【一起听英语】如何应对无聊

无聊的时候人的反应之一是张大嘴巴大哈欠，真是这样吗？你无聊的时候会去做什么呢？

Rob: Hello I'm Rob. Welcome to 6 Minute English. I'm joined today by Finn. Hello

Finn.

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).

Rob: Great yawn, Finn! A yawn, of course, is that typical reaction of someone who

is bored.

Finn: Yeah, it's when you open your mouth wide and take some air in and slowly

out.

Rob: Okay. Let's make this a programme all about boredom¹, shall we? And I'll start

by stimulating² your imagination.

Finn: Thank you, but how are you going to make me excited and interested in

something, Rob?

Rob: How about I challenge you to a question you might not know the answer to?

Finn: Okay, well, you can try. Go on then.

Rob: Well, I know you like the theatre.

Finn: I do. But it has to be an exciting play or I get restless.

Rob: 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?

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Finn: That's quite an offer. What do you mean?

Rob: According to the Guinness Book of Records, the longest continuous dramatic

performance was held in New Jersey³, 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

Finn: Wow! They're all pretty long. I'll say b) 17 hours, Rob.

Rob: 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.

Finn: 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.

Rob: That's a good phrase - stuck in a rut. So you mean you've become too fixed⁴ in

one kind of job?

Finn: 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.

Rob: Well, guess what: even pilots get bored, you know?

Finn: Not when they are flying anyway.

Rob: Wrong. When they're up in the air!

Finn: No way! Really? I don't believe you!

Rob: 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?

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Missy Cummings , former fighter pilot:

Oh my gosh, sure, for the same reasons that commercial pilots get bored. These fighter jets

are very automated⁵ 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 highfrequency

radios… And so you get good about using the technology to figure out how to

stave off that boredom.

Finn: Ah, so she listened to a show hosted by the American presenter⁶ 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.

Rob: Yes, indeed.

Rob: But some experts think there's something good about feeling bored.

Finn: Really?

Rob: 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.

Tiffany Watt-Smith, Queen Mary University of London:

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.

Finn: So boredom spurs people on to change something. To spur on means to

stimulate⁷ or to encourage someone to do something.

Rob: So what are you going to do, Finn? How will you change your life?

Finn: Change my life? Okay. Two things. The first one is: I want to know if I got that

question right!

Rob: 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.

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Finn: Yes. The options were 8 hours, 17 hours and 23 hours, I think. And I said 17.

Was I right?

Rob: You were not!

Finn: Oh, no!

Rob: It was even longer.

Finn: Wow! 23!

Rob: 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?

Finn: 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…

Rob: 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?

Finn: We heard:

yawn

stimulating

restless

to cope with

stuck in a rut

to stave off

to spur on

Rob: Thanks Finn. That's it for this programme. I hope you didn't find it boring.

Finn: Not at all. I loved it!

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Rob: Please join us soon again for 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English.

Both: Bye.

1 boredom   

n.厌烦，厌倦，乏味，无聊

参考例句：

• Unemployment can drive you mad with boredom.失业会让你无聊得发疯。
• A walkman can relieve the boredom of running.跑步时带着随身听就不那么乏味了。

2 stimulating   

adj.有启发性的，能激发人思考的

参考例句：

• shower gel containing plant extracts that have a stimulating effect on the skin 含有对皮肤有益的植物精华的沐浴凝胶
• This is a drug for stimulating nerves. 这是一种兴奋剂。

3 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

4 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

5 automated   

a.自动化的

参考例句：

• The entire manufacturing process has been automated. 整个生产过程已自动化。
• Automated Highway System (AHS) is recently regarded as one subsystem of Intelligent Transport System (ITS). 近年来自动公路系统(Automated Highway System,AHS)，作为智能运输系统的子系统之一越来越受到重视。

6 presenter   

n.（电视、广播的）主持人，赠与者

参考例句：

• Most people think being a television presenter is exciting.很多人认为当电视节目主持人是一件刺激的事情。
• The programme dispensed with its most popular presenter.这个节目最受欢迎的主持人被换掉了。

7 stimulate   

vt.刺激，使兴奋；激励，使…振奋

参考例句：

• Your encouragement will stimulate me to further efforts.你的鼓励会激发我进一步努力。
• Success will stimulate the people for fresh efforts.成功能鼓舞人们去作新的努力。