Highlights from Day20

We live in an Internet Explorer world. Just as almost two thirds of the customer service reps used the default browser on their computers, many of us accept the defaults in our own lives. In a series of provocative studies, a team led by political psychologist John Jost explored how people responded to undesirable default conditions. Compared to European Americans, African Americans were less satisfied with their economic circumstances but perceived economic inequality as more legitimate and just.

1.undesirable：不想要的，不得人心的，易惹麻烦的，not wanted or approved of; likely to cause trouble or problems.通常想到不受欢迎我会立马想到unwelcome, 其实undesirable是一个更直接的表达，不受欢迎就意味着不想要，用undesirable会更好理解一些。

例句：The drug may have other undesirable effects. 这种药可能会有其他负作用。

2.perceive：看待，理解，to understand or think of something or someone in a particular way.可以与see/recognize等同义替换。

例句：Children who do badly in school tests often perceive themselves to be failures. 在学校考试中成绩不好的孩子经常会认为自己很失败。

3.legitimate：公正的，合理的，fair or reasonable.

例句：Most scientists believe it is legitimate to use animals in medical research. 大多数科学家认为用动物作医学研究是正当的。

Compared to people in the highest income bracket, people in the lowest income bracket were 17 percent more likely to view economic inequality as necessary. And when asked whether they would support laws that limit the rights of citizens and the press to criticize the government if enacting such legislation was necessary to solve our nation’s problems, twice as many people in the lowest income bracket were willing to give up the right to free speech as those in the highest income bracket. After finding that disadvantaged groups consistently support the status quo more than advantaged groups, Jost and his colleagues concluded: “People who suffer the most from a given state of affairs are paradoxically the least likely to question, challenge, reject, or change it.

4.bracket：a particular income, tax etc range 收入等级/税级/年龄组别等。

比如说：families in lower income brackets 较低收入家庭

5.enact：将…制定成法律，to make a proposal into a law.

例句：Congress refused to enact the bill. 国会拒绝通过该法案。

6.after在这里表示递进关系，由于约斯特和他的同事发现了弱势群体倾向于维持现状的比例更高这一发现，他们得出以下结论…

7.state affairs：固定搭配，表示事态，状况等。

例句：It is likely that this is the normal state of affairs.

8.paradoxically：自相矛盾、反常的，in a way that is surprising because it is the opposite of what you would expect.可以与contradictory等做同义替换。

例句：Paradoxically, the prohibition of liquor caused an increase in alcoholism. 矛盾的是，禁酒反而导致酗酒的增加。