【精英翻譯】的部落格

◎陳成良

Researchers have now found why we often feel such a strong urge to glance at our handset： checking your mobile is contagious.

研究人員如今發現為何我們總有看手機的強烈衝動：查看手機是會傳染的。

The researchers observed how it has become the modern equivalent of glancing at your watch -- the furtive look at a phone screen to check for new messages or have a quick look at Facebook, Daily Mail reported.

研究人員觀察到，像以前人們總愛看錶一樣，現代人動不動就偷偷拿出手機，看看有沒有新訊息或是快速看一下「臉書」，每日郵報報導。

People are twice as likely to pull out their phones to check their text messages or e-mail if they’re with someone who has just done the same, a University of Michigan team found.

當周圍有人用手機查看簡訊或電郵時，人們拿出手機做同樣的事的可能性會增加一倍，密西根大學一個研究團隊發現。

It also found how women were more likely to use their mobile than men since it was more "integrated into the daily lives of women".

該團隊還發現，相較於男性，女性會更頻繁地使用手機，因為手機更「融入女性的日常生活」。

The team watched students in dining halls and coffee shops around campus , observing pairs of students sitting at tables for as long as 20 minutes and documented their cellphone use at 10-second intervals.

這個小組的研究人員密切觀察學生在校園內的餐廳與咖啡廳的活動，他們觀察著坐在桌子邊成對的學生，以10秒間隔記錄他們在20分鐘內使用手機的情況。

Overall, the students used their cellphones in an average of 24 percent, the researchers found. But they were significantly more likely to use their phones （39.5 percent） when their companion had just done so in the previous 10-second interval than without the social cue, the researchers said, adding that this behavior was often repeated.

整體而言，學生使用手機的頻率是24%，但若旁邊有同伴在未收到任何社交信號的情況下，在上一個10秒間隔用手機的話，那另外一人使用手機的頻率則會大幅增加到39.5%。研究人員還表示，這種行為往往一再重複。

新聞辭典

equivalent：名詞，相等物。例句：The French word has no equivalent in English。（這個法文字在英文中沒有相對應的一個字。）

furtive：形容詞，偷偷的；鬼鬼祟祟的。例句：He took a furtive glance at the clock. （他偷偷地瞧了一眼鐘。）

document：可當作動、名詞。本文中作為動詞，意指用文件記載。例句：The history of this area is very well documented. （這個地區的歷史檔案紀錄非常完備。）

本文引用至 自由時報電子報 http://www.libertytimes.com.tw/