网络时代让人们都改变了吗?

 　　Steven Fink recently received an unsolicited email containing nude¹ photos of a woman whose jilted ex-boyfriend wanted to embarrass her. The guy presumably hoped these private photos would go viral online, and now countless² strangers are obliging him in his mean-spirited campaign.

　　史蒂芬?芬克(Steven Fink)最近收到一封陌生邮件，里头有一名女子的几张裸照，遭到这名女子抛弃的前男友想羞辱她。那个人想来是希望这些私密照片能在网上广为传播；而现在无数陌生人也确实在充当帮凶，参与到他这个居心不良的行为当中。

　　In the pre-Internet age, the dumped boyfriend may have expressed his anger by throwing darts³ at her photo. These days, however, the outlets⁴ for vindictiveness⁵ have multiplied almost to infinity⁶ -- and your reputation is more fragile than ever.

　　在互联网时代之前，男人被甩后可能会对着前女友的照片掷飞镖，以此泄愤。但如今，发泄的途径近乎无穷无尽──人们的名誉变得前所未有的易受攻击。

　　All of us now live under the threat of easy and instant humiliation⁷. It's no longer just celebrities⁸ and business executives who need to think about aggressive reputation-protection and face-saving techniques.

　　羞辱别人变得如此简便和快捷，而我们每个人都活在这种威胁之下。以前只有名人和公司高管需要考虑采取积极措施保护自己名誉，学习挽回脸面的技巧；但现在，这已成为一种大众需求。

　　Not long ago, people who routinely plugged their own names into online search engines were thought to be engaging in 'vanity Googling.' These days, it is an act of self-preservation. 'Google yourself at least once a week,' advises Richard Levick, who heads a strategic communications firm in Washington, D.C. 'You need to track what's being said about you' on blogs, message boards and social-networking websites.

　　不久前，总在网络搜索引擎查询自己名字的行为被视为虚荣心使然。如今，这是一种自我保护的手段。华盛顿一家公关公司的负责人理查德?莱维克(Richard Levick)说，每周至少搜索一次你的名字，随时留心关于你的网上言论，无论是在博客、论坛，还是在交友网站上。

　　Any time you leave your house, you could be targeted. Drive over to Wal-Mart for a gallon of milk and you may end up on PeopleofWalmart.com. The site -- not, needless to say, affiliated⁹ with the retailer¹⁰ -- runs smirk-inducing photos of overweight or oddly dressed shoppers, most of them sent in by other shoppers.

　　只要你走出家门，也许就会成为别人的目标。开车去沃尔玛(Wal-Mart)买盒牛奶，你的照片就可能被登在网上。这个网站并不是沃尔玛搞的，主要张贴一些肥胖人士或奇装异服的沃尔玛购物者的搞笑照片，大多是其他购物者拍摄并上传的。

　　Such sites raise the question: Have we become a more malicious¹¹ society? There are differing views.

　　这类网站不禁让我们提出一个疑问：我们这个社会是不是变得越来越恶毒了？对此，人们的观点不一。

　　'Human nature hasn't changed,' says Jonathan Bernstein, a crisis consultant¹² in Los Angeles. 'There have always been people whose aim in life was to cause pain to others. If they saw people embarrassing themselves, they got pleasure in sharing that information. Before the Internet, they had to gossip with their neighbors. Now they can gossip with the world.'

　　“人性并没有改变，”洛杉矶危机管理顾问乔纳森?伯恩斯坦(Jonathan Bernstein)说，“总有这样一种人，存在的目的就是给他人带来痛苦。如果他们看到别人的尴尬之事，就想搞得尽人皆知，并以此为乐。没有互联网的时候，他们只能跟邻居窃窃私语；而现在，他们可以跟全世界的人八卦一下。”

　　Others argue that there has been a ratcheting up of meanness -- that the changes in technology have made us nastier and more cynical¹³. 'It's like a blood sport,' says Mr. Fink, who runs a crisis-management firm in Los Angeles. 'It feels like everyone has their cellphone out, ready to take a photo that will hurt someone else.'

　　另一种观点认为，人性的卑鄙一面确实在不断滋生壮大──科技进步让人们变得更为龌龊，更加玩世不恭。“这是一种伤人的消遣，”在洛杉矶经营一家危机管理公司的芬克说，“似乎每个人都拿着手机，随时准备拍下一些给他人带来不利影响的照片。”

1 nude   

adj.裸体的；n.裸体者，裸体艺术品

参考例句：

• It's a painting of the Duchess of Alba in the nude.这是一幅阿尔巴公爵夫人的裸体肖像画。
• She doesn't like nude swimming.她不喜欢裸泳。

2 countless   

adj.无数的，多得不计其数的

参考例句：

• In the war countless innocent people lost their lives.在这场战争中无数无辜的人丧失了性命。
• I've told you countless times.我已经告诉你无数遍了。

3 darts   

n.掷飞镖游戏；飞镖( dart的名词复数 )；急驰，飞奔v.投掷，投射( dart的第三人称单数 )；向前冲，飞奔

参考例句：

• His darts trophy takes pride of place on the mantelpiece. 他将掷镖奖杯放在壁炉顶上最显著的地方。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I never saw so many darts in a bodice! 我从没见过紧身胸衣上纳了这么多的缝褶！ 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 outlets   

n.出口( outlet的名词复数 )；经销店；插座；廉价经销店

参考例句：

• The dumping of foreign cotton blocked outlets for locally grown cotton. 外国棉花的倾销阻滞了当地生产的棉花的销路。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They must find outlets for their products. 他们必须为自己的产品寻找出路。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

5 vindictiveness   

恶毒；怀恨在心

参考例句：

• I was distressed to find so much vindictiveness in so charming a creature. 当我发现这样一个温柔可爱的女性报复心居然这么重时，我感到很丧气。 来自辞典例句
• Contradictory attriButes of unjust justice and loving vindictiveness. 不公正的正义和报复的相矛盾的特点。 来自互联网

6 infinity   

n.无限，无穷，大量

参考例句：

• It is impossible to count up to infinity.不可能数到无穷大。
• Theoretically,a line can extend into infinity.从理论上来说直线可以无限地延伸。

7 humiliation   

n.羞辱

参考例句：

• He suffered the humiliation of being forced to ask for his cards.他蒙受了被迫要求辞职的羞辱。
• He will wish to revenge his humiliation in last Season's Final.他会为在上个季度的决赛中所受的耻辱而报复的。

8 celebrities   

n.（尤指娱乐界的）名人( celebrity的名词复数 )；名流；名声；名誉

参考例句：

• He only invited A-list celebrities to his parties. 他只邀请头等名流参加他的聚会。
• a TV chat show full of B-list celebrities 由众多二流人物参加的电视访谈节目

9 affiliated   

adj. 附属的, 有关连的

参考例句：

• The hospital is affiliated with the local university. 这家医院附属于当地大学。
• All affiliated members can vote. 所有隶属成员都有投票权。

10 retailer   

n.零售商(人)

参考例句：

• What are the retailer requirements?零售商会有哪些要求呢？
• The retailer has assembled a team in Shanghai to examine the question.这家零售商在上海组建了一支团队研究这个问题。

11 malicious   

adj.有恶意的，心怀恶意的

参考例句：

• You ought to kick back at such malicious slander. 你应当反击这种恶毒的污蔑。
• Their talk was slightly malicious.他们的谈话有点儿心怀不轨。

12 consultant   

n.顾问；会诊医师，专科医生

参考例句：

• He is a consultant on law affairs to the mayor.他是市长的一个法律顾问。
• Originally,Gar had agreed to come up as a consultant.原来，加尔只答应来充当我们的顾问。

13 cynical   

adj.(对人性或动机)怀疑的，不信世道向善的

参考例句：

• The enormous difficulty makes him cynical about the feasibility of the idea.由于困难很大，他对这个主意是否可行持怀疑态度。
• He was cynical that any good could come of democracy.他不相信民主会带来什么好处。