这两天娱乐圈好不热闹，马天宇、李明德两位男明星轮番登上热搜，网友也乐此不疲地讨论。
人们为什么如此热衷于八卦？无论是明星的八卦还是身边人的八卦，都在人们的日常闲聊中占据了极高的比例。
我在《人类简史》里找到了答案。作者尤瓦尔·赫拉利在书中提到一个八卦理论：「大约在7万年前，现代智人发展出新的语言技能，让他们能够八卦达数小时之久。
这下，他们能够明确得知自己部落里谁比较可信可靠，于是部落的规模就能够扩大，而智人也能够发展出更紧密、更复杂的合作形式。」
有了八卦，才有了合作。从某种意义上说，「八卦」是人类进步的阶梯。
当然，这并不是为各种各样「蛐蛐别人」的行为辩护。但当你了解所谓的「人性」从何而来，知晓哪些人类行为在史前时代意义非凡，而哪些行为虽然延续至今但在当代社会已失去原有价值，在那么你就更可能客观地看待人性，灵活地运用人性，更好地应对人性。
《人类简史》这本书很精彩，名不虚传，非常建议大家读一读原书。读完之后，你会以一个全新的视角看待我们当下身处的世界以及人类过往的历史。
我把中英文PDF版本放到了后台，大家回复「人类」，就能自动领取下载链接。
这次双语阅读专栏，就带大家读一读书中谈到「八卦」这一章，每段话都配上了有声书的音频，分享给大家。Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind
人类简史（节选）
作者：Yuval Noah Harari
What was so special about the new Sapiens language that it enabled us to conquer the world?
It was not the first language. Every animal has some kind of language. Even insects, such as bees and ants, know how to communicate in sophisticated ways, informing one another of the whereabouts of food. Neither was it the first vocal language. Many animals, including all ape and monkey species, have vocal languages. For example, green monkeys use calls of various kinds to communicate. Zoologists have identified one call that means, ‘Careful! An eagle!’ A slightly different call warns, ‘Careful! A lion!’ When researchers played a recording of the first call to a group of monkeys, the monkeys stopped what they were doing and looked upwards in fear. When the same group heard a recording of the second call, the lion warning, they quickly scrambled up a tree.智人的新语言究竟特别在哪，竟让我们能够征服世界？
智人的语言并不是世界上的第一种语言。每种动物都有着某种语言。就算是蜜蜂或蚂蚁这些昆虫，也有极精密复杂的沟通方式，能够告知彼此食物所在。甚至，智人的语言也不能说是第一种有声的语言。因为许多动物（包括所有的猿类和猴类）都会使用有声语言。例如，青猴就有各种不同的喊叫方式，传达不同的信息。像是动物学家已经确定，青猴的某种叫声代表着“小心！有老鹰！”，而只要稍微调整，就会变成“小心！有狮子！”。研究人员把第一种叫声放给一群青猴听的时候，青猴会立刻停下当时的动作，恐惧地望向天空。而同一群青猴听到第二种叫声（警告有狮子）的时候，它们则是立刻冲到树上。- insect [ˈɪnsekt] 为可数名词，指「昆虫」。
- inform sb / sth of sth 指「告知某人某事物」。
- whereabouts [ˈweərəbaʊts] 指「去向，行踪」。
the whereabouts of sb / sth 指「…的去向，…的行踪」。 - A is / was not ... Neither is / was / does / did B. 指「A不是，B也不是」。
It was not the first language. Neither was it the first vocal language.
= It was not the first language. It was not the first vocal language either.
便指：智人的语言并不是世界上的第一种语言。智人的语言也不是第一种有声的语言。 - 名词+of various kinds 指「各种各样的...，不同的...」。
- Zoologist [zəʊˈɒlədʒɪst] 指「动物学家」。
- identify 为动词，这里指「发现，确定」(to recognize something or discover exactly what it is, what its nature or origin is etc)。
- scramble 这里为动词，指迅速地「爬，攀登」。
Sapiens can produce many more distinct sounds than green monkeys, but whales and elephants have equally impressive abilities. A parrot can say anything Albert Einstein could say, as well as mimicking the sounds of phones ringing, doors slamming and sirens wailing. Whatever advantage Einstein had over a parrot, it wasn’t vocal. What, then, is so special about our language?虽然说智人能发出的声音比青猴多，但鲸鱼和大象也不遑多让。爱因斯坦能说的声音，鹦鹉都能说，而且鹦鹉还能模仿手机铃声、摔门声还有警笛的尖啸声。当然，爱因斯坦可能有很多地方比鹦鹉强，但不论如何，语言这点可是远远不及。那么，究竟人类的语言有什么特别的地方？- distinct 为形容词，指「清晰的，清楚的，明显的」(something that is distinct can clearly be seen, heard, smelled etc)。
- mimic 为动词，指「模仿，学…的样子」(to copy the way someone speaks or behaves, especially in order to make people laugh)。
- slam [slæm] 为动词，指「砰地关上」。slam the door 便指「砰地一声把门关上了」。
- siren [ˈsaɪrən] 为可数名词，指「汽笛，警报器」。
- A has an advantage over B 指「A比B有优势」。
The most common answer is that our language is amazingly supple. We can connect a limited number of sounds and signs to produce an infinite number of sentences, each with a distinct meaning. We can thereby ingest, store and communicate a prodigious amount of information about the surrounding world. A green monkey can yell to its comrades, ‘Careful! A lion!’ But a modern human can tell her friends that this morning, near the bend in the river, she saw a lion tracking a herd of bison. She can then describe the exact location, including the different paths leading to the area. With this information, the members of her band can put their heads together and discuss whether they ought to approach the river in order to chase away the lion and hunt the bison.最常见的理论，认为人类语言最为灵活。虽然我们只能发出有限的声音，但组合起来却能产生无限多的句子，各有不同的含义。于是，我们就能吸收、储存和沟通惊人的信息量，并了解我们周遭的世界。青猴能够向同伴大叫“小心！有狮子！”，但现代人能够告诉朋友，今天上午，在附近的河湾，她看到有一群狮子正在跟踪一群野牛。而且，她还能确切地描述出位置，或是有哪几条路能够抵达。有了这些信息，她的部落成员就能一起讨论，该怎么逼近河边，把狮子赶走，让野牛成为自己的囊中物。- infinite 为形容词，本义是「无限的」，用来修饰数字，就表示「无数的」。
- an infinite number of sth 便指「无数...，无限多的...」。
- prodigious [prəˈdɪdʒəs] 为形容词，指「巨大的，庞大的，大得惊人的」(very large or great in a surprising or impressive way)。
- band 为可数名词，指「一伙人，一帮人，一群人」。
- put one’s heads together指「 一起想办法，共同商量」。
- bison [ˈbaɪsn] 为可数名词，指「野牛」。
A second theory agrees that our unique language evolved as a means of sharing information about the world. But the most important information that needed to be conveyed was about humans, not about lions and bison. Our language evolved as a way of gossiping. According to this theory Homo sapiens is primarily a social animal. Social cooperation is our key for survival and reproduction. It is not enough for individual men and women to know the whereabouts of lions and bison. It’s much more important for them to know who in their band hates whom, who is sleeping with whom, who is honest, and who is a cheat.第二种理论，也同意人类语言是沟通关于世界的信息的方式。然而，最重要的信息不是关于狮子和野牛，而是关于人类自己。我们的语言发展成了一种八卦的工具。根据这一理论，智人主要是一种社会性的动物，社会合作是我们得以生存和繁衍的关键。对于个人来说，光是知道狮子和野牛的下落还不够。更重要的，是要知道自己的部落里谁讨厌谁，谁跟谁在交往，谁很诚实，谁又是骗子。- as a means of doing sth 指「作为做某事的方式」。
- convey 为动词，指「 表达，传递，传达」(to communicate or express something, with or without using words)。
- as a way of doing sth 和 as a means of doing sth 指「作为做某事的方式」。
- reproduction 为不可数名词，指「繁殖」。
The amount of information that one must obtain and store in order to track the ever-changing relationships of a few dozen individuals is staggering. (In a band of fifty individuals, there are 1,225 one-on-one relationships, and countless more complex social combinations.) All apes show a keen interest in such social information, but they have trouble gossiping effectively. Neanderthals and archaic Homo sapiens probably also had a hard time talking behind each other’s backs – a much maligned ability which is in fact essential for cooperation in large numbers. The new linguistic skills that modern Sapiens acquired about seventy millennia ago enabled them to gossip for hours on end. Reliable information about who could be trusted meant that small bands could expand into larger bands, and Sapiens could develop tighter and more sophisticated types of cooperation.就算只是几十个人，想随时知道他们之间不断变动的关系状况，所需要取得并储存的相关信息量就已经十分惊人。（如果是个50人的部落，光是一对一的组合就可能有1225种，而更复杂的其他社会组合更是难以计数。）虽然所有猿类都对这种社会信息有浓厚兴趣，但它们并没有有效的八卦方式。尼安德特人与最早的智人很可能也有一段时间没办法在背后说彼此的坏话。然而，如果一大群人想合作共处，“说坏话”这件事可是十分重要。大约在7万年前，现代智人发展出新的语言技能，让他们能够八卦达数小时之久。这下，他们能够明确得知自己部落里谁比较可信可靠，于是部落的规模就能够扩大，而智人也能够发展出更紧密、更复杂的合作形式。- ever-changing 为形容词，指「一直在变化的，不断变化的」。
- staggering 为形容词，指「大得惊人的，令人吃惊的」。
- countless由count（数数）和less（无，没有）构成，指「无数的，数不尽的」。
- complex 为形容词，指「复杂的，难以理解的」。
- show a keen interest in sth 指「展示出对…的强烈兴趣」。
- archaic[ɑːrˈkeɪɪk] 为形容词，指「古代的，早期的」。archaic Homo sapiens 指「早期智人」。
- malign 为动词，指「诽谤，诬蔑，中伤」(to say unpleasant things about someone that are untrue)。
- much-maligned 为形容词，指「备受非议的，备受批评的，饱受诟病的」。
- have a hard time doing sth 指「做某事很困难」。
- behind sb’s back 指「在某人背后，背地里」。
- acquire 为动词，指「学到，获得」知识、技能。
- for days / weeks … on end 指「连续数天 / 数周」。
The gossip theory might sound like a joke, but numerous studies support it. Even today the vast majority of human communication – whether in the form of emails, phone calls or newspaper columns – is gossip. It comes so naturally to us that it seems as if our language evolved for this very purpose. Do you think that history professors chat about the reasons for World War One when they meet for lunch, or that nuclear physicists spend their coffee breaks at scientific conferences talking about quarks? Sometimes. But more often, they gossip about the professor who caught her husband cheating, or the quarrel between the head of the department and the dean, or the rumours that a colleague used his research funds to buy a Lexus. Gossip usually focuses on wrongdoings. Rumour-mongers are the original fourth estate, journalists who inform society about and thus protect it from cheats and freeloaders.这种“八卦理论”听起来有点荒唐，但其实有大量的研究结果支持这种说法。即使到了今天，绝大多数的人际沟通（不论是电子邮件、电话还是报纸专栏）讲的都还是八卦。这对我们来说真是再自然不过，就好像我们的语言天生就是为了这个目的而生的。你认为一群历史学教授碰面吃午餐的时候，聊的会是第一次世界大战的起因吗？而核物理学家在研讨会中场茶叙的时候，难道讲的会是夸克？确实有时候是如此，但更多时候其实讲的都是哪个教授逮到老公偷吃，哪些人想当上系主任或院长，或者说又有哪个同事拿研究经费买了一台雷克萨斯之类。八卦通常聊的都是坏事。这些嚼舌根的人，所掌握的正是最早的第四权力，就像是记者总在向社会爆料，从而保护大众免遭欺诈和占便宜。- the vast majority of sb / sth指「绝大多数」。
in the form of sth 指「以…形式」。
sth comes naturally (to sb) 指「某人天生就会...」。
quark 指「夸克」，理论上一种比原子更小的基本粒子。
catch sb doing sth 指「当场抓住某人做某事」。
wrongdoing 为可数名词，指「不法行为，坏事，作恶」。
rumour-monger 为可数名词，指「散布谣言的人，造谣的人」。
freeloader 指「白吃白占的人，寄生虫，爱占便宜的人」。
Most likely, both the gossip theory and the there-is-a-lion-near-the-river theory are valid. Yet the truly unique feature of our language is not its ability to transmit information about men and lions. Rather, it’s the ability to transmit information about things that do not exist at all. As far as we know, only Sapiens can talk about entire kinds of entities that they have never seen, touched or smelled.最有可能的情况是，无论是八卦理论或是“河边有只狮子”的理论，都有部分属于事实。然而，人类语言真正最独特的功能，并不在于能够传达关于人或狮子的信息，而是能够传达关于一些根本不存在的事物的信息。据我们所知，只有智人能够表达关于从来没有看过、碰过、耳闻过的事物，而且讲得煞有其事。- valid 为形容词，指「合理的，有根据的，符合逻辑的」(based on what is logical or true)。
- transmit 为动词，指的「传输，发送，传送」电子信号、信息等。
Legends, myths, gods and religions appeared for the first time with the Cognitive Revolution. Many animals and human species could previously say, ‘Careful! A lion!’ Thanks to the Cognitive Revolution, Homo sapiens acquired the ability to say, ‘The lion is the guardian spirit of our tribe.’ This ability to speak about fictions is the most unique feature of Sapiens language.在认知革命之后，传说、神话、神以及宗教也应运而生。不论是人类还是许多动物，都能大喊：“小心！有狮子！”但在认知革命之后，智人就能够说出：“狮子是我们部落的守护神。”“讨论虚构的事物”正是智人语言最独特的功能。- the guardian spirit 指「守护神」。
It’s relatively easy to agree that only Homo sapiens can speak about things that don’t really exist, and believe six impossible things before breakfast. You could never convince a monkey to give you a banana by promising him limitless bananas after death in monkey heaven. But why is it important? After all, fiction can be dangerously misleading or distracting. People who go to the forest looking for fairies and unicorns would seem to have less chance of survival than people who go looking for mushrooms and deer. And if you spend hours praying to non-existing guardian spirits, aren’t you wasting precious time, time better spent foraging, fighting and fornicating?相较之下，大部分人都会同意只有智人能够谈论并不真正存在的事物，相信一些不太可能的事情。如果你跟猴子说，只要它现在把香蕉给你，它死后就能到某个猴子天堂，有吃不完的香蕉，它还是不会放手。但这有什么重要？毕竟，虚构的事物可能造成误导或分心，带来危险。某甲说要去森林里找仙女或独角兽，某乙说要去森林里采蘑菇或猎鹿，听起来似乎某甲就是活命机会渺茫。而且，我们都知道时间宝贵，拿来向根本不存在的守护神祷告岂不是一种浪费？何不把握时间吃饭、睡觉、亲亲抱抱？- distracting 为形容词，指「令人分心的」。
- forage [ˈfɔːrɪdʒ] 为动词，指「四处搜寻，觅」食物、补给。
- fornicate [ˈfɔːrnɪkeɪt] 为动词，指「通奸」。
But fiction has enabled us not merely to imagine things, but to do so collectively. We can weave common myths such as the biblical creation story, the Dreamtime myths of Aboriginal Australians, and the nationalist myths of modern states. Such myths give Sapiens the unprecedented ability to cooperate flexibly in large numbers. Ants and bees can also work together in huge numbers, but they do so in a very rigid manner and only with close relatives. Wolves and chimpanzees cooperate far more flexibly than ants, but they can do so only with small numbers of other individuals that they know intimately. Sapiens can cooperate in extremely flexible ways with countless numbers of strangers. That’s why Sapiens rule the world, whereas ants eat our leftovers and chimps are locked up in zoos and research laboratories.然而，“虚构”这件事的重点不只在于让人类能够拥有想象，更重要的是可以“一起”想象，编织出种种共同的虚构故事，不管是《圣经》的《创世记》、澳大利亚原住民的“梦世记”，甚至连现代所谓的国家其实也是种想象。这样的虚构故事赋予智人前所未有的能力，让我们得以集结大批人力、灵活合作。虽然一群蚂蚁和蜜蜂也会合作，但方式死板，而且其实只限近亲。至于狼或黑猩猩的合作方式，虽然已经比蚂蚁灵活许多，但仍然只能和少数其他十分熟悉的个体合作。智人的合作则是不仅灵活，而且能和无数陌生人合作。正因如此，才会是智人统治世界，蚂蚁只能吃我们的剩饭，而黑猩猩则被关在动物园和实验室里。- not merely ... but... 和not only... but (also) 一样，指「不仅...，而且...」。
- collectively 为副词，指「集体地，共同地」。
- in a …manner 指「以…方式」，相当于in a … way。
- rigid [ˈrɪdʒɪd] 为形容词，指方法、体制等「严格死板的，僵化的」(rigid methods, systems etc are very strict and difficult to change)，和flexible相反。
- chimpanzee [ˌtʃɪmpænˈziː] 指「黑猩猩」。
- chimp和chimpanzee一样，指「黑猩猩」。
- lock sb / sth up 指「把…关起来」。
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