英语听力精选进阶版 6364

You really should finish compiling that boring spreadsheet, but you just can't bring yourself to do it. Maybe it can wait a little longer? Or it might just disappear if you ignore it long enough? You know the feeling.

According to Professor Piers¹ Steel, of the Haskayne School of Business at the University of Calgary, 95% of people postpone² important tasks at some point. But for some, procrastination³ isn't occasional, but incessant⁴ and disruptive. Professor Joseph Ferrari, of DePaul University Chicago, found that 20% of the population of the world are chronic⁵ procrastinators. Sadly, delaying our duties isn't very good for us: task-avoiders are less happy, less healthy and less wealthy than people who tackle tasks immediately.

We like to tell ourselves that we work better under pressure, when a deadline is looming⁷. But the truth is that working at the last minute is counterproductive: we make more mistakes, our behaviour annoys other people and we end up feeling guilty and ashamed. Worse still, we risk wasting a significant portion of our life putting off tasks that will only come back to haunt us later. As the poet Edward Young wrote: "Procrastination is the thief of time".

Piers Steel gives us some advice to help us confront important tasks. He suggests breaking it into smaller chunks⁹ and taking baby steps until the task at hand has been completed. Or you could give a friend ￡50 and tell them that if you don't go through with it, they can give it away to a cause or a political party you dislike.

Those who are highly-organised and efficient won't need to take heed¹⁰ of this advice. For everyone else: will you start following these tips and confront those urgent tasks that await you today? Or will you stop procrastinating¹¹ tomorrow... or perhaps the day after?

Quiz 测验

1. What is a procrastinator⁶?

A procrastinator is someone who postpones¹² important tasks and duties until a later date, rather than confronting them.

2. Find four verbs in the article that mean 'to wait until later to do something important'?

To postpone, to procrastinate¹³, to delay, to put off.

3. Why can working at the last minute be a problem?

When we work at the last minute we make more mistakes, our behaviour can be irritating for others and we feel a sense of guilt⁸ and shame.

4. Find an expression in the article that means 'to take one small step at a time to accomplish something'?

To take baby steps.

5. Is the following statement true, false or not given? Professor Piers Steel will give you money if you stop procrastinating.

False. Professor Piers Steel suggests you give money to one of your friends and tell them they can give it away to a cause you dislike if you don't complete the task.

Glossary 词汇表

to bring yourself 让自己（做什么）

to postpone 推迟，延迟

procrastination 拖延，耽搁

procrastinators 拖延者，拖拉者

to delay推 迟，拖延

a duty 一项责任

a task-avoider 一个任务逃避者

to tackle 着手处理（或对付）

under pressure 在压力下

counterproductive 产生反效应

to put off 推迟，延期

to confront 面对

to take baby steps 小步小步向前走，慢慢来

to go through with it 必须面对，必须撑下去

highly-organised 非常有条理的

to take heed of 留意，注意

1 piers   

n.水上平台( pier的名词复数 )；（常设有娱乐场所的）突堤；柱子；墙墩

参考例句：

• Most road bridges have piers rising out of the vally. 很多公路桥的桥墩是从河谷里建造起来的。 来自辞典例句
• At these piers coasters and landing-craft would be able to discharge at all states of tide. 沿岸航行的海船和登陆艇，不论潮汐如何涨落，都能在这种码头上卸载。 来自辞典例句

2 postpone   

v.延期，推迟

参考例句：

• I shall postpone making a decision till I learn full particulars.在未获悉详情之前我得从缓作出决定。
• She decided to postpone the converastion for that evening.她决定当天晚上把谈话搁一搁。

3 procrastination   

n.拖延，耽搁

参考例句：

• Procrastination is the father of failure. 因循是失败的根源。
• Procrastination is the thief of time. 拖延就是浪费时间。

4 incessant   

adj.不停的，连续的

参考例句：

• We have had incessant snowfall since yesterday afternoon.从昨天下午开始就持续不断地下雪。
• She is tired of his incessant demands for affection.她厌倦了他对感情的不断索取。

5 chronic   

adj.(疾病)长期未愈的，慢性的；极坏的

参考例句：

• Famine differs from chronic malnutrition.饥荒不同于慢性营养不良。
• Chronic poisoning may lead to death from inanition.慢性中毒也可能由虚弱导致死亡。

6 procrastinator   

n. 拖延者, 拖拉者, 因循者

参考例句：

• General Peckem's communications about cleanliness and procrastination made Major Major feel like a filthy procrastinator. 佩克姆将军谈到清洁和拖延的那些简报，使梅杰少校感到自己象一个邋遢的、作风拖拉的家伙。
• This is also a great help if you are a procrastinator. 如果你是一个拖拉的人，这样会对你很有帮助。

7 looming   

n.上现蜃景（光通过低层大气发生异常折射形成的一种海市蜃楼）v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的现在分词 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近

参考例句：

• The foothills were looming ahead through the haze. 丘陵地带透过薄雾朦胧地出现在眼前。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Then they looked up. Looming above them was Mount Proteome. 接着他们往上看，在其上隐约看到的是蛋白质组山。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 回顾与展望

8 guilt   

n.犯罪；内疚；过失，罪责

参考例句：

• She tried to cover up her guilt by lying.她企图用谎言掩饰自己的罪行。
• Don't lay a guilt trip on your child about schoolwork.别因为功课责备孩子而使他觉得很内疚。

9 chunks   

厚厚的一块( chunk的名词复数 )； （某物）相当大的数量或部分

参考例句：

• a tin of pineapple chunks 一罐菠萝块
• Those chunks of meat are rather large—could you chop them up a bIt'smaller? 这些肉块相当大，还能再切小一点吗？

10 heed   

v.注意，留意；n.注意，留心

参考例句：

• You must take heed of what he has told.你要注意他所告诉的事。
• For the first time he had to pay heed to his appearance.这是他第一次非得注意自己的外表不可了。

11 procrastinating   

拖延，耽搁( procrastinate的现在分词 )； 拖拉

参考例句：

• Begin while others are procrastinating. Save while others are wasting. 当别人拖延时你开始。当别人浪费时你节约。
• Before adjourning, councillors must stop procrastinating and revisit this controversial issue. 在休会之前，参议员必须停止拖延，重新讨论这个引起争议的问题。

12 postpones   

v.延期，推迟( postpone的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• So it at least postpones the amount of taxes on due. 因此它至少推延了税金的交纳。 来自互联网
• Even if it does, this just postpones the day of reckoning. 但即便如此，也只是推迟了不得不解决根本问题的日子而已。 来自互联网

13 procrastinate   

v.耽搁，拖延

参考例句：

• Most often we procrastinate when faced with something we do not want to do.面对不想做的事情，我们经常拖延。
• It's easy to procrastinate when the deadline seems infinitely far away.当最终期限总是遥遥无期时是很容易延期的。