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Hello. This is 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English. I’m Beth. And I’m Neil.
你好。这里是BBC英语六分钟。我是贝丝。我是尼尔。
I've spent all day in meetings, then shopping, then collecting the kids from school - I'm exhausted, Beth!
我一整天都在开会，然后购物，然后接孩子放学——我累坏了，贝丝！
What have you been doing today?
你今天在做什么?
Oh, not much, just sitting around doing nothing… relaxing and kicking back!
哦，没什么，就是坐在那里什么都不做…放松休息！
Lucky you!
你真走运！
Don’t you have work to do?
你没有工作要完成吗?
It may not look it, Neil, but I’m actually as busy as a bee!
看起来可能不像，尼尔，但实际上我像蜜蜂一样忙！
If you’ve seen nature documentaries about worker bees flying from flower to flower, you probably think animals are always on the move.
如果你看过关于工蜂在花与花之间飞舞的自然纪录片，你可能会认为动物总是在四处奔波。
But the surprising truth is, away from the cameras, most animals spend most of the time doing absolutely nothing at all.
但事实令人惊讶，远离镜头后，大多数动物在大部分时间会什么都不做。
In the natural world where finding food and shelter is hard work, why have some animals evolved to do nothing?
在自然界中，寻找食物和住所是一项艰苦的工作，为什么有些动物能进化到什么都不做呢?
And if it’s good enough for animals, would being lazy work for humans too?
如果这对动物来说是一件好事，那么懒惰对人类来说也是一件好事吗?
That’s what we will be discussing in this programme, and as usual, we’ll be learning some useful new vocabulary as well.
这就是我们今天节目要讨论的内容，和往常一样，我们也会学习一些有用的新词汇。
But first, let me work up the energy to ask you a question, Neil.
但首先，让我打起精神问你一个问题，尼尔。
Of course, some animals have a reputation for lounging about – lions, for example, can sleep up to twenty hours a day!
当然，有些动物是出了名的懒散——例如狮子，它一天可以睡20个小时！
But what is the slowest moving animal on Earth?
但是地球上移动最慢的动物是什么呢?
Is it: a) the giant tortoise b) the three-toed sloth or c) the koala?
是a)巨型乌龟b)三趾树懒还是c)考拉?
Well, I think it’s the three-toed sloth. OK, Neil.
我觉得是三趾树懒。好的，尼尔。
I’ll reveal the correct answer at the end of the programme.
我会在节目的最后揭晓正确答案。
Now it’s no surprise that lazy lions love relaxing, but even animals with reputations for being busy spend time doing nothing.
懒惰的狮子喜欢放松不足为奇，但即使是以忙碌著称的动物也会无所事事。
Look carefully into an ant's nest and you’ll see around half of them just sitting there motionless.
仔细观察蚂蚁的巢穴，你会发现大约一半的蚂蚁会待在原地一动不动。
Here’s Professor Dan Charbonneau, an expert in insect behaviour, discussing the lazy rock ant with Emily Knight, presenter of BBC Radio 4 programme, Naturebang.
以下是昆虫行为专家丹·夏邦诺教授与BBC广播4台节目《自然之邦》主持人艾米丽·奈特讨论懒岩蚁的内容。
Dan’s research has focused on ant colonies, a species called temnothorax rugatulus or the rock ant.
丹的研究主要集中在蚁群上，是一种被称为岩蚁的物种。
I think ants are a symbol of industriousness, you know, they have this whole tiny little society going on that's kind of similar to ours…
我认为蚂蚁是勤劳的象征，它们有一个小型社会，和我们的社会有点类似，
some idealised version what humans might be if we could only pull it together and all work together we could be as industrious as the ants, but then when you look at it, roughly about half the colony is inactive at any given time.
这是人类的理想状态，如果我们能团结起来，一起工作，我们就能像蚂蚁一样勤劳，但是当你观察它就会发现，大约有一半的群体在任何时候都是不活跃的。
We think ants are industrious, or hard-working.
我们认为蚂蚁是勤劳的，吃苦耐劳的。
Groups of ants, called colonies, seem tiny, perfect societies where everyone works hard for the good of the group.
蚂蚁群体，被称为蚁群，看起来是小而完善的社会，每个人都为群体的利益而努力工作。
Then why are so many of them inactive?
那为什么它们中有那么多个体不活跃呢?
One possible answer is that they’re reserve ants, ready to step in if disease or disaster strike.
一个可能的答案是，它们是储备蚂蚁，会在疾病或灾难来袭时介入。
But could it simply be that they don’t work because they don’t need to.
但它们不工作的原因，可能只是因为它们不需要工作呢?
Would you get out of bed on Monday morning if you didn’t have to?
如果不是必须的话，你会在周一早上起床吗?
Maybe the ants can teach us a thing or two about relaxing.
也许蚂蚁可以教会我们放松的一些方面。
But wouldn't it get boring just sitting around all day?
但是整天枯坐着不会很无聊吗?
Not according to psychologist, Dr Sandi Mann.
心理学家桑迪·曼恩博士认为并非如此。
She thinks being productive – working to produce a lot for the amount of resources we use, is overrated.
她认为高效工作，以我们所使用的资源为基础，努力生产出大量产品，被高估了。
Boredom has its benefits too, as she explains to BBC Radio 4 programme, Naturebang.
无聊也有它的好处，正如她在BBC广播4台节目《自然之邦》中解释的那样。
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.
如果人类不是因为感到无聊，并且想知道“如果我们把这个和那个混合在一起会发生什么?”的话，我们会发明面包、啤酒或火吗?
Are all these sorts of inventions the mother of boredom?
所有这些发明都是无聊之母吗?
But in this world of constant stimulation switching off is harder than it's ever been.
但在不断受到外界刺激的世界里，想要停止它比以往任何时候都要困难。
That's why we're constantly swiping and scrolling and looking for the next big thing, and the new thing and we bored of things very quickly…
这就是为什么我们不断地滑来滑去，寻找下一个大热门、新事物的原因，不过我们很快就会厌倦……
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.
因此，摆脱这种不愉快的无聊状态实际上是让更多的无聊进入你的生活，这是一种矛盾。
Dr Mann doubts humans would have invented things without the curiosity that comes from being bored.
曼恩博士怀疑，如果没有无聊带来的好奇心，人类是不会发明新事物的。
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.
无聊是发明之母，这是一个基于著名谚语的想法，需求是发明之母，这是一个俗语，意思是如果你真的需要做某事，你会想办法去做。
Instead of fearing boredom we can open up to its benefits by switching off - stopping worrying or thinking about something and relaxing.
不要害怕无聊，我们可以通过停止担心或思考某事并放松来获取它的好处。
Slowing down helps too - something we can definitely learn from our animal cousins.
慢下来也有帮助——这是我们可以从动物身上学到的。
I think now’s a good time to reveal the answer to my question, since we have nothing else to do.
既然我们没有别的事可做，我想现在是时候揭晓我问题的答案了。
You asked me to name the world’s slowest animal and I guessed it was the three-toed sloth.
你让我说出世界上最慢的动物，我猜是三趾树懒。
Was I right? That was the correct answer!
我说的对吗? 这就是正确答案！
With a top speed of 30 centimetres per minute, three-toed sloths move so slowly that algae grow on their coats!
三趾树懒的最高移速为每分钟30厘米，它们的移动速度非常慢，以至于它们的皮毛上都长出了藻类！
OK, let's recap the vocabulary that we've learned from this programme starting with the phrase kicking back – stop doing things and relax completely.
好了，让我们回顾一下本期节目中学到的词汇，从“kick back”这个短语开始——停止做某事，完全放松。
The adjective industrious means hard-working.
形容词industrious的意思是勤劳的。
A colony is the name given to a group of certain animals including ants and some seabirds.
群落是指一群特定的动物，包括蚂蚁和一些海鸟。
Someone who is productive is able to produce a lot for the amount of resources they use.
一个有多产的人能够用他们使用的资源生产出很多东西。
The proverb necessity is the mother of invention, means that if you really need to do something, you will think of a way of doing it.
“需求是发明之母”这句谚语的意思是，如果你真的需要做某事，你会想出一种方法来达成它。
And finally, to switch off means to stop worrying or thinking about something and relax.
最后，switch off的意思是停止担心或思考某事来放松自己。
Once again, our six minutes are up – it must be time to sit down, close your eyes, and just do nothing!
我们的六分钟时间又到了——是时候坐下来，闭上眼，什么都不用做！
Goodbye for now!Bye!
再见了！再见！
