In defence of shyness

[00:00.11] English is full of colourful phrases to describe shyness. 英语充满了描述害羞的丰富多彩的短语。

[00:03.87] Someone timid might be called shrinking violet or a wallflower, while for especially nervous types we have the curious expression: they wouldn’t say boo to a goose.胆小的人可能被称为收缩紫罗兰或壁花，而对于特别紧张的人，我们有一种奇怪的表达：他们不会对鹅说嘘。

[00:14.91] None of these are traditionally seen as positive descriptions, even if you like geese. 即使您喜欢鹅，这些传统上都不会被视为积极的描述。

[00:20.43] In a culture of go-getting high achievers, shy people don’t come first.在追求高成就的文化中，害羞的人不会排在第一位。

[00:25.45] Or that's what the self-help industry would have you believe.或者这就是自助行业会让你相信的。

[00:28.96] Bookshops are filled with weighty tomes that promise to help beat social fears and find success in life, love and business.书店里摆满了厚重的书籍，承诺帮助克服社会恐惧，在生活、爱情和商业中取得成功。

[00:36.73] Which is why one book, Shrinking Violets: A Field Guide to Shyness, bucks the trend. 这就是为什么一本书《收缩紫罗兰：害羞现场指南》逆势而上。

[00:42.00] It made a splash across English-language media recently for its new take on bashfulness.它最近在英语媒体上引起了轰动，因为它对害羞的新看法。

[00:47.78] Author Joe Moran says that despite struggling with shyness and craving solitude all his life, being timid can also be "a gift".作者乔莫兰说，尽管他一生都在与害羞和渴望孤独作斗争，但胆怯也可以是“一种礼物”。

[00:56.05] Freed from the persistent urge to participate and compete in social situations, people are liberated to look at the world in new ways, and gain fresh insights.人们摆脱了在社交场合中参与和竞争的持续冲动，可以自由地以新的方式看待世界，并获得新的见解。

[01:06.33] Indeed, many of the world's great thinkers and artists are introverts. Scientists Charles Darwin and Albert Einstein preferred their own company; 事实上，世界上许多伟大的思想家和艺术家都是内向的人。科学家查尔斯达尔文和阿尔伯特爱因斯坦更喜欢他们自己的公司。

[01:14.61] actress Keira Knightley often finds herself tongue-tied at parties;女演员凯拉奈特莉经常发现自己在聚会上结结巴巴。

[01:19.13] and Harry Potter author JK Rowling claims she used to be too nervous to even borrow a pen – a reticence she says forced her to delve deep into the world of her imagination.《哈利波特》的作者 JK 罗琳声称她过去太紧张了，甚至借不到笔——她说这种沉默迫使她深入探索自己的想象世界。

[01:29.16] Moran told BBC Future: "I think shyness probably does turn you into an amateur anthropologist, really – you are more likely to be an observer."莫兰告诉 BBC Future：“我认为害羞可能确实会让你成为一名业余人类学家，真的——你更有可能成为一名观察者。”

[01:37.68] So, while extroverts make all the noise, they don't necessarily have the best ideas.所以，虽然外向的人制造了所有的噪音，但他们不一定有最好的想法。

[01:42.95] If you're shy, you've probably known this for a long time. You just don't shout about it. 如果你害羞，你可能早就知道这一点了。你只是不要大喊大叫。