Being cool or popular assume heightened importance. So does fitting in. Conversely, embarrassment and humiliation become intense fears and recurrent realities.
耍酷和受欢迎在学校的重要性增加。所以要适应。与之相反,丢脸和羞辱则变成强烈的害怕以及反复发生的事实。
为什么中学是一个人一生中典型的最糟糕的时间段?
The answer: These years are a time of abrupt and profound transition, and a period of profound change, physiologically, emotionally, cognitively, and socially.
答案是:这几年是(青少年)粗暴的转变期和深刻的过渡期,在这段时期,他们会在生理上、情绪上、认知上以及社交上发生深刻的变化。
大部分的注意力都集中在与青春期有关的荷尔蒙激素的变化上。毫无疑问,中学的孩子们会经历一系列生理上和认知上的变化,而这些变化能带来深远的有影响力的暗示意义。
Self-consciousness increases and the young begin to separate themselves psychologically from their parents.
自我意识增加,青少年们开始在心理上和他们的父母分离。
Sensibilities evolve, as middle schools began to experience a host of adult emotions – including the first stirrings of romantic love, lust, and the desire to be loved, admired, and respected – but before the young have developed realistic expectations or a firm sense of self.
情感进化,当进入中学后他们开始经历大量的成人感情——包括第一次让人兴奋的浪漫爱情、性欲,以及渴望被爱、被崇拜、被尊重——但是这个时候青少年还没有发展完全,没有成熟的实际期望和坚定的自我意识。
Meanwhile, differentials in rates of physical and social maturation divide middle schoolers into a clearly defined hierarchy, with the more athletic, developed, or grown up in appearance at the top.
与此同时,根据生理和心理成熟度的不同,中学生被划分为有明确定义的阶层,那些体育型的、成熟的、外表上成长起来的中学生往往处在这个阶层的顶端。
But it is not enough to focus on the physical or the hormonal.
但是这还不足以将注意力全部集中在身体变化和荷尔蒙的变化上。
As a result, older relationships are disrupted, insecurity mounts, and jealousies and rivalries abound.
结果,旧的人际关系瓦解,不安感入驻,而且嫉妒和竞争大量出现。
Loosely knit friendship networks and play groups now reorganize into peer groups. Friendship itself – now defined of personal loyalty and intense emotional bonding – grows in importance. At the same time, cross-gender relations undergo profound changes, as consciousness about the nature of these relationships mounts.
松散的人际关系网络以及之前在操场上玩耍的形式,现在变成的了同辈小组模式。友谊本身——现在被定义为个人忠诚度和强烈的情感联系——变得越来越重要。与此同时,跨性别的关系经历着深刻的变化,因为他们对这些关系属性的意识正在增加。
Fortunately, precisely became the middle school years are a time of transition, its ordeals inevitably comes to an end. In high school, the clearly defined middle-school hierarchy splinters, as students gravitate into separate circles based on shared interests, styles, and aspirations. Extracurricular options expand, giving students opportunities to develop or embrace alternate identities.
幸运的是,准确的说中学阶段是一个过渡时期,它带来的折磨到最后必然会结束。升入高中后,中学里清晰的阶级分层将会破碎,因为基于共同的利益、基于相近的性格和抱负,学生们会被吸引进独立的小圈子。课外选择扩大,给了学生更多的机会去发展,或者接受其他的替代身份认同。
But for too many, the miseries of middle school remain a lasting scar and a persistent source of insecurity and self-doubt.
但是对于许多学生来说, 中学时代经历的痛苦会在很长一段时间里留下伤疤,并且这也是不安全感和自我怀疑的长期发源地。