To phone or not to phone? 打电话还是不打电话

In the USA, the Amish--a Christian group--are famous because they drive carriages instead of cars, do not use TVs or refrigerators, and do not have personal telephones. 在美国，一个基督教组织——阿曼门诺派很出名，由于他们坐马车而不用汽车，不使用电视或者冰箱，同时也没有个人电话。

Many people assume the Amish must have religious reasons for their many rules, but this is not true. 许多人认为阿曼门诺派教徒一定遵循着许多宗教规则，但事实不是这样的。

In truth, whenever a new technology is introduced, the Amish meet and discuss its advantages and disadvantages. 事实上，无论何时一项新技术的发明，阿曼门诺派教徒将聚集并讨论这项技术的利弊。

They then vote on whether they will accept it. 然后他们投票决定是否接受它。

The Amish reject cars because they like having tight communities where everyone lives close together. 阿曼门诺派教徒拒绝汽车因为他们喜欢紧密地居住在一起。

They have no TVs or refrigerators because their homes do not have electricity--they do not think it is necessary and dislike dealing with strangers, such as the people who work at the electric company. 由于他们家里没有电，所以他们没有电视和冰箱——他们并不认为这些东西是必需的，也不喜欢面对陌生人，如在电力公司工作的人。

Since the Amish value seeing each other face to face, they oppose having telephones in their houses. 因为阿曼门诺派教徒重视彼此面对面交流，所以他们反对在住宅里装电话。

However, in each community there is often a small building that has a telephone for emergencies. 但是，在每个社区都有一个小建筑，里面有紧急情况用的电话。

The telephone is very convenient for communication, and most people in the world today cannot live without it. 电话便于交流，而且世界上大多数人离了电话无法生活。

However, maybe the Amish have a valid point. 但是，也许阿曼门诺派教徒有一个有效的观点。

Which is more of a friend, someone you often talk to over the phone or someone you often talk to face to face? 你经常聊电话和经常面对面聊天的人，哪个更像是朋友？

And, if you need help, who can help you better, someone far away or some in the room with you? 而且，假如你需要帮助，谁能更好地帮你，是远在他处的朋友还是和你在一个地方的人？

There is something important about being together and sharing life that cannot be found over a telephone wire. 在一起并分享生活，其中蕴藏着某种重要的东西，而这种东西是无法通过电话线获得的。

There are other disadvantages to the telephone, as well. For example, no matter what the circumstances, when the phone rings, everything stops so that the call can be answered. 电话同时也有一些其他的缺点。例如，无论在什么情况下，当电话铃声响起时，为了接电话，一切都得停下来。

Your family could be eating dinner or chatting together, yet this will be interrupted. 你的家人可能正在吃晚餐或一起聊天，但会被打断。

However, most phone calls are not really that important; certainly, they could not be more important than family time. 但是，许多电话并不是真的那么重要；当然，他们不会比家庭时间重要。

Then, when you are absorbed in a book or simply trying to rest, the phone always seems to be ringing, destroying whatever peace you might have. 此外，电话总是在你专心读书或要休息的时候响起，打破你本该有的宁静。

However, the person calling is often merely a salesman or someone who has dialled the wrong number. 但是，个人电话经常是来自于拨错号码的销售人员或其他人。

With mobile phones, these problems increase. 有了移动电话之后，这些问题增加了。

How many times have you been talking with a friend, only for your friend to interrupt the conversation to answer a call? 有多少次你正和一个朋友聊天，你朋友中断谈话只是为了接一个电话。

For some reason, a typical mobile phone call is nearly always given greater importance than a face-to-face conversation. 因为一些原因，电话几乎总是比面对面的交谈来得重要。

Yet, once again, most mobile phone calls are about rather small matters. 但是，再次的，大多数电话都是有关一些小事。

When asked later what the call was about, you friend always answers, 'oh, nothing really.' 当问为什么打电话时，你的朋友经常说，“哦，没什么事。”

If the call was really about 'nothing', then why was it so important as to interrupt your conversation and waste your precious time? 假如这个电话真的“没什么事”，那么为什么它那么重要以至于打断你们的聊天并浪费你们宝贵的时间呢？

Of course, using the mobile phone for text messages is the worst. 当然，使用电话发短信是最糟糕的。

In one study, girls average 80 text messages a day, and boys average 30. 在一项研究中，女孩平均每天发80条短信，男孩平均每天发30条短信。

What do people talk about in text messages? 人们用短信讲什么？

While these messages always seem important at the time, most people cannot really remember them the next day. 这些短信总是看起来在当时很重要，但大多数人隔天都记不起它们的内容。

Phones and text messages focus on building relationships with many people. 手机和短信聚焦于与许多人建立关系。

However, these relationships are often quite shallow. 但是，这些联系经常很肤浅。

Many teenagers say that while they have a lot of friends, they really have no best friend. 许多人说他们虽然有很多朋友，但真的没有最好的朋友。

The use of technology for communication rather than talking face to face is one reason why this is true. 使用科技沟通而不是面对面地交流上是导致这些的原因之一。

Meanwhile, real relationships are often sacrificed, and whatever personal peace one has is destroyed whenever the phone rings. 同时，真正的关系往往被牺牲了，每当电话铃声响起时，个人拥有的任何宁静都会被打破。

The Amish in general have a higher degree of mental health than most people. 阿曼门诺派教徒比大多数人有较高的心理素质。

They have very calm and stable lives because they value community and living in peace above all else, especially new technology. 他们有非常平静和稳定的生活因为他们重视社区生活，生活平静比其他事情，尤其是新技术要受重视。

Maybe they are right. 也许他们是对的。

Maybe we should throw all of our phones into the dustbin, along with our cars and TVs for good measure. 也许我们应该将所有的手机，以及汽车和电视扔进垃圾箱。

Maybe we should rid ourselves of modern technology and return to simpler times. 也许我们应该摆脱现代技术，回归更为简单的时代。

What's that?...Sorry, I have to go. 那是什么？……对不起，我得走了。

The phone's ringing... 电话响了……