我們為什麼會把今天的事情拖到明天做？《隨身英語》討論人們為什麼面對應該做的事情總是拖延，比如準備高考復習、儲備養老金等等。那我們應該如何避免拖延的誘惑呢？
課文內容
詞匯: Procrastination 拖延
Do you ever have a task you need to complete but however urgent it may be, you just don’t get on and do it? From doing the housework to writing an assignment, there’s always something I can put off until tomorrow.
Being a procrastinator is quite easy. There are so many other more interesting distractions such as watching funny cat videos on the internet or catching up with friends on social media! But Benjamin Franklin, one of the Founding Fathers of the United States, once wisely said that: ‘You may delay, but time will not’, in other words, the time we waste now is gone forever – so maybe I should pull my socks up and get on with what I should be doing.
The reason why many of us delay doing something is that we live for the present not the future. We are reluctant to engage in tasks that relate to the future – sorting something out now that will benefit us in the future doesn’t seem like a priority. Daphna Oyserman, Professor of Psychology at the University of Southern California, says that “many things that are quite important about the future require that we start doing things now rather than waiting for later to happen … waiting till later means that we won’t have much time.” So get on with it now rather than have a last-minute panic later!
But it’s hard to muster any enthusiasm when there are tedious chores to be done, so how can I control my lack of focus and knuckle down to what really needs to be done? One idea is temptation bundling – doing two activities together – one that is boring but essential and one that you enjoy but isn’t so productive. Planning is essential too and we should never underestimate how long things will take us. However, Dr Catherine Loveday from Westminster University warns us about a ‘planning fallacy‘ thinking we can get something done quickly. She says “We never seem to get any better at judging time in the future and how long things will take us.”
Maybe for now, I’ll make a cup of tea, and ponder on these thoughts before I crack on with some important tasks – anyway, there’s always tomorrow.
詞匯表
task 任務
put off 延後，拖延
procrastinator 托拉的人
distraction 分心的事，分散註意力的東西
pull my socks up 努力加油幹，加把勁兒
live for the present 活在當下
reluctant 勉強的，不情願的
engage 參與
priority 優先考慮的事情，重要的事情
last-minute 最後一刻的
muster 激起（某種感情）
knuckle down 開始努力工作
temptation bundling 誘惑捆綁（把一件需要做但枯燥的事情和一件有趣的事情連在一起做，合二為一）
productive 有效率的
underestimate 低估
fallacy 謬論，謬見
ponder 沉思，考慮
to crack on 趕快加速繼續（工作）
測驗與練習
1. 閱讀課文並回答問題。
1. Is this true or false? A procrastinator is someone who won’t delay things that must be done.
2. Why do many people tend to live for the present not the future?
3. What word used in the article describes an excited feeling of being very interested in something?
4. According to Dr Catherine Loveday, how good are we at judging how long things take to complete?
5. What thing mentioned in the article will not stop or wait for anyone?
2. 請你在不參考課文的情況下完成下列練習。選擇一個意思合適的單詞填入句子的空格處。
1. I was __________ to go to Greece for my holiday because of the heat, but once I got there, I loved it.
distracted reluctant put off productive
2. I had to do some __________ Christmas shopping because I’d forgotten to buy my mother a present!
last-hour less-minute last-minute last-minutes
3. I can’t go to the movies tonight, I’ve got to make studying for my exams a ________.
priority productive fallacy procrastinator
4. I’ve got to _________ and get on with tax return otherwise I’ll get a big fine.
knockdown knuckle it knee cap knuckle down
5. I think she _________ how much work there was to do – it took her weeks to decorate her house.
understated underwear underestimated underestimates
答案
1. 閱讀課文並回答問題。
1. Is this true or false? A procrastinator is someone who won’t delay things that must be done.
False: A procrastinator is someone who keeps delaying things that must be done.
2. Why do many people tend to live for the present and not plan for the future?
The future doesn’t seem like a priority.
3. What word used in the article describes an excited feeling of being very interested in something?
Enthusiasm
4. According to Dr Catherine Loveday, how good are we at judging how long things take to complete?
Not very good. She said “We never seem to get any better at judging time in the future and how long things will take us.”
5. What thing mentioned in the article will not stop or wait for anyone?
Time.
2. 請你在不參考課文的情況下完成下列練習。選擇一個意思合適的單詞填入句子的空格處。
1. I was reluctant to go to Greece for my holiday because of the heat but once I got there, I loved it.
2. I had to do some last-minute Christmas shopping because I’d forgotten to buy my mother a present!
3. I can’t go to the movies tonight, I’ve got to make studying for my exams a priority.
4. I’ve got to knuckle down and get on with tax return otherwise I’ll get a big fine.
5. I think she underestimated how much work there was to do – it took her weeks to decorate her house.
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