《参考消息》2006年6月26日：消费者为何喜新厌旧【英国《新科学家》周刊6月10日一期文章】题：喜新成癖
Neophiliac
New Scientist
ARE you tempted to trade in your mobile phone every time a new model comes out, upgrade your laptop every year orpart-exchange[1]your car as soon as the shine wears off? If so, you could be suffering from neophilia:l_______①,the love of the new.（1）"Suffering" is a bit of a stretch, since most of us are neophiliacs to some deGREe.It is the curse of ourconsumerist[2]culture or a blessing if you're a manufacturer or advertiser.
But is it doing any real harm? Actually, yes._______________________________. （美国和其它发达国家面临着日益严重的有害废弃物问题，其根源正是“喜新厌旧”[neophilia]）More than 100 million mobile phones were discarded in the US last year, along with tens of millions of computers. It's a similar story for electronic games, monitors, televisions and other IT products. Many of these are made oft_______②materials containing heavy metals such as lead, zinc, chromium, cadmium and mercury.
（2）What's more, our enthusiasm for new products is encouraging what the writer Giles Slade calls "planned obsolescence[3]" the tendency of manufacturers to artificially limit the useful lifespan of their products so consumers will soon have to replace them.
Who exactly qualifies as a neophiliac? Colin Campbell, a sociologist at the University of York, UK, and one of the first to look into the phenomenon, defines three types. The first, known as "pristinians", have an almostp_______③desire for things that arepristine[4]and fresh. （3）They replace furniture, clothes, even the living-room carpet at the first sign of wear, often with identical models.The second group are the "trailblazing consumers" who seek cutting-edge innovations and technologies, a demographic comprised mostly of young men. The third and most common type are the victims of fashion, thefickle[5]consumers whos_______④to the lure of advertising.
Is anyone immune? People who are middle-aged or older are far less likely to have neophilia. Robert McCrae of the US National Institute on Aging and other researchers have shown that people become morer_______⑤to novelty as they grow older. The primatologist Robert Sapolsky estimates that most people's "window of receptivity" closes for fashion novelties by age 23, new music genres by age 35 and new foods by 39. This is not just a human trait: old animals are not receptive to new foods either. As they say, you can't teach an old dog newt______⑥.
This suggests a strong biological influence in a person's desire for novelty. Some people may be genetically more disposed to neophilia than others: a recent study by psychiatrists at the Yamagata University School of Medicine in Japan suggests that differences in people's enthusiasm for novelty depends partly on variations in the gene for monoamine oxidase A (Psychiatric Genetics, vol 16, p 55). Think about that next time youg_______⑦through the window of a mobile phone store.
NOTES:
[1]part-exchange n.部分抵价以旧换新
[2]consumerist n.消费者至上主义者
[3]obsolescence n.荒废，过时
[4]pristine adj..新鲜的；清洁的；质朴的
[5]fickle adj.感情不专的；易变的
试一试：
1．根据首字母提示和译文，填入适当单词：
①l_______, the love of the new（从字面上说，就是对新事物的狂热）
②Many of these are made of t_______ materials（其中许多产品都是用有毒材料制成的）
③have an almost p_______ desire for things（对事物有着近乎病态的渴望）
④s_______ to the lure of advertising（屈服于广告的诱惑）
⑤more r_______ to novelty（对新事物的抗拒心增强）
⑥you can't teach an old dog new t______（你无法教一只上了年纪的狗玩新把戏）
⑦g_______ through the window of a mobile phone store（凝视手机店的橱窗）
参考答案：
①literally ②toxic ③pathological ④原文为succumb，但surrender应当亦可 ⑤resistant ⑥tricks ⑦gaze
2．翻译划线部分英文：
参考答案：
（1）“患有”这个词有点夸张，因为大部分人在某种程度上都喜新厌旧。
（2）而且，我们对新产品的热情助长了（作家贾尔斯-斯莱德所谓的）“有计划淘汰”现象——生产者人为限制产品的使用年限，迫使消费者很快购买替代产品。
（3）家具、衣服甚至客厅地毯稍有磨损就要换掉，而且经常是换上一模一样的款式。
3．汉译英（根据译文提示写出空缺英文）：
参考答案：
Neophilia is at the root of the growing problem of hazardous waste in the US and other developed countries
参考消息译文：
【英国《新科学家》周刊6月10日一期文章】题：喜新成癖
每当有新款手机推出时，你是否都有折价换掉旧手机的冲动？你是否想每年都升级笔记本电脑，或当车子不再光彩熠熠时就把它换掉？如果是这样，你可能患有喜新癖：从字面上说，就是对新事物的狂热。“患有”这个词有点夸张，因为大部分人在某种程度上都喜新厌旧。这是我们这种消费文化的诅咒——或者说赐福如果你是制造商或者广告商的话。
但是，这种情况是否真正造成了危害？是的。美国等发达国家面临着日益严重的有害废弃物问题，其根源正是“喜新厌旧”。美国人去年扔掉了1亿多部手机和数千万台电脑。电子游戏机、显示器、电视和其他IT产品的情况也差不多。其中许多产品是用含铅、锌、铬、镉、汞等重金属的有毒材料制成的。
而且，我们对新产品的热情助长了“有计划淘汰”现象——生产者人为限制产品的使用年限，迫使消费者很快购买替代产品。
谁是真正的喜新成癖者？英国约克大学的社会学家科林-坎贝尔是最先研究喜新厌旧现象的学者之一。他定义了三类喜新成癖者：第一类人对全新的东西有着近乎病态般的渴望。家具、衣服甚至客厅地毯稍有磨损就要换掉，而且经常是换上一模一样的款式；第二类人是“开拓型消费者”，追求新产品和新技术，他们大多是年轻人；第三类、同时也是最常见的一类人是时尚的受害者，他们屈服于广告的诱惑，容易三心二意。
是否有人具有免疫力？中年人或者年纪更大一些的人不太可能喜新成癖。美国国家老龄问题研究所的罗伯特-麦克雷等人的研究显示，随着年龄的增长，人们对新事物的抗拒心在增强。灵长目动物学家罗伯特-萨波尔斯基估计，大多数人的“接受力之窗”在23岁时就对新奇时装关闭了，对新音乐种类和新食物关闭的年龄分别为35岁和39岁。并不是人类才具有这种特性：年老的动物也不愿接受新食物。正如人们所说，你没法教一条上了年纪的狗玩新把戏。
这种现象表明，一个人对新事物的渴望在很大程度上受到生理方面的影响。日本山形大学医学院最近进行的研究显示，有些人的基因可能使他更容易喜新成癖。你下次凝视手机店的橱窗时，请想一下这个事实。
消费者为何喜新厌旧？
2023-01-07英汉翻译
