Neil: And I'm Neil. Have you ever written any poetry, Alice?

而我'尼爾。你寫過詩嗎，愛麗絲？

Alice: No. Have you?

愛麗絲，沒有沒有，你有嗎？

Neil: Oh yes. I've got a sheaf of poems from my youth.

尼爾：哦，是的。我'有一疊我年輕時的詩。

Alice: A sheaf of something means a bundle of things, particularly paper.

愛麗絲一捆東西的意思是一捆東西， 特別是紙。

What about now? Are you still writing?

現在呢？你還在寫嗎？

Neil: No, my creative juices have dried up.

尼爾：不，我的創作靈感已經枯竭了。

Alice: What a shame! I would have liked to hear some of your poems!

愛麗絲什麼是恥辱！我很想聽聽你的一些詩!

Creative juices means a flow of ideas and the subject of today's show is creativity and writer's block

創作的汁液意味著思想的流動，今天的節目主題是創造力和作家的障礙。

which means not being able to write because of a psychological problem.

也就是因為心理問題而無法寫作。

Neil: So not like tennis elbow or golfer's knee, then.

尼爾：所以不像網球肘或高爾夫球手'的膝蓋，然後。

Alice: No, Neil, because a psychological problem refers to the mind not the body.

愛麗絲不，尼爾，因為心理問題是指心靈而不是身體。

And whilst some people view writer's block as nonsense

雖然有些人認為作家'的塊是廢話

others believe it is a serious psychological condition that can get better with treatment.

也有人認為這是一種嚴重的心理疾病，經過治療可以好轉。

Neil: Well, I have a question for you, Alice.

好吧，我有個問題要問你，愛麗絲。

How does author of the Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown, deal with writer's block?

達文西密碼》的作者丹-布朗是如何處理作家'障礙的？

Does he... a) hang upside down from the ceiling in gravity boots?

他是不是......a)穿著重力靴倒掛在天花板上？

b) clean his 6-bedroom house from top to bottom with a toothbrush?

b)用牙刷把他的6間臥室從上到下打掃乾淨？

Or c) run a half-marathon listening to opera music by Richard Wagner?

或者c)聽著理查德-瓦格納的歌劇音樂跑了半程馬拉松？

Alice: I think it's c) run a half-marathon listening to Wagner.

愛麗絲：我覺得是'c)聽著瓦格納的聲音跑了半程馬拉松。

Exercise and music might get your creative juices flowing again.

鍛鍊和音樂也許會讓你的創造力再次流動起來。

Neil: Well, we'll find out whether you got the right answer later on in the show.

尼爾：好吧，我們'會在稍後的節目中發現你是否得到了正確的答案。

But first, Alice, can you tell us where the term writer's block comes from?

但首先，愛麗絲，你能告訴我們，作家的障礙這個詞是怎麼來的嗎？

Alice: Well, the term was coined – or invented – in 1950 by a Viennese psychoanalyst Edmund Bergler.

愛麗絲或者說是在1950年由維也納的精神分析學家埃德蒙-伯格勒發明的。

Let's listen to Zachary Leader, Professor of English Literature at Roehampton University

讓我們來聽聽羅漢普頓大學英國文學教授扎克里-萊德的演講。

talking about the psychoanalytic theory of writer's block.

談到作家'塊的精神分析理論。

Zachary Leader: Before writers were blocked the other metaphors that were used were things like

扎克里-裡德。在作家被封殺之前，其他被使用的隱喻是這樣的

'drying up' ... or 'being frozen' or 'stuck in a rut' and so forth.

'乾涸'......或'被凍死'或'陷入困境'等等。

And the difference between being blocked and drying up is that in the case of blockage

而被堵和乾涸的區別在於，在被堵的情況下

the problem is externalised and objectified ... it's not yourself that's the problem

問題是外在化和對象化的......不是你自己的問題。

it's something that's outside you like an obstacle or an impediment ... something that you could really

它是一些東西，它是在你的外面 像一個障礙或障礙... ... 東西，你真的可以。

cut away, and as a consequence a cure like a growth or a foreign body.

切去，並是以像生長或異物一樣的治療。

Neil: So writer's block is a metaphor for an obstacle

尼爾：所以，作家的障礙是一個障礙的比喻。

something external rather than internal inside of you

外在的東西，而不是內在的東西

that's preventing you from working.

那是阻止你工作的原因。

Doesn't that sound like an excuse for not doing anything, Alice?

這聽起來不像是什麼都不做的藉口嗎，愛麗絲？

'It's not my fault ... this impediment thing is getting in the way'.

'這不是我的錯......這障礙物的事情是礙事的'。

Alice: Yes. Well, impediment is another word for obstacle.

愛麗絲是的。嗯，阻礙是障礙的另一個詞。

But how do you cut away a foreign body that isn't actually there?

但如何切掉一個實際上並不存在的異物呢？

Neil: I suppose psychoanalysts have an answer for that.

尼爾：我想精神分析學家對此有一個答案。

But seriously, I think writers probably do have a hard time.

但說真的，我覺得作家們可能確實很辛苦。

You can sit down at your desk every morning at 9 o'clock to write but that doesn't mean

你可以在每天早上9點坐在辦公桌前寫作，但這並不意味著'。

you're going to think of things to say.

你'要想辦法說。

Though we're never stuck for words, are we?

雖然我們'從來沒有卡住話頭，是嗎？

Alice: Not usually, Neil, no.

愛麗絲通常不是，尼爾，沒有。

But did you know that the Ancient Greeks had Muses

但你知道古希臘人有繆斯女神嗎？

or goddesses of creativity ... to help them?

或創意女神......來幫助他們？

Neil: So... Beyonce isn't a real muse?

尼爾：所以......碧昂絲不是真正的繆斯女神？

I've heard people say, you know, 'Beyonce is my muse; she's such a great singer, songwriter, dancer, role model!'

我'聽到人們說，你知道，'碧昂絲是我的繆斯；她是如此偉大的歌手、作曲家、舞者、榜樣！&#39。

Alice: Well, these days, 'muse' can refer to anyone who inspires an artist, writer, or musician.

愛麗絲好了，這些天，'繆斯'可以指任何人 誰啟發了藝術家，作家，或音樂家。

But in Ancient Greece, there were nine Muses

但在古希臘，有九個繆斯女神。

and depending on what type of creative thing you did

並根據你所做的創造性的事情的類型。

philosophy, poetry, science and so on

哲學、詩詞、科學等

you invoked – or called upon – that particular Muse to inspire you.

你召喚--或者說呼喚--那個特殊的繆斯女神來激發你的靈感。

Neil: I call upon you, oh Alice, to enlighten us with more information about the Greek Muses.

尼爾：我呼籲你，哦，愛麗絲，給我們提供更多關於希臘繆斯的資訊。

Alice: Alright then. So let's listen to Angie Hobbs instead.

愛麗絲好吧，那麼。所以，讓我們聽安吉-霍布斯代替。

She's Professor of the Public Understanding of Philosophy, University of Sheffield here in the UK

她'是英國謝菲爾德大學公共理解哲學教授。

and here she is now, talking about what the Greek Muses symbolized.

而她現在就在這裡，談論希臘繆斯女神的象徵。

Angie Hobbs: We've seen that the Muses were connected to running water, to springs, to fountains, fluidity.

安吉-霍布斯。我們已經看到繆斯女神與流水、泉水、噴泉、流動性有關。

So if you're musing, you are letting your mind wander, you're opening yourself up to

所以，如果你在沉思，你讓你的思想流浪，你'打開自己的，以

new influences and new ideas, and not thinking in too structured a way.

新的影響和新的想法，而不是過於結構化的思考。

Neil: Musing, letting your mind wander, thinking in a fluid, unstructured way

尼爾：默想，讓你的思想遊離，以一種流動的、非結構化的方式思考。

that all sounds very pleasant ... maybe I should have another go at writing.

這一切聽起來都很愉快......也許我應該再去寫作。

Alice: Well, according to research, some people are better at mind wandering and opening themselves

愛麗絲好吧，根據研究，有些人是更好的 在心靈的徘徊和開放自己

up to new ideas than others.

比其他人更容易接受新的想法。

Their minds work differently

他們的思維方式不同

they have more dopamine in the thalamus region of the brain.

他們在大腦的丘腦區有更多的多巴胺。

Neil: The thalamus controls consciousness, sleep and the senses

尼爾：丘腦控制著意識、睡眠和感官。

and dopamine is the feel-good chemical in the brain. Is that right?

而多巴胺是大腦中感覺良好的化學物質。是這樣嗎？

Alice: Yes, and having more dopamine in the thalamus enables some people to see the world in a different way

愛麗絲是的，並有更多的多巴胺 在丘腦使一些人 看到世界以不同的方式

and they express this creatively ... through science, music, the arts.

他們通過科學、音樂、藝術... ...創造性地表達了這一點。

Now, before you start musing on how much dopamine you have in your brain, Neil,

在你開始沉思你腦子裡有多少多巴胺之前，尼爾。

perhaps you can tell us the answer to today's quiz question?

也許你可以告訴我們今天的測驗問題的答案'？

Neil: I asked: How does author of the Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown, deal with writer's block?

尼爾：我問：《達文西密碼》的作者丹-布朗如何處理作家'的障礙？

Does he... a) hang upside down from the ceiling in gravity boots?

他是不是......a)穿著重力靴倒掛在天花板上？

b) clean his 6-bedroom house from top to bottom with a toothbrush?

b)用牙刷把他的6間臥室從上到下打掃乾淨？

Or c) run a half-marathon listening to opera music by Richard Wagner?

或者c)聽著理查德-瓦格納的歌劇音樂跑了半程馬拉松？

Alice: And I said c) run a half-marathon listening to opera music by Richard Wagner.

愛麗絲。我說c）跑半程馬拉松 聽歌劇音樂 由理查德・瓦格納。

Neil: And you were wrong, Alice!

你錯了，愛麗絲！

The answer is a) hang upside down from the ceiling in gravity boots.

答案是a)穿著重力靴倒掛在天花板上。

Alice: Really?

愛麗絲真的嗎？

Neil: Yes. I expect all that increased blood flow to the brain is helpful in clearing writer's block.

尼爾：是的。我期望所有增加的血液流向大腦是有助於清除作家'的障礙。

Alice: Yes. Good plan. OK, here are the words we learned today.

愛麗絲是的。好計劃。好了，這是我們今天學到的單詞。

creative juices

創意

writer's block

書呆子

coined

創制

impediment

障礙

Muses

繆斯

invoked

援用

thalamus

丘腦

dopamine

多巴胺

Neil: So, Alice, shall I compare thee to a summer's day? Thou art more lovely...

那麼 愛麗絲 我要把你比作夏日的日子嗎你更可愛...

Alice: That's not your poem, Neil ... It's Shakespeare's!

愛麗絲這不是你的詩，尼爾... ...那是莎士比亞的詩!

Well, and that's the end of today's 6 Minute English.

好了，今天的《6分鐘英語》到此結束。

Neil: OK, I'm off to lie on the sofa and evoke my muse. Please join us again soon!

尼爾：好的，我'要去躺在沙發上，喚起我的繆斯女神。請儘快再次加入我們的行列吧!

Both: Bye!

再見！