How We Form First Impression

1　We all have first impression of someone we just met. But why? Why do we form an opinion about someone without really knowing anything about him or her — aside perhaps from a few remarks or readily observable traits.

2　The answer is related to how your brain, allows you to be aware of the world. Your brain is so sensitive in picking up facial traits, even very minor difference in how a person’s eyes, ears, nose, or mouth are placed in relation to each other makes you see him or her as different1. In fact, your brain continuously processes incoming sensory information — the sights and sounds of your world. These incoming “signals” are compared against2 a host of “memories” stored in the brain areas called the cortex system to determine what these new signals “mean.”

3　If you see someone you know and like at school3, your brain says “familiar and safe. ‘‘If you see someone new, it says, “new — potentially threatening.” Then your brain starts to match features of this stranger with other “known” memories；The height, weight, dress, ethnicity, gestures, and tone of voice are all matched up. The more unfamiliar the characteristics, the more your brain may say, “This is new. I don’t like this person.” Or else, “I’m intrigued. “Or your brain may perceive a new face but familiar clothes, ethnicity, gestures — like your other friends；so your brain says: “I like this person.” But these preliminary “impressions” can be dead wrong4.

4　When we stereotype people, we use a less mature form of thinking（not unlike the immature thinking of a very young child）that makes simplistic and categorical impressions of others. Rather than leam about the depth and breadth of people — their history, interest, values, strengths, and true character — we categorize them as jocks, geeks, or freaks.

5　However, if we resist initial stereotypical impressions, we have a chance to be aware of what a person is truly like. If we spend time with a person, hear about his or her life, hopes, dreams, and become aware of the person’s character, we use a different, more mature style of thinking — and the most complex areas of our cortex, which allow us to be humane.

詞匯：

trait 特點，特征，特性

host 一大群，許多 simplistic 過分單純化的

categorical 絕對的 jock 騙子

geek 反常的人 stereotype 對……產生成見

humane 有人情味的，人文的 sensory 感官的，感覺的

cortex 腦皮層 ethnicity n．種族特點

intrigue 激起興趣 freak 怪人

注釋：

1．Your brain is so sensitive in picking up facial traits, even very minor difference in how a person’s eyes, ears, nose, or mouth are placed in relation to each other makes you see him or her as different：從even開始到as different是個結果狀語從句，相當于that even very minor ... .，而that是與主句中的so呼應的。

2．against：和……對比

3．If you see someone you know and like at school ...：如果你在學校里看見某個你認識而且喜歡的人…… like在這里是動詞。

4．dead wrong：相當于completely wrong。dead wrong是口語表達用語。

練習：

1．Paragraph 2 ________

2．Paragraph 3 ________

3．Paragraph 4 ________

4．Paragraph 5 ________

A　Ways of Departure from Immature and Simplistic Impressions

B　Comment on First Impression

C　Illustration of First Impression

D　Comparing Incoming Sensory Information against Memories

E　Threatening Aspect of First Impressions

F　Differences among Jocks, Greeks and Freaks

5．Sensory information is one that is perceived through ________.

6．You interpret by comparing it against the memories already stored in your brain ________.

7．The way we stereotype people is a less mature form of thinking, which is similar to ________.

8．We can use our more mature style of thinking thanks to ________.

A　a stranger’s less mature type of thinking

B　the most complex areas of our cortex

C　the immature form of thinking of a very young child

D　the meaning of incoming sensory information

E　the sights and sounds of the world

F　an opportunity to analyze different forms of thinking

答案與題解：

1．D　本段敘述的是人腦解讀感官信息的過程。

2．C　本段舉例說明第一印象解讀的過程，將第二段敘述的內容具體化。

3．B　本段對第一印象進行了評論，說第一印象不成熟，simplistic and categorical。

4．A　本段說如果我們與某個人多接觸，了解他的生活、希望、夢想和性格特征，我們對該人的認識就不會停留在第一印象的階段，而是進入一個更深的層次。

5．E　選E的依據在第二段的第三句。

6．D　選D的依據在第二段的最后兩句。sensory information的意思就是information perceived through sensory organs（視覺、聽覺、味覺、觸覺、嗅覺等）。

7．C　選C的依據在第四段的第一句，該句是：When we stereotype people, we use a less mature form of thinking（not unlike the immature thinking of a very young child）that makes simplistic and categorical impressions of others.

8．B　選B的依據在第五段第二句。

譯文：對別人的第一印象是怎樣形成的

對剛剛遇到的人我們都會留下第一印象，為什么？為什么我們會對一無所知的人形成自己的印象——除去一些描述或顯而易見的特征？

這與你的大腦如何感知世界是息息相關的。大腦對面部特征十分敏感，即使是每個人在眼睛、耳朵或嘴部的細小差異也會使大腦察覺到其不同之處。實際上，大腦一直在不斷地對接收到的感官信息進行處理——包括影像和聲音。大腦將這些“信號”與儲存在腦皮層系統的大量“記憶”相比較以便確定這些新收到的信號的“意思”。

如果你在學?？吹侥硞€你認識而且喜歡的人，你的大腦會做出“熟悉安全”的判斷；如果你看見了一個陌生的人，你的大腦會告訴你“陌生，有潛在的威脅”，緊接著你的大腦會開始將這個陌生人的特征與“已知”的記憶進行比較，包指身高、體重、穿著、種族、手勢以及音調等等。特征越不相符，大腦越會告誡你，“這是陌生人，我不喜歡這個人”，或“我很好奇”。大腦也可能觀察到一張新面孔，但卻有著熟悉的穿著、種族特征和手勢——像你的朋友，這時大腦會告訴你“我喜歡這個人”。但這些第一印象卻可能是完全錯誤的。

當區分人時，我們使用一種欠成熟的思維方式（與小孩子不成熟的想法一樣）去對別人做出簡單并且范疇化的判斷。（這佯的后果是）我們將人區分為騙子、反常的人或怪人，而不是對人的深度和廣度，即歷史、興趣、價值、力量或真正的性格有所了解。

但是，如果對模式化的第一印象加以抑制，我們就會有機會對一個人有真正的了解。如果我們花一些時間與一個人在一起，傾聽他或她的生活、希望和夢想，了解了這個人的性格，我們才會用一種不同的、更成熟的方式去思考——即用腦皮層中最復雜的區域進行思考，而這會使我們更富有人情味。

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