Unit 3
T Personality Development
This text is taken and adapted from Creative Living, 6th edition. Glencoe / McGraw-Hill. 1997.
close1RT People come in all shapes and sizes. They also come with distinctive personalities. The combination of characteristics that makes you different from every other person is your personality.
个性的培养
人有高矮胖瘦，个性也各不相同。你的个性就是你与其他人不同之处的综合特征。close2RT One's personality can be summed up in a word. People might say that Harry is shy; Tasha is aggressive; and Shannon is outgoing. Actually, personalities are more complex than this. A closer look at personalities will show you why they are not so simple, and you will also discover that your personality can be shaped if you make the effort.
一个人的个性可以用一个词语来描述。人们可以说，哈里性格害羞内向；塔莎则争强好胜；而香农则友好外向。实际上，人的性格远比这些词语的描述复杂得多。仔细观察一下人们的性格，你便会注意到人的个性并不是那么简单，你也会发现只要付出努力，你就有可能改变你的个性。close3RT A person's personality is composed of many elements. These elements, in general, fall into three categories—emotional, social, and intellectual.
人的个性由许多元素组成。一般来说，这些元素可分成三类：情感元素、社交元素和智能元素。close4RT Every person feels the same basic emotions, such as fear, happiness, anxiety and pain, yet each responds to them individually. When Kara's grandmother died, for example, her sorrow was expressed through tears. Another person might show the same kind of sorrow in a quiet, reflective way. Similarly, when you hear a piece of good news, you may jump up with joy and may immediately decide to throw a party for your classmates and friends to share your happiness and joy; another person may just keep the good news to himself or herself and just enjoy the happiness secretly. As you observe how people handle their emotions, you start to form a picture of this part of their personality.
虽然每个人都会感受到一些同样的基本情感，譬如恐惧、幸福、忧虑和痛苦，但每个人对这些情感的反应都不一样。例如当卡拉的祖母去世时，她以哭泣表达她的哀痛；另一个人却可能以静默、思考的方式寄托哀思。同样，听到一个好消息时，你也许会高兴得跳起来，立刻决定举办一个聚会，与同学和朋友分享你的幸福和喜悦；另一个人则可能不和别人分享这个消息，只是独自品味快乐。当你观察一个人怎么处理他的情感时，你将会对他在这一方面的个性有所了解。close5RT People are also different in how they relate to others. This reveals the social side of their personality, and there are plenty of variations. Some people prefer the company of others rather than being alone. We say they are sociable. Others are just the opposite. Most people want some combination of the two.
人们也以不同的方式与他人交往，表现出他们各不相同的社交方面的个性。有些人比较喜欢与人为伴而不喜欢独处，我们说他们是社交型的；还有些人则正好相反；大多数人都希望自己的性格是二者的综合。close6RT Intellectual traits are the third part of personality. These qualities are influenced by the mind and how it works. One person may prefer spending his spare time in deep thought. Another may be more creative. Jake, for example, often has people in his class laughing. He sees humor in almost everything and is able to express it in entertaining ways.
智力特征是个性的第三元素，这些特征受大脑及其运作方式的影响。有的人也许喜欢在空余时间独自沉思，另一些人也许比较有创造性。例如杰克，他时常开玩笑使全班同学开怀大笑，他能看到每一件事有趣的一面并以幽默的方式表达出来。close7RT The emotional, social, and intellectual traits of personality become apparent to others through behavior. Usually you need to get to know a person well enough before you can discover the full depth of that person's personality.
人们的情感、社交和智力的个性特征通过行为明显地表达出来，通常你得先深入地了解一个人后才能发现他的性格特征。close8RT When you start thinking about what you are like, you may start wondering why you are that way. Explaining why personalities develop as they do is not easy. That is because two influences are at work: heredity and environment. And no one really knows which one has the greater effect. In fact, the combination of these influences may not be the same for every person.
当你开始考虑自己的性格时，你也许会对自己的行为疑惑不解。解释人的个性是如何发展的显然并非易事，那是因为遗传因素和环境因素同时在起作用，但是却没人真正地知道哪种因素对个性的形成作用更大。其实，遗传和环境这两种因素的组合对每个人的影响都不同。close9RT Heredity is one influence on personality. Heredity is the set of characteristics that you inherit from your parents and ancestors. "He's just like his father," Mrs. Miller always says about her son Todd, now 17. Since Todd's father died when the boy was only a year old, heredity explains the resemblances, for evidently, Todd has had no opportunity to learn these traits from his father.
遗传是对个性的一个影响因素。遗传是指我们从父母和祖先继承的性格。"他太像他的父亲了。"米勒夫人描述十七岁的儿子托德时这么说。父亲去世时托德才一岁，所以这种性格相似只能归因于遗传，因为托德显然没有机会从他的父亲那里学到这些特征。close10RT Other aspects of personality are shaped by what goes on around a person. Environment — the circumstances, objects, and conditions that surround people — also has an impact on personality. This influence is very strong and very complicated. Home life, for example, affects children's personalities as they grow. People who feel loved and secure are likely to develop more positive personality traits than those who are troubled as they grow up. That is why divorce is a harmful social practice that often exerts a negative effect on the growth of young children.
性格的其他特征受到周围环境的影响。环境因素是指我们周围的境况、物体和我们生存的条件，这些因素对个性也有影响，而且这些因素对性格的影响很大而且非常复杂。例如家庭生活环境会影响儿童的个性成长，成长在被爱和有安全感家庭环境中的儿童往往比那些在烦恼的环境中成长的儿童有较积极的性格。这也就是为什么婚姻破裂的家庭会对儿童的成长产生负面的影响。close11RT Personalities make people interesting. How boring it would be if everyone had the same personality. On the other hand, some personalities are more pleasing than others. What about you? Are you satisfied with your personality? Or is there something—even a small quality—that you would like to change? Most people have at least some personality adjustments they would like to make.
个性的差异令人们多姿多彩。一个千人一面的世界该是多么枯燥啊！另一方面，有些个性比其他的个性更招人喜欢。你怎么样？你满意你自己的个性吗？你是否想改变自己的某些性格？多数人都会有一些他们想改善或改变的性格。close12RT Adolescence is a time for personality development, and personality is developing right along with everything else. For young university students, shaping your personality as you want it to be may be easier now than later, for you are changing while you are learning. Think about the personality traits that you admire. Just as an athlete builds skills, you can build the personality you want to have, but only if you are determined to do so.
青少年期是性格形成期，性格伴随着其他的一切在发展。身为年轻的大学生，在这时期塑造你的个性也许会比以后更加容易，因为你是一边在学习一边改变自己。想一想你欣赏哪些性格。正如运动员培养技能一样，你也能建立你想要有的个性，但一定要有决心才行。closePlay the AudioCopyright © 2008 Shanghai Foreign Language Education PressPrev Next Script Keys Check
2
Test Your Personality
This text is adapted from High Flyer – Upper Intermediate Advanced English by Ana Aceredo et al. Longman.
close1RT Here are eight colors: red, yellow, green, violet, brown, grey, blue, and black. Which one is your favorite color?
分析你的个性
红、黄、绿、紫、棕、灰、蓝和黑这八种颜色，你最喜欢的是哪种？close2RT It is believed by many that our preference for some specific colors may be closely related to what kind of people we are. Well, it may not be totally scientific, but the colors we like do to some extent reflect our personality. Read the following and you may find out some things about yourself that you did not know before.
许多人都相信我们喜爱的颜色与我们是什么样的人也许有着紧密的关系。虽然没有完全的科学根据，但是我们喜欢的颜色在某些程度上反映了我们的个性。阅读以下文字，你可能会对自己的性格特征有一些新的认识。close3RT A: Red
Red represents passion and energy. Of the eight colors, if red is your first choice, it means you are impulsive (易冲动的), sexy and have a will to win. You are a good leader. You want to expand your horizons and make the best of your life. When red falls back to your seventh or last choice, it means your desire for life and thirst for adventure have become less.
A: 红色
红色代表激情与活力。八种颜色之中，如果红色排在第一位，这意味着你较冲动、性感并且好胜。你是一位好领袖，你想要扩展你的天空，充实地度过一生。如果红色是你第七个或最后一个选择，它代表你对生活的欲望和对冒险的渴求较少。
close4RT B: Yellow
Yellow represents happiness and relaxation (消遣，娱乐). Anyone who takes yellow as their second, third or fourth choice is a positive, optimistic person, who always looks to the future — never backward. You find life easy, and problems simply do not exist for you. Free from worry, you lead a carefree (无忧无虑的) life; but this does not mean that you are lazy. You can be extremely hardworking, although not consistently (一贯地；一致地). Yellow as your first choice means that you are ambitious and eager to please. When yellow is one of your last few choices you have had your hopes and dreams destroyed and you feel isolated and disappointed, often becoming defensive and withdrawn (退缩的，内向的).
B: 黄色
黄色代表快乐、放松。把黄色列为第二、第三或第四的人是个积极、乐观并向前看的人——从不向后看。你会发现生活轻松，并且没有烦恼，你无忧无虑、自由自在，但这不意味着你是懒惰的。你可能极勤勉，虽然不一定总是如此。黄色作为你的第一个选择，意味着你雄心勃勃，渴望取悦他人。如果黄色排在最后几位，那你所拥有的希望和梦想已经破灭，你感觉被隔绝和失望，往往变得戒心很重，不愿与人交往。
close5RT C: Green
Green represents firmness and resistance to change. If your primary choice is green, you are persistent, possessive and quite selfish. You are a high-achiever and an accumulator (聚财者) of "things" — like a BMW, a Rolex, or a holiday flat. You want others to know how good you are and you feel the need to impress others, at the same time you are also worried that your ego (自我，自尊) might be bruised (使受伤; 被伤害) by the resistance to your progress. Consequently you can be highly critical, sarcastic (讽刺的，嘲笑的) and stubborn.
C: 绿色
绿色代表坚决和反对变化。如果你的主要选择是绿色，那么你是个坚持到底、占有欲强和比较自私的人。你会很成功，喜欢敛集"财物"，如宝马车、劳力士手表或者假日公寓。你要其他人知道你有多么出色，你需要其他人对你的好评，但同时也会担心被他人的评论和批评伤害自尊心。结果你可能变得太吹毛求疵、尖酸刻薄与顽固不化。
close6RT D: Violet
A mixture of red and blue, violet represents a conflict between impulsiveness and calm sensitivity, dominance and submissiveness (温顺，服从). The person who prefers violet wants to find a mystical, magical relationship. Both mentally and physically immature, you are stuck in a dream world of wishful (如意的；痴心的) thinking and fantasy (幻想，想象). Often violet is chosen by adolescents who still see the world through fairy-tale eyes. When violet is one of your less preferred colors, it indicates that the person choosing it is more mature and has outgrown the "fantasy" vision of life,confronting harsh reality head-on (正面地；迎面地).
D: 紫色
紫色是红色和蓝色的混合。它代表冲动与冷静的敏感、占有欲和顺从之间的冲突。喜欢紫色者想要一段神秘、奇幻般的情感。心理上和生理上都不成熟的你，常沉迷于异想天开和梦幻的世界里。喜欢紫色的往往是青少年，他们仍然用童话般的眼光看待这个世界。如果紫色不是你喜欢的颜色，它表示你已较为成熟，并且已经走出了“梦幻世界”，可以面对严酷的现实了。
close7RT E: Brown
Brown is the color of physical well-being and is a way you tell yourself how good your health is. If you take brown as your fourth or fifth choice you are not very concerned about your health and body. This means that you are probably in good shape. Those who are worried about illness very often opt for brown. If you choose brown as your favorite color, you are restless and insecure. But when brown is your last choice of the eight colors, you don't care enough for your body: you may not be as healthy as you think.
E: 褐色
褐色象征身体健康，它告诉你自己的健康状况。如果褐色排在第四或第五，那你不太关心你的健康和身体。这表示你的健康大概是蛮好的。那些经常担心生病者往往选择褐色。如果褐色是你最喜爱的颜色，那么你不安定，缺乏安全感。但如果褐色是八种颜色之中排在最后，那你对自己身体健康照顾得不够好；你可能不是你想象中的那么健康。
close8RT F: Grey
Grey is a neutral and represents a point between two contrasting and conflicting motivations. Grey as your first choice means that you want to shut yourself off from everything and remain uncommitted (不予承诺的), so that you can swing with opinion and emotions. You hate joining anything with "group" connotations (内涵) and are an observer rather than a doer. Those who choose grey last seek to join in with everything eagerly and enthusiastically. Such people will try absolutely everything in their efforts to achieve their goals.
F: 灰色
灰色是中性色，代表两个动机相对和对比的焦点。灰色排在第一位意味着你想要逃避一切事物，不想负责任，只想在各种观点与感情之间摇摆不定。你不喜欢加入任何团体组织，是个观察员而不是个实干家。那些把灰色作为最后一个选择的人，渴望并积极地寻求和参与一切活动。这些人会全心全意地尝试一切，努力实现自己的目标。
close9RT G: Blue
Blue represents calmness and loyalty. If blue is your favorite color, you are a sensitive person and can be easily hurt. You never panic and are in total control of your life and content with the way it is going. You desire to lead an uncomplicated and worry-free life and are prepared to sacrifice certain goals in order to achieve this. You need a stable relationship without conflict. The less you are fond of blue, the more unsatisfied you are and the more you feel the need to break away from the ties that restrict you. But you probably won't leave your family or your job; instead, you will suffer in silence.
G: 蓝色
蓝色代表平静和忠诚。如果蓝色是你喜爱的颜色，那么你是一个敏感的人，可能容易受伤害。你从不恐慌，对自己人生控制自如并满意你的生活。你渴望过着不复杂、无忧无虑的生活，而且为了达到这种生活会准备牺牲某些目标。你需要一个稳定的、和谐的情感关系。蓝色排位越靠后，就越表明你对生活不满意，也越想摆脱限制你的种种约束。但你大概不会放弃你的家庭或你的工作，而只会默默地承受痛苦。
close10RT H: Black
Black is the negation of color and means "No". Anyone who takes it as their first choice (which is rare) is in revolt (造反，起义) against their fate. Chosen second, it means you are prepared to give up everything else to achieve what you want. It normally comes as the seventh or eighth choice, representing control of one's destiny (命运) and a balanced outlook (看法，观点). When yellow and black are your first two choices with the former preceding (先于…[发生]，位于…之前) the latter, then a change is on the way.
H: 黑色
黑色是否定的颜色，意思是"不"。任何把黑色当作第一选择的人（这样的人很少），将会反叛生命对他们的安排。如果黑色排在第二位，它意味着你准备放弃一切达到你想要得到的目标。黑色一般是人们的第七个或第八个选择，标志人们对命运的控制和寻求平衡的观念。当黄色和黑色是你的第一和第二个选择时（黄色在前，黑色在后），则意味着变动即将来临。
