Why you need a good night's sleep I'm Georgie, and we're ready to start, Phil… Phil?! --Oh, sorry, Georgie, I was er, just, catching forty winks… you know, getting some shut-eye, dozing, taking a nap... I was sleeping! --Sleeping at work! Phil, how could you? I know, I know. --Sorry, I… I didn't sleep well last night. I'll forgive you this time, but make sure you go to bed early tonight because getting a good night's sleep is incredibly important. For example, did you know that people who get enough sleep live about five years longer than people who don't? --Wow, so a good night's sleep can lengthen your life. In this programme, we'll be finding out more about the benefits of sleep, and, as usual, learning some useful new vocabulary as well. But first, now that you've woken up, I have a question for you. Do you know how much of the average person's life is spent asleep? Is it: a) a half? b) a quarter? or, c) a third? --Hmm, I think we spend about a third of our lives sleeping. --OK, well I'll reveal the correct answer at the end of the programme. The question of why humans sleep is not easy to answer. In terms of evolution, why would it make sense to go unconscious every night, leaving yourself vulnerable to danger? It can only mean that the benefits gained from sleep are huge. Here, science journalist, Ginny Smith, explains some of these benefits to BBC Radio 4 programme, Inside Science: So we've probably all experienced this, that if you've had a bad night sleep and then you try and do some work you just can't concentrate - your brain isn't in the right state to take in new information. But we also need to sleep after we've learnt new things because that's when our brain consolidates the information - takes it from short-term storage to long-term storage, fits it in with other things we already know, that old adage of if you've got a problem sleep on it, your brain does actually work on things during the night, and you can often wake up and have solved the problem in your sleep. When we sleep, our brains refresh, leaving us feeling rested in the morning. But after a bad night's sleep it's more difficult to concentrate. We can't take in, or understand, new information. We also have the saying, if you've got a problem, sleep on it. To sleep on it means to delay making a decision until you've had time to think about it. But that also turns out to be true scientifically speaking - during sleep, your brain really can work out problems and find solutions. But what about the other side of the story? What happens when you get too little sleep, or none at all? Here's Ginny Smith again, talking to BBC Radio 4 programme, Inside Science: Sleep deprivation is a form of stress, and we know that when you are stressed your sort of fight-or-flight response is activated and that causes all these changes in your body that focus on immediate survival over long-term health. But if we are chronically stressed - money worries, or a stressful job, or something that's going on forever, or life, or chronic sleep deprivation that's causing that level of stress, then you might constantly have a damped down immune system which can then lead to all these knock-on problems. Having none or too little of something important is known as deprivation. Sleep deprivation is stressful for the body – so stressful that it activates a fight-or-flight response, changes in the human body in response to a life-threatening situation which make us either stay and fight the threat or run away from it. As well as a fight-or-flight response, the stress of not getting enough sleep over a longer period also creates problems including heart disease and a weakened immune system. Lack of sleep has these knock-on effects, it causes other things to happen, but not directly. Now do you see why it's so important to get a good night's sleep, Phil? Plus, it will stop you sleeping at work again! Right, I think it's time to reveal the answer to my question. --Yes, you asked me how much of the average person's life is spent asleep, and I said it was about a third. --Which was… the correct answer! Assuming you sleep eight hours a day, the average person will sleep for 229,961 hours in their lifetime or around one third of their life. OK, let's recap the vocabulary we've learned starting with the phrases catch forty winks, get some shut-eye, doze and take a nap, all of which mean to sleep. When someone takes in information, they understand it. If you have a problem and you sleep on it, you delay making a decision until you've had time to think about it. Deprivation is an absence or too little of something important such as food or sleep. The fight-or-flight response describes changes in the human body in response to a dangerous situation which make us either stay and fight the threat or run away from it. And finally, if something has a knock-on effect,itcauses other results indirectly. 📝 文本翻译及pdf见公众号【琐简英语】

When we think of an 'addict', certain stock images come to mind: a homeless person in the park sniffing glue, a gaunt figure with a heroin needle in their arm, a breakfast-time vodka drinker… But such gothic characterisations mask what is, in reality, a far more universal and less overtly dramatic – though still pernicious – phenomenon. Addiction doesn't have anything to do with what one is addicted to: it can't be neatly circumscribed to those who rely on hard drugs or alcohol. In its essence, addiction simply means leaning on something – it could be anything – because it prevents particular ideas from coming into our minds. The addict relies on their chosen pursuit to block unwelcome emotions from storming the theatre of their consciousness. The particular object of their addiction might be whisky or marijuana, but it could just as well be their mobile phone or ever more copious buckets of fried chicken. One can be addicted to talking to one's mother or cleaning cupboards, doing the accounts, or tracking migrating birds. What the addict fears above all is to be left alone, to have nothing to do other than to turn into themselves and to face unbearable sadness or regret, fear, or longing. The popular misunderstanding of what addiction is lets too many of us off the hook. It allows people to claim that they are merely going to the office again or checking the news, toning at the gym or catching up on football results. Yet addicts are not evil or weak. They are first and foremost scared. The solution shouldn't – therefore – involve censorship and lectures, rather love and reassurance. We should make moves to allow people to feel as safe as possible about opening more doors in their minds and confident that they can handle whatever might be skulking inside. It is never really fried chicken or social media updates we like anyway: we are just at a loss as to how to begin to reflect without terror on the course of our lives. 词汇表 addict ['ædɪkt] 瘾君子，成瘾者；入迷的人 stock [stɒk] 老一套的，陈腐的，一成不变的 sniff glue [snɪf] 吸食胶水（指吸入胶水中的挥发性溶剂来获得致幻效果的行为） gaunt [ɡɔːnt] 瘦削的，骨瘦如柴的；憔悴的 heroin needle [ˈherəʊɪn][ˈniːd(ə)l] 海洛因注射针 vodka [ˈvɒdkə] 伏特加酒 gothic characterisation [ˈɡɒθɪk][ˌkærəktəraɪ'zeɪʃn] 哥特式的刻画 overtly [əʊˈvɜːtli] 公然地，明显地 pernicious [pəˈnɪʃəs] 有害的，致命的 addiction [əˈdɪkʃ(ə)n] 成瘾，上瘾；嗜好，入迷 be addicted to [əˈdɪktɪd] 对……上瘾，沉迷于 be circumscribed to [ˈsɜːkəmskraɪb] 局限于，被限制在 lean on [liːn] 依靠，依赖，倚靠 pursuit [pә'sju:t] 嗜好，消遣，娱乐 storm 闯，突袭，猛攻 marijuana [ˌmærɪˈwɑːnə] 大麻 copious [ˈkəʊpiəs] 很多的，丰富的；多产的 a bucket of fried chicken [ˈbʌkɪt] 一桶炸鸡 cupboard [ˈkʌbəd] 橱柜，衣柜 do the accounts 记账，算账 migrating birds 候鸟，迁徙的鸟 left alone 独自一人，被单独留下 off the hook [hʊk] 逃脱困境，脱身 tone [təʊn] (通过锻炼）使强健，使结实 first and foremost [ˈfɔːməʊst]首先, 首要地 censorship ['sensәʃip] 审查，检查，审查制度 lecture [ˈlektʃə(r)] 说教，训斥，斥责 reassurance [ˌriːəˈʃʊərəns] 安慰，慰藉 skulk [skʌlk] 潜伏，躲藏，隐匿 at a loss 不知所措，困惑 terror [ˈterə(r)] 恐惧，惊恐 🏫文本翻译、视频版和pdf见公众号【琐简英语】，回复"1"可进入【打卡交流群】

Who decides what art means? Imagine you and a friend are strolling through an art exhibit and a striking painting catches your eye. The vibrant red appears to you as a symbol of love, but your friend is convinced it's a symbol of war. And where you see stars in a romantic sky, your friend interprets global warming-inducing pollutants. To settle the debate, you turn to the internet, where you read that the painting is a replica of the artist's first-grade art project: Red was her favorite color and the silver dots are fairies. 想象你和一位朋友正漫步观赏一个艺术作品展览，你被一幅引人注目的画作所吸引。醒目的红色在你看来象征着爱，但你的朋友坚持认为这红色象征着战争。你看到星星在浪漫的天空下，而你的朋友将此理解为全球变暖引发的污染物。为了解决争议，你上网查到如下解读——此画是艺术家复制自己小学一年级时在美术课上的画作：红色是她当时最喜欢的颜色，那些银色的点是小精灵。 You now know the exact intentions that led to the creation of this work. Are you wrong to have enjoyed it as something the artist didn't intend? Do you enjoy it less now that you know the truth? Just how much should the artist's intention affect your interpretation of the painting? It's a question that's been tossed around by philosophers and art critics for decades, with no consensus in sight. 你此时明白了这幅画的确切创作意图。你对这幅画的解读与其作者的创作意图不符，你欣赏错了吗？你知道了这一点，此时你对此画作的欣赏减少了吗？艺术家的创作意图到底能影响多少你对其作品的解读？这个问题已经被哲学家们和艺术评论家们争论了几十年，仍未达成一致。 In the mid-20th century, literary critic W.K. Wimsatt and philosopher Monroe Beardsley argued that artistic intention was irrelevant. They called this the Intentional Fallacy: the belief that valuing an artist's intentions was misguided. Their argument was twofold: First, the artists we study are no longer living, never recorded their intentions, or are simply unavailable to answer questions about their work. Second, even if there were a bounty of relevant information, Wimsatt and Beardsley believed it would distract us from the qualities of the work itself. They compared art to a dessert: When you taste a pudding, the chef's intentions don't affect whether you enjoy its flavor or texture. All that matters, they said, is that the pudding "works." 在二十世纪中叶，文学评论家W·K·威姆斯特与哲学家曼诺·比尔斯雷认为艺术家的创作意图无关其作品的含义。他们称之为意图谬误：倚重于艺术创作者的意图——这种看法是一种误导。他们的论点分为两部分：一方面，我们研究的艺术创作者已不在世，这些艺术家从未留下关于自己的创作意图的记录，即：他们的作品创作意图根本没有考据。另一方面，即使有一大堆相关信息，威姆斯特和比尔斯雷相信这些信息会让我们这些观赏者分心——无法专注于作品本质。他们将艺术比作甜点：当你品尝布丁时，你是否喜欢其味道和质感并不取决于厨师的意图。关键是布丁对胃口。 Of course, what "works" for one person might not "work" for another. And since different interpretations appeal to different people, the silver dots in our painting could be reasonably interpreted as fairies, stars, or pollutants. By Wimsatt and Beardsley's logic, the artist's interpretation of her own work would just be one among many equally acceptable possibilities. 当然，一个人觉得好吃，另一个人也许觉得不好吃。既然不同的人有不同的鉴赏理解，画作中的银点当然可以被理解成精灵、星星，或者污染物。以威姆斯特和比尔斯雷的逻辑，艺术家对其作品的诠释只是众多平等的可接受的可能的诠释之一。 If you find this problematic, you might be more in line with Steven Knapp and Walter Benn Michaels, two literary theorists who rejected the Intentional Fallacy. They argued that an artist's intended meaning was not just one possible interpretation, but the only possible interpretation. For example, suppose you're walking along a beach and come across a series of marks in the sand that spell out a verse of poetry. Knapp and Michaels believed the poem would lose all meaning if you discovered these marks were not the work of a human being, but an odd coincidence produced by the waves. They believed an intentional creator is what makes the poem subject to understanding at all. 如果你对这种观点存疑，你也许更支持史蒂文·萘普和怀特·本·迈克尔，这两位文艺理论家反对“意图谬误”。他们认为艺术家的创作意图并不是可能的含义之一，而是唯一可能的含义。比方说，想象你正在沿着海边散步，偶然看见沙子上有诗文的痕迹。萘普和迈克尔认为如果你发现这些痕迹并不是出自什么作家的诗篇那这首诗就毫无意义了，只不过是浪花造成的奇怪巧合而已。他们认为有意图的创作者才是赋予诗篇以内涵的关键。 Other thinkers advocate for a middle ground, suggesting that intention is just one piece in a larger puzzle. Contemporary philosopher Noel Carroll took this stance, arguing that an artist's intentions are relevant to their audience the same way a speaker's intentions are relevant to the person they're engaging in conversation. To understand how intentions function in conversation, Carroll said to imagine someone holding a cigarette and asking for a match. You respond by handing them a lighter, gathering that their motivation is to light their cigarette. The words they used to ask the question are important, but the intentions behind the question dictate your understanding and ultimately, your response. 其他思想家倡导折中，即：意图只是一个更大的难题中的一个小问题。当代哲学家诺儿·卡罗尔持这个立场，他认为艺术家的意图与观众有关联，道理如同说者的意图与对话中的另一方是有关联的。想要理解意图是如何在对话中起作用的，卡罗尔认为——想象某人拿着一根烟要借根火柴。你递给对方一个打火机，因为你认为对方的动机就是点烟。对方问问题的用词的确重要，但是影响你去领会的是问题背后的意图，最终，你做出反馈。 So which end of this spectrum do you lean towards? Do you, like Wimsatt and Beardsley, believe that when it comes to art, the proof should be in the pudding? Or do you think that an artist's plans and motivations for their work affect its meaning? Artistic interpretation is a complex web that will probably never offer a definitive answer. 那么，你对这一系列的观点倾向哪一个？你是倾向威姆斯特和比尔斯雷认为有关艺术创作意图可以用布丁的例子来证明？抑或，你认为艺术家的创作动机影响着其作品的含义？艺术解读是个错综复杂的网，很可能永远不会有明确答案。 🎬视频版和更多文本内容见公众号【琐简英语】，回复"1" 可加入【打卡交流群】

Finding humor in hard times Sometimes life doesn't seem to play fair. It blindsides you at the most inopportune moments, and even if we can learn to grin and bear the ups and downs, they can take their toll on our psyche. So rather than suffer in silence or let these things get you down, maybe there is another way: what if humour can help you get through the dark times? 有时候生活似乎并不公平。它会在最不恰当的时候让你措手不及，即使我们能学会咬牙忍受这些起伏，它们仍会对我们的心灵造成伤害。因此，与其默默忍受或使这些事情让你沮丧，也许还有另一种方法：如果幽默能帮助你度过那些艰难时刻呢？ According to author and clinician Kristen Lee: "Laughter and tears are both therapeutic – we need both to process such hard times." But how can we find the tough things that happen funny? Our lives are really serious, often filled with mundane and repetitive activities, whether it's arbitrary bill paying or fighting for a seat on your commute, we need to make time for fun and play – enjoy the little things. Why not make funny noises to remind you to stop taking things seriously, or learn some silly jokes, just to tell when times get hard? They could make you or other people around you laugh! 根据作家兼临床医生克里斯汀·李的说法：“笑和哭都有治疗作用——我们需要两者结合来处理这些艰难的时刻。”但我们如何能发现那些艰难的事情中的有趣之处呢？我们的生活真的很严肃，常常充满了单调和重复的活动，无论是随意的账单支付还是通勤时争夺座位，我们都需要腾出时间来娱乐和玩耍——享受那些小事情。为什么不通过发出一些搞笑的声音来提醒自己不要太认真，或者学一些愚蠢的笑话，以便在困难时刻讲出来呢？它们可以让你或周围的人开怀大笑！ When a hurdle pops up in life, it's easy to get bogged down – but the way we recount events can impact on our resilience. Rather than see the negatives, look for the ironic moments and tell people about them! Why not write parodies in your spare time about events that take place to help you compartmentalise? Script what happened as if it was happening to a character rather than yourself. 当生活中出现障碍时，我们很容易陷入困境——但是我们叙述事件的方式会影响我们的恢复力。与其只看到消极的一面，不如寻找其中的讽刺之处，并与他人分享！为什么不在业余时间写一些关于发生事件的滑稽模仿作品来帮助你分类处理它们呢？将发生的事情写成剧本，就好像它们是发生在一个角色身上，而不是你自己。 We all know that some things in life aren't fair. But take those events and send them up a bit in your scripts! Sometimes life needs a bit of a roasting to get your thoughts in order, and embracing your comedic side, seeing life's difficult moments as obstacles that can be made fun of rather than overwhelm you, may help you get through them more easily. And who knows, you may just discover a talent for writing at the end of it. 我们都知道，生活中有些事情并不公平。但是，把这些事件写进你的剧本，并进行有趣地模仿吧！有时候，生活需要一点调侃来整理思绪，而拥抱你的幽默的一面，将生活中的困难时刻看作是可以拿来开玩笑的、而非击败你的障碍，这可能会帮助你更轻松地度过难关。谁知道呢，说不定最后你会发现自己的写作天赋。 词汇表 play fair 公平行事，公平竞争 blindside [ˈblaɪndˌsaɪd] 攻其不备，出其不意地袭击 inopportune [ɪnˈɒpə(r)ˌtjuːn] 不合时宜的，不是时候的 grin and bear [ɡrɪn] 咬牙忍受，默默忍受 ups and downs 曲折，起伏，起起落落 take a toll on [təʊl] 给…造成伤害，损害 psyche ['saɪki] 心灵，精神状态 suffer in silence 默默忍受，忍气吞声 get sb. down 使某人沮丧、不快 clinician [klɪ'nɪʃ(ə)n] 临床医生 therapeutic [ˌθerəˈpjuːtɪk] 治疗的，有疗效的 mundane [ˌmʌnˈdeɪn] 单调的，平凡的 repetitive [rɪ'petətɪv] （乏味地）重复的，反复的 arbitrary [ˈɑː(r)bɪtrəri] 任意的，随意的 commute [kəˈmjuːt] 通勤，上下班路程 hurdle [ˈhɜːd(ə)l] 障碍，困难，难关 pop up （突然地）出现，发生 get bogged down [bɒɡ] 陷于困境的，停滞不前的，深陷泥潭 recount [rɪ'kaʊnt] 叙述，描述，细述 resilience [rɪˈzɪliəns] 韧性，弹性；复原力，恢复力 negative ['neɡətɪv] 消极的一面，坏处 parody [ˈpærədi] 滑稽模仿作品，戏仿作品 compartmentalise [ˌkɒmpɑ:t'mentəlaɪz] 分隔，隔开，划分 send sth up（开玩笑式地）模仿，讽刺 roast [rəʊst] 吐槽，调侃，开玩笑 comedic [kə'miːdɪk] 喜剧的，幽默的 obstacle [ˈɒbstək(ə)l] 障碍，阻碍 overwhelm [ˌəʊvə(r)ˈwelm] 压垮，击败，使不知所措 📖 更多文本内容和pdf见公众号【琐简英语】，回复"1"可进【打卡交流群】

The Bat and the Flower: A Dance of Symbiosis BBC Earth｜Tropical World·The Green Planet Today, 70% of all the world's rainforest plants grow within a mile of a road or a clearing that we have cut into the forest. And this is creating new battlefields in the tropical world. Alien armies of identical cultivated plants now stand where thousands of different species once grew. We have planted vast regiments of crops in order to provide ourselves with food and other commodities. And the ancient forest has been reduced to ever fewer isolated fragments. 今天，世界上70%的雨林植物生长在我们开辟的道路或空地的一英里范围内。这在热带雨林中形成了新的战场。原本生长着数千种不同物种的地方，现在被外来的、单一栽培植物的大军所占据。我们种植了大量的农作物，为自己提供食物和其他商品。古老森林已经缩减为越来越少的孤立片段。 All, however, is not lost. The fragments can still be sanctuaries, keeping alive the intimate relationships within them. Their size is nonetheless critical. 然而，并非一切都已失去。这些片段仍然可以成为庇护所，维系着它们内部的亲密关系。不过，它们的大小至关重要。 This is the seven-hour flower. This plant produces its flowers at night. They open about six o'clock, and each blossom only lasts that night. It opens for about seven hours and then it dies. But during that time, it provides food for one particular animal. A bat. And here it is! 这是灯蝠花。这种植物在夜晚开花。它们大约在六点钟开放，每朵花只持续一个夜晚。它开放大约七个小时，然后凋谢。但在这段时间里，它为一种特定的动物提供食物——蝙蝠。这就是了！ During the seven-hour flower's flowering season, Underwood's bat feeds almost exclusively on its nectar. It is the plant's primary pollinator. 在灯蝠花的花期内，科式长舌蝠几乎只以花蜜为食。它是这种植物的主要传粉者。 It might seem that this is a fairly evenly balanced relationship, but not so. The bat likes this nectar because it's sweet, but it's not very nourishing. 这看起来是一种相当平衡的关系，但并非如此。蝙蝠喜欢这种花蜜是因为它很甜，但它并不太有营养。 So the bat must visit hundreds of flowers a night, and it pollinates them as if feeds. But if a patch of forest becomes too small, with too few flowers, the bats will disappear, and without the bats, the flowers can't reproduce and will soon die out. The partnership is broken. 所以蝙蝠必须在一夜之间访问数百朵花，并且在它进食的同时进行传粉。但如果一片森林变得太小，花朵太少，蝙蝠就会消失，没有蝙蝠，这些花就无法繁殖，很快就会灭绝。这种伙伴关系就被打破了。 词汇表 symbiosis [ˌsɪmbɪˈəʊsɪs] 共生，共栖，合作关系 clearing [ˈklɪərɪŋ] （林中）空旷地，开垦地 battlefield [ˈbæt(ə)lfiːld] 战场 tropical [ˈtrɒpɪk(ə)l] 热带的；炎热的 alien [ˈeɪlɪən]（植物或动物种类）外来的 identical cultivated [ˈkʌltɪveɪtd] 单一栽培的 regiment ['redʒɪmənt] 团，大量，大群 commodity [kəˈmɒdəti] 商品，货物 isolated fragments [ˈaɪsəˌleɪtɪd]['fræɡmənt] 孤立的片段 sanctuary [ˈsæŋktʃuəri] 避难所，庇护所；圣殿 intimate [ˈɪntɪmət] 亲密的，密切的 nonetheless ['nʌnðə'les] 虽然如此，但是 seven-hour flower 灯蝠花（在下午6点左右绽放，持续约7个小时后便会凋谢） blossom [ˈblɒs(ə)m] （树木的）花，花簇 flowering season 花期，开花季节 Underwood's bat ['ʌndəwʊd] 科式长舌蝠（小型食蜜蝙蝠） exclusively [ɪkˈskluːsɪvli] 仅仅，专门地，排外地 feed on 以……为食 nectar [ˈnektə(r)] 花蜜，甘露 pollinator ['pɒlɪneɪtə] 传粉者，传粉昆虫 fairly evenly [ˈiːv(ə)nli] 相当均匀地 nourishing [ˈnʌrɪʃɪŋ] 滋养的，有营养的 pollinate [ˈpɔlɪneɪt] 授粉，传花粉给 a patch of [pætʃ] 一片，一块 reproduce [ˌriːprəˈdjuːs] 繁殖，生殖 die out 灭绝，逐渐消失 partnership [ˈpɑː(r)tnə(r)ʃɪp] 伙伴关系，合作关系 🌟 更多文本内容、视频版和pdf见公众号【琐简英语】，回复"1"可进【打卡交流群】

A bit of childlike wonder could change the world Imagine a world where scientists were the people kids dreamed of becoming. Where scientific literacy was widespread and knowledge and experts weren't mistrusted and stereotyped. Most of the problems of the world are not out of our grasp to fix. 想象一个世界，科学家是孩子们梦寐以求的职业。在这个世界里，科学素养普及，知识和专家不受怀疑，也不被刻板化。世界上的大多数问题并非我们无法解决。 In my scientopia, the scientific method is understood and beloved by all. Wonder and curiosity are at the heart of it all, backed up by understanding scientific evidence. 在我的科学乌托邦中，科学方法被普遍理解和喜爱。好奇心和求知欲是这一切的核心，并有科学依据作为支撑。 As a result, no one mistrusts vaccines, so preventable disease is a thing of the past. Medical research is funded better than Hollywood movies, leading to breakthroughs in the cure for cancer, Alzheimer's, and more. The politicians of the world understand that climate change must be solved and don't trade short-term votes for our long term future. 因此，疫苗不再受到怀疑，可预防的疾病已成为历史。医学研究的资金比好莱坞电影的资金更充足，从而在癌症、老年痴呆症等疾病的治疗方面取得了突破性进展。全世界的政治家们都明白，气候变化问题必须得到解决，不能用短期投票来换取我们长期的未来。 Nations stop squabbling, and join together to explore space. The universe is vast compared to our tiny blue planet. Each speck of light in the sky is a star like our sun, most orbited by their own tiny planets. Billions of galaxies, each containing billions of stars, have been mapped. There are a truly unimaginable number of planets in our universe, yet the only one on which we found life so far is our own. The perspective this gives on the fragility and unity of earth brings humanity together like nothing else. 各国停止争吵，携手探索太空。与我们小小的蓝色星球相比，宇宙浩瀚无边。天空中的每一个光点都是一颗像太阳一样的恒星，大多数恒星都有自己的小行星环绕。我们已经绘制了数十亿个星系的地图，每个星系都包含数十亿颗恒星。宇宙中存在着真正难以想象的行星数量，但迄今为止，我们发现有生命存在的只有我们自己的星球。这让我们看到了地球的脆弱性和统一性，它将人类紧密联系在一起，这是前所未有的。 The best ideas will come when everyone has a seat at the scientific table. Breakthroughs in social science will help us to solve the problems of unequal access to scientific learning, and we'll find ways to cure humanity of prejudice and discrimination so we can all work together. 每个人都能在科学桌前占有一席之地时，最好的想法就会涌现。社会科学的突破将帮助我们解决科学学习机会不平等的问题，我们也将找到消除人类偏见和歧视的方法，这样我们才能够携手并进。 And don't think that in scientopia will neglect the importance of music and art. We'll understand what that brings to the development of creativity and well-being, so crucial to making those breakthroughs we need. 不要以为在科学乌托邦中我们会忽视音乐和艺术的重要性。我们将了解音乐和艺术对培养创造力和幸福感的作用，这对于取得我们需要的突破至关重要。 All of this from some scientific literacy. Every child is a natural-born scientist. We just need to work out how all of us can hang on to that curiosity and wonder. A little bit of childlike science will take us a long way. 所有这些都来自于一定的科学素养。每个孩子都是天生的科学家。我们只需要弄清楚我们所有人如何才能保留这份好奇心和求知欲。一点点童真的科学就会让我们受益匪浅。 词汇表 scientific literacy ['lɪt(ə)rəsi] 科学素养 mistrust [ˌmɪs'trʌst] 不信任，怀疑 stereotype [ˈsteriəˌtaɪp] 对…形成刻板的看法，对…有成见 out of grasp [ɡrɑːsp] 无法掌握，失控 scientopia [ˌsaɪənˈtoʊpiə] 科学乌托邦 belove 爱（通常用于被动语态，与of, by连用） back up 支持，证实 vaccine [ˈvæksiːn] 疫苗 preventable disease [prɪ'ventəb(ə)l] 可预防疾病 fund [fʌnd] 为…提供资金；资助 Alzheimer's [ˈæltshaɪməz] 阿兹海默症，老年痴呆症 squabble [ˈskwɒb(ə)l]（为小事）争吵，发生口角 vast [vɑːst] 广阔的，浩瀚的 a speck of [spek]一点点，一丁点 orbit [ˈɔː(r)bɪt] 沿轨道运行，环绕…运动 galaxy ['ɡæləksi] 星系，银河，银河系 map [mæp] 绘制地图 fragility [frə'dʒɪləti] 脆弱，易碎；虚弱 unequal access [ˈækses] 不平等的获取机会 prejudice [ˈpredʒʊdɪs] 偏见，成见，歧视 discrimination [dɪˌskrɪmɪˈneɪʃ(ə)n] 歧视，区别对待 natural-born 天生的，与生俱来的 hang on to 坚持，继续，保留 childlike [ˈtʃaɪldˌlaɪk] 孩子般的，童真的 🔆 更多文本内容、视频版和pdf见公众号【琐简英语】，回复"1"可进【打卡交流群】

Five hours' sleep is tipping point for bad health Experts generally recommend we all get around seven or eight hours' sleep per night for good health. Now new research, based on a study of UK civil servants, suggest five hours' might be the bare minimum you can get away with. 专家通常建议，为了身体健康，我们每晚都要睡七到八小时左右。现在，一项以英国公务员为调查对象的研究表明，五小时可能是避免威胁健康的最低睡眠时间。 The investigators from University College London and Paris City University tracked the health of 8,000 participants through their 50s, 60s and 70s to see if sleep duration might be linked to their chance of developing multiple chronic conditions such as cancer, diabetes or heart disease. 伦敦大学学院和巴黎城市大学的调查人员跟踪调查了8000名参与者50岁、60岁和70岁期间的健康状况，以了解他们的睡眠时间是否与他们患多种慢性病的几率有关，如癌症、糖尿病或心脏病。 The results suggest short sleep may be a risk or a marker for disease, and five hours a night is the tipping point. 研究结果表明，睡眠时间短可能是导致患病的风险或标志，而每晚睡五小时则是健康状况是否受影响的临界点。 词汇表 civil servant [ˈsɜːvənt] 公务员，文职人员 bare minimum ['mɪnɪməm] 最少量，最低限度 get away with 逃避惩罚，侥幸做成；勉强应付 sleep duration [djʊˈreɪʃ(ə)n] 睡眠（持续）时间 chronic condition [ˈkrɒnɪk] 慢性病 diabetes [ˌdaɪəˈbiːtiːz] 糖尿病 marker [ˈmɑːkə(r)] 标记，标志 tipping point 临界点，转折点 📝更多文本内容和pdf见公众号【琐简英语】，回复1可加入【打卡交流群】

The meaning of life in 60 seconds It isn't 42 and you don't need sandals and beard to understand that there are 4 things that make life meaningful. 不必像寻找宇宙的终极答案那样，你也不需要凉鞋和胡须就能明白，有四件事情让人生变得有意义。 Firstly, helping others. The most meaningless life would be to have to roll a boulder up a mountain repeatedly. Because what makes life meaningful is doing something useful for other people. We often think that the nicest thing is to be served. But that's nothing next to the joy of serving others, fixing their hearts, teaching them trigonometry, helping them to burp. The meaning of life is service. 首先，是帮助他人。最无意义的人生莫过于反复推巨石上山。因为让人生变得有意义的是为他人做一些有益的事情。我们常常认为最美妙的事情是被人服务。但与服务他人、抚慰他们的心、教他们三角学、帮助他们打嗝所带来的喜悦相比，那简直不值一提。人生的意义在于服务。 It's also to make something that's better than we normally are. We're all a bit of a mess, anxious, furious, forgetful, so there's meaning in creating something superior: the train set that's more organized than we are, the garden that's pretty in a way we aren't always, the book that says what we normally can't. 人生的意义也在于创造超越我们自身的东西。我们都有点混乱、焦虑、愤怒、健忘，因此创造一些超越我们自身的事物是有意义的：比我们更有条理的火车模型，比我们更美丽的花园，以及能够表达我们通常无法言说情感的书籍。 Finding out how stuff works is also meaningful: gravity, a foreign language, computer code and best of all, who we are, what drives us, and what we should aim for. 探索事物的运作原理同样富有意义：比如重力、外语、计算机代码，而最有意义的莫过于了解我们自己——是什么驱动着我们，以及我们应该追求什么。 Lastly, meaning comes from connections with others. The opposite of superficial chat is when you show the vulnerable, scared parts of you to another person. The best way to kick-start a meaningful conversation just ask, "What are you really afraid of?" So that's the meaning of life. 最后，人生的意义来自于与他人的联系。浅层聊天的对立面是当你向他人展示自己脆弱、害怕的部分时。开启有意义对话的最好方式就是问：“你真正害怕的是什么？”这就是人生的意义。 词汇表 42 是科幻小说《银河系漫游指南》中由超级计算机深思给出的“生命、宇宙以及任何事情的终极答案”("The Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe and Everything is 42.) sandal ['sænd(ə)l] 凉鞋，便鞋 beard [bɪəd] 胡须，山羊胡 roll a boulder up a mountain [ˈbəʊldə(r)] 将巨石推上山，常用来比喻完成一项非常困难或费力不讨好的任务 repeatedly [rɪˈpiːtɪdlɪ] 反复地，重复地 serve 服务，为…效力，为…工作 trigonometry [trɪɡəˈnɔmɪtrɪ] 三角学，三角函数 burp [bɜːp] 打嗝，打饱嗝 furious [ˈfjʊəriəs] 狂怒的，暴怒的；激烈的 forgetful [fә'getful] 健忘的；疏忽的 superior [sʊˈpɪəriə(r)] 更好的，质优的，出众的 computer code [kəʊd] 计算机代码 aim for 追求，力争，以…为目标 superficial [ˌsuːpə(r)ˈfɪʃ(ə)l] 表面的，肤浅的，缺乏深度的 vulnerable [ˈvʌlnərəb(ə)l] 脆弱的，易受伤害的 scared [skeə(r)d] 害怕的，恐惧的 kick-start [ˈkɪkstɑːt] 开启，迅速启动，刺激 🌟视频版和pdf见公众号【琐简英语】

And we begin in Azerbaijan. Saturday was a hectic and chaotic day at COP 29, the UN climate summit in the country which at times teetered on the brink of collapse. At one stage, dozens of representatives from small Pacific island nations threatened by rising sea levels walked out, disrupting the summit, which had already overrun by a day. Then came a final draft proposal aimed at resolving the bitter dispute between the richer and poorer countries over climate financing. The COP 29 document pledged to raise support for underdeveloped countries to $300 billion a year. By 2035, those countries had demanded 500 billion, but late into the night they agreed to the lower figure. Before that, there was one smaller breakthrough, an agreement to establish a global market for buying and selling carbon credits. Earlier on Saturday, the BBC's climate editor Justin Rolat caught up with some of the negotiators as they scuttled from room to room to try to get a sense of what was holding up a deal. We're a day over the deadline for an agreement and the representatives of dozens of the world's least developed countries have just stormed out of a key meeting. Cedric Schuster of Samoa represents the world's small island states. We've just walked out. We came here to this COP for a fair deal. We feel that we haven't been heard and there's a deal to be made and we have not been consulted. There is real anger here. Mohammed Adao speaks for African nations, we need to hold the historic polluters accountable for the crisis they've caused. And we cannot let the great escape that they're actually planning in Baku. Baku will be remembered as a place that betrayed the world. John, how's it going? Poor countries want more cash. Richer nations say they'll keep talking. John Podesta is the US's climate envoy. I'm hoping this is the storm before the calm. Well, we're going to keep working and see whether we can pull it back together. But cash is hard to come by in developed countries like the UK, which face cost of living crises. They're saying half a trillion minimum or they won't do a deal. They're saying no deal is better than. Well, in the end, parties will have to decide the deal that is offered and whether it's an acceptable deal or not. Currently developed countries pay $100 billion a year. Energy Secretary Ed Miliband says the new offer of 300 billion by 2035 is generous. Not when you take into account inflation, say poorer countries. Juan Carlos Gomez is the climate envoy for Panama. This is what they always do. They break us at the last minute. You know, they push it and push it and push it until our negotiators leave, until we're tired, until we're delusional from not eating, from not sleeping. And all the while the clock keeps on ticking. 更多听力内容见公众号【琐简英语】

How important is choosing the right name?, New parents often spend a long time debating what to call their newborn. Should they name them after a relative, a famous person or just pick a name at random? For many of us it can be quite the gruelling task, but it's our children who need to live with our choice. So, how important is the name you choose? 新手父母往往会花很长时间来讨论给他们新生儿取什么名字。是给他们起一个亲戚、名人的名字，还是随意取一个名字？对我们中的许多人来说，这可能是一项相当累人的任务，但我们的孩子需要接受我们的选择。那么，你选择的名字有多重要呢？ Names usually stay with us for a lifetime, unless we decide to change them. They become part of our identity. Quite often we hear stories of celebrities giving their children unusual names, while other people give their children names which have special meanings, for example, the name Sarah comes from a Hebrew word meaning 'princess'. Sadly, though, our parents don't always get it right. 名字通常会伴随我们一生，除非我们决定改变它们。它们成为我们身份的一部分。我们经常听到名人给他们的孩子起不寻常的名字的故事，而也有人给自己的孩子起有特殊含义的名字，例如，萨拉(Sarah)这个名字来自希伯来语，意思是“公主”。但遗憾的是，我们的父母并不总是取对名字。 So, what if you don't like your given name? A study led by psychologist Jean Twenge found that a person who hates the moniker given to them is more likely to have greater psychological adjustment issues – possibly due to low self-esteem. This is because our title becomes a symbol of our self, and if we loathe our name, our confidence may be affected. 那么，如果你不喜欢你的名字呢？由心理学家让·特文格领导的一项研究发现，一个讨厌别人给他们起的绰号的人更有可能出现较大的心理适应问题——这可能是由于自卑造成的。这是因为我们的名称成为我们自我的象征，如果我们厌恶自己的名字，我们的自信心可能会受到影响。 And what if your name is no longer popular? While names like Ethel and Gladys were once in fashion, they now sound a bit out of date, which can be embarrassing. And when it comes to unpopular names which aren't trending, they may even affect our love lives. Studies have shown that people with old-fashioned names are more likely to be rejected on dating apps. 如果你的名字不再流行怎么办？埃塞尔(Ethel)和格拉迪斯(Gladys)这样的名字曾经风靡一时，但现在听起来却有点过时了，这可能会让人感到尴尬。说到不流行的名字，它们甚至会影响我们的爱情生活。研究表明，在约会软件上，名字过时的人更容易被拒绝。 However, if you choose an unusual name, it's not all bad news. According to a study conducted by Professor David Zhu, people with uncommon names can develop a sense of uniqueness and can often become more creative and open-minded. 不过，如果你选择了一个不寻常的名字，也不全是坏消息。根据大卫·朱教授进行的一项研究，名字不常见的人会产生一种独特感，而且往往会变得更有创造力、思想更开放。 So, when choosing your offspring's name, there are a fair few things to consider – but going for something too common or too old-fashioned may not be a great choice. And, if your children hate your choice, they can always select a nickname. 所以，在为你的孩子取名字时，确实需要考虑很多因素——但选择一个太常见或太过时的名字可能不是最佳选择。而且，如果你的孩子不喜欢你选的名字，他们总是可以选择一个昵称。 词汇表 newborn [ˈnjuːˌbɔː(r)n] 新生儿，婴儿；新生的 name… after… 用…的名字给…命名 at random ['rændəm] 随便地，任意地 gruelling [ˈɡruːəlɪŋ] 累人的，使人筋疲力尽的 live with 接受，容忍（困境或令人不快的情形） celebrity [sɪˈlebrɪtɪ] 名人；名声 Hebrew [ˈhiːbruː] 希伯来语（的），希伯来人（的） given name （出生时取的）名字 moniker [ˈmɒnɪkə(r)] 名字，绰号 psychological adjustment 心理调节，心理适应 low self-esteem [ɪˈstiːm] 自卑，低自尊 loathe [ləʊð] 讨厌，厌恶 in fashion 流行，时兴，风行 out of date 过时的；过期的 trending [trendɪŋ]（在一段时间内）流行的 old-fashioned 老式的，过时的 open-minded 思想开放的 a fair few 相当多的，不少 offspring [ˈɒfˌsprɪŋ] 后代，子女，孩子 nickname ['nɪkneɪm] 绰号，昵称，小名 🌟 更多英语听力和pdf见公众号【琐简英语】，回复"1"可进【打卡交流群】

Will humans become extinct? In this programme, we'll be looking at some of the many dangers facing humanity, from climate change and global pandemics to asteroid impacts and nuclear war. We'll be finding out whether human civilisation can survive these risks, and looking at some of the related vocabulary as well. Do you really think humans could become extinct and end up as dead as the dodo? --Ah, so of course you've heard of the dodo? --Yes, dodos were large, metre-high birds which died out in the 1600s after being hunted to extinction by humans. --That's right. Dodos couldn't fly and weren't very clever. They didn't hide when sailors with hunting dogs landed on their island. The species was hunted so much that within a century, every single bird had died out. But do you know which island the dodo was from, Sam? That's my quiz question for today. Was it: a) The Galapagos, b) Mauritius, or c) Fiji? --I'll guess the Galapagos, Neil, because I know many exotic animals live there. By the way, that's also cheered me up a bit because as humans we are much smarter than the dodo! We're far too clever to die out, aren't we? I'm not sure I agree, Sam. Lots of the existential risks - the worst possible things that could happen to humanity, such as nuclear war, global pandemics or rogue artificial intelligence, are human-made. These threats could have catastrophic consequences for human survival in the 21st century. That's true. But existential risks don't only threaten the survival of the human species. Instead, they could destroy civilisation as we know it, leaving pockets of survivors to struggle on in a post-apocalyptic world. And it wouldn't be the first time that has happened, as the BBC World Service programme The Inquiry found out. Simon Beard of the Centre for the Study of Existential Risk at Cambridge University explains: The historical record suggests that about once every thousand years an event occurs that wipes out about a third of the human population – so in the Middle Ages, this was the Black Death - huge plague that covered Eurasia, while there was also dramatic global cooling at that time which many people think was related to volcanic eruptions, and about a third of the global population died. So, humanity has been facing these risks throughout history, according to the historical record – the collection of all written and recorded past events concerning the human race. Yes. Wars and plagues – infectious, epidemic diseases which spread between countries can quickly wipe out – or completely destroy, millions of people. And there's not much we can do to stop disasters like that! True, Sam, but what about individuals who actively work to bring about the end of the world, like apocalyptic terrorists, rampage shooters and fundamentalist cults, like those who organised the poisonous gas attack on the Tokyo subway. Those are people who want to end human life on Earth and bring about Doomsday - another word for the final, apocalyptic day of the world's existence. Right. And things got even scarier in modern times with the invention of nuclear weapons. During the Cuban Missile Crisis between America and the USSR for example, risk experts estimated a 41% probability that human life would be completely wiped out! Seth Baum of New York's Global Catastrophic Risk Institute explains how human error almost brought about Doomsday: There are some ways that you could get to a nuclear war without really intending to, and probably the biggest example is if you have a false alarm that is mistaken as a nuclear attack, and there have been a number of, maybe even very serious false alarms over the years, in which one side or the other genuinely believed that they were under nuclear attack, when in fact they were not at all under nuclear attack. One such false alarm - an incorrect warning given so that people wrongly believe something dangerous is about to happen, came about in 1995, when the US sent missiles up into the Earth's atmosphere to study the aurora borealis, the northern lights. Soviet radars picked up the missiles, thinking they were nuclear warheads and almost retaliated. Nuclear Armageddon was only averted by the actions of one clear-thinking Russian general who decided not to push the red button. Phew! A close shave then! Well, Neil, all this doomongering has made me want to just give it all up and live on a desert island! --Like the dodo eh, Sam? So, which island would that be? If you remember, today's quiz question asked where the dodo was from.-- I said The Galapagos. --And I'm afraid to say it was b) Mauritius. 🌟 字数限制，完整文本和翻译，以及pdf见公众号【琐简英语】，回复"1"可进【打卡交流群】

Business Bartleby 商业板块 巴托比 New year, new you 新的一年，新的你 How to have the most productive working day of your life 如何度过一生中最富成效的工作日 It's the first full working week of 2023. You have two new year's resolutions. First, to turn yourself into a humming machine of productivity. No more procrastinating, no more afternoon naps. Second, to maximise your own sense of well-being. A few days in, and your daily journal bears witness to a changed person, a model of self-caring efficiency. 这是2023年第一个完整的工作周。你已经定下了两个新年决心。首先，把自己变成充满干劲的生产率机器。不再拖延，不再午睡。第二，最大程度地提升自己身心健康的感受。几天下来，你的日记将见证一个人的蜕变，你俨然已是高效自我管理的典范。 07:00 Go to the gym. Leave phone at home. Mens sana in corpore sano. 07:00，去健身房。把手机留在家里。高尚的灵魂寓于强健的身体。 08:00 Tell au pair to wake children, and to keep them out of your way. 08:00，让互惠生去叫醒孩子，别让他们出现在你面前。 08:15 Listen briefly to the call of a whale on Spotify. Shower. Dress. 08:15，在Spotify上听一小段鲸鱼的歌声。淋浴。更衣。 08:30 Eat something with chia seeds. 08:30，吃点带奇亚籽的东西。 08:40 Remove chia seeds from teeth. 08:40，清理牙齿上的奇亚籽。 08:58 Enter home office. Great sense of wellness. Never felt weller. 08:58，进入家里的办公区。感觉非常健康。从来没有这么元气满满。 09:00 Turn phone off aeroplane mode and fire up laptop. Phone goes mad: missed calls, Slack messages, texts. Precisely where the day went wrong in the bad old days of 2022. Use new batching technique: respond to the oldest five emails and ignore everything else. Turn notifications off again. 09:00，关闭手机飞行模式，启动笔记本电脑。手机开始疯响：未接来电、Slack信息、短信。又回到了2022年那些糟糕的日子里一天中开始急转直下的时刻。使用新的批处理大法：回复最早的五封邮件，其他一概无视。再次关闭通知。 09:30 Make a list of tasks that need to be completed today. Colour-code those tasks according to priority. Chunk each of the high-priority tasks into discrete segments. Use combination of time-boxing and Pomodoro techniques to put them into the calendar for the day ahead. 09:30，列出今天需要完成的任务。根据优先级给它们标记颜色。把高优先级任务切分成独立的部分。综合运用时间盒法和番茄工作法，把它们填写进今天的日程表。 10:30 Calendar for the day is now complete. Very full few hours ahead. Get up and go for a walk around the block to avoid musculoskeletal problems. Every so often stop and look 20 yards into the distance to maintain eye health. See friend on street. 10:30，今天的日程表做好了。未来几小时将非常充实。起身在街区里散个步，避免肌肉骨骼问题。不时停下来遥望20码外，让眼睛保持健康。在街上见见朋友。 11:30 Back at desk. Decide to find a "Study with Me" video, a recording of someone else working at their desk, as extra motivation for the day to come. Very effective technique, just need to choose the right recording. Might have one with rain pattering on the windows. Or a cat sleeping. Or logs on a fire. 11:30，回到办公桌前。决定找个“陪伴学习”视频，也就是别人伏案工作的录像，让自己面对一天的工作再多一点动力。这个办法非常有效，只要选对了内容。也可以选择有雨点打在窗户上的视频。或者一只熟睡的猫。又或者燃烧的木柴。 12:00 "Study with Me" recording is now playing. Went with the cats. Day is slightly off-track now. Begin first 25-minute Pomodoro session. 12:00，“陪伴学习”录像正在播放。选择了猫。这一天到了这会儿已经有点偏离轨道了。开始第一个25分钟的番茄工作时段。 12:25 Excellent session. Get up. Stretch. 12:25 这一段效果很棒。起身。伸展。 12:30 Second Pomodoro session begins. Lasers are less focused than me. 12:30，开始第二个番茄工作时段。激光都没有我聚焦。 12:40 Extremely bored. Try to get onto Wordle but have installed blocker on laptop that means I cannot use the site until 18:00. Only way around this is to change the time on the computer. Not sure how to do this but it cannot be that hard. 12:40，无聊至极。想要登录Wordle玩猜词游戏，但笔记本上安装了拦截器，18:00之前都不能使用这个网站。唯一的解决方法是更改电脑时间。不确定该怎么做，但应该不会太难。 13:30 It is quite hard. But Wordle is done (in four tries!). Clock on computer is now totally wrong; saying it is 2024. Just need to change it back. 13:30，还是挺难的。但已经玩过Wordle了（四次就猜中了！）电脑时钟现在完全是错的，显示是2024年。把它改回来就好。 14:00 No time for second email-batching session. Lunch and well-being hour begins an hour late. Make open sandwich with rye bread, salmon, dill. Use stacked-habits advice to do two mindfulness exercises at once: self-administer head massage while listening to soundtrack of grasshopper noises. 14:00，没时间做第二次邮件批处理了。午餐和养生时段晚了一小时开始。用黑麦面包，三文鱼和莳萝做个开放式三明治。采用叠加习惯的建议，同时做两种正念练习：一边听着蚱蜢叫声的录音，一边自我头部按摩。 15:00 Activating hermit mode. Ditch Pomodoro technique: need to get at least two hours done before final email-batching session. Use timer tab to set countdown clock going on my browser. 15:00，进入闭关模式。放弃番茄工作法：至少要做两小时，然后才开始最后的邮件批处理。在浏览器上使用计时器标签页设置倒计时。 15:30 Not made great progress. Feeling a bit worthless. Open the compliments folder in my email inbox to remind myself of praise I have received from colleagues in the past. 15:30，没什么实质进展。感觉自己有点差劲。打开电子邮件收件箱里的赞美文件夹，回味过去从同事那里收获的赞美。 15:45 Starting to feel a bit panicky. As last resort use "Write or Die", an old program that starts deleting your work if you have not met targets for word count. Helps just to get something on the page. 15:45，开始感到一丝恐慌。孤注一掷，启用“不写就死”这个老程序，如果没有达到字数目标，它就会开始删除你已经写下的东西。这能帮你在页面上尽量写下点什么。 00:00 🌟 字数限制，完整文本和pdf见公众号【琐简英语】，回复"1"可进【打卡交流群】