什么是“甜柠檬心理”?
中国日报网 2013-10-31 08:55
伊索寓言中有个故事讲道,有只狐狸原想找些可口的食物,但遍寻不着,只找到一只酸柠檬,这实在是一件不得已而为之的事,但它却说:“这柠檬是甜的,正是我想吃的。”这种只能得到柠檬就说柠檬是甜的自我安慰现象,就叫“甜柠檬心理”,英文表达是sweet lemon psychology。
The term sweet lemon comes from the saying, "When life hands you lemons, make lemonade." It means making the best of a bad situation, even if it involves mixing lemons with cuploads of sugar until they actually taste sweet. It is the equal opposite of sour grapes.
甜柠檬一词来源于一句俗语:“生活给你柠檬,就榨柠檬汁吧。”意思是在最坏的情况下尽力做到最好,就算要往柠檬汁里倒进许多糖直到它味道变甜。甜柠檬的反义词就是酸葡萄(吃不到葡萄就说葡萄酸)。
In daily life, when people fail to achieve some goal, they may try to sugarcoat the result, in order to feel peaceful. This is called “sweet lemon psychology”.
在日常生活中,当人们追求目标失败时,他们可能会试图美化结果,以让自己内心感到安宁。这就叫“甜柠檬心理”。
(中国日报网英语点津 丹妮 编辑)