Travelling Food是一家销售意大利农产品的电商企业，其创始人黛博拉?帕里埃蒂(Deborah Parietti)说，比起她在一家公司做市场营销工作，她如今感觉没那么孤独了。
“It felt so silly to feel lonely when surrounded by loads of people. It’s hard to talk to a boss andsay, ‘I feel lonely.’ It’s not tangible. Not something you can explain very well. It’s not an easyconversation to have.”
“身边有许多人却觉得孤独，那种感觉真是太蠢了。你很难开口对老板说，‘我觉得孤独’。那不是有形的，不是某种你能够解释得清的东西。那不是容易交流的话题。”
Today, while she is often alone, she feels she has the power to make changes if lonelinesscreeps in. “When I was in a workplace, it made me unhappy and [I] couldn’t switch off fromthat?.?.?.?discomfort and sadness. Now loneliness is a catalyst. I can go and meet people.”
如今，虽然她经常独处，但她觉得如果孤独感在心底悄然滋生，她有力量去做出改变。“当我身处一个工作场所，孤独感会让我不快乐，而我无法摆脱那种……不适和悲哀。如今孤独成了一种催化剂，我可以出门去见人。”
Even chief executives are vulnerable
首席执行官也孤独
António Horta-Osório, the chief executive of Lloyds bank, was signed off work for stress andtold the Financial Times: “As a CEO these positions are quite lonely, so sometimes there areseveral things you cannot share with your team, because you have to motivate them. Youdon’t want your employees to have doubts about your leadership.”
劳埃德银行(Lloyds bank)的首席执行官安东尼奥·霍塔-奥索里奥(António Horta-Osório)曾因压力过大而休病假，他告诉英国《金融时报》：“身为一名首席执行官，这些职位是相当孤独的，有时候，有一些事情你无法与你的团队分享，因为你必须激励他们。你不希望你手下的员工对你的领导力抱有怀疑。”
A report on loneliness, co-authored by Professor Adam Waytz of Kellogg School ofManagement, found high-ranking employees were vulnerable to loneliness because they oftenhave sole responsibility for laying off employees; reducing resources in budget restructurings;and “increasing organisational profit at a potential cost to the environment or to society”.
上文提到的凯洛格商学院的亚当?韦兹教授与人联合撰写的一份关于孤独的报告发现，高级别的雇员很容易产生孤独感，因为他们往往独自承担着一些责任，比如裁员、在预算重组过程中减少资源，还有“以可能损害环境或社会为代价来增加本组织的利润”。
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