Musk's bid to buy OpenAI is rebuffed Jackie: It's the latest twist in a long-standing battle between Elon Musk, the world's richest man and confidant of Donald Trump, and the chief executive of OpenAI, Sam Altman. A consortium of investors led by Mr. Musk has offered nearly $100 billion to buy OpenAI, which developed the popular AI tool, ChatGPT. But that bid has been met with a no-thank-you. Instead, Mr. Altman offered to buy X for a tenth of the price. Janat Jalil heard more from our technology correspondent, Lily Jamali. Lily: The backstory here is that Elon Musk helped co-found OpenAI way back in 2015 and then left three years later. He says it was because OpenAI strayed from its mission to develop AI for the benefit of humanity is the phrase that he and his lawyers use. His critics say he was just upset because he wanted control of the company, didn't get it. And that's why he left. And so Elon Musk and Sam Altman are now embroiled in a legal fight. Musk is trying to stop OpenAI from transitioning from a nonprofit the way it was founded to a for-profit corporation, which is the direction that Sam Altman wants to take the company. Jackie: And despite the huge amount of money he's offering, he's getting short shrift from Mr. Altman. Lily: That's right. Yes, they had a little bit of a spat on what was once Twitter and is now Elon Musk owned X. So Sam Altman pretty much immediately responded. And as you, as you said, you know, no, thank you. But he offered to buy Twitter for almost $10 billion, which is really throwing shade at Elon Musk, who bought the platform for quite a bit more than that for $44 billion. So I think that that's, you know, very, very much part of the course in their relationship. And Elon Musk responded to that tweet by calling Altman a swindler. So I don't think the temperature is going to be cooling off anytime soon. Jackie: Absolutely not, because you've got Donald Trump also announcing $500 billion of investment in AI tech. So there really is huge competition now to win this race for artificial intelligence dominance. Lily: That's right. And that was a really remarkable moment when you saw Sam Altman on stage or really at a press conference at the White House standing next to Donald Trump, the first week that Donald Trump took office. I mean, the reason that was so remarkable is because of Altman's relationship with Musk and the fact that Donald Trump invited Altman into the inner sanctum, really, despite what Musk had done to help get Trump elected. And so that project that you're referring to is a massive investment in the infrastructure that will help power OpenAI, build a bunch of data centers starting in Texas. The promise was 100,000 jobs. We'll see if anything near that actually materializes. But, you know, that's all going to be private money. There's no US Taxpayer money that is slated for that. But at least, you know, in Trump's view, he got to be a part of the reveal there and get a little bit of the PR halo, if you will. 词汇表 bid [bɪd] 出价，投标 rebuff [rɪ'bʌf] 断然拒绝，回绝 twist [twɪst] 转折，变化 long-standing 长期存在的，由来已久的 confidant [ˈkɒnfɪdænt] 密友，心腹，知己 chief executive [ɪɡˈzekjʊtɪv] 首席执行官，总裁 consortium [kənˈsɔː(r)tiəm] 联盟，财团，企业集团 co-found [ˌkəʊˈfaʊnd] 共同创立，联合创建 stray from its mission [streɪ] 偏离其使命 critic ['krɪtɪk] 反对者，批评者 be embroiled in [ɪm'brɔɪld] 卷入，陷入 nonprofit [nɒnˈprɒfɪt] 非营利组织；非营利的 for-profit 营利性的 short shrift [ʃrɪft] 不理会，忽视，怠慢 throw shade [ʃeɪd] 暗讽，含沙射影，公开蔑视或贬低 swindler ['swɪndlə(r)] 骗子，骗取钱财的人 cool off 冷却，平静下来 dominance [ˈdɒmɪnəns] 优势，主导地位，支配地位 take office 就职，上任 inner sanctum ['sæŋktəm] 核心圈（某个组织或团体中最有权力、最核心的成员群体） infrastructure [ˈɪnfrəˌstrʌktʃə(r)] 基础设施 materialize [məˈtɪəriəlaɪz] 实现，成为现实 taxpayer [ˈtæksˌpeɪə(r)] 纳税人 slate [sleɪt] 安排，预定 PR 公关，公共关系 (public relations) halo [ˈheɪləʊ] 光环，荣光 🌟翻译，pdf及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】

Overcoming Negative Thought Patterns to Find Joy Very occasionally, we get a glimpse of what it might be like to be truly happy. Maybe it's late at night on a summer's evening; perhaps we've just recovered from an illness; we might have been deeply affected by a book or a piece of music and have gone on a walk on our own through the city or the countryside. And suddenly, a hugely mysterious thought descends on us: what if we didn't always have to be as sad and as anxious as we usually are? What if we could more properly appreciate the beauty and the potential that lie all around us? What if we noticed the trees and the interesting faces of strangers? What if we allowed ourselves to connect more deeply with people around us? What if we let go of our normal reserve and suspicion and fear? What if we surrendered to loving and to being loved? We intimate a possibility of joy on a vastly different scale to that which we ordinarily countenance. The standard, somewhat exasperated arguments against any such moods go like this. We need to sober up. We're not shamans or visionaries; there are some fixed, grand and important reasons why life is fundamentally awful. We have to earn a living. Our partner is often scratchy. People are mean. There is the house to look after. But more existentially, this is a journey of suffering. We didn't get to where we are today by training our eyes on the upsides. It all sounds sensible enough and surely on certain days, there is a great deal of logic here too. But what if the 'reality' we speak of doesn't fixedly ask anything as grim of us as we suppose? What if there are no genuine necessities that preclude higher levels of happiness; what if it was principally our own distorted psychology that gets in the way of a richer life? Many of us did not grow up in an atmosphere where joy was rewarded or deemed possible for long. Our childish appetite for giggling soon died down. Our parents may have been extremely worried, or angry, or sad, and we quickly got the message that we needed to keep our heads down and prepare ourselves for long winters of emotional deprivation. We became good students of a downbeat mindset; we attached ourselves to a philosophy of sadness. We learnt to expect little. Not for us states of runaway ecstasy, nor possibilities of love, nor transports of delight at being on the planet. Without necessarily noticing what happened and why, we developed into people who remain loyal to what was implicitly demanded of them in their early years; we are still in a mentality we were quietly coached for and had no alternative to aged seven or fourteen. But what if there were, in our adulthood, at this stage in our lives, no ongoing reasons to keep holding onto sadness and worry with our customary energy? What if we could dare to become fundamentally different, more open to joy and able to bear hope? We might go into friendships expecting that they could become sources of satisfaction; we might pick partners who didn't reinforce our sense of isolation; we might set up our interactions with others so that they could succeed. We might – in time – take on board one of the most shocking of all thoughts: what if we are not here to suffer? What if we could relocate our misery to where it belongs, a past we weren't able to choose, and aimed for something different going forward? What if we allowed ourselves to become more regular visitors to those still very unknown and understandably terrifying uplands of joy? We won't change this around in a day – or in a little film. But we might derive benefit from every spur we can get. 词汇表 get a glimpse of [ɡlɪmps] 瞥见，一睹，窥见 descend on [dɪˈsend] 降临，突然来到 reserve [rɪˈzɜː(r)v] 拘谨，矜持，内向 suspicion [sə'spɪʃ(ə)n] 怀疑，猜疑 surrender to [səˈrendə(r)] 完全投入，毫无保留地体验 intimate ['ɪntɪmət] 暗示，透露 vastly different [ˈvɑːs(t)li] 截然不同的 countenance ['kaʊntənəns] 接受，认可，赞同 exasperated [ɪɡˈzɑːspəˌreɪtɪd] 极厌烦的，被激怒的，恼怒的 sober up [ˈsəʊbə(r)] 清醒过来，冷静下来 shaman [ˈʃɑːmən] 巫师，萨满 visionary [ˈvɪʒən(ə)ri] 先知；有远见的人，梦想家 grand [ɡrænd] 重大的，宏大的 scratchy ['skrætʃi] 易怒的，让人感到不舒心的 existentially [ˌeɡzɪˈstenʃəli] 存在地，存在主义地 upside [ˈʌpsaɪd] 优点，好处，积极的方面 sensible ['sensəb(ə)l] 明智的，理智的，合理的 fixedly [ˈfɪksɪdli] 固定不变地，专注地 grim [ɡrɪm] 严厉的，冷酷的，可怕的 preclude [prɪˈkluːd] 妨碍，阻碍 principally ['prɪnsəp(ə)li] 主要地，大部分 distorted [dɪˈstɔːtɪd] 扭曲的；受到曲解的 get in the way 阻碍，妨碍 deem [diːm] 相信，认为，当成， childish ['tʃaɪldɪʃ] 孩子的；孩子气的； appetite [ˈæpətaɪt] 孩子的，稚嫩的；孩子气的 giggle ['ɡɪɡl] 傻笑，咯咯地笑 die down 减弱，渐熄 keep one's heads down 收敛自己，低调行事 emotional deprivation [ˌdeprɪˈveɪʃ(ə)n] 情感剥夺，情感缺失 🏫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】

Marriages in China hit record low New figures on marriage rates in China make worrying reading for the Chinese Communist Party, which has long tried to reverse the country's declining and aging population. Marriages fell by a fifth last year, a new low. Divorces also saw a slight increase. To unpack this further, let's cross to our China media analyst, Kerry Allen. If there's one main cause in China for marriage rates being really, really quite small now - I mean, 6.1 million marriages were registered in 2024 - it's the one child policy, which was in place between the years 1979 and 2015. It meant that parents could only have one child and it means now that the younger demographic are much, much smaller than the older demographic. So there's simply fewer people who are young who are able to get married. But that's just one reason. There have been a number of other factors in recent years that have meant that marriage rates have dropped. The government's blamed the COVID 19 pandemic, saying that people have not been able to go out and meet potential partners. There are other reasons as well. China's younger, working much more overtime nowadays due to a shrinking population. So they're not having time to go out and meet people. There are also social concerns, concerns about domestic violence. For example, a lot of young people, young women, don't want to be trapped in an abusive relationship. And there are as a whole just changing social attitudes towards marriage. Some people want to pursue further education or climb the employment ladder and marriage is no longer a high priority. What's the government doing about it? Well, it's tried to offer lots of different incentives. So in little villages you can buy a house for much cheaper if you're married. Things like this are happening. And the government's really tried to make it clear that this is a big priority. It wants people to get married in order to have more children so that there is a much bigger, younger demographic. But it's just something that young people are just not that interested in. I mean, young women are concerned that they might be forced back into traditional roles. You see a lot of comments on social media that young women are saying that they're concerned they're being turned back into baby making machines. And young men as well. I mean, they think that weddings are expensive and there are these traditional expectations that you have to buy a house as a prerequisite for marriage if you're male. And youth unemployment's been, well, it's Saturday, around 20% for the last few years. So a lot of young men are quite poor and the idea that they need to save towards a marriage, it's very low on their priority list. If this trend line continues though, it's pointing at a very scary future. It is, yes. There are a lot of concerns. I mean, this is why the government has really tried to ramp up this marriage message in recent years, because the older demographic, there's nobody to look after them. So there's this concern that, you know, who's going to look after the population over the age of 60. And already now over 21% of China's population is over 60. And not only that, there's a shrinking labor market, because, yeah, you've got a situation where there are fewer young people to fill in behind the jobs left by the older demographics. So who's going to look after the older demographic and who's going to do the job? 词汇表 marriage rate 结婚率 Chinese Communist Party ['kɒmjʊnɪst] 中国共产党，中共 reverse [rɪˈvɜː(r)s] 扭转，推翻，彻底改变 declining / shrinking population [dɪ'klaɪnɪŋ][ʃrɪŋkɪŋ] 人口下降，人口减少 aging population ['eɪdʒɪŋ] 人口老龄化 unpack [ʌn'pæk] 分析，剖析，说明 cross to 连线到，切换到，转到（嘉宾或节目环节） analyst [ˈænəlɪst] 分析者，分析师 register [ˈredʒɪstə(r)] 登记，注册 one child policy 一胎政策，独生子女政策 demographic [ˌdeməˈɡræfɪk] 群体，人口，人口统计数据 COVID 19 pandemic [ˌkəʊvɪd][pæn'demɪk] 新冠疫情 work overtime [ˈəʊvə(r)ˌtaɪm] 加班 domestic violence [də'mestɪk] 家庭暴力 abusive relationship [əˈbjuːsɪv] 虐待性关系（指亲密关系中身体、情感或心理上的虐待或控制） pursue further education [pə(r)ˈsjuː] 继续深造 climb the employment ladder [ˈlædə(r)] 在职场上晋升 high priority [praɪˈɒrəti] 高优先级，优先考虑的事情 incentive [ɪn'sentɪv] 激励，刺激，鼓励（措施、手段） baby making machine 生育机器 prerequisite [priːˈrekwəzɪt] 前提，先决条件，必备条件 ramp up [ræmp] 加强，增加，提升 labor market 劳动力市场 fill in behind 填补空缺，接替工作 🌟翻译，pdf及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】

The Strange Creatures below the Frozen Sea Seven Worlds, One Planet｜Antarctica This is by far the largest desert in the world. But the frozen surface of the sea hides a great secret. It may be hostile above the ice, but below it, conditions are so stable that life over millennia has had time to diversify. Creatures here grow to a great size. Predatory nemertean worms are three metres long. These dramas only become visible when speeded up. We're only just beginning to discover the details of the lives of such strange creatures. Nudibranchs are hermaphrodites. Each individual possesses both male and female reproductive organs. So, to mate, one nudibranch just needs to find another nudibranch. And any one will do. But nonetheless, this is a challenge when their tiny eyes can barely see. Some do get lucky. They're fertilising each other and both will produce young. When it's hard to find a partner, it pays not to have to worry about your gender. Sea anemones may look like plants, but, actually, are animals and feed by catching edible particles that drift within reach of their tentacles. But being rooted to the sea floor makes them vulnerable to predators. An ocean-going jellyfish, a metre or so across, searching for food. The jellyfish senses prey. But it's the sea anemones that have made the catch and they've grabbed a monster. A rare feast for these stationary predators. They devour their catch over the next four days. 词汇表 hostile [ˈhɒstaɪl] 艰苦的，恶劣的，不利的 millennia [mɪ'leniə] 一千年；千周年（millennium [mɪ'leniəm]的复数） predatory [ˈpredət(ə)ri] 捕食性的，食肉的 nemertean worm [ˈnɛmərˌtiːən] [wɜː(r)m] 线虫，线虫纲动物 nudibranch ['njuːdɪbræŋk] 海兔，海蛞蝓，裸鳃亚目动物 hermaphrodite [hɜː(r)ˈmæfrədaɪt] 雌雄同体的；雌雄同体 reproductive organ [ˌriːprəˈdʌktɪv][ˈɔː(r)ɡən] 生殖器官 mate [meɪt]（使）交配，成为配偶 fertilise [ˈfɜː(r)təlaɪz] 使受精，使受孕，使授粉；施肥于 sea anemone [əˈneməni] 海葵 edible particles [ˈedɪb(ə)l][ˈpɑː(r)tɪk(ə)lz] 可食用颗粒 tentacle [ˈtentək(ə)l]（海洋动物的）触手，触角 root [ˈruːt] 生根，扎根于，使固定 sea floor 海底，海床 be vulnerable to ['vʌln(ə)rəb(ə)l] 易受到…的攻击 predator [ˈpredətə(r)] 捕食者，捕食性动物 ocean-going 远洋航行的，远洋的 jellyfish [ˈdʒeliˌfɪʃ] 水母，海蜇 prey [preɪ] 猎物，被捕食的动物 feast [fiːst] 盛宴，宴会 stationary [ˈsteɪʃ(ə)n(ə)ri] 固定的，不动的，静止的 devour [dɪˈvaʊə(r)] 吞食，狼吞虎咽 catch 捕获物 🌍 更多文本内容、视频版和pdf见公众号【琐简】，回复"1"可进【打卡交流群】

Making friends as you age At school you're surrounded by people your own age. Of course you spend a lot of time with them, and so some of the best friendships are forged at school. But later in life, it's easy to lose touch – you work full-time, maybe start a family, and your old friends might be scattered across the country or even the world. A 2016 study in Finland found that after the age of 25, the number of friends someone has falls very quickly, and this number continues to decrease throughout a person's life. So when you're in your mid-to-late 20s, how can you make new friends? Radhika Sanghani, a BBC journalist, tasked herself with making new friends by saying 'yes' to any invitations that came her way. If a colleague asked her for lunch, she didn't shy away from it, and she soon made some of the closest friends she'd ever had. "We all message several times a week often leaving rambling voice notes; we host dinners at each other's houses; and we've all cried on each other at least once (the true mark of friendship)" she wrote in a 2018 article. The website Talk Twenties recommends joining a local class or group, like taking up running or joining a choir. Having something in common gives you something to talk about with your new acquaintances, which will hopefully then translate into meaningful relationships. When you don't have mutual interests with someone, it can be difficult to get past the small talk stage, where conversation can quickly fizzle out, and a class can help avoid this. Nowadays, there are also apps for meeting new people, like Bumble BFF or Meetup. Dr Robert Puff who writes for Psychology Today says solid friendships are essential for two main reasons. One is to help make life more enjoyable, and two is for support in difficult times – to make hardships more tolerable! As we grow up, we can feel like we're not in control of what's happening around us, but we can control our social life, so enrich your life with fulfilling friendships. 词汇表 forge [fɔː(r)dʒ] 建立，缔造，形成 lose touch 失去联系 work full-time 全职工作 scattered [ˈskætə(r)d] 分散的，离散的 Finland ['fɪnlənd] 芬兰 come one's way （机会、好运等）偶然出现，来到 shy away 畏缩，回避 rambling ['ræmblɪŋ] 杂乱无章的，漫无边际的，冗长而含糊的 voice notes 语音消息 take up 开始从事（某项活动） choir [ˈkwaɪə(r)] 唱诗班，合唱团 acquaintance [ə'kweɪntəns] 认识的人，熟人 mutual [ˈmjuːtʃuəl] 共有的，彼此的 small talk 闲聊，寒暄 fizzle out ['fɪz(ə)l] 以失败告终，告吹 BFF (Best Friends Forever) 永远的最好的朋友 solid friendship [ˈsɒlɪd] 牢固的友谊 hardship [ˈhɑː(r)dʃɪp] 艰难，困难 tolerable [ˈtɒl(ə)rəb(ə)l] 可忍受的，过得去的 be in control of 掌控，控制 📖 翻译、pdf见公众号【琐简英语】，回复"1"可进【打卡交流群】

How the world learned to love fast food Hello. This is 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English. I'm Phil. --And I'm Beth. Love it or hate it, there's no doubt fast food is popular. Are you a fast food fan, Beth? --Erm, not really, no. I think sometimes it can be quite convenient, obviously because it's quick, but not really. Well, whatever you think about them, fast food brands like KFC, Domino's and, of course the big one, McDonald's, are incredibly successful. --In this programme, we'll be discussing the global spread of fast food from its beginnings in 1950s America. As usual, we'll be learning some useful new words and phrases. But first, I have a question for you, Beth. Roughly how many fast food restaurants are there in the UK? Is it: a) 4,000? b) 42,000? or, c) four million? --I'm going to go for b) 42,000. --OK, well later on we'll find out the answer. In the United States, cheap and easy food like hamburgers, French fries and milkshakes have been popular since the 1950s. Listen as Adam Chandler, author of the book Drive-Thru Dreams, which traces the history of American fast food, tells BBC World Service programme, The Food Chain, how it all got started: At the heart of the story of fast food is a very 'anyone can do this' sense. A lot of the company founders didn't have a college degree, who didn't have a high school degree in a lot of instances, didn't come from money, were oftentimes just people who were ready to plug themselves into a system that would work for them. And it did. It made opportunity very, very easy in a time when that was a new part of the American experience. So it was the American dream in a very small way, that became the American dream in a very big way. The rise of fast food reflected the rise of American economic power after the Second World War. When Adam says that this lies at the heart of the story, he means it's the most important part of the story. In the 1950s, when the famous brands we know today were just beginning, anyone with a can-do attitude could sell fast food. A can-do attitude describes someone who is confident and determined to fix problems and achieve results. Which is exactly what happened at successful restaurants like Kentucky Fried Chicken and McDonald's. For many, these fast food brands symbolised The American dream - the idea that anyone in the United States can achieve success through hard work and determination. The success of KFC, McDonald's and the rest wasn't limited to America. Nowadays, you can visit two McDonald's on opposite sides of the planet and eat exactly the same meal. But not every country opened its arms in welcome – the tiny island of Iceland for one. Andie Sophia Fontaine, who used to work in McDonald's, now edits The Iceland Review. Here, she tells BBC World Service programme, The Food Chain, how McDonald's got a frosty reception when it started selling burgers in Iceland's capital, Reykjavik. There's been a long-standing burger culture in Iceland. They have their own take on the hamburger wherein they'll use lettuce, and raw cucumbers, and a type of fry sauce - that's called a shalpuborgari, or a shop burger, and that's been around for ages. Yeah, so McDonald's - they struggled to try to maintain a market. The final nail in the coffin was the global financial crisis in 2008/2009. Iceland already had a long-standing tradition of eating burgers – a tradition that had existed for a long time. For example, the shalpuborgari, or shop burger, was a take on – or variation of – the American hamburger. McDonald's weren't as successful in Iceland as they'd been elsewhere. And the global financial crash of 2008 was the final nail in the coffin, an event which caused the failure of something that had already started to go wrong. To this day there are no McDonald's in Iceland, unlike Britain, which reminds me of your question, Phil. --Yes. I asked you how many fast food restaurants there are in Britain. I asked you if there were 4,000, 42,000 or four million. And of course, the answer is 42,000 so you were right, well done! OK, let's recap the vocabulary we've learned, starting with at the heart of, meaning the most important part, or the cause, of something. If you say that someone has a can-do attitude, you mean they are confident to take action, fix problems and deal with new challenges. The American dream is the belief that everyone in the USA has the opportunity to be successful and happy if they work hard. The adjective, long-standing means having existed for a long time. A take on something means a variation, or new way of presenting it. And finally, the idiom, the final nail in the coffin, refers to an event that causes the final end of something that had already started to fail. Once again, our six minutes are up, but why not head over to the BBC Learning English website where you'll find a worksheet and quiz especially for this programme. See you there soon! Goodbye! 📝 翻译及pdf见公众号【琐简英语】，回复1可加入【打卡交流群】

Current warming 'unparalleled' in 2,000 years From the 'Roman Warm Period' to the 'Little Ice Age' that began in the 14th Century, the past two millennia have seen periods of hot and cold weather that have extended for centuries. As a result, many have argued that the current period of global warming that started with the Industrial Revolution is part of a natural pattern and the human role in creating it has been exaggerated. This new study suggests that is not the case. Scientists reconstructed the major climate events of the past 2,000 years by looking at around 700 records, including tree rings, ice cores and lake sediments. Not one single event affected as much of the world as the present period of warming is now doing. Other scientists who've looked at the study have been impressed by the quality of the research. The scientists involved argue that the new findings debunk many theories put forward by climate sceptics to explain the rise in temperatures, including variations in solar activity. The current period of climate change is mainly down to humans, they argue. Natural causes, they say, are simply not sufficient to explain the warming scene over the last century and a half. 词汇表 Roman Warm Period 罗马温暖期（指公元前250年至公元400年左右欧洲和北大西洋地区异常温暖的气候时期） Little Ice Age 小冰河期（指大约从14世纪到19世纪全球气温相对较低的时期） millennia [mɪ'leniə] 一千年（millennium [mɪ'leniəm] 的复数） the Industrial Revolution [ɪn'dʌstriəl][ˌrevəˈluːʃ(ə)n] 工业革命 exaggerate [ɪɡˈzædʒəreɪt] 夸大，夸张，言过其实 reconstruct [ˌriːkənˈstrʌkt] 重现；重建，修复 tree ring 树木的年轮 ice core 冰芯，冰核（指从冰川、冰盖或永久冻土中钻取的圆柱形冰样） lake sediment [ˈsedɪmənt] 湖泊沉积物 debunk [diːˈbʌŋk] 揭露……的真相，证明……是错误的 put forward 提出（想法或计划） climate sceptic ['skeptɪk] 气候怀疑论者（对全球变暖及其原因持怀疑态度的人） variation [ˌveərɪˈeɪʃ(ə)n] 变化，变动 solar activity [ˈsəʊlə(r)] 太阳活动 be down to 由…引起或造成 natural cause 自然因素 sufficient [sə'fɪʃ(ə)nt] 足够的，充足的 🗒️翻译和pdf见公众号【琐简英语】，回复1可加入【打卡交流群】

How to feel more in control of your time Time, according to Greek philosopher Theophrastus, is the most valuable thing you can spend. We may want more of it, but we're stuck with the same 24-hour wad every day of our lives. Beyonce's single Ladies was written in no more than 20 minutes. That's one stonking pop banger created in less than 2% of a day. Imagine what you could achieve in the other 98%. The question is, how? Well, how you think about time can actually help you use it more wisely, and could leave you a lot healthier and happier. 1. Make yourself feel time affluent You know that rare feeling of having plenty of time to do what you want? Psychologists call it 'time affluence', and it does a lot for your sense of wellbeing. Bizarre as it may sound, it's possible to make yourself feel more time-rich by handing over some of your hours to others. One study took a large group of people. Some of them helped others in their spare time – doing things like writing letters to cheer up a sick child – while the rest did whatever they liked. The helpers later felt they generally had more free time compared to the rest of the group despite giving some of it away. So rather than bingeing on that box set, do something for someone else. You'll end up feeling it's possible to achieve more in the time you have. 2. You have more time than you think. Now think about all those tiny chunks of your day when your brain isn't doing very much at all. Like going for a run, sitting on a bus, or making a cup of tea. Scott H Young, author of Ultralearning, specializes in making time work better for people. He sees these mini downtimes as chunks of opportunity to use more wisely. So how do you want to use that time? You could try 'productive meditation'. If something's turning out to be a pretty knotty problem, use your daily jog to focus your mind on your surroundings, and your subconscious may find a solution while your mind relaxes. Or while the kettle boils, listen to the sound of the water. Watch steam rising from the spout. Be truly mindful and in the moment. Evidence suggests that when you get back to your desk, you'll get a lot more done in the time you have. "Start creating habits,"Young says. You'll be surprised how much materializes, once you simply start doing things for a few minutes a day." Whatever route you take, bear in mind that several recent studies have shown that trying to fit more in by working longer hours can lead to stress and illness. And nobody wants that. 3. The holiday paradox Psychologist Claudia Hammond suggests that the best way to make free time feel worthwhile is to indulge in the holiday paradox. This says that doing something new sees your brain make an extra effort to remember it. So vary your routine, try new hobbies. Different experiences, however small, will be more rewarding, and when you're looking back on them, your sense of time will be expanded. 4. Time for yourself Did you realize that if you add up sleep (very important), eating and working, most of us have around five hours a day left to do what want to do. So take advantage of it. You could even write a fifth of a novel. John Boyne wrote The Boy in The Striped Pajamas in just two and a half days (not sure how much sleep he got though). Or you could climb to the top of Ben Nevis in five hours. If it was a weekend, you might have time to get down again. But don't be too hard on yourself if you just need that time to chill. A study in 2010 showed that playing computer games or watching TV can restore us emotionally and help us recover intellectually after a hard day. But you've got to buy into the experience totally, and don't feel guilty. Isn't that a relief? 词汇表 be stuck with 陷入困境，不得不面对 wad [wɒd] 一捆，一团，一堆 stonking ['stɒŋkɪŋ] 出色的，绝妙的 pop banger ['bæŋə(r)] 流行金曲 affluent [ˈæfluːənt] 充裕的，富足的 time affluence ['æflʊəns] 时间充裕感 bizarre [bɪˈzɑː(r)] 奇怪的，怪异的 hand over 交出，让与 binge on [bɪndʒ] 沉迷于；大量食用或消费某物 box set（可购买或下载的）电视剧（套装） chunk [tʃʌŋk] （时间的）一段；大部分，一块 ultralearning [ˌʌltrəˈlɜːrnɪ] 超速学习 downtime ['daʊntaɪm] 休息时间，停工期 productive meditation [ˌmedɪˈteɪʃ(ə)n] 高效冥想（指在进行无需太多脑力的活动时集中思考特定问题的冥想方式） knotty [ˈnɒti] 复杂的，难以解决的，棘手的 jog [dʒɒɡ] 慢跑；轻推 subconscious [ˌsʌbˈkɒnʃəs] 潜意识，下意识 spout [spaʊt] 管口，（容器的）嘴 mindful [ˈmaɪn(d)f(ə)l] 正念的；专注的，留意的 materialize [məˈtɪəriəlaɪz] 实现，成为现实 route [ruːt] 路线，方法，途径 bear in mind 牢记在心，记住 holiday paradox [ˈpærədɒks] 假期悖论（指的是回忆度假或经历新奇事物时，对时间的主观感受比实际时间更长） indulge in [ɪn'dʌldʒ] 沉浸于，尽情享受 vary [ˈveəri] 改变，变更，使多样化 rewarding [rɪˈwɔː(r)dɪŋ] 值得做的，有所收获的 take advantage of 充分利用；占便宜 hard on yourself 对自己要求过高，苛求自己 chill [tʃɪl] 放松 intellectually [ˌɪntəlˈektʃuəli] 智力上；理智地 buy into 参与，投身于（某个活动、计划等） 💡 翻译、视频版和pdf见公众号【琐简英语】，回复"1"可进【打卡交流群】

How do you know what's true? Sheila Marie Orfano | TED-Ed • June 2021 A samurai is found dead in a quiet bamboo grove. One by one, the crime's only known witnesses recount their version of the events that transpired. But as they each tell their tale, it becomes clear that every testimony is plausible, yet different. And each witness implicates themselves. This is the premise of "In a Grove," a short story published in the early 1920s by Japanese author Ryūnosuke Akutagawa. Though many know this tale of warring perspectives by a different name: "Rashomon." In 1950, Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa adapted two of Akutagawa's stories into one film. This movie introduced the world to an enduring cultural metaphor that has transformed our understanding of truth, justice and human memory. The Rashomon effect describes a situation in which individuals give significantly different but equally conceivable accounts of the same event. Often used to highlight the unreliability of eyewitnesses, the Rashomon effect usually occurs under two specific conditions. The first: there's no evidence to verify what really happened. And the second: there's pressure to achieve closure, often provided by an authority figure trying to identify the definitive truth. But the Rashomon effect undermines the very idea of a singular, objective truth. In the source material, Akutagawa and Kurosawa use the tools of their media to give each character's testimony equal weight, transforming each witness into an unreliable narrator. Without any hints on who's sharing the most accurate account, the audience can't tell which character to trust. Instead, each testimony takes on a truthful quality, and the audience is left doubting their convictions as they guess who ended the samurai's life. Some might find this frustrating because the plot subverts expectations of how mysteries usually end. But by refusing to provide a clear answer, these two artists capture the messiness and complexity of truth and human memory. Neuroscientists have found that when we form a memory, our interpretation of visual information is influenced by our previous experiences and internal biases. Some of these biases are unique to individuals, but others are more universal. For example, egocentric bias can influence people to subconsciously reshape their memories in ways that cast a positive light on their actions. Even if we were able to encode a memory accurately, recalling it incorporates new information that changes the memory. And when we later recall that event, we typically remember the embellished memory instead of the original experienc These underlying psychological phenomena mean that the Rashomon effect can pop up anywhere. In biology, scientists starting from the same dataset and applying the same analytical methods, frequently publish different results. Anthropologists regularly grapple with the impact personal backgrounds can have on an expert's perception. In one famous case, two anthropologists visited the Mexican village of Tepoztlan. The first researcher described life in the town as happy and contented, while the second recorded residents as paranoid and disgruntled. Experts aside, the Rashomon effect can also impact the general public, particularly when it comes to the perception of complicated world events. For example, following a 2015 security summit between the United States and leaders from the Arab States, media reports about the summit varied enormously. Some stated that it had gone smoothly, while others called it a complete failure. It's tempting to fixate on why we have competing perceptions, but perhaps the more important question the Rashomon effect raises is, what is truth anyway? Are there situations when an "objective truth" doesn't exist? What can different versions of the same event tell us about the time, place and people involved? And how can we make group decisions if we're all working with different information, backgrounds, and biases? Like most questions, these don't have a definitive answer. But the enduring importance of Akutagawa's story suggests there may be value in embracing the ambiguity. 🎬翻译、视频，词汇表和pdf见公众号【琐简英语】，回复"1" 可加入【打卡交流群】

Why forgetting is good for you? Have you ever bumped into someone and their name just doesn't come to you? Or, you walk into a room and suddenly can't recall why you're there? Being forgetful can be really annoying, sometimes even embarrassing. But what if I told you that there are actually good reasons for our memories fading away? In a BBC interview, neuroscientist Charan Ranganath uses a hoarding analogy. We don't tend to store everything we've ever owned in our house. Similarly, we don't need to store all our memories either. He says, "If we didn't forget anything, we'd be hoarding memories, and you'd never be able to find what you want, when you want it." For example, you don't need to remember the hotel number weeks after you've left the hotel or memorise all the faces you pass on the street. We also need to be able to forget things in order to update our memories with new information. Imagine you get used to the same school timetable or work schedule for a whole year, but the next year, you have new procedures or routines. Your brain needs to be flexible and forget irrelevant details in order to handle the new information. Or, maybe it's been 10 years since you last saw a distant relative. It's likely their face has changed a lot since then, so that memory needs to be updated as well. And, if you've ever been convinced that you know a word, but it just doesn't pop into your head, you're not alone. This tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon may suggest that some things are not fully forgotten, just currently inaccessible. Those with a higher level of knowledge are more affected by this, according to studies such as 'Impact of knowledge and age on tip-of-the-tongue rates', because their brains have to sort through more information to find the word. Memories are sometimes compared to a cliff: once they have crumbled, they are lost and cannot be retrieved. However, in their article 'Forgetfulness: Why your mind going blank can be a benefit', Sanjay Sarma and Luke Yoquinto write that forgetting, it seems, is "less like a cliff slowly collapsing into the sea, and more like a house deep in the woods that becomes harder and harder to find". 词汇表 bump into [bʌmp] 碰见，撞见 come to (someone)（想法或念头）在头脑里冒出，突然想起 recall [rɪˈkɔːl] 回想起，记起 forgetful [fə(r)ˈɡetf(ə)l] 健忘的，记性差的 fade away [feɪd] 消退，渐渐消失 neuroscientist [ˌnjʊərəʊˈsaɪəntɪst] 神经科学家 hoard [hɔː(r)d] 囤积，贮藏 analogy [ə'nælədʒi] 类比，比拟 store [stɔː(r)] 保存，储存 memorise [ˈmeməraɪz] 记住，记忆 timetable ['taɪmteɪb(ə)l] 时间表，行程安排 work schedule [ˈʃedjuːl] 工作安排，工作进度表 routine [ˌruːˈtiːn] 常规，惯例，例行公事 flexible ['fleksəb(ə)l] 灵活的，弹性的 irrelevant [ɪ'reləvənt] 无关紧要的；不相关的 distant relative ['relətɪv] 远亲，远房亲戚 pop into one's head 突然想到，突然产生念头 tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon [fəˈnɒmɪnən] 舌尖现象（话到嘴边却想不起来的现象） inaccessible [ˌɪnəkˈsesəb(ə)l] 难以达到的，不可获取的 sort through 筛选，整理 cliff [klɪf] 悬崖，峭壁 crumble ['krʌmb(ə)l] 崩塌，瓦解，减弱 retrieve [rɪˈtriːv] 重新取回，找回 forgetfulness [fə'ɡetflnəs] 健忘，记性差 go blank （头脑）一片空白 collapse into the sea [kə'læps] 坍塌入海 wood [wʊd] 树林，森林；木材 📖 翻译、pdf见公众号【琐简英语】，回复"1"可进【打卡交流群】

Trump blames diversity policies for US air crash What caused a passenger plane and a helicopter to collide in Washington on Wednesday night, killing all 67 people on board? It might seem way too soon to know. The investigation's likely to be long and painstaking, and yet one person is already pretty sure about what was behind it. Donald Trump has been outlining his theories, making sure first to say he'd been shaken by what happened. This was a dark and excruciating night in our nation's capital and in our nation's history, and a tragedy of terrible proportions. As one nation, we grieve for every precious soul that has been taken from us so suddenly. And we are a country of really, we are in mourning. But the US is also a country, Mr. Trump said, where mistakes have been made. He claimed his Democrat predecessors, Barack Obama and Joe Biden, had weakened safety measures. And he also blamed the encouragement of people from diverse backgrounds to apply for jobs they shouldn't have, something he claimed had happened at America's Federal Aviation Administration. The FAA's website states, they include hearing, vision, missing extremities, partial paralysis, complete paralysis, epilepsy, severe intellectual disability, psychiatric disability, and dwarfism. All qualify for the position of a controller of airplanes pouring into our country, pouring into a little spot, a little dot on the map. It wasn't exactly an explicit response, but after the President spoke, the chairwoman of the National Transportation Safety Board gave a news conference. Geneva Homendy emphasized that the accident required a thorough investigation to determine what had happened. We are all here because this is an all hands on deck event and we're here to assure the American people that we are going to leave no stone unturned in this investigation. We are going to conduct a thorough investigation of this entire tragedy, looking at the facts. 词汇表 passenger plane [ˈpæsɪndʒə(r)] 客机，载客飞机 helicopter [ˈhelɪˌkɒptə(r)] 直升机 collide [kə'laɪd]（尤指移动的物体）相撞，碰撞 on board [bɔː(r)d] 在飞机上，在火车上，在船上 painstaking [ˈpeɪnzˌteɪkɪŋ] 艰苦的，费力的，煞费苦心的 be behind it 是…的原因 outline [ˈaʊtlaɪn] 概述，略述；勾勒 excruciating [ɪkˈskruːʃiˌeɪtɪŋ] 极痛苦的，极坏的，糟糕透顶的 of terrible proportions [prəˈpɔː(r)ʃ(ə)nz] 极为严重的，惨重的 grieve for [ɡriːv] 哀悼，缅怀，为…悲痛 be in mourning [ˈmɔː(r)nɪŋ] 处于哀悼中，沉浸在悲痛之中 Democrat [ˈdeməkræt] 民主党人，民主主义者 predecessor [ˈpriːdɪˌsesə(r)] 前辈，前任；原有事物，前身 from diverse backgrounds [daɪˈvɜː(r)s] 多元背景的，来自不同背景的 Federal Aviation Administration ['fed(ə)rəl][ˌeɪviˈeɪʃ(ə)n] [ədˌmɪnɪˈstreɪʃ(ə)n] 联邦航空管理局(FAA) hearing, vision, missing extremities ['vɪʒ(ə)n][ɪkˈstremɪtiz] 听力（障碍），视力（障碍），肢体缺失 partial / complete paralysis [ˈpɑː(r)ʃ(ə)l][pə'ræləsɪs] 部分/完全瘫痪 epilepsy [ˈepɪˌlepsi] 癫痫，羊痫风 severe intellectual disability [sɪˈvɪə(r)] 严重智力障碍 psychiatric disability [ˌsaɪkiˈætrɪk][ˌdɪsəˈbɪləti] 精神残疾，精神障碍 dwarfism [ˈdwɔː(r)fˌɪz(ə)m] 侏儒症，矮小 controller [kənˈtrəʊlə(r)] 管制员，指挥员，管理者 pour into [pɔː(r)] 源源不断地涌入 explicit [ɪk'splɪsɪt] 明确的，清楚的 chairwoman [ˈtʃeə(r)ˌwʊmən] 女主席，女议长 National Transportation Safety Board 国家运输安全委员会(NTSB) news conference [ˈkɒnf(ə)rəns] 新闻发布会，记者招待会 all hands on deck [dek] 全体出动，全力以赴 leave no stone unturned [ˌʌn'tɜ:nd] 不遗余力，想尽办法 🌟翻译，pdf及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】

Wall squats and planks best at lowering blood pressure If you've never planked, it involves holding the starting position for a push-up. A wall squat requires you to hold a sitting position with your back against a wall. Both are isometric exercises, focusing on static strength training. According to a review of trials involving nearly 16,000 people, this type of exercise is the best way to lower blood pressure although all exercise is beneficial. Instead of pushing up the heart rate like running, researchers say it increases tension in the muscles and then prompts a sudden rush of blood when the exercise is over. 词汇表 plank [plæŋk] 平板支撑；做平板支撑运动 starting position 开始姿势，起始位置 push-up 俯卧撑 wall squat [skwɒt] 靠墙静蹲 sitting position 坐姿 isometric [ˌaɪsəʊˈmetrɪk] 等长的，等距的 static ['stætɪk] 静态的，静止的 strength training 力量训练，体能训练 trial ['traɪəl] 试验，试用 lower blood pressure 降低血压 push up the heart rate 提高心率 tension ['tenʃ(ə)n] 张力，拉伸，绷紧度 rush of blood 血液上涌，血液涌动 🗒️翻译和pdf见公众号【琐简英语】，回复1可加入【打卡交流群】