中英双语新闻——260 为何排队是种折磨

 　　Everyone hates to wait in lines. We get that gnawing¹ feeling that our precious life is slipping away while we’re doing something so meaningless. But it’s not always the length of the wait we find so unbearable². Some people camp outside Apple stores for an entire night just to get their hands on the latest product. But waiting 10 minutes in a grocery store just to buy a drink? Forget it.

 

　　人人都讨厌排队。我们为宝贵生命浪费在这些毫无意义的事情上而苦恼。但是漫长的等待并非总是那么让人无法忍受。一些人在苹果店外支起帐篷，用一整晚的时间换来最新的苹果产品。而在杂货店里等上十分钟，只为买瓶饮料？还是算了吧。

 

　　Our behavior when waiting is only partly defined by the length of the wait. “Often the psychology³ of queuing is more important than the statistics of the wait itself,” notes the MIT researcher Richard Larson. Larson, also known as Dr Queue, is an expert on waiting lines.

 

　　我们等待时的行为在一定程度上取决于等待时间的长短。“等待时的心理状态通常比等待时长本身更为重要，”麻省理工学院的研究员理查德?拉尔森说。拉森是知名的排队研究专家，被称为“排队博士”。

 

　　One apparent aspect of queuing psychology is that we get bored when we wait in line. This issue is tackled in many ways, from magazines in hospital waiting rooms to mirrors in elevators so that we can check our appearance.

 

　　排队心理学的一个显著方面是我们排队时会感到无聊。有很多方法可以解决这一问题，比如从医院候诊室里的杂志到电梯里供我们整理仪容的镜子。

 

　　We really hate it when we expect a short wait and then get a long one. But studies show that we are much more patient when we are given an idea of how long we’ll be waiting.

 

　　我们非常讨厌以为只等一会儿但却等了很长时间。但是研究表明，我们在知道明确的等待时间时会更加耐心。

 

　　Walt Disney Co knows this better than anyone else. It posts estimated waiting times for attractions in its theme parks. But according to Larson, these times are overestimated⁴ so that visitors get to the front of the queue more quickly than they expect. It keeps them happy.

 

　　迪士尼公司比任何人都深谙其中之道。它在主题公园的景点前公布预计的等待时间。但是按照拉尔森的说法，这些预计时间会比实际等待时间长一些，因此游客比预期排队要快，这让他们非常高兴。

 

　　But perhaps the biggest influence on our feelings about waiting in a line has to do with our perception of fairness. When it comes to queues, the universally acknowledged standard is first come, first served. Any deviation⁵ from this principle is regarded as unfair and can lead to violent queue rage. A simple search on Baidu news with the keywords “cutting in line” and “fight” throws up dozens of headlines in the past year.

 

　　但是影响我们排队情绪的最大因素可能与我们的公平感有关。排队公认的标准是先来先到。任何违背这条原则的行为都被视为不公平之举，从而引发排队骚乱。只需在百度新闻上输入关键字“插队”和“打架”，便能搜出许多去年的头条新闻。

 

　　Queue rage is not uncommon⁶ in Western countries either. The New York Times reported on an incident in which a man was stabbed last July in a Maryland post office by a fellow customer who mistakenly thought he had cut in line.

 

　　排队骚乱在西方国家也很常见。《纽约时报》曾报道过一起事件，去年七月某男子在马里兰的一家邮局被另一名顾客刺伤，因为该顾客误以为他插了队。

 

　　Sometimes, however, we are willing to make exceptions. For example, we are fine with the idea of an express lane at the supermarket - someone buying just a drink shouldn’t be forced to wait behind those with a full trolley⁷. In hospitals, priority is given to those with a more critical condition - we can also understand that.

 

　　有时，我们也容许一些特例。比如，我们欣然接受超市中的快速通道理念——只买一瓶饮料的顾客不应被迫排在那些推着满满一购物车货物的人的后面。在医院里，情况危急的人享有优先权——这些我们也可以理解。

 

　　But in most situations, we demand fairness. You’ve probably experienced mild queue rage yourself in fast food restaurants, watching people in the other line zoom⁸ ahead of you, cursing yourself for having chosen the “wrong” line.

 

　　但是在大多数情况下，我们要求公平。你之前可能在快餐店里经历过并不严重的排队怨气，看着其他队列的速度快过自己，便会咒骂自己选错了队列。

 

　　In order to solve this problem, the serpentine⁹ line was invented. Slate¹⁰ magazine’s website explains:

 

　　为了解决这一问题，一种“蛇形排队法”应运而生。《石板》杂志网站上解释道：

 

　　“The serpentine line funnels¹¹ all customers into one big snaking queue, demarcated by ropes or barriers. When you reach the head of the queue, you are directed to the next available server, or teller¹², or customs official. The serpentine line isn’t always faster than multi-lines before an array of cash registers. But it offers important solace¹³: you absolutely never have to see someone arrive after you and get served before you.”

 

　　“‘蛇形排队法’让所有顾客汇集在一条浩浩荡荡的蛇形队伍之中，中间用绳子或障碍物隔开。到达队首时，你将会被带到空闲窗口接受服务人员、银行柜员或海关人员的服务。在一排收银台前，蛇形队列并不比并列队形更快。但是它最大的慰藉在于：来得晚的人绝对不会排到你的前面。

 

　　In life, waiting is inevitable¹⁴. But a better understanding of the psychology of waiting can help make it a bit more bearable. When all else fails, bring a book or a smartphone will also do.

 

　　生活中，等待是不可避免的。但是更好地了解等待心理可以让我们更有耐心。当这些方法都没用时，带上一本书或一部智能手机吧！

1 gnawing   

a.痛苦的，折磨人的

参考例句：

• The dog was gnawing a bone. 那狗在啃骨头。
• These doubts had been gnawing at him for some time. 这些疑虑已经折磨他一段时间了。

2 unbearable   

adj.不能容忍的；忍受不住的

参考例句：

• It is unbearable to be always on thorns.老是处于焦虑不安的情况中是受不了的。
• The more he thought of it the more unbearable it became.他越想越觉得无法忍受。

3 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。

4 overestimated   

对（数量）估计过高，对…作过高的评价( overestimate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• They overestimated his ability when they promoted him. 他们提拔他的时候高估了他的能力。
• The Ministry of Finance consistently overestimated its budget deficits. 财政部一贯高估预算赤字。

5 deviation   

n.背离，偏离；偏差，偏向；离题

参考例句：

• Deviation from this rule are very rare.很少有违反这条规则的。
• Any deviation from the party's faith is seen as betrayal.任何对党的信仰的偏离被视作背叛。

6 uncommon   

adj.罕见的，非凡的，不平常的

参考例句：

• Such attitudes were not at all uncommon thirty years ago.这些看法在30年前很常见。
• Phil has uncommon intelligence.菲尔智力超群。

7 trolley   

n.手推车，台车；无轨电车；有轨电车

参考例句：

• The waiter had brought the sweet trolley.侍者已经推来了甜食推车。
• In a library,books are moved on a trolley.在图书馆，书籍是放在台车上搬动的。

8 zoom   

n.急速上升；v.突然扩大，急速上升

参考例句：

• The airplane's zoom carried it above the clouds.飞机的陡直上升使它飞到云层之上。
• I live near an airport and the zoom of passing planes can be heard night and day.我住在一个飞机场附近，昼夜都能听到飞机飞过的嗡嗡声。

9 serpentine   

adj.蜿蜒的，弯曲的

参考例句：

• One part of the Serpentine is kept for swimmers.蜿蜒河的一段划为游泳区。
• Tremolite laths and serpentine minerals are present in places.有的地方出现透闪石板条及蛇纹石。

10 slate   

n.板岩，石板，石片，石板色，候选人名单；adj.暗蓝灰色的，含板岩的；vt.用石板覆盖，痛打，提名，预订

参考例句：

• The nominating committee laid its slate before the board.提名委员会把候选人名单提交全体委员会讨论。
• What kind of job uses stained wood and slate? 什么工作会接触木头污浊和石板呢？

11 funnels   

漏斗( funnel的名词复数 )； （轮船，火车等的）烟囱

参考例句：

• Conventional equipment such as mixing funnels, pumps, solids eductors and the like can be employed. 常用的设备，例如混合漏斗、泵、固体引射器等，都可使用。
• A jet of smoke sprang out of the funnels. 喷射的烟雾从烟囱里冒了出来。

12 teller   

n.银行出纳员；(选举)计票员

参考例句：

• The bank started her as a teller.银行起用她当出纳员。
• The teller tried to remain aloof and calm.出纳员力图保持冷漠和镇静。

13 solace   

n.安慰；v.使快乐；vt.安慰(物)，缓和

参考例句：

• They sought solace in religion from the harshness of their everyday lives.他们日常生活很艰难，就在宗教中寻求安慰。
• His acting career took a nosedive and he turned to drink for solace.演艺事业突然一落千丈，他便借酒浇愁。

14 inevitable   

adj.不可避免的，必然发生的

参考例句：

• Mary was wearing her inevitable large hat.玛丽戴着她总是戴的那顶大帽子。
• The defeat had inevitable consequences for British policy.战败对英国政策不可避免地产生了影响。