Dealing with boredom

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

哈欠好极了，芬恩！ 当然，打哈欠是无聊者的典型反应。

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

是的，就是当你张开嘴，吸入一些空气，然后慢慢呼出时。

Rob Okay. Let's make this a programme all about boredom, shall we? And I'll start by stimulating your imagination.

好的。 让我们把这个节目变成一个关于无聊的节目，好吗？ 我将从激发你的想象力开始。

Finn Thank you, but how are you going to make me excited and interested in something, Rob?

谢谢你，但是你要如何让我对某件事感到兴奋和感兴趣，罗布？

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

我向你挑战一个你可能不知道答案的问题怎么样？

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

好吧，你可以试试。 再接再厉。

Rob Well, I know you like the theatre.

嗯，我知道你喜欢戏剧。

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

我愿意。 但它必须是一场令人兴奋的比赛，否则我会焦躁不安。

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?

不安，是指因为感到无聊或担心而无法安静地坐着。 好的。 不知道您观看最长连续播放记录有何感受？

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

这是一个相当不错的报价。 你是什么意思？

Rob 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:

据吉尼斯纪录记载，连续时间最长的戏剧表演是2010年在美国新泽西州举行的。但是你知道尤金·尤内斯库的《秃头女高音》的演员们在舞台上呆了多久吗？ 是为了：

a) 8 hours

a）8小时

b) 17 hours

b) 17小时

c) 23 hours

c) 23小时

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

哇！ 它们都相当长。 我会说 b) 17 小时，罗布。

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.

天哪！ 正确的。 好的。 我会在节目结束时告诉你答案。 现在，让我们更多地谈谈无聊。 我认为这是一种我们必须学会如何应对的感觉。

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.

是的，我们必须学会成功地处理这种情况——应对它。 但人们常常觉得他们想要改变他们的生活，改变他们的工作。 他们可能会觉得墨守成规。

Rob That's a good phrase - stuck in a rut. So you mean you've become too fixed in one kind of job?

这句话说得好——墨守成规。 那么你的意思是你已经变得太固定于一种工作了？

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.

是的。 你知道罗布，即使我有时也会梦想一些更令人兴奋的事情，比如成为一名专业潜水员，甚至可能成为一架速度非常快的飞机的飞行员。

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

好吧，你猜怎么着：即使是飞行员也会感到无聊，你知道吗？

Finn Not when they are flying anyway.

无论如何，当他们飞行时就不会。

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

错误的。 当他们在空中的时候！

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

决不！ 真的吗？ 我不相信你！

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?

米西·卡明斯是一位美国人，是一名战斗机飞行员。 听听她使用的动词短语，意思是为了不再感到无聊，至少暂时是这样。 战斗机飞行员有感到无聊的时候吗？

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.

天哪，当然，这和商业飞行员感到无聊的原因是一样的。 这些战斗机在保持高度和航向方面非常自动化。 所以你把一切都变成自动驾驶仪，我可能在高频收音机上听了更多奥普拉·温弗瑞的电视节目……所以你可以很好地利用这项技术来找出如何避免无聊的方法。

Finn 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，所以她在广播里听了美国主持人奥普拉主持的节目来打发无聊。 现在，save off 的意思是停止或远离不愉快的感觉。 在这种情况下，她的意思是无聊。

Rob Yes, indeed.

确实是的。

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

但一些专家认为感到无聊有好处。

Finn Really?

真的吗?

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.

让我们听听蒂芙尼·瓦特·史密斯怎么说。 她在伦敦玛丽女王大学情感史中心工作。 注意她用来描述无聊对人们造成的影响的词。

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，人们担心忙碌和无聊。 另一方面，人们对我们有更多的停机时间感到担忧，你知道。 我们可以在公交车站经常查看手机。 一切都要被填满，这对我们的思想有什么影响？ 我认为无聊是一种非常有用的情绪。 这是一种激励人们改变环境的情感。 如果你感到无聊，那就会产生创造力。

Finn So boredom spurs people on to change something. To spur on means to stimulate or to encourage someone to do something.

因此，无聊会促使人们做出改变。 刺激意味着刺激或鼓励某人做某事。

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

那么你要做什么，芬恩？ 你将如何改变你的生活？

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

改变了我的生活？ 好的。 两件事情。 第一个是：我想知道我是否答对了这个问题！

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.

那么我在节目一开始就说了，连续时间最长的戏剧表演是2010年在美国新泽西州举行的。我问大家，演尤金·尤内斯库的《秃头女高音》，演员们在舞台上表演了多长时间。

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

是的。 我认为选项有 8 小时、17 小时和 23 小时。 我说17。我说得对吗？

Rob You were not!

你答的不对！

Finn Oh, no!

哦，不!

Rob It was even longer.

甚至更长。

Finn Wow! 23!

哇, 23小时!

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?

根据吉尼斯纪录，该剧持续了23小时33分54秒。 2010 年 7 月 27 日，The 27 O'Clock Players 在美国新泽西州贝尔马表演了《秃头女高音》，取得了这一成就。 不管怎样，芬恩，为了打发无聊，你要做的第二件事是什么？

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…

你知道吗，罗布？ 我要为自己预订一个美妙的假期！ 也许我可以先去阿根廷的巴塔哥尼亚看看企鹅……

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?

是的，听起来很令人兴奋。 但在您前往巴塔哥尼亚之前，您能否提醒我们今天听到的一些英语单词？

Finn We heard:

我们听到了

yawn

打哈欠

stimulating

刺激

restless

不安

to cope with

处理

stuck in a rut

墨守成规

to stave off

避开

to spur on

鞭策

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

谢谢芬恩。 本期节目就到此为止。 我希望你不会觉得这很无聊。