Hello and welcome to 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English. I'm Rob.

大家好，歡迎收看 BBC Learning English 的 6 分鐘英語節目。我是羅布。

And I'm Georgina.

我叫喬治娜

Now Georgina, how resilient are you?

喬治娜，你有多大的毅力？

Resilient? You mean able to cope with difficult situations.

復原力？你是指能夠應對困難的情況。

I have a pile of work to do today but I'm remaining calm and not getting stressed.

我今天有一大堆工作要做，但我保持冷靜，沒有壓力。

Well that's good. You are showing resilience.

這很好。你表現出了堅韌不拔的精神。

And today we're discussing whether we're born with resilience or we have to learn it.

今天，我們要討論的是，我們是否天生就具備抗挫折能力，還是必須通過後天學習才能具備這種能力。

OK Rob, but first I expect you're going to ask me a question. Bring it on.

好吧，羅伯，但首先我想你會問我一個問題。問吧

OK. Resilience is also a word used in science to describe the characteristic of a substance or object. But what does it mean? a. That it's very tough or hard. b. That it can return to its original shape after being bent. c. It can turn from a solid into a liquid quickly.

好的。彈性也是科學中用來描述物質或物體特性的一個詞。a. 非常堅韌或堅硬。 b. 彎曲後能恢復原狀。 c. 能迅速從固態變為液態。

I have a feeling it means b. An object that returns to its original shape after being bent.

我覺得它的意思是 b. 彎曲後能恢復原狀的物體。

OK, I'll let you know if you were correct at the end of the programme.

好吧，節目結束時我會告訴你你是否正確。

But let's talk more about human resilience. There are many self-help books and motivational speakers all promising us we can learn to be resilient.

但我們還是來談談人類的復原力吧。有許多自助書籍和勵志演講者都向我們承諾，我們可以學會堅韌不拔。

Well, it is a useful trait to have and it's something that can help you deal with many difficult situations, from coping with the pressures of work to handling the death of a loved one. And it's more than just telling someone to toughen up or get a grip, as Dr David Wesley knows. He is Head of Psychology at Middlesex University and talked about levels of resilience on the BBC World Service programme, The Why Factor.

嗯，這是一個有用的特質，它可以幫助你應對許多困難的情況，從應對工作壓力到處理親人去世的問題。正如大衛-韋斯利（David Wesley）博士所知道的那樣，它不僅僅是告訴別人堅強起來或振作起來。他是密德薩斯大學心理學系主任，曾在英國廣播公司世界服務節目《為什麼因素》中談及抗壓能力的水準。

First of all, there's our social supports, our communities, our families, the people who are important to us, the organisations we work for. So one way we can look at resilience is to measure that, the amount of social support available to us. Another way to think about resilience is to think about how we think about the situations we're in. So, for example, one way to look at that would be just to look at how optimistic people are as a guide to how resilient they might be when times get tough. And then a third level that we can look at for resilience is a biological level – how well we can soothe ourselves, calm ourselves down, how well we can actually regulate our own nervous systems at times of distress.

首先是我們的社會支持，我們的社區、我們的家庭、對我們很重要的人、我們工作的組織。是以，我們看待抗災能力的一種方法就是衡量我們所能獲得的社會支持的數量。另一種方法是思考我們如何看待自己所處的環境。是以，舉例來說，我們可以通過觀察人們的樂觀程度，來了解他們在困難時期的復原力。然後，我們可以從生物層面來研究抗逆力的第三個層面--我們如何安撫自己、讓自己平靜下來，以及我們在遇到困難時如何調節自己的神經系統。

Right, so Dr Wesley describes social supports – the people around us who we can talk to and support us and generally make us feel better. I think he's saying with more support we'll feel more resilient.

是的，所以韋斯利博士描述了社會支持--我們身邊可以傾訴、支持我們並讓我們感覺更好的人。我想他的意思是，有了更多的支持，我們就會感覺更有韌性。

It's interesting to note that a resilient person isn't necessarily someone quiet, who doesn't make a fuss and gets on with things. Some experts think it's people who ask for help and use this social support network who are acting in a more resilient way.

值得注意的是，有韌性的人並不一定是沉默寡言、大驚小怪、碌碌無為的人。一些專家認為，尋求幫助和利用這種社會支持網絡的人表現得更有韌性。

It's a good point. And another level of resilience is how optimistic someone is.

這是一個很好的觀點。抗壓能力的另一個層面是一個人有多樂觀。

Being optimistic means having positive thoughts about the future and believing things will turn out well. A positive mind means you can deal with situations that at first look tough. Another level Dr Wesley mentioned was our biological level – how our bodies cope in times of distress. Distress is the feeling you get when you are worried or upset by something.

樂觀意味著對未來有積極的想法，相信事情會有好的結果。積極的心態意味著你可以應對初看起來很艱難的情況。韋斯利博士提到的另一個層面是我們的生理層面--我們的身體在遇到困難時是如何應對的。苦惱是指當你因為某些事情而感到擔憂或不安時所產生的感覺。

So when we're distressed, a resilient person is able to soothe his or her body and regulate his or her nervous system, which helps them stay calm.

是以，當我們心煩意亂時，一個有韌性的人能夠舒緩自己的身體，調節自己的神經系統，這有助於他們保持冷靜。

But Rob, the big question is, are we born with resilience or can we learn it?

但是，羅伯，最重要的問題是，我們是天生就有韌性，還是可以通過後天學習獲得？

Experts speaking on the Y Factor programme tended to think it could be learned.

在 "Y Factor "節目中發言的專家傾向於認為這是可以學習的。

Yes, one of them is Anne Maston, a professor at the University of Minnesota. From her studies, she found it was something that we learn when we need to.

是的，明尼蘇達大學教授安妮-馬斯頓就是其中之一。通過研究，她發現這是我們在需要的時候才會學習的東西。

Anne Maston talks about how some of the children she studied manifest resilience from the start. When something manifests, it shows clearly and is easy to notice. They remain resilient despite adversity – a difficult time in their life that they have had to face. Other children, what she calls the late bloomers, started off less resilient, struggled with adversity, but turned their lives around by becoming more resilient. Maybe we can learn resilience from having a bad experience.

安妮-馬斯頓談到了她所研究的一些兒童是如何從一開始就表現出抗逆力的。當某些東西表現出來時，它就會清晰地顯現出來，並且很容易被注意到。儘管遭遇逆境--他們不得不面對生活中的困難時期，但他們仍然保持著頑強的生命力。另一些孩子，也就是她所說的 "晚熟者"，一開始抗逆能力較差，在逆境中掙扎，但通過變得更有韌性而扭轉了生活。也許我們可以從糟糕的經歷中學到堅韌不拔的精神。

Well, one thing Anne went on to say was that families and friends can be a great support and help with resilience. Those that were late bloomers only connected with adults and mentors later in life.

安妮接著說，家人和朋友可以提供很大的支持，幫助他們提高適應能力。那些大器晚成的人只是在晚年才與成年人和導師建立聯繫。

Yes, she says that teachers or parents are role models in how to handle adversity.

是的，她說老師或父母是如何應對逆境的榜樣。

And children are watching – they're learning from the adults around them by seeing how they react when they get challenged by something.

孩子們在觀察--他們在向周圍的成年人學習，看他們在遇到挑戰時是如何反應的。

Time now to find out how resilient you are when you discover the correct answer to the question I asked earlier. I said that resilience is also a word used in science to describe the characteristic of a substance or object. But what does that mean? Is it… a. It's very tough or hard, b. It can return to its original shape after being bent, or c. It can turn from a solid into a liquid quickly. And what did you say, Georgina?

現在，當你發現我之前所提問題的正確答案時，就知道自己的復原力如何了。我說過，韌性也是科學中用來描述物質或物體特性的一個詞。但這是什麼意思呢？是...... a. 非常堅韌或堅硬，b. 彎曲後能恢復原狀，還是 c. 能迅速從固態變為液態。你說什麼，喬治娜？

I said it was b. It can return to its original shape after being bent.

我說是 B，它在彎曲後可以恢復原狀。

And you are right. Well done. Bamboo is a good example of a resilient material.

你是對的。幹得好竹子是彈性材料的典範。

You can bend it, it doesn't break and returns to its original shape.

你可以彎曲它，但它不會折斷，還會恢復原狀。

Thanks for the science lesson, Rob. Now we need to recap the vocabulary we've mentioned today.

謝謝你的科學課，羅伯。現在，我們需要複習一下今天提到的詞彙。

Yes, we've talked about being resilient – an adjective that describes someone's ability to cope with difficult situations. When you do this, you show resilience.

是的，我們已經談到了韌性--這個形容詞描述了一個人應對困難情況的能力。當你做到這一點時，你就表現出了韌性。

Someone who is optimistic has positive thoughts about the future and believes things will turn out well.

樂觀的人對未來有積極的想法，相信事情會有好的結果。

Distress is the feeling you get when you are worried or upset by something.

苦惱是指你因某件事情而感到擔憂或不安時的感覺。

When something manifests itself, it shows clearly and is easy to notice.

當某些東西顯現出來時，它就會清晰地顯示出來，並且很容易被注意到。

And adversity is a difficult time in somebody's life that they have had to face.

逆境是一個人一生中不得不面對的困難時期。

And that brings us to the end of this discussion about resilience.

最後，我們要討論的是復原力。

Please join us again next time. Bye bye.

下次請再來。再見

Bye.

再見。

OK, I want you to close your eyes. Focus on your breathing.

好了，我要你閉上眼睛。專注於你的呼吸。

Neil, can we do this later? We've only got six minutes.

尼爾，我們能晚點再做嗎？我們只有六分鐘

OK, Catherine. Welcome to a Mindful edition of 6 Minute English, where we're exploring the rise of mindfulness, particularly in schools.

好的，凱瑟琳。歡迎收看 "6 分鐘英語 "的正念版，我們正在探討正念的興起，尤其是在學校的興起。

And we'll be teaching six items of vocabulary along the way.

同時，我們還將教授六個詞彙。

So I think we should start with mindfulness itself.

是以，我認為我們應該從正念本身入手。

Being mindful is the ability to be mindful of what you're doing.

用心，就是能夠用心去做自己正在做的事情。

I think we should start with mindfulness itself.

我認為我們應該從正念本身入手。

Being mindful, as an adjective, means being calmly aware of everything in your body and mind.

作為一個形容詞，"正念 "意味著平靜地覺察自己身心的一切。

You only focus on now.

你只關注現在。

People practise mindfulness, the noun, by focusing only on their breath and not allowing themselves to be distracted by passing thoughts.

人們在練習 "正念"（名詞）時，只專注於自己的呼吸，不允許自己被一閃而過的念頭所幹擾。

Indeed. It's traditionally associated with Buddhism and has become incredibly popular in the secular world, in workplaces, in private classes and even in schools.

的確如此。它傳統上與佛教有關，現在在世俗世界、工作場所、私人課堂甚至學校裡都變得異常流行。

Secular means non-religious, by the way.

順便說一句，"世俗 "的意思是非宗教的。

OK, I just mentioned schools. How many teachers in the UK are trained to teach mindfulness?

好吧，我剛才提到了學校。英國有多少教師接受過正念教學培訓？

Is it… a, 500, b, 5,000 or c, 50,000?

是......a，500，b，5000 還是 c，50000？

Let me focus really hard. I think it's 5,000.

讓我集中注意力我想應該是 5000

A very mindful answer, Catherine, but I'll reveal the real answer later.

凱瑟琳，你的回答很用心，但我稍後會告訴你真正的答案。

Now let's hear from one teacher who's been practising mindfulness with students for many years.

現在，讓我們聽聽一位多年來一直與學生一起練習正念的老師的意見。

Alison Mayo, head of early years at Dharma Primary School, thinks it's particularly suited to young children. Why?

達摩小學幼兒教育負責人艾莉森-梅奧認為，它特別適合幼兒。為什麼？

That's very natural for children to be in the present.

對孩子們來說，活在當下是很自然的事。

And we really kind of celebrate that because that is a place where they are learning.

我們真的有點慶幸，因為那是他們學習的地方。

So if they feel grounded then they can really develop their concentration and their focus and relax. Learning happens so much more easily if you're relaxed and happy.

是以，如果他們感到踏實，他們就能真正集中注意力，放鬆身心。如果你感到放鬆和快樂，學習就會容易得多。

Alison said it was natural for children to be in the present.

艾莉森說，孩子們很自然地會沉浸在當下。

The present means now. You'll know the term from the present tense in grammar.

現在時指現在。您可以從文法中的現在時態中瞭解這個詞。

And people who practise mindfulness use this phrase a lot – to be in the present, or in the present moment.

練習正念的人經常使用這個短語--"當下 "或 "當下"。

It sounds simple but actually it's very hard to achieve.

這聽起來很簡單，但實際上很難做到。

Well, Neil, it might be for an old chap like you, but for young people,

好吧，尼爾，對你這樣的老傢伙來說可能是這樣，但對年輕人來說就不一樣了、

Miss Mayo thinks it's very natural.

梅奧小姐認為這很自然。

Fair enough. Being grounded, as she says, helps students concentrate and learn in a relaxed way.

有道理。正如她所說，腳踏實地有助於學生集中精力，輕鬆學習。

Grounded is another good adjective there. It means rational, sensible, clear thinking.

有根據是另一個很好的形容詞。它意味著理性、理智、思維清晰。

So she's a fan of mindfulness and there's growing evidence behind its benefits.

是以，她是正念的粉絲，正念的益處也有越來越多的證據支持。

Yes, the UK's National Health Advisory Body has recommended it to help treat conditions like depression and anxiety.

是的，英國國家健康諮詢機構已推薦使用它來幫助治療抑鬱症和焦慮症等疾病。

Studies have shown it reduces levels of the stress hormone cortisol.

研究表明，它能降低壓力荷爾蒙皮質醇的水準。

And a new study has claimed that eating mindfully can actually help people to lose weight.

一項新的研究稱，用心飲食實際上可以幫助人們減肥。

You mean eating slowly?

你是說慢慢吃？

Yes, slowly and really experiencing and tasting the food – not being distracted and not eating too much too fast.

是的，慢慢地，真正地體驗和品嚐食物，不要分心，也不要吃得太快。

Anyway, Neil, is mindfulness taking over the world?

總之，尼爾，"正念 "是否正在席捲全球？

Well, not quite yet. There still aren't many detailed studies on it, and some critics say the studies we have show a publication bias.

嗯，還沒有。關於它的詳細研究還不多，一些批評家認為我們現有的研究存在發表偏差。

In other words, only the positive results are published.

換句話說，只有積極的結果才會被公佈。

A bias is when you support something or someone in an unfair way because of your preferences or beliefs.

偏見是指你因為自己的偏好或信仰而以不公平的方式支持某件事或某個人。

What seems certain is that mindfulness has entered into many aspects of modern life, at least here in the UK.

可以肯定的是，正念已經進入現代生活的許多方面，至少在英國是這樣。

Now, let's look back at our question.

現在，讓我們回過頭來看看我們的問題。

I asked how many teachers in the UK have been trained in mindfulness?

我問英國有多少教師接受過正念培訓？

And I said 5,000.

我說是 5000。

Well, it was actually 5,000.

實際上是 5000 人。

Yay!

耶

Well done. According to the Mindfulness Initiative. And it keeps on growing.

幹得漂亮根據 "正念倡議 "的說法，"正念 "在全球範圍內已成為一種新的生活方式。而且還在不斷增長。

So before we finish up, here's another question that might be useful for our listeners.

在我們結束之前，還有一個問題可能會對聽眾有所幫助。

What's the difference between mindfulness and meditation?

正念和冥想有什麼區別？

Aha, that's not so easy to define. Meditation is the broader term.

啊哈，這可不好定義。冥想是更寬泛的說法。

When you meditate, you spend time quietly, focusing your mind, often for relaxation or spiritual purposes.

冥想時，你會靜靜地集中精神，通常是為了放鬆或精神上的目的。

Mindfulness is a particular kind of meditation, where you try to empty your mind of thought. Does that make sense?

正念是一種特殊的冥想，在這種冥想中，你會嘗試放空思想。有道理嗎？

Yeah, more or less. So we'll let our listeners meditate on that answer.

是的，或多或少。那麼，我們就讓聽眾們來思考一下這個答案吧。

And before we empty our minds, let's look back at today's words.

在我們放空思想之前，讓我們回顧一下今天的話。

We had mindfulness, mindful and mindfully.

我們有心智、心智和心智。

They all relate to the particular practice of being only focused on what's happening now.

它們都與只關注當前發生的事情這一特殊做法有關。

What's happening now, or we could say what's happening in the present.

現在發生的事情，或者我們可以說是當下發生的事情。

People often focus on the past, thinking back about mistakes or happy memories.

人們常常關注過去，回想錯誤或快樂的回憶。

Or on the future, which can be full of worries.

或者對未來充滿擔憂。

But by being in the present, you overcome these thoughts and fears.

但是，只要活在當下，你就能克服這些想法和恐懼。

Next we had secular. It contrasts with religious. So, while a church is a religious building, we also have secular buildings, like factories and shops and hospitals.

接下來是世俗的。它與宗教形成對比。是以，雖然教堂是宗教建築，但我們也有世俗建築，比如工廠、商店和醫院。

All non-religious buildings, in other words.

換句話說，就是所有非宗教建築。

Exactly. Now tell me, Neil, are you feeling grounded right now?

沒錯現在告訴我，尼爾，你現在感覺踏實嗎？

You're asking if I'm thinking clearly and feeling connected to the world.

你在問我是否思維清晰，是否感覺與世界相連。

Do you even have to ask, Catherine? I'm a very grounded person.

這還用問嗎，凱瑟琳？我是個很腳踏實地的人

You are most of the time. Most of the time you're naturally grounded.

你大多數時候都是這樣。大多數時候，你都自然而然地腳踏實地。

Every now and again you get a bit panicked, but hey!

時不時地，你會有點慌亂，但嘿嘿！

But some of us need to remember to slow down, chill out and meditate once in a while.

但是，我們中的一些人需要記住，偶爾放慢腳步，冷靜下來，冥想一下。

That would be meditate meaning to take quiet time to focus deeply on something.

那就是冥想，意思是靜下心來深入專注於某件事情。

Exactly. Now for more ways to improve your English, I suggest you mindfully visit our Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube pages.

沒錯。如果您想了解更多提高英語水平的方法，我建議您認真訪問我們的 Facebook、Twitter、Instagram 和 YouTube 頁面。

Yes, focus only on our pages. Don't be distracted by anything else.

是的，只關注我們的網頁。不要被其他事情分心。

Bye.

再見。

Goodbye.

再見

Hello. This is 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English. I'm Beth.

您好。這裡是 BBC 英語學習頻道的 6 分鐘英語。我是貝絲

And I'm Neil. Phew! I've spent a day in meetings, then shopping, then collecting the kids from school. I'm exhausted, Beth. What have you been doing today?

我是尼爾呼！我開了一天的會，然後去購物 然後去學校接孩子們我累壞了 貝絲你今天都幹了些什麼？

Oh, not much. Just sitting around, doing nothing, relaxing and kicking back.

哦，不多。只是閒坐著，什麼也不做，放鬆一下，享受一下。

Lucky you. Don't you have any work to do?

你真幸運你沒有工作要做嗎？

It may not look it, Neil, but I'm actually as busy as a bee.

也許看起來不像，尼爾，但實際上我像蜜蜂一樣忙碌。

If you've seen nature documentaries about worker bees flying from flower to flower, you probably think animals are always on the move. But the surprising truth is, away from the cameras, most animals spend most of their time doing absolutely nothing at all.

如果你看過工蜂從一朵花飛到另一朵花的自然紀錄片，你可能會認為動物總是在不停地活動。但令人驚訝的事實是，在遠離鏡頭的地方，大多數動物的大部分時間都是無所事事的。

In the natural world, where finding food and shelter is hard work, why have some animals evolved to do nothing? And if it's good enough for animals, would being lazy work for humans too? That's what we'll be discussing in this programme and, as usual, we'll be learning some useful new vocabulary as well.

在自然界中，尋找食物和住所是一項艱苦的工作，為什麼有些動物進化到什麼都不做？如果這對動物來說已經足夠好了，那麼懶惰對人類也有用嗎？這就是我們將在本節目中討論的問題，和往常一樣，我們還將學習一些有用的新詞彙。

But first, let me work up the energy to ask you a question, Neil. Of course, some animals have a reputation for lounging about. Lions, for example, can sleep up to 20 hours a day. But what is the slowest moving animal on Earth? Is it… a. The giant tortoise b. The three-toed sloth or c. The koala Well, I think it's the three-toed sloth.

但首先，讓我鼓足勇氣問你一個問題，尼爾。當然，有些動物的懶惰是出了名的。比如獅子，一天能睡20個小時。但地球上行動最慢的動物是什麼？是...... a. 巨龜 b. 三趾樹懶還是 c. 考拉 嗯，我覺得是三趾樹懶。

OK, Neil. I'll reveal the correct answer at the end of the programme.

好的，尼爾。我會在節目最後揭曉正確答案。

Now, it's no surprise that lazy lions love relaxing, but even animals with reputations for being busy spend time doing nothing. Look carefully into an ant's nest and you'll see around half of them just sitting there motionless. Here's Professor Dan Charbonneau, an expert in insect behaviour, discussing the lazy rock ant with Emily Knight, presenter of BBC Radio 4 programme Nature Bang.

懶惰的獅子喜歡放鬆，這並不奇怪，但即使是以忙碌著稱的動物也會花時間無所事事。仔細觀察螞蟻的巢穴，你會發現大約有一半的螞蟻只是坐在那裡一動不動。以下是昆蟲行為學專家丹-查邦諾（Dan Charbonneau）教授與英國廣播公司第四臺節目《自然大爆炸》（Nature Bang）主持人艾米麗-奈特（Emily Knight）討論懶惰巖蟻的內容。

Dan's research has focused on ant colonies, a species called Temnothorax regartilis, or the rock ant.

丹的研究主要集中在螞蟻群落上，這是一種叫做Temnothorax regartilis的物種，也叫巖蟻。

I think ants are sort of a symbol of, like, industriousness. You know, they have this whole tiny little society going on that's kind of similar to ours.

我覺得螞蟻是勤勞的象徵你知道，它們有一個小社會，和我們的社會很相似。

If some idealised version of what humans might be, if we could only, like, pull it together and all work together, we could be as industrious as the ants. But then when you look at it, you know, roughly about half the colony is inactive at any given time.

如果人類能像螞蟻一樣勤勞 如果人類能像螞蟻一樣理想化 如果人類能像螞蟻一樣齊心協力但當你仔細觀察，你會發現，在任何時候，大約有一半的蟻群是不活躍的。

We think ants are industrious or hard-working. Groups of ants called colonies seem tiny, perfect societies where everyone works hard for the good of the group.

我們認為螞蟻是勤勞的。被稱為蟻群的螞蟻群體似乎是一個微小而完美的社會，每個人都為了群體的利益而努力工作。

Then why are so many of them inactive? One possible answer is that they're reserve ants, ready to step in if disease or disaster strike. But could it simply be that they don't work because they don't need to? Would you get out of bed on Monday morning if you didn't have to?

那為什麼有這麼多螞蟻不活動呢？一個可能的答案是，它們是備份螞蟻，隨時準備在疾病或災難來臨時挺身而出。但是，它們不工作可能僅僅是因為它們不需要工作嗎？如果沒有必要，你會在星期一早上起床嗎？

Maybe the ants can teach us a thing or two about relaxing.

也許螞蟻能教給我們一些放鬆的方法。

But wouldn't it get boring just sitting around all day?

但整天坐著豈不無聊？

Not according to psychologist Dr Sandy Mann. She thinks being productive – working to produce a lot for the amount of resources we use – is overrated. Boredom has its benefits too, as she explained to BBC Radio 4 programme Nature Bang.

心理學家桑迪-曼恩（Sandy Mann）博士卻不這麼認為。她認為，高產--努力用我們所使用的資源生產出大量產品--被高估了。正如她在英國廣播公司第四臺節目《自然大爆炸》中解釋的那樣，無聊也有它的好處。

Would humans have invented bread or beer or fire, you know, if we hadn't been bored and were wondering what on earth would happen if we mix this with this, you know? Are all these sorts of inventions the mother of boredom? But in this world of constant stimulation, switching off is harder than it's ever been. That's why we're constantly swiping and scrolling and looking for the next big thing and the new thing and we get bored of things very quickly.

如果不是因為無聊，想知道如果把這個和這個混合在一起會發生什麼，人類會發明麵包、啤酒或者火嗎？所有這些發明都是無聊之母嗎？但在這個不斷刺激的世界裡，我們比以往任何時候都更難靜下心來。這就是為什麼我們總是不停地刷屏、滾動，尋找下一件大事和新事物，我們很快就會對事物感到厭倦。

So it's a kind of paradox to get rid of this unpleasant state of boredom is actually to allow more boredom into your life.

是以，要擺脫這種令人不快的無聊狀態，實際上是讓更多的無聊進入你的生活，這是一種悖論。

Dr Mann doubts humans would have invented things without the curiosity that comes from being bored.

曼恩博士懷疑，如果沒有因無聊而產生的好奇心，人類是否會發明東西。

Boredom is the mother of invention – an idea based on the famous proverb, necessity is the mother of invention – an idiom meaning that if you really need to do something, you will think of a way of doing it.

百無聊賴是發明之母--這個想法源自一句著名的諺語，即 "需要是發明之母"--這個成語的意思是，如果你真的需要做某件事情，你就會想出做這件事的辦法。

Instead of fearing boredom, we can open up to its benefits by switching off – stopping worrying or thinking about something and relaxing. Slowing down helps too – something we can definitely learn from our animal cousins. I think now is a good time to reveal the answer to my question, since we have nothing else to do.

我們不必害怕無聊，而是可以通過 "關機"--停止擔心或思考，放鬆自己--來享受無聊帶來的好處。放慢腳步也很有幫助--這一點我們絕對可以向我們的動物表親學習。我想現在是揭曉問題答案的好時機，因為我們已經無事可做了。

You asked me to name the world's slowest animal and I guessed it was the three-toed sloth.

你讓我說出世界上最慢的動物，我猜是三趾樹懶。