如何应对无聊 Dealing with boredom

Hello I’m Rob. Welcome to 6 Minute English. I’m joined today by Finn. Hello Finn.
大家好，我是Rob，欢迎收听六分钟英语。今天我的搭档是Finn，你好，Finn。
Hi Rob. You know, I’m happy you called me to present this programme with you because I was there by my desk feeling a bit bored (yawns loudly).
你好，Rob。你知道吗，你让我来和你一起做节目我可高兴了，因为刚才我坐在桌子前无聊的快要睡着了（打哈欠）。
Great yawn, Finn! A yawn, of course, is that typical reaction of someone who is bored.
好大一个哈欠啊，Finn！没错，打哈欠可是人们无聊的一个典型表现。
Yeah, it’s when you open your mouth wide and take some air in and slowly out.
是的，打哈欠的时候我们会张大嘴巴，吸进空气，然后慢慢的呼出来。
Okay. Let’s make this a programme all about boredom, shall we? And I’ll start by stimulating your imagination.
好的，那我们今天的节目就来讲讲无聊吧，怎么样？我想先来激发一下你的想象力。
Thank you, but how are you going to make me excited and interested in something, Rob?
那我可得谢谢你，你打算怎样让我兴奋起来呢，Rob？
How about I challenge you to a question you might not know the answer to?
不如让我来问你个问题吧？答案你很有可能不知道噢。
Okay, well, you can try. Go on then.
好啊，来吧，试试看。
Well, I know you like the theatre.
恩，我知道你喜欢去剧院。
I do. But it has to be an exciting play or I get restless.
是的，但是节目一定要好，不然我就会很不耐烦。
Restless, you mean unable to sit still because you get bored or worried even. Okay. I wonder how you’d feel watching the longest continuous play recorded?
不耐烦，你是说你会坐不住，因为感觉无聊甚至有些烦恼，对吗。我想知道当你看一部超长的连续播放的剧目的时候会是什么感觉？
That’s quite an offer. What do you mean?
听起来很有意思。你的意思是？
According to the Guinness Book of Records, the longest continuous dramatic performance was held in New Jersey, in the US, in 2010. But do you know how long the cast for The Bald Soprano by Eugene Ionesco, was on stage for? Was it for about: a) 8 hours b) 17 hours c) 23 hours
根据吉尼斯世界记录的记载，世界上最长的连续的戏剧表演在2010年的美国新泽西上演。你知道Eugene Ionesco创作的《The Bald Soprano》在台上总共演了多久吗？选项有：a)8小时b)17小时c)23小时
Wow! They’re all pretty long.I’ll say b) 17 hours, Rob.
哇，都这么长啊。我选b吧，17个小时。
Goodness! Right. Okay. I’ll let you know the answer by the end of the programme. Now, let’s talk more about boredom. I think this is a feeling we have to learn how to cope with.
哎呀！好吧。节目的最后我会告诉你答案。现在，让我们接着聊关于“无聊”的话题我想这是一种需要我们自己去调节的情绪。
Yes, we have to learn to deal with this situation successfully – to cope with it. But people often feel they want to change their life, to change their job. They might feel stuck in a rut.
没错，我们需要学会成功地处理这种情绪。但是人们常常感觉想要改变自己的生活，或者换工作。他们或许会感到自己的生活是一成不变的。
That’s a good phrase - stuck in a rut. So you mean you’ve become too fixed in one kind of job?
没错——一成不变这个词用的好。那么你的意思是说我们被重复同样的工作所牵绊了吗？
Yes. You know Rob, even I sometimes dream of something a bit more exciting like being a professional diver or maybe even a pilot of a really fast plane.
是的，你知道吗，Rob。甚至有的时候我也会幻想自己从事一种更有趣的工作，比方说专业潜水员，或者高速飞机的飞行员。
Well, guess what: even pilots get bored, you know?
但是你知道吗，甚至连飞行员也会感到无聊的。
Not when they are flying anyway.
他们在飞行的时候可不会无聊吧。
Wrong. When they’re up in the air!
那你就错啦。他们在空中的飞行时候的确会感到无聊！
No way! Really? I don’t believe you!
不是吧！真的吗？我不相信！
Well, Missy Cummings, an American, was a fighter pilot. Listen to the phrasal verb she uses meaning to stop being bored, at least for a while.Is there ever time for a fighter pilot to get bored?
Missy Cummings是一名美国的战斗机飞行员。下面让我们来听听她用了什么短语动词来表示打发无聊的，至少稍微少无聊那么一点吧。战斗机飞行员会感到无聊吗？
Oh my gosh, sure, for the same reasons that commercial pilots get bored. These fighter jets are very automated when it comes to just holding altitude and heading. So you turn everything in autopilot and I probably listened to more Oprah Winfrey TV shows on the high-frequency radios… And so you get good about using the technology to figure out how to stave off that boredom.
噢天哪，当然了，我们无聊的原因和商业航空飞行员们是一样的。当只需要保持高度和航向的时候，这些战斗机是高度自动化的。我们只需要把一切都交给自动驾驶装置，所以这个时候我就会干点别的事，比方说用高频无线电收听Oprah Winfrey的脱口秀节目……所以当使用这些高科技来打发无聊的时候，我就会感觉好多了。
Ah, so she listened to a show hosted by the American presenter Oprah Winfrey on the radio to stave off her boredom. Now, to stave off means to stop or to keep an unpleasant feeling away. In this case she means boredom.
啊，这么说她是通过收听美国主持人Oprah Winfrey的节目来打发无聊的啊。打发无聊指的是做什么事情来停止无聊或者让不舒服的感觉远离自己。在这里指的就是无所事事的感觉。
Yes, indeed.
是的，没错。
But some experts think there’s something good about feeling bored.
但是一些专家指出，无聊也是有好处的。
Really?
是吗？
Let’s hear what Tiffany Watt-Smith has to say. She works for the Centre for the History of Emotions at the Queen Mary University of London. Pay attention to the word she uses to describe what boredom does to people.
让我们来听听Tiffany Watt-Smith是怎么说的吧。她在伦敦大学玛丽女王学院的情感历史中心工作，请大家注意一下她是如何描述无聊的情绪对人们的影响的。
On the one hand people are worried about being under-occupied and bored. On the other there’s a set of anxieties about us having any more downtime, you know. We can constantly check our phones at the bus stop. Everything is to be filled and what does that do to our minds? I think boredom is a very useful emotion. It’s an emotion which spurs people on to change something about their environment. If you’re bored that gives rise to creativity.
一方面，人们担心自己无所事事或者无聊。而另一方面，对于停止工作我们又是充满焦虑的。我们会在车站等车的时候不时地查看自己的手机。如果我们的大脑被各种各样的事情所充斥，我们会怎样呢？在我看来，无聊是一种非常有益的情绪。它会刺激人们去改变他们所处的环境。如果你感到无聊了，你就会想方设法去创造些什么。
So boredom spurs people on to change something. To spur on means to stimulate or to encourage someone to do something.
所以无聊会激励人们去改变。激励意思就是刺激或者鼓励人们去做什么。
So what are you going to do, Finn?How will you change your life?
所以你打算怎么做呢，Finn？你打算怎样改变自己的生活？
Change my life? Okay. Two things. the first one is: I want to know if I got that question right!
改变生活？好吧，我要做两件事。第一件事就是：我想知道一开始你问我的那个问题的答案！
Well I said at the beginning of the programme that the longest continuous dramatic performance was held in New Jersey, US, in 2010. And I asked you how long was the cast on stage for to play The Bald Soprano by Eugene Ionesco.
好吧，我在节目一开始告诉过你，世界上最长的连续表演是在2010年的美国新泽西上演的。我问的问题是，Eugene Ionesco的《The Bald Soprano》总共在台上表演了多长时间。
Yes. The options were 8 hours, 17 hours and 23 hours, I think. And I said 17. Was I right?
是的，选项有8小时，17小时还有23小时。我说的是17个小时。我答对了吗？
You were not!
没有！
Oh, no!
噢，不！
It was even longer.
时间要更长一点。
Wow! 23!
天啊，23个小时！
According to the Guinness Book of Records, the play lasted 23 hours, 33 minutes and 54 seconds. It was achieved by The 27 O’Clock Players who performed The Bald Soprano at Belmar, New Jersey, USA, on 27 July 2010. Anyway Finn, what’s the second thing you’re going to do to stave off your boredom?
根据吉尼斯纪录，那场剧共表演了23个小时33分钟54秒。纪录被表演《The Bald Soprano》的The 27 O‘Clock Players所取得，时间是2010年7月27日，在美国的新泽西州。那么Finn，你打发无聊要做的第二件事情是什么呢？
You know what, Rob? I’m going to book myself a fantastic holiday! Maybe I could start with a visit to Patagonia in Argentina to see the penguins…
你知道吗，Rob?我要给自己放一个大假！或许我可以去阿根廷的巴塔哥尼亚看企鹅去……
Yeah, it sounds very exciting.But before you head off to Patagonia, could you remind us of some of the English words we’ve heard today?
恩，听起来很有趣。在你去巴塔哥尼亚之前，你能和大家再来复习一下今天听到的单词吗？
We heard: yawn stimulating restless to cope with stuck in a rut to stave off to spur on
我们听到的有：打哈欠刺激，激励不耐烦的处理，应付呆板无趣，一成不变避开，挡开，打发激励，鞭策；
Thanks Finn. That’s it for this programme. I hope you didn’t find it boring.
谢谢Finn。今天的节目到这就要结束啦。希望你不会觉着无聊。
Not at all. I loved it!
一点不会。我很喜欢！
Please join us soon again for 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English.
希望大家下次继续收听我们的六分钟英语节目。
Bye.
再见。