美国国家公共电台 NPR Mindfulness Apps Aim To Help People Disconnect From Stress

 

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

Wildfires, hurricanes, confrontational¹ politics, nuclear threats. I mean, it is no wonder the American Psychological Association has found a significant increase in Americans' stress levels this year. So if you are looking for a way to unplug, NPR's health team has a couple things you might want to try. First Allison Aubrey reports on one tool that is gaining popularity. It starts with a simple download.

ALLISON AUBREY, BYLINE²: Imagine this environment - a babbling³ brook⁴, birds are singing and soothing⁵ sounds surrounds you.

(SOUNDBITE OF GONG CHIMING)

AUBREY: You don't have to go on a retreat to tap into this. Like a lot of you, I'll be sitting in traffic this morning. All I've done is download an app.

JASON PARCOVER: Right now I am looking at an app called Simply Being.

AUBREY: That's Jason Parcover, the director of the counseling center at Loyola University, Maryland. He says mindfulness is really based on this simple idea - stay in the present. Don't fixate on regrets of the past or worries about the future.

PARCOVER: These approaches help us to feel more relaxed, more calm in the moment.

AUBREY: And he says apps can help people get there. There are dozens of them, and some are very simple.

(SOUNDBITE OF GONG CHIMING)

AUBREY: If you just focus on this sound, you can clear your mind, and that can help you break the cycle of anxiety. Now, other apps provide guided meditations⁷, something like...

(SOUNDBITE OF UNIDENTIFIED MEDITATION⁶ APP)

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: Let yourself take a few minutes now to just blow in the wind.

AUBREY: Parcover says these apps are no replacement⁸ for training with a teacher or taking a class. On his campus, lots of students take a mindfulness workshop then use the apps to stick with the practice.

PARCOVER: I think that one of the struggles that folks have is having the discipline to build meditation into part of their lifestyle, and so apps can be a wonderful way to remind ourselves that we want to be doing this a few times a week.

AUBREY: Parcover says people should be skeptical⁹ of apps that make specific health claims, and they should not try to use them as a replacement for therapy.

PARCOVER: The apps really aren't at a place where they can be specifically tailored to the need of the individual.

AUBREY: But, he says, at a time when many of us are glued to our smartphones, always connected, using the technology as a way to disconnect has value. Allison Aubrey, NPR News.

1 confrontational   

adj.挑衅的；对抗的

参考例句：

• Fans love rappers partly because they strike such a confrontational pose. 乐迷热爱这些饶舌艺人一定程度上是因为他们所采取的那种战斗姿态。 来自互联网
• You prefer a non confrontational approach when it comes to resolving disputes. 面对争端，你不喜欢采用对抗性的手段来解决。 来自互联网

2 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

3 babbling   

n.胡说，婴儿发出的咿哑声adj.胡说的v.喋喋不休( babble的现在分词 )；作潺潺声（如流水）；含糊不清地说话；泄漏秘密

参考例句：

• I could hear the sound of a babbling brook. 我听得见小溪潺潺的流水声。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Infamy was babbling around her in the public market-place. 在公共市场上，她周围泛滥着对她丑行的种种议论。 来自英汉文学 - 红字

4 brook   

n.小河，溪；v.忍受，容让

参考例句：

• In our room we could hear the murmur of a distant brook.在我们房间能听到远处小溪汩汩的流水声。
• The brook trickled through the valley.小溪涓涓流过峡谷。

5 soothing   

adj.慰藉的；使人宽心的；镇静的

参考例句：

• Put on some nice soothing music.播放一些柔和舒缓的音乐。
• His casual, relaxed manner was very soothing.他随意而放松的举动让人很快便平静下来。

6 meditation   

n.熟虑，（尤指宗教的）默想，沉思，（pl.）冥想录

参考例句：

• This peaceful garden lends itself to meditation.这个恬静的花园适于冥想。
• I'm sorry to interrupt your meditation.很抱歉，我打断了你的沉思。

7 meditations   

默想( meditation的名词复数 )； 默念； 沉思； 冥想

参考例句：

• Each sentence seems a quarry of rich meditations. 每一句话似乎都给人以许多冥思默想。
• I'm sorry to interrupt your meditations. 我很抱歉，打断你思考问题了。

8 replacement   

n.取代，替换，交换；替代品，代用品

参考例句：

• We are hard put to find a replacement for our assistant.我们很难找到一个人来代替我们的助手。
• They put all the students through the replacement examination.他们让所有的学生参加分班考试。

9 skeptical   

adj.怀疑的，多疑的

参考例句：

• Others here are more skeptical about the chances for justice being done.这里的其他人更为怀疑正义能否得到伸张。
• Her look was skeptical and resigned.她的表情是将信将疑而又无可奈何。