英音听力｜BBC & 经济学人等 - 节目列表

Why Doing Nothing Feel So Wrong For most of our lives, we're hard at work: we're up till midnight in the library studying for a degree, we're learning a trade, building a business, writing a book. We have hardly a moment to ourselves. We don't even ask whether we are fulfilled, it's simply obvious that this is the bit that has to hurt. We fall asleep counting the weeks until the end. And then, finally, one day, slightly unexpectedly, the end arrives. Through slow and steady toil, we have achieved what we had been seeking for years: the book is done, the business is sold, the degree certificate is on the wall. People around us cheer and lay on a party; we might even take a holiday. And that is when, for many of us, a supreme unease is liable to descend. The beach is beautiful, the sky is flawless, there is a scent of lemon in the air from the orchard. We've got nothing unpleasant to do. We can read, loll, play and dawdle. Why then are we so flat, disoriented and perhaps slightly tearful? Why are we so scared? The mind works in deceptive ways. In order to generate the momentum required to induce us to finish any task, our mind pretends that once the work is done, it will finally be content, it will accept reality as it is. It will stop its restless, persecutory questions, it won't throw up random unease or guilty feelings. It will be on our side. But whether by intent or coincidence, our mind is not in any way well-suited to honouring such promises. It turns out to be sharply opposed to, and even endangered by, states of calm and relaxation. It can manage them, at best, for a day or so. And then, with cold rigour, it will be on its way again with worries and questions. It will ask us once more to account for ourselves, to ask what the point of us is, to doubt whether we are worthy or decent, to question what right we have to exist. Once hard work ends, there is nothing to stop our melancholy minds from leading us to the edge of an abyss we'd been able to resist so long as our heads were down. We start to feel that no achievement will ever in fact be enough, that nothing we do can last or make a difference, that little is as good as it should be, that we are tainted by some kind of primordial guilt at being alive, that others around us are far more noble and able than we will ever be, that the blue sky is oppressive and frightening – and that 'doing nothing' is actually the hardest thing we've ever attempted to do. It's as though deep down, our mind knows that the ultimate fate of the planet is to be absorbed by the sun in seven and a half billion years and that everything we do is therefore vain and futile against a cosmological sense of time and space. We know that we are puny and irrelevant apparitions; we haven't been so much busy as protected from despair by the use of deadlines, punishing schedules, work trips and late-night conference calls. But now, with the achievement secured, there is no defence left against the might of existential terror. It's just us and in the skies above, the light of a billion billion dying stars. There are no more 8.30am meetings, no more revision notes, no more chapter deadlines to distract us from our metaphysical irrelevance. 词汇表 learn a trade 学习一门手艺，掌握一门行当 the bit that has to hurt 必须承受的痛苦，艰辛部分 toil [tɔɪl] 苦干，辛勤劳作；苦工 lay on 安排，供应，提供（食物、娱乐、服务等） be liable to [ˈlaɪəbl] 易于，可能，有…倾向 descend [dɪˈsend]（不好的感觉）遍布，蔓延，笼罩 flawless [ˈflɔːləs] 完美的，无瑕的 orchard [ˈɔːtʃəd] 果园，果树林 loll [lɒl] 懒散地躺（或坐），闲荡 dawdle [ˈdɔːdl] 磨蹭，闲混，虚度时光 flat [flæt] 低落的，泄气的，无精打采的 disoriented [dɪsˈɔːrientɪd] 迷茫的，迷失方向的 tearful [ˈtɪəfl] 含泪的，想哭的；令人伤心的 deceptive [dɪˈseptɪv] 欺骗性的，迷惑人的，虚假的 induce [ɪnˈdjuːs] 促使，导致，引诱 restless [ˈrestləs] 不安的，焦躁的 persecutory [pəˈsekjətəri] 折磨人的，迫害的 throw up 抛出，产生，提出（新问题或想法） well-suited [ˌwel ˈsuːtɪd] 合适的，适当的 rigour [ˈrɪɡə(r)] 严酷，严厉，严谨 account for 解释，说明 decent [ˈdiːsnt] 正派的，体面的，像样的 melancholy [ˈmelənkəli] 忧郁的，悲伤的；令人悲哀的 abyss [əˈbɪs] 深渊，无底洞；险境，绝境 be tainted by [ˈteɪntɪd] 被…玷污，被…污染，被…影响 primordial guilt [praɪˈmɔːdiəl ɡɪlt] 原始的罪恶感，原罪 oppressive [əˈpresɪv] 压抑的，压迫的，暴虐的 vain and futile [veɪn ənd ˈfjuːtaɪl] 徒劳无益的，白费力气的 cosmological [ˌkɒzməˈlɒdʒɪkl] 宇宙学的，宇宙论的 puny [ˈpjuːni] 微小的，微不足道的，弱小的 irrelevant [ɪ'reləvənt] 无关紧要的，不相关的 apparition [ˌæpəˈrɪʃn] 幽灵，幻影，鬼 punishing [ˈpʌnɪʃɪŋ] 繁重的，累人的 existential terror [ˌeɡzɪˈstenʃl ˈterə(r)] 存在主义恐惧 revision note [rɪˈvɪʒn] 复习笔记 metaphysical [ˌmetəˈfɪzɪkl] 形而上学的，抽象的，玄学的 irrelevance [ɪ'reləvəns] 无关紧要的事物，无意义的事 🏫翻译，视频和pdf见公众号【琐简英语】，回复"1"可进入【打卡交流群】

From Novels to Smartphones: Will Media Panics Ever End? Are you worried you're addicted to your smartphone? If so, here's a little historical quiz. Can you guess what this quotation is referring to? "Parents have become aware of a puzzling change in the behavior patterns of their children ... They cannot lock out this intruder because it has gained an invincible hold of their children." This quote isn't talking about smartphones, or even TV or computer games. Answer? It's actually from 1936 and it's talking about the radio. And how about this? "One of the most serious, unreported, disabling, anti-social diseases in America today." OK, so this quote is talking about phone addiction, but the phones in question are landlines. Remember them? Well there was a time when people worried about how addictive they were. Kirsten Drotner: We see today concern over social media, before it was the internet, then we had video nasties, television, radio, cinema ... Meet Kirsten Drotner, Professor of Media Studies at the University of Southern Denmark, who's been writing about this topic for over 20 years. Kirsten: The name I coined for it is a "media panic". Whenever a new medium arrives on the social scene and is taken up in a big way, then we see these very, very stark emotional reactions. According to Kirsten, when you look through history one can see the same pattern of concern repeating itself - often even using the same language and metaphors. So today there's lots of talk of social media addiction, comparing it to drugs. But it's easy to forget that Pac-Man, Pinball and television were described in the same way. Or reports talk of the addictive "dark side" of social media, echoing the way that computer games were described. Or, another example, social media is compared to opiates - the same language that was used to describe television and Nintendo. And the drugs metaphor goes further back. What do you think was described as the "marijuana of the nursery" because they were so addictive? The answer? Comic books which, by the middle of the 20th Century, had got people so worried about their addictiveness that there were bestsellers about the harm they were doing young people, official inquiries, even public burnings. OK, last quote ... "Nothing but narcotics ... as destructive of real life and real living as cocaine." As destructive as cocaine? That would be the novel. You can find novels described as evil, as a vice, and blamed for violence. And yet today, if anything, people are worried that young people are not reading enough novels. Whether it's radio, telephones, comic books or novels, we see a similar pattern. Kirsten: There's a kind of historical amnesia - that media, for example, that 20 years ago were really, really the object of concern, then all of a sudden we don't hear very much about it. I think something that's helpful for thinking about media panics is the Gartner Hype Cycle, developed by a US company and used to describe the way technologies are adopted by society. According to this theory, a new technology often has a moment of enthusiasm and high expectations, when it seems like it might be the solution to everything. (News Item) It's being called "The Twitter Revolution". This is then followed by a crash - a period of disillusionment and scepticism, before both hype and fear level off and everyone basically calms down. But with media panics, while the concerns about each particular media might fade, the overall state of anxiety continues as something new fills the gap. So why do media panics keep occurring? One straightforward explanation for media panics is that adults have a natural parental concern for the young, not remembering - because they were children at the time - that the generation before had similar worries about them. Another possible explanation is something called the "third person effect" which describes a tendency to believe that other people will be more affected by a media message than you are. This is how we can have no problem reconciling our own pretty benign experiences with a media technology with a belief that it will cause much greater harm to others. A final theory is to do with something social scientists call "cultural capital". The idea is that along with economic capital and social capital, one thing that establishes your position in society is your knowledge about culture. But when new types of media come along it threatens their investment in these old forms of cultural capital, so no wonder they react nervously. Kirsten: It's also a precarious investment because they live in a dynamic society, and modern society - through the 18th Century and on - is based on change. We don't know what effect social media and smartphones will have long-term on our society, but what we do know is that, as long as we keep inventing new forms of media, the cycle of panic is likely to continue. 💡字数限制，词汇表、翻译和pdf见公众号【琐简英语】，回复"1"可进【打卡交流群】

The hidden cost of smartphone addiction How would you survive without your smartphone? For many of us, it's the gadget we're most hooked on – looking at it hundreds of times a day. We depend on it to perform a multitude of tasks and to connect with our friends and family. But have we become addicted to our phones? Certainly, the inventor of the first mobile phone, American engineer Martin Cooper, thinks we might be. In a BBC interview, he suggested people should stop scrolling and "get a life". But of course, once we start doom scrolling or watching videos, we just can't kick the habit. Psychologist and author Jean Twenge says we're all guilty of "compulsively checking our phone if we're waiting for a text or getting really into social media then kind of, looking up and realising that an hour has passed." There's even a word – a phubber – to describe a person who ignores the real people around them because they are concentrating on their phones. But does it matter if we make the most of this technology? Possibly, because like a drug, the problem arises when it is withdrawn. A study from King's College London found young people they studied couldn't control the amount of time they spend on their phone. Such addictive behaviour means that people become 'panicky' or 'upset' if they are denied constant access, which can cause anxiety and mental health issues. Interestingly, another study by the London School of Economics and Political Science suggests we don't just look at our phones because we are prompted to by a text or email. The people they studied felt automatically urged to interact with their phone, just as a smoker would light a cigarette. Prof Saadi Lahlou, co-author of the study, told the BBC: "We must learn tricks to avoid the temptation when we want to concentrate or have good social relations." One solution could be an app that rewards students for time spent away from their phones. Another option is converting your smartphone to a dumbphone that has none of the intoxicating distractions on it. But mainly, perhaps, we just need to look up more and reconnect with the real world! 词汇表 gadget [ˈɡædʒɪt] 小器具，小装置，小玩意 be hooked on [hʊkt] 对…着迷，对…上瘾 a multitude of [ˈmʌltɪtjuːd] 许多的，大量的 get a life 做点有益的事，做点有意思的事情 doom scrolling [ˈduːm ˈskrəʊlɪŋ] 阴暗刷屏（指在不断浏览负面、令人沮丧的新闻或信息的行为） kick the habit 戒除恶习，改掉嗜好 compulsively [kəmˈpʌlsɪvli] 强迫性地，不由自主地 phubber [ˈfʌbə(r)] 低头族（只顾看手机而忽视身边人的人） make the most of [meɪk ðə məʊst ɒv] 充分利用，尽情享受 withdraw [wɪðˈdrɔː] 撤回，抽离，停止提供 panicky [ˈpænɪki] 恐慌的，惊慌失措的 prompt [prɒmpt] 促使，推动，提示 automatically [ˌɔːtəˈmætɪkli] 自动地，无意识地，不由自主地 temptation [tempˈteɪʃn] 诱惑，引诱 convert [kənˈvɜːt] 转变，转换 dumbphone [ˈdʌmfəʊn] 非智能手机，功能机 intoxicating [ɪnˈtɒksɪkeɪtɪŋ] 令人着迷的，使人兴奋的 📖 翻译、pdf见公众号【琐简英语】，回复"1"可进【打卡交流群】

Why do we put on weight when in a relationship? The subject of today's episode is something that's happened to many of us. See how familiar the scenario sounds. You meet someone special, start spending a lot of time together and gradually fall in love. You go out for romantic dinners, you order takeout and watch Netflix on the couch. You share desserts and drinks. You're so caught up feeling happy and comfortable with your partner that you don't worry too much about your appearance. Then one day you step on the scales and realise that you've gained some extra pounds, or maybe you notice that your clothes are feeling tighter, or that you feel more sluggish and tired. Oh yeah, I've definitely been there. At some point you just start asking yourself, what happened? Research has suggested that relationship weight gain is a real thing. A 2013 survey by Diet Chef found that over 60% of us put on weight when in a comfortable relationship. It's not just because we eat more or exercise less, there are actually several factors that can contribute to the phenomenon. One is hormonal. When you're in love your body releases chemicals like oxytocin, dopamine and serotonin, which make you feel happy, relaxed and bonded with your partner. They also lower your stress levels and suppress your appetite, but the effects aren't permanent. As your relationship matures and becomes more stable, your hormone levels tend to normalise. This means that you may feel less euphoric and more hungry than before. Another factor is behavioural. When you're in a relationship, you tend to adopt some of your partner's habits and preferences. That can be a good thing if your partner has a healthy lifestyle. But it can also be a bad thing if they tend to eat junk food, skip breakfast or sleep in late all the time. It can also be hard to find motivation to stay in shape when in a relationship. That's especially true if you're happy and satisfied with your partner. You may feel less pressure to impress them or attract other potential mates. What are the best ways of preventing or reversing relationship weight gain? Thankfully, relationship weight gain is neither inevitable nor irreversible. With some awareness and effort, you can maintain a healthy weight and a healthy relationship. It's important to communicate with your partner about your respective health goals and expectations, and then support each other in achieving them. You can also plan healthy activities and meals together and encourage each other to stay on track. To some extent you should also be mindful of your eating habits. Pay attention to what you eat, how much you eat and why you eat. Avoid mindless snacking or emotional eating. Choose nutritious foods that fill you up and give you energy. You may want to consider changing your daily routine to incorporate physical exercise and make sure you're getting 7-9 hours of quality sleep. That said, it's important to remember that weight is not the only measure of your worth or attractiveness. Appreciate yourself and your partner for who you are, not just what you look like. There you have it. 词汇表 be caught up 沉浸于，着迷于；陷入，被卷入 sluggish [ˈslʌɡɪʃ] （行动）缓慢的，迟钝的 hormonal [hɔːˈməʊnl] 荷尔蒙的，激素的 oxytocin [ˌɒksɪˈtəʊsɪn] 催产素（促进情感联结的激素） dopamine [ˈdəʊpəmiːn] 多巴胺（与愉悦感相关的神经递质） serotonin [ˌserəˈtəʊnɪn] 血清素（影响情绪、食欲的神经递质） feel bonded with [fiːl ˈbɒndɪd wɪð] 与…产生亲密感，与…建立联结 suppress your appetite [səˈpres jɔː(r) ˈæpɪtaɪt] 抑制食欲 normalise [ˈnɔːməlaɪz] （使）正常化，（使）恢复正常 euphoric [juːˈfɒrɪk] 极度兴奋的，狂喜的，亢奋的 behavioural [bɪˈheɪvjərəl] 行为的，行为方面的 stay in shape 保持身材，保持良好体型 irreversible [ˌɪrɪˈvɜː(r)səbl] 不可逆转的，无法挽回的 respective [rɪˈspektɪv] 各自的，分别的 stay on track 保持正轨，坚持目标前行 be mindful of [ˈmaɪndfl] 留意，注意，关注 mindless snacking [ˈmaɪndləs ˈsnækɪŋ] 无意识地吃零食，机械性进食 emotional eating [ɪˈməʊʃənl ˈiːtɪŋ] 情绪性进食 fill up 使吃饱，使充满，填满 incorporate [ɪnˈkɔː(r)pəreɪt] 包含，吸收，纳入 🪴翻译和pdf见公众号【琐简英语】，回复"1"可进入【打卡交流群】

Can climate change affect our mental health? Beth Hello and welcome to 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English. I'm Beth. Neil And I'm Neil. Today we're going to talk about climate change and how it can affect people's mental health. Natural disasters and the impacts of climate change can be stressful. Isn't that right, Beth? Beth Yeah, definitely. In today's episode we're going to find out about how people can protect their mental health from the impacts of climate change. We'll be hearing from a psychiatry expert and a man who survived a wildfire and helped rebuild his town. Neil But first, Beth, I have a question for you. Scientists aren't always sure whether natural disasters like floods and wildfires are as a result of human-caused climate change. But in January 2025, big wildfires affected big parts of Los Angeles in California. But according to research organisation World Weather Attribution, human-caused climate change made the fires: a) 10% more likely, b) 35% more likely, or c) 20% less likely. Beth Erm… I'm going to say 10% more likely. Neil OK. Well, we'll find out the answer at the end of the programme. Now, natural disasters like floods and wildfires can destroy homes and communities. Beth People who live in areas affected by natural disasters can often experience climate trauma. Trauma is what we call the very bad and long-lasting emotional effects of an event or experience. Neil Professor Jyoti Mishra is an expert in climate trauma at the University of California. She explained more about the condition to Graihagh Jackson, host of BBC World Service programme, The Climate Question. Jyoti Mishra Climate trauma is not an individual trauma, it's a community-wide trauma which really requires community-wide healing. Graihagh Jackson Yeah, I'm really struck by what you've said about the fact that it's whole communities that are affected, not individuals, but also part of the solution is about the community and how it rebuilds and reknits together. Jyoti Mishra Absolutely, yes. So, we've found that individuals who have a greater sense of positive support from their family and a greater sense of meaningful connection with their community — they are in general more resilient. Beth Jyoti's research on climate trauma has found that it affects communities rather than individuals. Neil Host of the programme Graihagh Jackson is struck by what Jyoti says. If you're struck by an idea, you find it particularly interesting or impressive. Beth Graihagh says that part of the solution to climate trauma could be in how the community reknits together. This means how the social connections in a community are restored. We can often describe a community as close-knit, which means everyone helps and supports each other. Neil Jyoti explains that having a strong community also helps reduce or heal climate trauma. She says that research has found that people who have a strong community are more resilient when bad things, like natural disasters, happen. If you're resilient, you're able to get better more easily after something difficult or bad happens. Beth One person who had to be resilient is Brad Sherwood. He survived a wildfire in Northern California in 2017 called the Tubbs fire, but when he returned home, his neighbourhood was destroyed. Neil Brad started to volunteer for a local support network called After the Fire to try to rebuild his community, as he explained to BBC World Service programme, The Climate Question. Brad Sherwood The silver lining in all this — I mean, if it wasn't for the Tubbs fire, we wouldn't be working as a community right now to build a new community plaza. We were a close community before the Tubbs, but afterwards we are so much stronger and resilient. And I think our children are as well. They can jump over any hurdle. Beth Brad says that the work to rebuild and improve his community is the silver lining to the fire. The expression silver lining means a positive thing that comes from a negative situation. Neil Brad's community became more resilient after the fire, including the children. He says that they can jump over any hurdle. We can describe challenges or difficult things in life as hurdles. Beth And it's quite inspiring, I think, to hear how Brad has taken a bad situation and tried to stay resilient. Now, the organisation Brad volunteers for, After the Fire, are helping those impacted by the fires in LA in January. Neil Which reminds me, I asked you, Beth, about the impacts of human-made climate change on the wildfires in LA in January. Beth And I said 10% more likely. Neil Which was, I'm afraid, the wrong answer. It was actually 35%. 📝字数限制，完整文本、 翻译及pdf见公众号【琐简英语】，回复1可加入【打卡交流群】

5 Questions to Ask Yourself Every Evening Our minds are some of the busiest places in the known universe. It is estimated that, under a deceptively calm exterior, some 70,000 separate thoughts hurry through consciousness from the moment we wake up to the time we slip into sleep. What these many thoughts have in common is that we seldom do them any kind of justice. The result of this kind of sensory overload is an immense difficulty processing what we've actually been through. But these thoughts and feelings do need to be understood – and will protest more or less actively when they are not. Anger that hasn't been given its due will emerge as irritability, grief that hasn't been honoured will metastasize into aimlessness and despair. What we call mental illnesses are usually the outcome of periods of our lives that we haven't had the strength or opportunity to understand or mourn. And that's why we have produced five questions that we suggest can be rehearsed every evening on a regular basis. And we'll help to appease the sources of our troubles. First question: what am I really worried about? This question recognises something rather unusual about how we operate: we frequently don't stop to ask ourselves what we are truly worried about. This sounds odd. Surely if we are worried, we would be expected to pause rather quickly – and explore why. But our minds seem not to work in this supremely logical-sounding way: they feel anxious long before they are ever motivated to ask themselves why they might be so. They can carry on for months, even years, under the fog of diffuse concern before setting themselves the challenge of zeroing in on what is really at stake. Second question: what am I presently sad about? We can make a generalisation: we go around being far braver than is good for us. Because we need to get on with the practicalities of the day, we frequently push to the side all the slights, hurts, disappointments and griefs that flow through our river of consciousness. We chose not to notice how vulnerable we are for fear that we cannot afford our own sensitivity. But stoicism and strength carry their own dangers. With the help of this question, we should give time to noticing that – despite our competent and strong exteriors – lots of smaller and larger things have managed to hurt us today, like every day: perhaps someone didn't laugh when we told a joke, our partner has been a little distant of late, a friend didn't call, a senior figure at work was less than completely impressed… Third question: who has annoyed me and how? We want to be polite of course. We're attached to the norms of civilisation. It upsets us to think we might be upset. Nevertheless, here too we need to have the courage of our actual sensitivity. No day goes by without someone annoying us in some rather fundamental way – usually without them in any way meaning to. Our spirits will be lighter if we can bring ourselves to spell out the injury. What happened? How did it make us feel? What might we tell ourselves to refind equilibrium? Now, as careful guardians to ourselves, we can internalise the process and use our inner adult to soothe the always easily flustered but also easily calmed inner child. Fourth question: what does my body want? Much of what we feel but don't process has a habit of ending up in our bodies. That's why we develop backache, tense shoulders, knotted stomachs and fluttery hearts. In order to live more easily around our bodies, we should regularly drain them of the emotions that they have unfairly been burdened with. We should mentally scan our bodies from top to toe and ask ourselves what each organ might require: what do my shoulders want to tell me? What would my stomach want to say? What does my back need? What do my legs crave? Fifth question: what is still lovely? Despite so much that is difficult, every day brings us up against a range of things that still delight and enchant us. Often, these elements are small: the light on the kitchen wall in the morning; a child holding its parent's hand at the bus stop; a fig we had at lunch time. These might not sound like things we should bother to register – but summoned up in their full richness and held in our attention for a few moments, they can help to fortify us against the voices of despair. When Socrates, apparently the wisest man of antiquity, was asked to define our highest purpose as human beings, he offered a still-legendary answer: 'To know ourselves.' We should aspire to be people who never cease to try to make sense of themselves at the close of every day. We should devote ourselves constantly to trying to shrink the scale of the darkness within us; bringing what was once in shadow closer to the light of interpretation, so that we stand a chance of becoming slightly less frantic and rather more joyful, creative and calm creatures. 🏫字数限制，词汇表，翻译，视频和pdf见公众号【琐简英语】，回复"1"可进入【打卡交流群】

Small steps to build long-lasting habits It's day one of a healthier, smarter, better you. You're full of zest and good intentions. You woke up at 5am to run before work, you read a book in your lunch break, and you listened to an English podcast on your commute. Now, fast forward three months. Life is getting in the way, and you've slipped into old habits… snoozing your alarm and eating chocolate for breakfast. Sound familiar? Don't be hard on yourself. It's unrealistic to rely on willpower alone. As James Clear, author of the bestselling book 'Atomic Habits', writes, "The problem isn't you. The problem is your system." Our habits come from goals, so start by getting really clear. Goals, according to George T Doran, should be SMART: specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound. It's not enough to say, "I'll exercise more" – that's too vague! A SMART goal would be "I'm going to walk for 20 minutes in the evenings on weekdays." Now you have a clear action that you can stick to. Once you're clear on your goals, you need to make the associated habits as automatic as possible. Try 'habitstacking', a technique popularised in the book 'Atomic Habits', which involves attaching a new habit onto something you already do regularly. For example, if you already make coffee every morning, use that moment to read your book for 20 minutes. That way, your new reading habit is now intertwined with something you're going to do anyway. Another key strategy is to reward yourself, to transform the habit from a chore into something pleasurable. If it's hard to get yourself to the gym, promise yourself that after each visit, you'll allow yourself a treat – a takeaway meal or an episode of your favourite TV show. Even with our best intentions and a great system, stress and interruptions to your routine like social events can still make keeping habits feel like an uphill battle. If or when you have setbacks, accept it as part of the process. Life is full of spontaneity and uncertainty – one could argue that's what keeps it interesting! Use setbacks as a pause for reflection and review. What about your system is working? What's no longer serving you? Then, get back on track. 词汇表 zest [zest] 热情，兴致 commute [kəˈmjuːt] 通勤，上下班路程 fast forward 快进，时间跳跃 get in the way 阻碍，妨碍 slip into [slɪp] 陷入，逐渐养成（坏习惯） snooze the alarm [snuːz] 按掉闹钟继续睡，按下贪睡按钮 hard on yourself 对自己太苛刻 willpower [ˈwɪlpaʊə(r)] 意志力 ，毅力 Atomic Habits [əˌtɒmɪk ˈhæbɪts] 《原子习惯》（书名） time-bound [ˈtaɪm baʊnd] 有时间要求的，受时间限制的 vague [veɪɡ] 模糊的，不明确的 automatic [ˌɔːtəˈmætɪk] 自动化的，无意识的 habitstacking [ˈhæbɪtˌstækɪŋ] 习惯叠加（将新习惯与现有习惯结合） be intertwined with [ˌɪntəˈtwaɪnd] 与…紧密关联 ，交织 chore [tʃɔː(r)] 杂事，琐事，苦差事 uphill battle [ˌʌpˈhɪl ˈbæt(ə)l] 艰苦斗争，苦战 setback [ˈsetbæk] 挫折，阻碍 spontaneity [ˌspɒntəˈneɪəti] 自发性，自然 get back on track 重回正轨 ，重振旗鼓 📖 翻译、pdf见公众号【琐简英语】，回复"1"可进【打卡交流群】

How to Learn Faster If You Are Not a Genius Here's the thing: whatever you want to learn, don't just pick a course and dive straight into it – most curricula, whether online or in school, aren't optimised for your personal needs. You must build a learning map that helps you reach the outcome you want as fast as possible. This technique of building learning maps is known as meta-learning. Scott Young discusses meta-learning in his book: "Ultralearning". Many famous entrepreneurs, such as Elon Musk and Gabriel Weinberg, use it. To give you an example, imagine you must empty a hundred water bottles as fast as you can. If you don't know the trick of fast discharge (by swirling the bottle), you'll do what most people do – flip the bottle into the sink and squeeze it – a massive waste of time. Meta-learning is like the trick to empty a water bottle faster – it's all about the methods that can help you speed up your learning. Here's a three-step strategy to build learning maps that will help you learn any topic super-fast. 1. Know Your Type of Motivation to Learn When you learn something new, your motivation is either internal or external. Internal motivation: you learn because you genuinely enjoy the topic; you have a passion for it. For example, you want to speak French because you love how it sounds. External motivation: you learn to achieve a specific outcome not related to the topic you want to learn. For example, you want to learn software, writing, or entrepreneurship, to make a lot of money. Here's your first step: Know which kind of motivation drives you to learn. Why? Because a topic has many sections, and most of them are irrelevant to your goal. Once you have a clear image of the outcome you want, focus your time and energy on the best sections and skip the trivials forever or later. 2. Build the Structure Before You Start Learning a skill is like navigating a building to look for a treasure. If you know the structure of a building better than anyone, you'll take the fastest route to get what you want inside that building. Here's your second step: Learn the structure of the topic to speed up your understanding. To do so, create a table with three columns: concepts, facts, and procedures. Concepts are the things you need to understand the topic. They are the fundamental principles, theories, and formalisms. Facts are truthful things that you must know and remember about the topic. They come in the form of laws, techniques, or statements. Procedures are all the actions you must take to get better at the topic. They increase your skill level and practical knowledge. 1) Find all possible concepts, facts, and procedures and write them down. 2) Order the items from each column by the level of challenge and importance – give an impact factor to each item. 3) Gather the resources relevant to each concept, fact, and procedure. Once you finish, you'll have a good knowledge tree for the topic. 3. Know Where to Start and What to Leave Knowing where to start and what to leave later will make a massive difference to your learning speed. The B.E.E (Benchmark, Emphasis, and Exclude) method will help you do that. This brings you to the third step. Benchmark Gather highly-rated resources – best-selling online courses, books, articles, and top university courses. Download the syllabus of the resources you gathered. Look for common patterns in these syllabi. Focus on areas with maximum overlap. Emphasise and Exclude To reach the desired level of mastery as soon as possible, you must customise your curriculum to fit your personal goal. The way to achieve this is by maintaining what is important to you and excluding what is not. Here are two examples. If you want to speak Italian during a trip to Florence, emphasise learning to pronounce and exclude learning how to spell. If you want to build apps quickly, focus on app development rather than theories of computer science. No matter what field you dream of mastering, meta-learning will speed your learning compared to your workmates and competitors. And the more you use meta-learning, the more efficient you become at learning, it's a certain way for you to become a super learner. 词汇表 genius [ˈdʒiːniəs] 天才；天赋，天资 dive straight into [daɪv streɪt ˈɪntuː] 一头扎进，直接投入 curricula [kəˈrɪkjʊlə] 课程（curriculum [kəˈrɪkjʊləm] 的复数形式） meta-learning [ˌmetə ˈlɜː(r)nɪŋ] 元学习（指关于学习的学习，即学习如何更有效地学习） discharge [dɪsˈtʃɑː(r)dʒ] 排出，放出 swirl [swɜː(r)l] （使）打旋，旋转 flip [flɪp] 快速翻转，轻抛 sink [sɪŋk] 水槽，洗碗池 internal [ɪnˈtɜː(r)nəl] 内在的，内部的 external [ɪkˈstɜː(r)nəl] 外在的，外部的 entrepreneurship [ˌɒntrəprəˈnɜː(r)ʃɪp] 创业，企业家精神 trivial [ˈtrɪviəl] 琐碎的，无足轻重的 navigate [ˈnævɪɡeɪt] 导航，穿越，横渡 column [ˈkɒləm] 列；栏目，专栏 formalism [ˈfɔː(r)məlɪzəm] 形式体系，形式主义 benchmark [ˈbentʃmɑː(r)k] 基准，参照标准 exclude [ɪkˈskluːd] 排除，不包括 syllabi [ˈsɪləbaɪ] 课程大纲，教学大纲（syllabus [ˈsɪləbəs] 的复数形式） overlap [ˌəʊvə(r)ˈlæp] 重叠，重合 mastery [ˈmɑːstəri] 精通，掌握 customise [ˈkʌstəmaɪz] 定制，定做 💡 翻译、视频和pdf见公众号【琐简英语】，回复"1"可进【打卡交流群】

Five tips for success with Bonita Norris, who climbed Everest aged just 22 When you see the sun rise from the top of the world, it was just the most beautiful thing you could imagine. (In 2010, Bonita Norris became the youngest British woman to climb to the summit of Mount Everest. She was 22.) My first tip would be to just start. The difference between most successful people and unsuccessful people is that successful people just gave it a shot, and they just took that first step. Small steps make the biggest difference. There were so many moments, when I've been in the Himalayas, where I've felt like I couldn't take another step, I couldn't do anything more. And it's so easy to get paralysed by the enormity of the challenge, and lose sight that the step in front of you is all you have to ever worry about. My next tip: Visualise. I'd make a playlist of music that will transport me to the mountain as soon as I put it on, shut my eyes, and I can imagine myself climbing that peak. Just taking the time to really visualise what it means to achieve it. I think that most people give up because they lose sight of their dream, they forget why they started. Spend more time in nature. I always ran as a way to get fit and I would go to the forest, the things that became really highly emotional and I'd get really upset about suddenly weren't such a big dea.l. Stop letting your ego get in the way. Your ego can be the biggest wall that you have to climb. The most successful people in life are the ones who are able to be honest, and vulnerable with others. The more you build up a wall around you, the more you have to pretend to be someone that you're not. I don't think that just getting to the top of a mountain makes you a good person, or a successful person. For me, success comes down to, can you get to that point by being a compassionate person to others, by being in touch with yourself, and being respectful of the environment around you. I don't believe that you have to be ruthless to get what you want in life. My final tip is you have to trust in something. Whether it's yourself, whether it's in God, whether it's in nature or the universe, but just having that trust that it will work out somehow, and if it doesn't work out in the way I want, then maybe I'll learn something from it. When you have been to the top of the world, you appreciate such simple things, you don't want to have power of money or status or material items. You want to have great connections with your family, because when you think you're going to die, they're all you think about. You want to feel that feeling when you've been on your feet for 24 hours and you're still climbing, and you think, "wow, the human body is amazing." Those are the moments, I think, that have made me feel most successful, and, ultimately, those are, in some ways, some of the hardest moments in life to find. 词汇表 summit [ˈsʌmɪt] 山顶，顶峰；顶点，最高点 Mount Everest [ˈmaʊnt ˈevərɪst] 珠穆朗玛峰（世界最高峰） Himalayas [ˌhɪməˈleɪəz] 喜马拉雅山脉（世界海拔最高的山脉） paralysed [ˈpærəlaɪzd] 吓倒的，惊呆的；麻痹的，瘫痪的 enormity [ɪˈnɔː(r)məti] 艰巨性，严重性；巨大，庞大 visualise [ˈvɪʒuəlaɪz] 想象，设想，使形象化 playlist [ˈpleɪlɪst] （音乐）播放列表 lose sight of 忘记，忽略，不再看见 be vulnerable with ['vʌln(ə)rəb(ə)l] 向…展现脆弱（或弱点） compassionate [kəmˈpæʃ(ə)nət] 有同情心的，怜悯的 ruthless [ˈruːθləs] 冷酷的，无情的，残忍的 💡 翻译和pdf见公众号【琐简英语】，回复"1"可进【打卡交流群】

The Diderot effect: Why we buy things we don't need In 1769, in Paris, a French philosopher wrote an essay about an unusual experience. His name was Denis Diderot, most famous for his role in compiling one of the first modern encyclopedias. In the essay, he describes how he'd come into possession of a new, luxurious red dressing gown. But rather than make him happy, it made him miserable; and the cause of that unhappiness is still being examined by psychologists and marketing professionals some 250 years later. The reason Diderot's new dressing gown was making him unhappy was that its beauty and luxury clashed with his other, much shabbier possessions. Now all is discord, red. the overall effect is lost. There's no longer any unity or beauty. This need for unity left him with a desire to upgrade his stuff so that it matched the luxury of his new dressing gown. Soon there was a new tapestry, new paintings, new prints, a new chair, armoire, a mirror, a new bureau, an expensive clock. Soon his whole apartment was completely transformed. As Diderot described it, the 'imperious' dressing gown had 'imposed her new harmony' on this home. In 1988 anthropologists Grant McCracken coined the term 'Diderot effect' to describe this desire for unity and how it shapes what we buy. At that time many economists saw consumer goods in isolation, each one owned just for its function and utility and therefore easily replaced if a cheaper or better version came along. McCracken argued differently. Rather than looking at possessions individually, he argued the things we own reflect our identity and place in society, and for this reason, often belong in sets held together by the force of the Diderot effect. So, a banker buys a Rolex to go with his BMW and bottle of Bollinger, or a hipster buys a graphic tee and beard oil, to go with his overpriced and under-functioning bicycle. Now, sometimes the Diderot effect stops a consumer buying something, even if it's useful and a good price, because it doesn't fit with the set of goods that person already owns. But at other times the appearance of something new — what McCracken calls a departure good — can lead to the run of consumption that Diderot observed with his dressing gown: Each new purchase made to match the qualities of that new item. Now Diderot may have observed this effect a long time ago, but even today his insights on why we buy are still used by one group of people: Those who sell us stuff. For example, look at Apple. For many, the purchase of the iPhone was a departure good that led — via the Diderot effect — to them buying other Apple products, seeking the unity and beauty that would come with them having the complete set. This is also why it helps Ikea to put its products in branded groups. You come in to replace a chest of drawers, but the Diderot effect tempts you to get the bed, wardrobe, dressing table and hat stand that seem to belong with it. The way things are laid out in stores works in a similar way. Each of these rooms is filled with items that go with the others and together represent a whole new identity or lifestyle. If you can be tempted by one element of the set, the Diderot effect means a whole run of new purchases are likely to follow. Other writers looking at the Diderot effect — like Juliet Schor in the Overspent American — have argued there is a cruelty to this never-ending escalator of desire. She argues, often we're buying something because of a 'symbolic fantasy' attached to it. In Diderot's case, perhaps he hoped that with the dressing gown, would come the economic security of those who owned luxurious items just like it. Yet, Schor argues, when we get the product, we don't get the thing that was promised to come with it. And this was true for Diderot, who despite getting the new gown wasn't rich. Perversely he felt more free in his old gown, which he was more comfortable using to wipe dust from books or clean his pen nibs. As he wrote, I was absolute master of my old dressing gown but I had become a slave to my new one. His new gown had promised security and freedom, but in the end, it trapped him. 词汇表 compile [kəmˈpaɪl] 编纂，汇编，编写 encyclopedia [ɪnˌsaɪkləˈpiːdiə] 百科全书 luxurious [lʌɡˈʒʊəriəs] 奢侈的，豪华的 dressing gown [ˈdresɪŋ ɡaʊn] 晨衣，睡袍 clash with [klæʃ] 与…冲突，抵触，不调和 shabby [ˈʃæbi] 破旧的，破烂的；卑鄙的 discord [ˈdɪskɔː(r)d] 不一致，不协调；意见不合 unity [ˈjuːnəti] 统一，和谐，一致 tapestry [ˈtæpəstri] 挂毯，织锦；织锦画 print [prɪnt] 印刷品；版画 armoire [ɑː(r)ˈmwɑː(r)] （法式）大衣柜 bureau [ˈbjʊərəʊ] 书桌，写字台 imperious [ɪmˈpɪəriəs] 专横的，傲慢的 impose on [ɪmˈpəʊz] 把…强加于，施加影响于 anthropologist [ˌænθrəˈpɒlədʒɪst] 人类学家 Diderot effect [ˈdidəroʊ ɪˈfekt] 狄德罗效应（指人们在拥有新物品后，为保持协调而不断购买更多物品的现象） utility [juːˈtɪləti] 实用，效用 Rolex [ˈrəʊleks] 劳力士（手表品牌） BMW 宝马（汽车品牌） Bollinger [ˈbɒlɪndʒə(r)] 堡林爵（香槟品牌） 💡 完整词汇表、翻译和pdf见公众号【琐简英语】，回复"1"可进【打卡交流群】

Is it a good idea to fall asleep to music? Many of us have a ritual of falling asleep to our favourite tunes or a comforting podcast. It's no surprise we find solace in this routine. After all, music is known to dial down blood pressure and heart rate, ease anxiety and reduce cortisol levels. The benefits don't stop there. Music can also boost oxytocin production and sweep away those pesky negative thoughts, setting the stage for a peaceful night's rest. For those battling chronic pain, melodies can be a balm offering a more tranquil slumber thanks to music's proven pain-dulling powers. In fact, the innovative music care app developed by Dr. Stephanie Goetan even lets healthcare providers prescribe tunes as a form of pain management. What's the best soundtrack for slumber? Should you just hit shuffle and hope for the best? Not quite. To truly let your mind meander into dreamland, opt for slower beats and instrumental tracks. Nature sounds, gentle classical pieces or mellow jazz can work wonders. While it's fine to choose music that evokes happy memories, stay clear of anything that might stir up intense emotions. Does a musical bedtime routine make a difference? Consistency could be a key to unlocking better sleep. Try setting a musical bedtime ritual for a few weeks, same time, same sounds, and see if you notice a shift towards deeper, more uninterrupted sleep, or perhaps a quicker journey to dreamland. Are there any potential pitfalls to this melodic method? It's not a one-size-fits-all solution. Sudden changes in the soundscape, volume, spikes or an abrupt end to the music might jolt you awake. Dr Maria Francoise Veccherini, a neuropsychiatrist with a focus on sleep disorders, suggests indulging in your musical moment before hitting the pillow. Then, as you're ready to drift off, switch off the tunes. For a safer listening experience, speakers trump earbuds or headphones, which can lead to tinnitus or other auditory issues. Keep it down too. Anything above 40 decibels could be overkill for your ears. And what about falling asleep with the TV on? It's a common habit, but not the best, as television emits blue lights which can hinder melatonin production and isn't conductive to lowering cortisol or your heart rate. Plus, dozing off on the sofa means you'll likely have to wake up to crawl into bed, disrupting your rest. Instead, consider some light reading or calming music before you bid the world goodnight. It's a more reliable route to both falling asleep and staying asleep. There you have it. 词汇表 ritual [ˈrɪtʃuəl] 习惯，仪式，惯例 fall asleep to 伴着…入眠，听…入睡 tune [tjuːn] 曲调，曲子，旋律 solace [ˈsɒləs] 慰藉，安慰 dial down [ˈdaɪəl] 降低，减少，缓和 cortisol levels [ˈkɔːtɪsɒl ˈlevlz] 皮质醇水平（与应激反应和身体代谢有关） oxytocin [ˌɒksɪˈtəʊsɪn] 催产素（一种与亲密感相关的激素） pesky [ˈpeski] 讨厌的，麻烦的 set the stage for 为…打好基础，为…做好准备 balm [bɑːm] （止痛用的）香油，软膏；慰藉物 tranquil [ˈtræŋkwɪl] 平静的，宁静的 slumber [ˈslʌmbə(r)] 睡眠，安睡，沉睡 pain-dulling [peɪn ˈdʌlɪŋ] 镇痛的，减轻疼痛的 prescribe [prɪˈskraɪb] 开处方，推荐，规定 soundtrack [ˈsaʊndtræk] 配乐，原声音乐 hit shuffle [ˈʃʌfl] 随机播放 meander into dreamland [miˈændə(r)] 慢慢进入梦乡，飘入梦乡 instrumental tracks [ˌɪnstrəˈmentl træks] 纯音乐，器乐曲目 mellow [ˈmeləʊ] 柔和的，舒缓的 evoke [ɪˈvəʊk] 引起，唤起（记忆或感情） stay clear of 避开，远离 stir up [stɜː(r)] 激起，引发（不快的情感） consistency [kənˈsɪstənsi] 一致性，连贯性 pitfall [ˈpɪtfɔːl] 陷阱，隐患，缺陷 one-size-fits-all [wʌn saɪz fɪts ɔːl] 一刀切的，通用的，万能的 soundscape [ˈsaʊndskeɪp] 音景，声音环境 spike [spaɪk] 骤升，激增；（此处指）音量突然升高 jolt you awake [dʒəʊlt] 使惊醒，吓醒 neuropsychiatrist [ˌnjʊərəʊsaɪˈkaɪətrɪst] 神经精神病学家 indulge in [ɪnˈdʌldʒ] 沉浸于，享受 drift off 逐渐入睡，慢慢睡着 trump [trʌmp] 赢，胜过，打败 earbud [ˈɪəbʌd] 耳塞式耳机 headphone ['hedfəʊn] 头戴式耳机 tinnitus [tɪˈnaɪtɪs] 耳鸣 auditory [ˈɔːdɪt(ə)ri] 听力的，听觉的 decibel [ˈdesɪbel] 分贝（声音强度单位） overkill [ˈəʊvəkɪl] 过犹不及，过分行为，适得其反 emit [iˈmɪt] 发出，射出，散发（光、噪声、气味） hinder [ˈhɪndə(r)] 阻碍，妨碍 melatonin [ˌmeləˈtəʊnɪn] 褪黑素（调节睡眠的激素） doze off [dəʊz] 打盹，小睡 bid the world goodnight [bɪd] 向世界道晚安 🪴翻译和pdf见公众号【琐简英语】，回复"1"可进入【打卡交流群】

How important is politeness Neil Hello, this is 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English. I'm Neil. Beth And I'm Beth. In this programme, we're talking about politeness. Britain has a reputation for being a polite place where children are told to say 'please' and 'thank you', but in real life that isn't always true. You, give me that pen! Neil I'm sorry. That was a bit rude. Beth Well, what should I have said? Neil How about: "Neil, could you please pass me the pen?" Beth Fine. Neil, could you please pass me the pen? Neil There you go! That's much better. Beth Now listen as BBC Radio 4 presenter Michael Rosen, who is a well-known poet and children's author in Britain, describes what happened to him one day: Michael Rosen Recently, this is how it went: a boy was walking past me in the street, stopped and said, "Hey! You're thingy, innit!" Now, that one seems to break all the rules. And because it broke the rules, it gave me a problem. How do I answer it? Beth A boy saw Michael Rosen and said, "Hey! You're thingy, innit!" He used the word thingy because, although he recognised Michael, he couldn't remember his name. He also said innit, which is short for 'isn't it', to emphasise what he'd said. Neil So, was the boy being impolite or was he just happy meeting a famous person in the street? And why do we teach kids to be polite in the first place? That's what we'll be discussing in this programme, using some useful new vocabulary. Beth But first, I have a question for you, Neil. The British are well known for being polite, as we've said, and there's even an idiom we use in certain situations to remind someone to be especially polite. But what is it? Is it: a) mind your As and Bs, b) mind your Ps and Qs, or c) mind your Xs and Ys? Neil Well, I know the answer to this, but I'm going to say c) mind your Xs and Ys, because I think it's brilliant. Beth OK. Interesting! Well, we'll find out the correct answer later in the programme. So, let's return to the boy who said, "Hey! You're thingy, innit!" to famous poet, Michael Rosen. Was that impolite or not? Professor Louise Mullany, who studies the language of politeness, has an answer. She thinks that politeness is as much to do with the person being spoken to as the person speaking, as she explained to BBC Radio 4 programme, Word of Mouth: Louise Mullany I think the crucial thing there is in how you've perceived it. So, obviously he's not giving us the conventional: "Oh, good afternoon, Mr Rosen," or a more formal approach. It's very, very informal… and he can't remember your name, and he's saying 'innit'. Now, that has been interpreted by you as non-threatening to you. You don't see him as insulting you, and you're actually quite kindly disposed to that person. So, you haven't interpreted it as offensive or aggressive. You said – I think you described it as being quite civil, actually. Neil Michael Rosen didn't feel that the boy was insulting him. To insult someone means to be rude or offensive to them. Beth Although his speech was very informal, Michael thought the boy was actually pleased to see him, not rude at all. Micheal was well disposed to the boy – he liked and approved of him. Neil So, you could say that politeness is subjective; if Michael doesn't feel offended, then where is the offence? Then why do we teach children to be polite at all? Well, according to Professor Mullany, it's to do with the rules of society. Beth That's right. Louise thinks that by teaching our kids politeness they enjoy the benefits of being accepted in society. So, imagine how embarrassed she felt when her two-year-old daughter repeatedly ignored the cook at her nursery school and refused to say hello. Here's Louise Mullany telling the story to BBC Radio 4's Word of Mouth: Louise Mullany The cook looked so disappointed. And as I mention in the book, it felt to me like there were lots of other children skipping – skipping and jumping past going, "Hello!" being really friendly children, and my daughter was just there. And we started to make excuses for her, like, "Oh, she's tired. Oh, she's teething. She's this and she's that," because the embarrassment was so strong. And I felt awful walking back past the kitchen on my way out. I was almost trying to hide my face, going, "I'm the one with the really rude child." Neil When her daughter didn't say hello to an adult, Louise made excuses for her. If you make excuses for someone, you try to explain the reasons for their behaviour. For example, Louise said her daughter was tired, she was growing new teeth, she was this and that. The idiom this and that can be used to describe various unspecified things. For example, if someone asks what you did this afternoon, you might reply, "Oh, not much. I stayed at home, I watched TV, I did this and that." 📝字数限制，完整文本、词汇表、翻译及pdf见公众号【琐简英语】，回复1可加入【打卡交流群】