經濟危機難擋美國人購書慾望

During tough economic times when US consumers are trying to cut back the indulgence they can't seem to live without is books.

Three-quarters of adults questioned in an online poll said they would sacrifice holidays, dining out, going to the movies and even shopping sprees but they could not resist buying books.

Dining out came in a far second with only 11 percent of Americans naming it their top indulgence, followed by shopping at 7 percent, vacations at four and movies, which was chosen by only 3 percent of Americans.

"The recession highlighted the downside of greed, indulgence and giving in to temptation, but we noticed a shift back to life's simplest pleasures," said Michelle Renaud, a senior manager at Harlequin Enterprises Limited, which conducted the poll.

The survey of 3,000 people tried to determine what tempts people to spend their money, how they react to temptation and how far they would go when tempted.

Sex was a main temptation for 50 percent of men, while for 56 percent of women food topped the list. The sexes also differed in their approach to straying. Half of men thought it was harmless to lust after someone other than their partner, compared to 33 percent of women.

"Our survey also revealed that one in four women (20 percent) and, shockingly, almost half of the men (43 percent) surveyed have been tempted to hook up with their friend's significant other," according to the survey.

The sluggish economy and high unemployment also seem to have increased competition and temptation in the workplace. Forty-eight percent of people admitted they had sneaked a look at a co-worker's pay slip. Fifteen percent of men and 10 percent of woman also said they had sabotaged a colleague.

"It is very surprising the number of people who admitted they had done that," Renaud said in an interview, adding that she believed it was due to the competitive job market.

An equal number of men and 8 percent of women admitted to taking credit for someone else's work.

"We are so information obsessed right now that we are constantly trying to find out more, even if it is about our significant other or our colleagues at work," said Renaud.
在眼下的經濟困難時期，美國消費者正努力削減各項非必需開支，但他們卻似乎無法割捨買書這項消費。

在一項在線調查中，四分之三的受訪成年人說他們可以犧牲度假、出去吃飯、看電影甚至購物，但卻無法抵制買書的慾望。

外出用餐位居第二，只有11%的美國人認爲其最不能割捨，遠落後於購書；購物位列其後，有7%的人稱其無法割捨，度假和看電影分別爲4%和3%。

開展該調查的禾林有限公司的高級經理米歇爾•雷納德說：“經濟衰退凸顯出人們貪婪、放縱和經不住誘惑的缺點，但我們注意到在這樣的時期人們開始重拾生活中一些最簡單的樂趣。”

這項共有三千人蔘與的調查旨在弄清什麼東西誘使人們花錢，人們如何應對誘惑，以及在受到誘惑時的出格程度。

50%的男性認爲性是一個主要的誘惑，56%的女性認爲食物是最大的誘惑。男性和女性對於出軌的態度也有所不同，一半的男性認爲對伴侶以外的其他女性有非分之想無傷大雅，而只有33%的女性這麼認爲。

調查報告稱：“該調查還顯示，四分之一的（20%）受訪女性曾經不住誘惑和朋友的另一半發生不正當關係，而竟有近一半（43%）的男性曾這樣做過。”

此外，不景氣的經濟狀況和高失業率似乎也加劇了工作場所的競爭和誘惑。48%的人承認他們曾偷看過同事的工資單。15%的男性和10%的女性稱他們曾陷害過某個同事。

雷納德在一項訪談中說：“沒想到有這麼多人承認自己曾經做過這種事。”她認爲這是競爭激烈的就業市場造成的。

另有15%的男性和8%的女性承認他們曾搶過別人的功勞。

雷納德說：“現在的人們過度關注信息，以至於我們不斷地想要獲取更多信息，即使它們關乎我們的另一半或我們的同事。”

Vocabulary:

shopping spree: 大采購，大量購物

stray: (of a person who is married or in a relationship) to have a sexual relationship with somebody who is not your usual partner（已婚者或有固定關係者）有外遇；在別處拈花惹草

hook up with sb.: to become romantically or sexually involved with someone 與某人發生戀愛或性關係

sluggish: displaying little movement or activity; slow; inactive （經濟）蕭條的

sabotage: to damage, destroy or spoil something deliberately to prevent an enemy from using it or to protest about something（爲防止敵方利用或爲表示抗議而）蓄意破壞，陰謀破壞

take credit for:搶功勞；爭奪名利