创新英语-Sidewalk Rage Common in Big Cities

Do you ever get angry at people walking slowly in front of you? If you do, you might be suffering from Intermittent¹ Explosive Disorder² (IED). A University of Hawaii professor, Leon James, has studied people’s emotions as they walk along busy streets in New York City. He discovered that many people have “serious problems” when someone walking at a snail’s pace in front of them impedes³ their progress. Dr James, a psychology⁴ professor, called the condition “sidewalk rage”. James is developing a Pedestrian Aggressiveness Syndrome⁵ Scale (PASS) to measure the different levels of sidewalk rage. It measures 15 different behaviors that indicate sidewalk rage. These include muttering to yourself, bumping into other pedestrians⁶ on purpose, glaring, and walking too closely to other people.

Dr James’ research found that tourists are those most likely to cause IED. They are the slowest walkers, at an average of 1.16 metres per second. IED sufferers should easily be able to spot tourists and change course to avoid any chances of getting angry. Next slowest are smokers⁷, cellphone users, and people with bags. These walk between 1.27 and 1.3 metres per second. The fastest walkers, at 1.4 metres per second, are those who listen to music. New York resident Jim Redman said he was shocked when he found out about the research. “That’s me!” he said. “I get sidewalk rage every day. I can’t stand it when people walk so slow in the city. I have no patience with them,” he added. Mr Redman confessed that he also showed signs of IED in his home when his children slow down his journey to the bathroom.

1 intermittent   

adj.间歇的，断断续续的

参考例句：

• Did you hear the intermittent sound outside?你听见外面时断时续的声音了吗？
• In the daytime intermittent rains freshened all the earth.白天里，时断时续地下着雨，使整个大地都生气勃勃了。

2 disorder   

n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调

参考例句：

• When returning back,he discovered the room to be in disorder.回家后，他发现屋子里乱七八糟。
• It contained a vast number of letters in great disorder.里面七零八落地装着许多信件。

3 impedes   

阻碍，妨碍，阻止( impede的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• High packing density greatly impedes the cooling of the array. 高存贮密度很不利于阵列的散热。
• The inflexibility of the country's labor market seriously impedes its economic recovery. 该国劳工市场缺乏灵活性，这严重阻碍了它的经济恢复。

4 psychology   

n.心理，心理学，心理状态

参考例句：

• She has a background in child psychology.她受过儿童心理学的教育。
• He studied philosophy and psychology at Cambridge.他在剑桥大学学习哲学和心理学。

5 syndrome   

n.综合病症；并存特性

参考例句：

• The Institute says that an unidentified virus is to blame for the syndrome. 该研究所表示,引起这种综合症的是一种尚未确认的病毒。
• Results indicated that 11 fetuses had Down syndrome. 结果表明有11个胎儿患有唐氏综合征。

6 pedestrians   

n.步行者( pedestrian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Several pedestrians had come to grief on the icy pavement. 几个行人在结冰的人行道上滑倒了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Pedestrians keep to the sidewalk [footpath]! 行人走便道。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

7 smokers   

吸烟者( smoker的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Many smokers who are chemically addicted to nicotine cannot cut down easily. 许多有尼古丁瘾的抽烟人不容易把烟戒掉。
• Chain smokers don't care about the dangers of smoking. 烟鬼似乎不在乎吸烟带来的种种危害。