A few years ago, when I’d just started graduate work(研究生学业), I was waiting with a grandmother finishing a questionnaire I’d handed her about her 19-year-old granddaughter who was in the testing room next door. They were participating in a study that used brain imaging(脑成像) to look at adolescent development(青少年发育). The older woman had a soft southern accent and a warm laugh.
几年前，我刚读研时，曾陪一位祖母等待她完成我递给她的问卷。问卷是关于她19岁的孙女的，那女孩就在隔壁的测试室里。她们参加了一项利用脑成像研究青少年发育的项目。这位年长的女士带着柔和的南方口音，笑声温暖。
“What’s funny?” I asked.
“笑什么呢？”我问。
“Cellphone use,” she said, gesturing(做手势) at a question about how much time her granddaughter spent on her device. “When is she not on it? And my younger granddaughter, she just turned 18 – I mean, I think she’d die if you took the phone away from her.(我觉得你要是把手机拿走，她会活不下去的。)”
“手机使用，”她说着，指了指问卷上关于孙女每天花多少时间在设备上的问题。“她什么时候不在用？还有我小孙女，刚满18岁——我是说，你要是把手机拿走，我觉得她会活不下去的。”