How We Form First Impression
1 We all have first impression of someone we just met. But why? Why do we form an opinion about someone without really knowing anything about him or her — aside perhaps from a few remarks or readily observable traits.
2 The answer is related to how your brain, allows you to be aware of the world. Your brain is so sensitive in picking up facial traits, even very minor difference in how a person’s eyes, ears, nose, or mouth are placed in relation to each other makes you see him or her as different1. In fact, your brain continuously processes incoming sensory information — the sights and sounds of your world. These incoming “signals” are compared against2 a host of “memories” stored in the brain areas called the cortex system to determine what these new signals “mean.”
3 If you see someone you know and like at school3, your brain says “familiar and safe. ‘‘If you see someone new, it says, “new — potentially threatening.” Then your brain starts to match features of this stranger with other “known” memories;The height, weight, dress, ethnicity, gestures, and tone of voice are all matched up. The more unfamiliar the characteristics, the more your brain may say, “This is new. I don’t like this person.” Or else, “I’m intrigued. “Or your brain may perceive a new face but familiar clothes, ethnicity, gestures — like your other friends;so your brain says: “I like this person.” But these preliminary “impressions” can be dead wrong4.
4 When we stereotype people, we use a less mature form of thinking(not unlike the immature thinking of a very young child)that makes simplistic and categorical impressions of others. Rather than leam about the depth and breadth of people — their history, interest, values, strengths, and true character — we categorize them as jocks, geeks, or freaks.
5 However, if we resist initial stereotypical impressions, we have a chance to be aware of what a person is truly like. If we spend time with a person, hear about his or her life, hopes, dreams, and become aware of the person’s character, we use a different, more mature style of thinking — and the most complex areas of our cortex, which allow us to be humane.
詞匯：
trait 特點(diǎn)，特征，特性
host 一大群，許多 simplistic 過分單純化的
categorical 絕對的 jock 騙子
geek 反常的人 stereotype 對……產(chǎn)生成見
humane 有人情味的，人文的 sensory 感官的，感覺的
cortex 腦皮層 ethnicity n.種族特點(diǎn)
intrigue 激起興趣 freak 怪人
注釋：
1.Your brain is so sensitive in picking up facial traits, even very minor difference in how a person’s eyes, ears, nose, or mouth are placed in relation to each other makes you see him or her as different：從even開始到as different是個結(jié)果狀語從句，相當(dāng)于that even very minor ... .，而that是與主句中的so呼應(yīng)的。
2.against：和……對比
3.If you see someone you know and like at school ...：如果你在學(xué)校里看見某個你認(rèn)識而且喜歡的人…… like在這里是動詞。
4.dead wrong：相當(dāng)于completely wrong。dead wrong是口語表達(dá)用語。