译文及生词短语整理：朗读者小组
Translation
A psychologist explains the limits of human compassion
心理学家解释了人类同情心的极限
Why do we ignore mass atrocities? It has to do with something called “psychic numbing.”
为什么我们对大规模的暴行熟视无睹？这与所谓的“心理麻木”有关。
By Brian Resnick
There are now 65.3 million people displaced from their homes worldwide, the United Nations reports. It’s an all-time high: likely the largest population of refugees and asylum seekers in human history.
联合国报告说，全世界有6530万人流离失所，这已经达到了历史最高点：可能是人类历史上难民和寻求庇护者规模最大的时刻。
Think about that number: 65.3 million. Can you even imagine it? Like, really imagine it. When we see one life, we can imagine their hopes and pain. But 65 million? You can’t. That’s just an abstraction. There’s a hard limit to human compassion, and it’s one of the most powerful psychological forces shaping human events.
想想这个数字：6530万。你能想象吗？真的想象着它。当我们看到一个生命，我们可以想象他们的希望和痛苦，但是6500万？你无法想象。这只是一个抽象的概念。人类的同情心是有限度的，它是驱动人类做一些事的最强大的心理力量之一。
I often report on political psychology. And in my conversations with scientists, I’ll often ask: “What research helps you understand what’s going on in the world?” The answer — whether it’s pegged to the refugee crisis abroad or the health care debate at home — very often involves Paul Slovic.
我经常报道政治心理学。在与科学家的交谈中，我经常会问：“什么研究可以帮助你了解世界发生了什么？”这问题的答案无论是国外的难民危机或国内的有关医疗保健的辩论，都常常涉及到保罗斯洛维克。
Slovic is a psychologist at the University of Oregon, and for decades he’s been asking the question: Why does the world often ignore mass atrocities, mass suffering?
斯洛维克是俄勒冈大学的心理学家，几十年来，他一直在问：为什么世界经常忽视大规模的暴行和大规模苦难？
Slovic’s work has shown that the human mind is not very good at thinking about, and empathizing with, millions or billions of individuals.
斯洛维奇的工作表明了人的大脑并不能很好的思考和同情数以百万计的人。
That’s why it’s not surprising six out of 10 Americans support a travel ban that, in part, bars refugees from entering America. That many lawmakers aren’t horrified by the possibility of booting tens of millions from health insurance. That the world looked on as millions died in war and genocide in Darfur. That we haven’t really grappled as a nation with the opioid epidemic, which killed 33,000 in 2015.
这就是人们对十分之六的美国人支持旅游禁令而这在一定程度上会禁止难民进入美国这件事不感到震惊的原因；；这就是很多立法者对于数百万人可能丢失医疗保险而毫不吃惊的原因；这就是全世界看着数百万人死于战争以及达尔富尔地区的种族灭绝而无动于衷的原因；这就是2015年opioid流行病导致33000人死亡而我们却没有团结一致对抗它的原因。
When numbers simply can’t convey the costs, there’s an infuriating paradox at play. Slovic calls it “psychic numbing.” As the number of victims in a tragedy increases, our empathy, our willingness to help, reliably decreases. This happens even when the number of victims increases from one to two.
当数据不能传达真正的损失时，在现实中就会产生令人愤怒的矛盾的事情，斯洛维克称之为“精神麻木”。随着一场悲剧中受害人人数的增长，我们的同情心以及想要提供帮助的意愿就会下降，即使受害人的人数从一个人变成两个人也是如此。
New words
1. psychologist 英 [saɪ'kɒlədʒɪst] 美 [saɪ'kɑlədʒɪst]
n. 心理学家，心理学者
e.g. He's a psychologist-or rather, a psychoanalyst.
他是一位心理学家——或者更确切地说，一位心理分析学家。
2. atrocity 英 [ə'trɒsɪtɪ] 美 [ə'trɑsəti]
n. 暴行；凶恶，残暴
e.g. Seeing such a terrible sight before his eyes, he was savaged by his enemy's atrocity.
看到眼前这可怖的场景，他被敌方的暴行激怒了。
3. psychic 英 ['saɪkɪk] 美 ['saɪkɪk]
adj. 精神的；心灵的
e.g. These truths cause individuals much psychic pain.
这些真相给个体带来巨大的精神痛苦。
4. displaced 美 [dɪs'ples]
adj. 无家可归的；
e.g. Most of the civilians displaced by the war will be unable to return to their homes.
许多因战乱而流离失所的百姓将无法重返家园。
5. asylum 英 [ə'saɪləm] 美 [ə'saɪləm]
n. 庇护；收容所，救济院
e.g. He has been granted asylum in France.
他在法国获得了政治庇护。
6. peg 英 [peg] 美 [pɛɡ]
vt. 与…挂钩，与...相关
e.g. a currency pegged to the American dollar
与美元挂钩的货币
7. empathize 英 ['empəθaɪz] 美 ['ɛmpəθaɪz]
vt. 同情，有同感
e.g. My mother died last year so I can really empathize with what he’s going through.
我母亲去年过世了，所以我非常理解他的感受。
8. genocide 英 ['dʒenəsaɪd] 美 ['dʒɛnəsaɪd]
n. 种族灭绝；灭绝整个种族的大屠杀
e.g. The military leaders were accused of genocide.
军方领导人被指控实施种族大屠杀。
9. grapple 英 ['græp(ə)l] 美 ['græpl]
尽力解决〔难题〕
e.g. The Government has to grapple with the problem of unemployment.
政府必须尽力解决失业问题。
10. opioid 英 ['əʊpɪɒɪd] 美 ['opi,ɔɪd]
n. 阿片样物质；类鸦片
e.g. Fear of abuse and dependence is a major factor limiting access to opioid analgesics.
担心滥用和依赖是限制获取阿片类止痛药的一个主要因素。
12. infuriating 英 [ɪn'fjʊərɪeɪtɪŋ] 美 [ɪn'fjʊrɪetɪŋ]
adj. 令人大怒的
e.g. The infuriating thing is that he is always right.
令人恼火的是他总是正确的。
Phrases
1.the United Nations 联合国
2.human compassion 人类同情心
3.refugee crisis 难民危机
4.health care 卫生保健
5.empathize with 同情，感同身受
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