托福阅读材料(252)：姓氏首字母越排后 购物越疯狂

　　托福阅读材料/知识之购物时的“姓氏效应”，更多托福阅读背景材料/知识尽在新东方在线托福考试频道！

　　外国有研究说，姓氏字母在字母表中位置靠后的人，购物时做决定往往很迅速，并把这种现象叫做“姓氏效应”。估计这种情况在中国就不适用了吧。

　　According to a new study, people whose surnames start with letters late in the alphabet may be the fastest to buy. What could possibly explain this weird phenomenon, which the study authors dubbed "the last-name effect"? The research didn't provide a definitive reason, but the authors offer an intriguing theory.

　　一项新的研究显示，姓氏首字母在字母表中位置越靠后的人在购物时做决定越快。研究人员将这种现象叫做“姓氏效应”。至于为什么会有这样奇怪的现象，该研究没有提供明确的解释，不过研究人员给出了一个比较有趣的理论。

　　Since America's obsession with alphabetical order often forces the Z's to the back of the line in childhood, they suffer. They were always the last to get lunch in the cafeteria —sorry, Young, the other kids bought all the chocolate milk again —and had to beg for the teacher's attention from the back of the classroom. So later in life, when the Z's —and even onetime Z's who became A's through marriage —see an item they really like for sale or are offered a deal, they jump on it, afraid that supplies won't last.

　　因为美国人一直热衷于按照字母顺序排队，所以姓氏字母靠后的人从小就开始遭受排在队尾的境遇。中午吃饭的时候，他们总是排在最后，轮到他们的时候，巧克力奶都卖光了;坐在教室后排的他们还得想办法吸引老师的注意。所以，长大以后，当这些总是排在队尾的人看到他们喜欢的东西或者合适的交易，他们会立马出手，生怕晚了就没了。