各式各样的“效应”

作者 王逢鑫

选自《英语世界》2015年第11期

“效应”的原义是“物理的或化学的作用所产生的效果”，也可泛指“某个人物的言行或某种事物的发生和发展在社会上所引起的反应或效果”。英语的对应词是effect。自然界和人间社会存在各式各样的效应。其中“温室效应” （green-house effect）是我们最常见的一种大气保温效应，与地球变暖（global warming）有关。例如：

1. The term “greenhouse effect” has two common meanings. There is a natural greenhouse effect that keeps the Earth’s climate warm and habitable. There is also a man-made greenhouse effect, which is the enhancement of Earth’s natural greenhouse effect by the addition of greenhouse gases from the burning of fossil fuels (mainly petroleum, coal, and natural gas).
“温室效应”这个词有两个基本意思：一个是使地球气候保持温暖和适宜居住的自然温室效应；另一个是人为温室效应，即由于燃烧化石燃料（主要是石油、煤和天然气）造成温室气体增多而导致的地球自然温室效应增强。

2. Earth’s natural greenhouse effect is critical to supporting life. But human activities, primarily the burning of fossil fuels and clearing of forests, have intensified the natural greenhouse effect, causing global warming.
地球的自然温室效应对维持生命是至关紧要的，但是人类活动，主要是燃烧化石燃料和砍伐森林，已加剧了这种自然温室效应，引起全球变暖。

与我们生存环境密切相关的另一种自然效应是“城市热岛效应”（urban heat island effect）。例如：

3. Temperatures are often a few degrees higher in cities than they are in their surrounding rural areas. This temperature discrepancy is the result of a bizarre phenomenon known as the urban heat island effect. As the name implies, the effect turns cities into islands of heat.
城市温度常常比周围农村高出几度。这种温差是一种叫做“城市热岛效应”的奇异现象造成的。正如其名所示，这种效应使城市变成热岛。

4. According to the latest statistics from the China Meteorological Administration, about one-fourth of the temperature rise caused by climate warming can be blamed on the urban heat island effect. This effect is adding to our woes.
根据中国气象局的最新统计，在气候变暖引起的气温上升中，大约有1/4是城市热岛效应造成的。这种热岛效应正在给我们增添麻烦。

美国数学与气象学家爱德华·诺顿·罗伦兹（Edward Norton Lorenz）发现的“蝴蝶效应”（butterfly effect）也与自然气象有关。例如：

5. A few occasional flaps of the wings of a butterfly in a South American tropical rain forest in the Amazon Basin may cause a tornado in Texas, the United States two weeks later. This is because the movement of the wings of the butterfly will bring about changes in the air system around it, and also cause weak air flow, which will lead to relevant changes in the air and other systems around it. This will cause a series of chain reactions, and eventually lead to significant changes in other systems.
亚马孙盆地的南美热带雨林中的一只蝴蝶，偶尔扇动了几下翅膀，两周后在美国得克萨斯州可能引起一场龙卷风。这是因为蝴蝶翅膀的运动会导致其身边的空气系统发生变化，并产生微弱气流，而微弱气流又会引起它四周空气或其他系统产生相应的变化，由此引起一系列连锁反应，最终导致其他系统的极大变化。

“蝴蝶效应”作为一种自然现象，也出现在文艺作品中。美国歌手戴维·赫尔南德斯（David Hernandez）的The Butterfly Effect 一诗开头有这样的诗句

If a butterfly flapping its wings in Beijing

could cause a hurricane off the coast of Florida,

so could a deck of cards shuffled at a picnic.

假如北京的一只蝴蝶扇动双翅

能让佛罗里达海岸外刮起一场飓风，

野餐时洗一副纸牌也能掀起飓风。

“鲶鱼效应”（catfish effect）是以动物行为产生的效应，比喻社会竞争现象。例如：

6. In Norway, live sardines are several times more expensive than frozen ones, and are valued for better texture and flavor. It was said that only one ship could bring live sardine home, and the shipmaster kept his method a secret. After he died, people found that there was one catfish in his tank. The catfish keeps swimming, and the sardines try to avoid this predator. This increased level of activity keeps the sardines active instead of becoming sedentary.
在挪威，鲜活的沙丁鱼比冰冻的贵好几倍，而且因其更好的口感和质地受人青睐。据说，以前仅有一条船能把鲜活的沙丁鱼运回家来，但是那位船长将他的方法保密。他去世后，人们发现他的贮水箱里有一条活鲶鱼。这条鲶鱼一直游来游去，而那些沙丁鱼则试图躲开食肉的鲶鱼。活动量增加使得沙丁鱼活跃，而不是变得不爱游动。

“鲶鱼效应”指的是鼓励竞争，常用于人力资源管理。例如：

Catfish effect is a term used in human resource management to describe how groups are motivated by the addition of a strong competitor. Actions for actively applying the catfish effect in an organization are called catfish management. This is a method used to motivate a team so that each member feels strong competition, thus keeping up the competitiveness of the whole team.
“鲶鱼效应”是一个用于人力资源管理的术语，描述群体如何因增加有力的竞争对手而受到激励。在一个组织内积极应用鲶鱼效应而做出的行动，被称作“鲶鱼式”管理。这是一种用于激励团队的方法，使每位成员感到激烈的竞争，从而保持整个团队的竞争力。

“名人效应”（celebrity effect）是现在常见的一种社会现象。例如：

7. Celebrity effect means using a famous person’s image to sell products or services by focusing on the person’s money, popularity or fame.
“名人效应”是通过聚焦名人的财富、知名度或声誉来利用名人形象销售产品或服务。

 Although many brand managers favour the use of celebrities in advertisements, others worry that celebrities may overshadow their brands. So celebrity effect can be positive or negative.
许多品牌经理喜爱在广告中利用名人，另一些人则担忧名人会给他们的品牌蒙上阴影。因此名人效应可能是正面的，也可能是负面的。

“光环效应”（halo effect）与名人相关，也是常见的一种社会现象。例如：

8. The halo effect of celebrities gives people a cloak of generalized trustworthiness which extends well-beyond their industry or expertise. The halo effect works both in positive and negative directions.
名人“光环效应”给人们一层对笼统的可信赖性的模糊认识，大大超越了名人的勤奋与学识。“光环”效在正面和负面双向产生作用。

“马太效应”（Matthew effect）属于社会学领域，与人的声誉和地位相关。例如：

In sociology, the Matthew effect is the phenomenon where “the rich get richer and the poor get poorer”. In both its original and typical usage it is meant metaphorically to refer to issues of fame or status, but it may also be used literally to refer to cumulative advantage of economic capital.
在社会学中，“马太效应”指“富人越富，穷人越穷”的现象。在其本原和通常的用法中，喻指声誉和地位的问题，但是它在字面上也可用来指经济资本的累积优势。

（来源：《英语世界》，编辑：Helen）