英语听力精选进阶版 6296

How long could you listen to someone talking about the evolution of the electric hand-dryer without yawning and becoming restless?

How about listening to a man talking about what makes him sneeze or finding out about British motorways¹?

If all this sounds mind-numbingly dull, it's a good thing that you missed a recent one-day event called Boring 2011, in which these and other tedious topics were discussed.

Contrary to what you might expect, the conference was sold out and judging by the press reports of the day, the crowd were far from bored stiff. In fact, they were engaged and stimulated².

The aim of Boring 2011 was to celebrate "the mundane³, the obvious and the overlooked". The organiser James Ward⁴ sees boredom⁵ as a reaction against the noise and overstimulation of modern media and advertising⁶:

"Boring is the opposite of that. It's slow, makes you think more. It's about stillness and patience."

So can watching paint dry really be a positive experience?

Some psychologists think so. Dr Richard Ralley from Edge Hill College in Lancashire thinks that boredom during holidays could benefit pupils, since it gives their brains a chance to rest. (There's no rest for their parents of course – by the end of the summer the kids are climbing the walls.)

Let's face it – most of us have to learn to deal with monotony. How else would we survive all those dreary⁷ household chores, that repetitive trip to work or, worst of all, that coma-inducing meeting in the afternoon?

Quiz 小测验

1. Name three subjects discussed at the event Boring 2011.

The evolution of hand-driers, British motorways and sneezing.

2. Why could boredom be a reaction against our current culture, according to the article?

The event's organiser James Ward said that it goes against the noise and overstimulation of modern media and advertising.

3. What sort of dull activities are people subjected to today?

Household chores, repetitive trips to work and boring meetings.

4. Look at the article. What phrase is used to describe feeling very restless?

Climbing the walls.

5. Look at the article. What are two words which mean the opposite of bored?

Engaged, stimulated.

Glossary⁸ 词汇表

yawning 打哈欠

restless 烦躁，坐立不安

mind-numbingly dull 给人造成头昏脑胀的感觉

tedious 枯燥乏味的，沉闷的

bored stiff 无聊透顶

engaged 参予（活动），有互动

stimulated 受鼓舞，受启发

mundane 非常平凡

overlooked 忽略了

stillness 平静

like watching paint dry 喻某事太过单调无味。

climbing the walls 喻坐不住，想活动的感觉

monotony 单调

dreary 枯燥的,令人生厌的

repetitive 重复的

coma-inducing 喻让人无聊到简直要进入休眠状态。

1 motorways   

n.高速公路( motorway的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Most of Britain's motorways radiated from London. 英国的大多数公路从伦敦向四方延伸。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Cuba is well served by motorways. 古巴的高速公路四通八达。 来自辞典例句

2 stimulated   

a.刺激的

参考例句：

• The exhibition has stimulated interest in her work. 展览增进了人们对她作品的兴趣。
• The award has stimulated her into working still harder. 奖金促使她更加努力地工作。

3 mundane   

adj.平凡的；尘世的；宇宙的

参考例句：

• I hope I can get an interesting job and not something mundane.我希望我可以得到的是一份有趣的工作，而不是一份平凡无奇的。
• I find it humorous sometimes that even the most mundane occurrences can have an impact on our awareness.我发现生活有时挺诙谐的，即使是最平凡的事情也能影响我们的感知。

4 ward   

n.守卫，监护，病房，行政区，由监护人或法院保护的人（尤指儿童）；vt.守护，躲开

参考例句：

• The hospital has a medical ward and a surgical ward.这家医院有内科病房和外科病房。
• During the evening picnic,I'll carry a torch to ward off the bugs.傍晚野餐时，我要点根火把，抵挡蚊虫。

5 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。

6 advertising   

n.广告业；广告活动 a.广告的；广告业务的

参考例句：

• Can you give me any advice on getting into advertising? 你能指点我如何涉足广告业吗?
• The advertising campaign is aimed primarily at young people. 这个广告宣传运动主要是针对年轻人的。

7 dreary   

adj.令人沮丧的，沉闷的，单调乏味的

参考例句：

• They live such dreary lives.他们的生活如此乏味。
• She was tired of hearing the same dreary tale of drunkenness and violence.她听够了那些关于酗酒和暴力的乏味故事。

8 glossary   

n.注释词表；术语汇编

参考例句：

• The text is supplemented by an adequate glossary.正文附有一个详细的词汇表。
• For convenience,we have also provided a glossary in an appendix.为了方便，我们在附录中也提供了术语表。