市场上商品种类繁多未必是件好事

　　At the electronics store, the situation is no different. Dozens of TVs, DVDs, laptops and phones fill the shelves. Want to buy an iPod? Apple offers nearly 30 models, from 512MB to 60GB, before you've even decided on a colour. Then, of coure, there's the cost-benefit analysis. For more confusion, ask a shop assistant.

　　电子用品商店里的情形也差不多。数十种电视机、DVD机、笔记本电脑和电话机把货柜塞得满满的。想买个iPod播放器吗？苹果电脑公司为你提供了近30种型号，容量从512MB到60GB，就这样你还没挑颜色呢。当然，接下去还有性价比分析。如果想把自己弄得更糊涂的话，就再找个售货员咨询咨询。

　　"Spoilt for choice" is the English expresstion that describes the dilemma facing today's consumers. Shopping has become an activity in which it is no longer possible to make intelligent informed decisions. This problem is not limited to fast-moving consumer products. It touches every aspect of our lives. Which university degree? Which job? Which holiday? Which investment or insurance? Which partner? Which name for the kids? Cosmetic surgery even offers: which face? And the internet: which identity?

　　"Spoilt for choice"(可供选择的好东西太多以至于无从下手)就是英语中对当今消费者所面临的窘境的描述。购物不再是一种能够在全面了解信息后作出明智决定的行为了。这一问题不只局限于那些迅速消耗的消费品。它触动了我们生活的方方面面。选择哪种大学学位？选哪份工作？选哪个假日？选哪项投资或保险？选哪个合作伙伴？给孩子取哪个名字？外科整形手术甚至可以让你选择做成哪张脸？因特网上你则需要决定：选择用哪个身份？

　　Choice is a key aspect of modern society, but too much choice is not necessarily a good thing. Take a study carried out several years ago in the United States. Shoppers in a mall were offered 24 different kinds of jam to try for free. Many people stopped to taste them, but hardly anyone bought any jam. Later, the number of products was reduced to six. This time, fewer people stopped, but ten times as much jam was sold. This result seems hard to believe: surely we are more likely to find something we like from a range four times as large. But practice shows that people are more comfortable if the number of choices is limited.

　　选择是现代社会的重要方面，但是选择太多未必是件好事。就拿美国数年前的一项研究来说吧。一个购物商场提供24种不同的果酱请顾客免费品尝。许多人停下来品尝，但是几乎没人购买。后来，果酱的总数被减为六种，这一次，停下来品尝的人要少些，但是卖出的果酱却是先前的十倍。这一结果看起来令人难以置信：可供挑选的商品种类多了三倍，按道理我们应该更有可能找到自己喜欢的东西。但实践证明，面对有限的选择，人们会感到更舒服些。

　　Remember that for many of the situations we face, the simplest and quickest choice if often the best. Life is too short for anyting else.

　　请记住，在我们所面临的许多情况中，最简单最迅速的选择通常也是最好的选择。生命太短暂，我们没有时间去反复地斟酌比对。

本文选自《北外网院》的博客，点击查看博客原文