環(huán)球：經(jīng)濟(jì)危機(jī)難擋美國(guó)人購書欲望(圖) -新概念英語

During tough economic times when US consumers are trying to cut back the indulgence they can’t seem to live without is books。

Three-quartersof adults questioned in an online poll said they would sacrificeholidays, dining out, going to the movies and even shopping sprees but they could not resist buying books。

Diningout came in a far second with only 11 percent of Americans naming ittheir top indulgence, followed by shopping at 7 percent, vacations atfour and movies, which was chosen by only 3 percent of Americans。

"There　cession highlighted the downside of greed, indulgence and giving into temptation, but we noticed a shift back to life’s simplestpleasures," said Michelle Renaud, a senior manager at Harlequin　Enterprises Limited, which conducted the poll。

Thesurvey of 3000 people tried to determine what tempts people to spendtheir money, how they react to temptation and how far they would gowhen tempted。

Sexwas a main temptation for 50 percent of men, while for 56 percent of women food topped the list. The sexes also differed in their approachto straying. Half of men thought it was harmless to lust after someone other than their partner, compared to 33 percent of women。

"Oursurvey also revealed that one in four women (20 percent) and,shockingly, almost half of the men (43 percent) surveyed have beentempted to hook up with their friend’s significant other," according to the survey。

The sluggish economy and high unemployment also seem to have increased competitionand temptation in the workplace. Forty-eight percent of people admittedthey had sneaked a look at a co-worker’s pay slip. Fifteen percent ofmen and 10 percent of woman also said they had sabotaged a colleague。

"It is very surprising the number of people who admitted they had donethat," Renaud said in an interview, adding that she believed it was dueto the competitive job market。

An equal number of men and 8 percent of women admitted to taking credit for someone else’s work。

"Weare so information obsessed right now that we are constantly trying tofind out more, even if it is about our significant other or ourcolleagues at work," said Renaud。

在眼下的經(jīng)濟(jì)困難時(shí)期，美國(guó)消費(fèi)者正努力削減各項(xiàng)非必需開支，但他們卻似乎無法割舍買書這項(xiàng)消費(fèi)。

在一項(xiàng)在線調(diào)查中，四分之三的受訪成年人說他們可以犧牲度假、出去吃飯、看電影甚至購物，但卻無法抵制買書的欲望。

外出用餐位居第二，只有11%的美國(guó)人認(rèn)為其最不能割舍，遠(yuǎn)落后于購書；購物位列其后，有7%的人稱其無法割舍，度假和看電影分別為4%和3%。

開展該調(diào)查的禾林有限公司的高級(jí)經(jīng)理米歇爾?雷納德說：“經(jīng)濟(jì)衰退凸顯出人們貪婪、放縱和經(jīng)不住誘惑的缺點(diǎn)，但我們注意到在這樣的時(shí)期人們開始重拾生活中一些最簡(jiǎn)單的樂趣。”

這項(xiàng)共有三千人參與的調(diào)查旨在弄清什么東西誘使人們花錢，人們?nèi)绾螒?yīng)對(duì)誘惑，以及在受到誘惑時(shí)的出格程度。

50%的男性認(rèn)為性是一個(gè)主要的誘惑，56%的女性認(rèn)為食物是最大的誘惑。男性和女性對(duì)于出軌的態(tài)度也有所不同，一半的男性認(rèn)為對(duì)伴侶以外的其他女性有非分之想無傷大雅，而只有33%的女性這么認(rèn)為。

調(diào)查報(bào)告稱：“該調(diào)查還顯示，四分之一的(20%)受訪女性曾經(jīng)不住誘惑和朋友的另一半發(fā)生不正當(dāng)關(guān)系，而竟有近一半(43%)的男性曾這樣做過?！?

此外，不景氣的經(jīng)濟(jì)狀況和高失業(yè)率似乎也加劇了工作場(chǎng)所的競(jìng)爭(zhēng)和誘惑。48%的人承認(rèn)他們?cè)悼催^同事的工資單。15%的男性和10%的女性稱他們?cè)莺^某個(gè)同事。

雷納德在一項(xiàng)訪談中說：“沒想到有這么多人承認(rèn)自己曾經(jīng)做過這種事?！彼J(rèn)為這是競(jìng)爭(zhēng)激烈的就業(yè)市場(chǎng)造成的。

另有15%的男性和8%的女性承認(rèn)他們?cè)鴵屵^別人的功勞。

雷納德說：“現(xiàn)在的人們過度關(guān)注信息，以至于我們不斷地想要獲取更多信息，即使它們關(guān)乎我們的另一半或我們的同事?！?

Vocabulary:

shopping spree: 大采購，大量購物

stray: (of a person who is married or in arelationship) to have a sexual relationship with somebody who is notyour usual partner(已婚者或有固定關(guān)系者)有外遇；在別處拈花惹草

hook up with sb.: to become romantically or sexually involved with someone 與某人發(fā)生戀愛或性關(guān)系

sluggish: displaying little movement or activity; slow; inactive (經(jīng)濟(jì))蕭條的

sabotage: to damage, destroy or spoil somethingdeliberately to prevent an enemy from using it or to protest aboutsomething(為防止敵方利用或?yàn)楸硎究棺h而)蓄意破壞，陰謀破壞

take credit for:搶功勞；爭(zhēng)奪名利