自吹自擂的行为大家都不喜欢，但是生活中这样的人并不少见。科学家在研究这个现象之后，得出了很有意思的结论。
Rich guys are most likely to oversell themselves
by Christopher Ingraham
Researchers embarked on a novel study intent on measuring what a Princeton philosophy professor contends is one of the most salient features of our culture – the ability to play the expert without being one. Or, as the social scientists put it, to BS.
researcher /rɪˈsɜːtʃə(r)/ n. 研究者（由research加上表示人的后缀-er）
embark /ɪmˈbɑːk/ on 开始做（某件大事）
novel /ˈnɒv(ə)l/ adj. 新颖的
intent /ɪnˈtent/ adj. 专注的
measure /ˈmeʒə(r)/ v. 测量、衡量
Princeton /ˈprɪnstən/ n. 指普林斯顿大学（美国名校）
philosophy /fɪˈlɒsəfi/ n. 哲学
contend /kənˈtend/ v. 主张
salient /ˈseɪliənt/ adj. 最显著的
feature /ˈfiːtʃə(r)/ n. 特点
play /pleɪ/ v. 假扮、装做
put /pʊt/ v. 表述、（用词语）表达
bullshit /ˈbʊlʃɪt/ v. 吹牛、胡扯（这个词属于脏话，所以文中缩写为BS）
Research by John Jerram and Nikki Shure of the University College of London, and Phil Parker of Australian Catholic University attempted to measure the pervasiveness（普遍性） of this trait in society and identify its most ardent practitioners.
trait /treɪt/ n. 特性、特质
identify /aɪˈdentɪfaɪ/ v. 识别、辨认出
ardent /ˈɑːd(ə)nt/ adj. 充满热情的
practitioner /prækˈtɪʃ(ə)nə(r)/ n. 做某事的人、践行者
Study participants were asked to assess their knowledge of 16 math topics on a five-point scale ranging from "never heard of it" to "know it well, understand the concept." Crucially, three of those topics were complete fabrications: "proper numbers," "subjunctive scaling" and "declarative fractions."★ Those who said they were knowledgeable about the fictitious topics were categorized as BSers.
participant /pɑːˈtɪsɪp(ə)nt/ n. 参与者
assess /əˈses/ v. 评估
scale /skeɪl/ n. 刻度表、标尺
range /reɪndʒ/ v. （在某个范围内）变动
concept /ˈkɒnsept/ n. 概念
crucially /ˈkruːʃ(ə)li/ adv. 关键地、关键的是（由crucial加后缀-ly变成副词）
fabrication /ˌfæbrɪˈkeɪʃ(ə)n/ n. 虚构的假信息
★ 这句话结尾处用引号括起来的三个词，既然都是虚构出来的数学术语，其含义就不必深究了。
knowledgeable /ˈnɒlɪdʒəb(ə)l/ adj. 知识渊博的（由knowledge加后缀-able变成形容词）
fictitious /fɪkˈtɪʃəs/ adj. 虚构的、虚假的
categorize /ˈkætəɡ(ə)raɪz/ v. 分类、归类（由category加后缀-ize变成动词）
Using a data set spanning nine predominantly English-speaking countries, researchers delineated a number of key findings. First, men are much more likely than women to master the art of hyperbole（夸张）, as are the wealthy relative to the poor or middle class.
data /ˈdeɪtə/ n. 数据
set /set/ n. （数学里的）集合
span /spæn/ v. 跨越
predominantly /prɪˈdɒmɪnəntli/ adv. 主要地、大部分地
delineate /dɪˈlɪnieɪt/ v. 描绘、勾画
key /kiː/ adj. 关键的、极重要的
master /ˈmɑːstə(r)/ v. 精通
wealthy /ˈwelθi/ adj. 富有的（由wealth加后缀-y变成形容词）
relative /ˈrelətɪv/ to 相对于
class /klɑːs/ n. 阶级（middle class就是中产阶级）
North Americans, meanwhile, tend to slip into this behavior more readily than English speakers in other parts of the globe. And if there were a world championship, as a true devotee might appreciate, the title would go to Canada.
meanwhile /ˈmiːnwaɪl/ adv. 与此同时
tend /tend/ v. 倾向于
slip into （以不易察觉的方式）逐渐进入某种状态
readily /ˈred(ə)li/ adv. 轻易地
globe /ɡləʊb/ n. 全球、全世界
championship /ˈtʃæmpiənʃɪp/ n. 冠军赛、锦标赛
devotee /ˌdevəˈtiː/ n. 热爱者
appreciate /əˈpriːʃieɪt/ v. 欣赏
title /ˈtaɪt(ə)l/ n. 冠军头衔
Canada /ˈkænədə/ n. 加拿大
The study also found that the true practitioners are more likely to "display overconfidence in their academic prowess and problem-solving skills." The individuals most likely to claim to be math whizzes are also the most likely to claim expertise in subject areas that don't exist. That finding suggests that people who are particularly boastful of their abilities should be treated with some skepticism.
overconfidence /ˌəʊvəˈkɒnfɪd(ə)ns/ n. 过分自信、自负（由confidence加上表示过度的前缀over-）
academic /ˌækəˈdemɪk/ adj. 学术的、学业的
prowess /ˈpraʊes/ n. 杰出才能
individual /ˌɪndɪˈvɪdʒuəl/ n. 个体、个人
claim /kleɪm/ v. 声称
whiz /wɪz/ n. 奇才、高手
expertise /ˌekspɜːˈtiːz/ n. 特长、专长
subject /ˈsʌbdʒekt/ n. 学科、科目
suggest /səˈdʒest/ v. 表明
boastful /ˈbəʊstf(ə)l/ adj. 自吹自擂的、自夸的（由boast加后缀-ful变成形容词）
treat /triːt/ v. 对待
skepticism /ˈskeptɪsɪz(ə)m/ n. 怀疑态度
Nevertheless, the study gives reason to believe there's a useful life skill to be had here, such as the ability to bluff your way to success. "Being able to bulls--- convincingly may be useful in certain situations (e.g. job interviews, negotiations, grant applications)," the study authors write.★ That would be a plausible explanation for why kids from wealthy families are more likely to adopt this behavior: they're taking cues from their successful parents.
nevertheless /ˌnevəðəˈles/ adv. 尽管如此
life skill 生活技能
bluff /blʌf/ v. 吹嘘、唬人
convincingly /kənˈvɪnsɪŋli/ adv. 有说服力地（由convince的现在分词加后缀-ly变成副词）
e.g. = for example
interview /ˈɪntəvjuː/ n. 面试
negotiation /nɪˌɡəʊʃiˈeɪʃ(ə)n/ n. 谈判
grant /ɡrɑːnt/ n. （政府的）专项拨款
application /ˌæplɪˈkeɪʃ(ə)n/ n. 申请
★ 因为bullshit是脏话，所以文中把它的后三个字母用三个连字符代替，就变成了bulls---，相当于“文字马赛克”。这样文中不会出现脏话，而读者也能猜到是哪个词。
plausible /ˈplɔːzəb(ə)l/ adj. 看起来有道理的
adopt /əˈdɒpt/ v. 采取、采用
cue /kjuː/ n. 信号（take cue from someone就是学习和模仿某人的行为）
The study also suggests that men's higher propensity（行为的倾向） toward this behavior "could help them earn higher wages and explain some of the gender wage gap," said study co-author Nikki Shure. "This has important implications for thinking about tasks in job interviews and how to evaluate performance."
wage /weɪdʒ/ n. 工资、薪水
gender /ˈdʒendə(r)/ n. 性别
gap /ɡæp/ n. 差额（gender wage gap指男女同工不同酬时的工资差额）
implication /ˌɪmplɪˈkeɪʃ(ə)n/ n. 可能的影响
task /tɑːsk/ n. 任务、工作任务
evaluate /ɪˈvæljueɪt/ v. 评估
performance /pəˈfɔːməns/ n. 工作表现
The authors point out that their study was narrowly defined and restricted to the realm of mathematics. "Ideally," they wrote, "future research should try to include a greater number of fake constructs in order to maximize precision of the bulls--- scale."
point out 指出、说明
narrowly /ˈnærəʊli/ adv. 范围窄地（由narrow加后缀-ly变成副词）
define /dɪˈfaɪn/ v. 界定
restrict /rɪˈstrɪkt/ v. 限制、限定
realm /relm/ n. 领域
ideally /aɪˈdɪəli/ adv. 理想情况下（由ideal加后缀-ly变成副词）
fake /feɪk/ adj. 假冒的
construct /ˈkɒnstrʌkt/ n. 构想
maximize /ˈmæksɪmaɪz/ v. 最大化、使最大
precision /prɪˈsɪʒ(ə)n/ n. 精确度、准确度（由precise加后缀-ion变成名词）
（如果您发现某些行的最后一个单词被分成两半了，请把您使用的浏览器升级到最新版本就能正常显示了。）
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