BBC随身英语：How to stay focused 如何专心致志地做事？

how to stay focused.mp32:38

来自Learningdragon

保持专心致志有时很难。不过，要是知道让自己分心的原因，就可能有助集中注意力。科学家研究了导致 “拖延症” 的原因，找出了一些帮助人们进入工作或学习状态的方法。本期 “随身英雄” 节目组围绕这些建议展开讨论。

词汇：concentration 精神集中

When you were at school, were you ever told to stop daydreaming and concentrate? It was easy for your mind to wander if you weren’t interested in what you were learning or if you had better things to think about. Staying focused can still be a challenge in adult life, but understanding how to do it, and knowing what is distracting you, can help.

当你在学校的时候，你有没有曾经被要求停止做白日梦并集中注意力的经历？如果人们对于自己正在学习的内容并不感兴趣，或者是当下有比起学习的内容更有意思的事情要考虑，那么人在这些情况下是很容易走神的。保持专注在成年人的生活中仍然是一个挑战，但要了解如何做到这一点，并且知道究竟是什么让我们的注意力分散的，对我们能够更好地集中注意力来说会有所帮助。

Scientists have looked at what makes us procrastinate and found a number of ways to help us stay in the zone. One of the most obvious things is eliminating noise. Research by Science Focus magazine found silence is best for concentration, or a gentle background hum and coffee shop noise is great! It also found turning off notifications on your phone, or switching it off altogether, removes a major distraction and helps us focus on the task at hand.

科学家们针对导致我们拖延的原因进行了深入的研究，并且找到了许多帮助我们的注意力保持在特定区域内的方法。 其中最明显的事情之一是消除噪音。《科学焦点》杂志的研究发现，安静的环境对于集中注意力来说是最为合适的，或是带有轻微嗡嗡声的背景环境，甚至是咖啡厅的噪音对于注意力的集中来说都很棒！ 这项研究还发现，关闭手机上的通知，或者完全关闭掉通讯设备，可以消除对我们的主要干扰，并帮助我们更加专注于手头上的任务。

Another possible cure for a short attention span is brain training. Psychologists and neuroscientists are increasingly interested in our ability to knuckle down and have looked at what we can change inside our head to make us concentrate. An article for BBC Future by Caroline Williams says that “Attention Researcher Nilli Lavie of University College London has found that making a task more visually demanding… takes up more processing power and leaves the brain nothing left to process distractions.” So, keeping your mind busy might be the answer.

另一种治疗注意力不集中的方法是大脑训练。 心理学家和神经科学家们对我们从不努力到努力工作或学习的变化中所经历的注意力的转变过程越来越感兴趣。并且研究了我们可以通过在大脑内部进行何种改变以使得我们集中注意力的相关内容。在Caroline Williams 为 BBC Future 撰写的一篇文章当中说道：“伦敦大学学院的注意力研究员 Nilli Lavie 发现，让一项任务在视觉方面的要求更高……会占用大脑更多的处理能力，不给大脑留下任何其他可能的空间去处理那些让它分心的事情。” 因此，让你的大脑保持忙碌的状态可能正是我们寻求的答案。

There are more practical tips to keeping your mind focused. These include making a list or timetable of the tasks you have to do, finding a workspace where you’re not tempted to do other things, or chewing some gum! It’s possible the movement in your mouth occupies parts of the brain that might otherwise get distracted.

在这里，我们为大家提出了更多实用的，可以有助于让人保持专注的方法。 这些方法具体包括：列出你必须做的任务清单或时间表；找到一个你不会去做其他事情的工作空间；或者是嚼口香糖！ 因为嘴上的运动可能会占据大脑的某些部分，让这些部分不会分心到其他的事情上面。

But according to Science Focus magazine, distraction isn’t all bad. “If we were always so focused that we never got distracted, we’d miss potential changes, such as threats, in our environment. Distraction is vital for survival.”

但据《科学焦点》杂志报道，分心状态也不全然是不好的。 “如果我们总是如此专注以至于从不分心，我们可能会错过环境中的潜在变化，例如潜在的威胁。有些时候，分心对于我们的平安生存来说是至关重要的。

词汇表

daydream 做白日梦
mind to wander 走神，心不在焉
focused 专注的
distract 干扰，使分心
procrastinate 拖延
in the zone 状态极佳，现在状态很好
silence 安静，无声
task at hand 手头的任务
short attention span 注意力持续时间短，注意力不集中
brain training 大脑训练
neuroscientist 神经科学家
knuckle down 开始努力工作或学习
visually demanding 视觉上费力的，需要劳神看的
processing power 处理能力
threat 威胁

测验与练习

1. 阅读课文并回答问题。

1. What should you try to remove if you want to concentrate properly?

2. According to one expert, what uses up processing power in our brain?

3. What might we miss if we didn’t get distracted?

4. Why might finding a suitable workspace help you concentrate?

5. Who are particularly interested in our ability to stay focused?

2. 选择意思恰当的单词或词组来完成下列句子。

1. I was _______ on the train and missed my stop!

focused distracting daydreaming silence

2. My son has a _______ and can’t concentrate on his schoolwork.

short attention span short attention spans

short attentive span attention short span

3. You need to _______ if you want to get all your work completed on time.

procrastinate task at hand knuckle down daydream

4. There must be absolute _______ in the exam hall.

threats silence focused neuroscientists

5. In our yoga class, we were told to relax and allow our _______

wander our mind wandering mind

mind to wandering mind to wander

答案

1. 阅读课文并回答问题。

1. What should you try to remove if you want to concentrate properly?
One of the most obvious things is eliminating noise.

2. According to one expert, what uses up processing power in our brain?
Attention Researcher Nilli Lavie of University College London has found that making a task more visually demanding takes up more processing power.

3. What might we miss if we didn’t get distracted?
According to Science Focus magazine, if we were always so focused that we never got distracted, we’d miss potential changes, such as threats, in our environment.

4. Why might finding a suitable workspace help you concentrate?
Finding a workspace means you’re not tempted to do other things.

5. Who are particularly interested in our ability to stay focused?
Psychologists and neuroscientists are increasingly interested in our ability to try and focus and concentrate.

2. 选择意思恰当的单词或词组来完成下列句子。

1. I was daydreaming on the train and missed my stop!

2. My son has a short attention span and can’t concentrate on his schoolwork.

3. You need to knuckle down if you want to get all your work completed on time.

4. There must be absolute silence in the exam hall.

5. In our yoga class, we were told to relax and allow our mind to wander.