你有沒有過這種感受：吃瞭一點零食，感到自責？買瞭新衣服穿，覺得自己亂花錢？明明是在享受一件讓自己感到快樂的事情，卻不禁認為這是在自我縱容而深感內疚。不妨換個角度想一想，把你適當犒勞自己的行為看作是一種自我呵護、促進身心健康的方式。聽 “隨身英語” 節目圍繞這一話題展開討論。
詞匯：guilty pleasures 讓人有負罪感的樂事
You might have heard of the expression ‘a guilty pleasure’ – maybe it’s the chocolate bar you buy on the way home from work, or the new clothes that you don’t really need. It comes from the idea that when we treat ourselves, it can sometimes leave us feeling guilty. Perhaps we don’t feel we deserved it, or we don’t think it was a responsible way to spend our money. But should we feel like this? Do we really have to feel guilty about treating ourselves?
Perhaps not. Psychologists have suggested that buying things for yourself can make you feel better as it provides an opportunity to take control of your situation. It can give you social contact as well as a confidence boost from changes you make to your self-image. It may be that as well as lifting your mood, when you buy a treat, you might just be looking after yourself.
Of course, there are also examples of people turning to destructive behaviour when faced with stressful circumstances. People might spend money that they don’t have or turn to dangerous addictions. Psychologist Leon Seltzer considers the difference between self-indulgence and self-nurturing. Self-indulgence can be reckless and have negative consequences, while self-nurturing is taking responsible decisions to satisfy our needs and take care of ourselves in ways that don’t have a significant impact.
One stress that people may need to deal with is exam stress. Many universities publish guides with advice for coping with exam stress. Reflecting the difference between self-indulgence and self-nurture, they recommend rewarding yourself for your efforts, doing things that you enjoy and are good at so that you can feel accomplishment and to avoid things that may make you feel worse afterwards.
So perhaps, as long as we make responsible decisions, we shouldn’t feel guilty about our guilty pleasures.
詞匯表
treat 善待，犒勞
deserve 配得上，應得
responsible 負責任的
social contact 社會聯系，社交
confidence boost 增強自信，信心的提升
self-image 自我形象
lift your mood 振作你的精神，讓你心情愉快
look after 照顧，照料
destructive behaviour 自毀行為
stressful 有壓力的，讓人緊張的
addiction 成癮，上癮
self-indulgence 自我放縱，自我縱容
self-nurturing 自我呵護，自我照顧
reckless 輕率的，不顧後果的
consequences 後果
satisfy 使滿足
cope with 應對，處理
reward 獎勵，獎賞
accomplishment 成就
測驗與練習
1. 閱讀課文並回答問題。
1. What examples of guilty pleasures are in the article?
2. What three benefits have psychologists suggested treating ourselves may have?
3. What is the difference between self-indulgence and self-nurturing?
4. What university publications are mentioned in the article?
5. True or False? Universities recommend doing something that you are not good at to take your mind off exam stress.
2. 選擇意思恰當的單詞或詞組來完成下列句子。
1. If you think you _______ something, you think it’s right that you should have it.
satisfy reward cope deserve
2. Buying clothes you like can give you a better _______.
self-indulgence self-image accomplishment consequences
3. Treats might help us _______ with stress.
reward deserve cope look after
4. Turning to _______ when stressed can make things much worse.
reckless consequences problems addictions
5. Achieving your goals will lead to a feeling of _______.
accomplishment addiction boost self-indulgence
答案
1. 閱讀課文並回答問題。
1. What examples of guilty pleasures are in the article?
The article describes buying chocolate and clothes that you don’t need as guilty pleasures.
2. What three benefits have psychologists suggested treating ourselves may have?
Psychologists have suggested that treats can provide us with the opportunity to take control of our situation, social contact, and a confidence boost from an improved self-image.
3. What is the difference between self-indulgence and self-nurturing?
Self-indulgence is described as reckless with negative consequences, while self-nurturing is describe as the result of taking responsible decisions to look after ourselves.
4. What university publications are mentioned in the article?
The article mentions guides to coping with exam stress.
5. True or False? Universities recommend doing something that you are not good at to take your mind off exam stress.
False. Universities recommend doing something you are good at so that you can get a feeling of accomplishment.
2. 選擇意思恰當的單詞或詞組來完成下列句子。
1. If you think you deserve something, you think it’s right that you should have it.
2. Buying clothes you like can give you a better self-image.
3. Treats might help us cope with stress.
4. Turning to addictions when stressed can make things much worse.
5. Achieving your goals will lead to a feeling of accomplishment.
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