第1455期:In defence of shyness

English is full of colourful phrases to describe shyness. 英语充满了描述害羞的丰富多彩的短语。Someone timid might be called shrinking violet or a wallflower, while for especially nervous types we have the curious expression: they wouldn’t say boo to a goose.胆小的人可能被称为收缩紫罗兰或壁花，而对于特别紧张的人，我们有一种奇怪的表达：他们不会对鹅说嘘。None of these are traditionally seen as positive descriptions, even if you like geese. 即使您喜欢鹅，这些传统上都不会被视为积极的描述。In a culture of go-getting high achievers, shy people don’t come first.在追求高成就的文化中，害羞的人不会排在第一位。Or that's what the self-help industry would have you believe.或者这就是自助行业会让你相信的。 Bookshops are filled with weighty tomes that promise to help beat social fears and find success in life, love and business.书店里摆满了厚重的书籍，承诺帮助克服社会恐惧，在生活、爱情和商业中取得成功。Which is why one book, Shrinking Violets: A Field Guide to Shyness, bucks the trend. 这就是为什么一本书《收缩紫罗兰：害羞现场指南》逆势而上。It made a splash across English-language media recently for its new take on bashfulness.它最近在英语媒体上引起了轰动，因为它对害羞的新看法。Author Joe Moran says that despite struggling with shyness and craving solitude all his life, being timid can also be "a gift".作者乔莫兰说，尽管他一生都在与害羞和渴望孤独作斗争，但胆怯也可以是“一种礼物”。 Freed from the persistent urge to participate and compete in social situations, people are liberated to look at the world in new ways, and gain fresh insights.人们摆脱了在社交场合中参与和竞争的持续冲动，可以自由地以新的方式看待世界，并获得新的见解。Indeed, many of the world's great thinkers and artists are introverts. Scientists Charles Darwin and Albert Einstein preferred their own company; 事实上，世界上许多伟大的思想家和艺术家都是内向的人。科学家查尔斯达尔文和阿尔伯特爱因斯坦更喜欢他们自己的公司。actress Keira Knightley often finds herself tongue-tied at parties;女演员凯拉奈特莉经常发现自己在聚会上结结巴巴。 and Harry Potter author JK Rowling claims she used to be too nervous to even borrow a pen – a reticence she says forced her to delve deep into the world of her imagination.《哈利波特》的作者 JK 罗琳声称她过去太紧张了，甚至借不到笔——她说这种沉默迫使她深入探索自己的想象世界。Moran told BBC Future: "I think shyness probably does turn you into an amateur anthropologist, really – you are more likely to be an observer."莫兰告诉 BBC Future：“我认为害羞可能确实会让你成为一名业余人类学家，真的——你更有可能成为一名观察者。”So, while extroverts make all the noise, they don't necessarily have the best ideas.所以，虽然外向的人制造了所有的噪音，但他们不一定有最好的想法。If you're shy, you've probably known this for a long time. You just don't shout about it. 如果你害羞，你可能早就知道这一点了。你只是不要大喊大叫。词汇表timid 胆怯的shrinking violet “含羞草”，怕羞的、腼腆的人wallflower “壁花”，在社交场合因害羞而一言不发的人not say boo to a goose “对鹅都不敢嘘一声”，形容非常胆小go-getting 敢做敢为的，有野心的self-help 自救的would have you believe 希望你相信的tome 大部头buck the trend 逆势而上make a splash 一炮打响bashfulness 羞赧，羞涩crave solitude 渴望孤独gift 天赋，馈赠urge 冲动introvert 性格内向者tongue-tied （由于紧张而）张口结舌的reticence 缄默，寡言少语delve 深入地探索anthropologist 人类学家extrovert  性格外向者