你有没有感到闷得发慌的时候？工作太辛苦会让人身心俱疲，但专家指出，长期感到无聊也会危害健康，让人产生倦怠感。本期 “随身英语” 节目探讨造成 “闷坏” 的因素和应对方法。

词汇：boredom 厌烦

How bored are you? Having nothing to do, or doing the same task again and again, can certainly be demotivating. And if boredom persists, you can lose your lust for life, and it can even affect your mental health. But does being bored have to be boring?

你有多无聊?无事可做，或者一遍又一遍地做同样的任务，肯定会让人失去动力。如果无聊持续下去，你可能会失去对生活的欲望，甚至会影响你的心理健康。但是无聊就一定是无聊吗?

A lack of stimulation can lead to boredom – this is when we start to yawn and our mind wanders. It can happen at home or at school, but it’s at work where some experts think being chronically bored can have damaging consequences. This situation has been termed ‘boreout’ and is the opposite of ‘burnout’. Writing for BBC Worklife, Bryan Lufkin says this happens “when we are bored by our work to the point that we feel it is totally meaningless. Our job seems pointless, our tasks devoid of value.” It can be caused by working in a demoralising physical environment or feeling under-challenged. Studies show depression from boreout can affect workers outside the office and lead to physical ailments from insomnia to headaches. But Bryan adds that “being able to identify it in us, is critical for tackling it.”

缺乏刺激会导致无聊——这就是我们开始打哈欠和走神的时候。这种情况可能发生在家里或学校，但一些专家认为，长期无聊会在工作中造成破坏性后果。这种情况被称为“无聊”，与“倦怠”相反。布莱恩·拉夫金在为BBC《工作生活》撰稿时表示，“当我们对工作感到无聊到完全没有意义时”就会发生这种情况。我们的工作似乎毫无意义，我们的任务毫无价值。”这可能是由于在一个令人沮丧的物理环境中工作或感觉缺乏挑战性。研究表明，无聊导致的抑郁会影响办公室以外的员工，并导致从失眠到头痛等身体疾病。但布莱恩补充说，“能够在我们身上找到它，对解决它至关重要。”

When it becomes mind-numbing and extreme, some people joke about ‘dying of boredom’. According to Luis Villazon, writing for the Science Focus website, boredom is just a state of mind which won’t kill you, though it can depress the immune system in some people. He says “The greatest risk from boredom stems from the things you do to combat it. People who are easily bored are more likely to engage in dangerous sports [...]”, for example. But some experts say boredom is a natural thing and it should be seen in a more positive light. If we see it as an opportunity, it could ignite our creativity. And if our boredom is at work, it could force us to engage with mentors, career counsellors or even our bosses. And Lotta Harju from EM Lyon Business School told the BBC, “boreout can mark a transition into something else: a different career entirely, or a different role in the organisation. If people only take its cue.”

当它变得麻木和极端时，一些人开玩笑说“无聊到死”。根据路易斯·维拉松在《科学焦点》网站上的文章，无聊只是一种不会杀死你的精神状态，尽管它会抑制一些人的免疫系统。他说:“无聊带来的最大风险来自于你为对抗它所做的事情。容易感到无聊的人更容易从事危险的运动[…]，例如。但一些专家表示，无聊是一件很自然的事情，应该从更积极的角度来看待它。如果我们把它看作一个机会，它可以点燃我们的创造力。如果我们的无聊是在工作，它可能迫使我们与导师、职业顾问甚至我们的老板接触。里昂商学院的Lotta Harju告诉BBC:“‘boreout’标志着向其他方向的转变:完全不同的职业，或者在组织中扮演不同的角色。只要人们听从它的暗示。”

词汇表

bored （感觉）无聊的
demotivating 失去积极性，令人泄气
boredom 厌烦，无聊
lust for life 对生活的热爱
boring 乏味的，无聊的
stimulation 刺激，激励
yawn 打哈欠
wander 走神
chronically 长期地，慢性地
boreout 闷得发慌，极度无聊
burnout 劳累过度
meaningless 无意义的，没有价值的
pointless 不值得做的，白搭的
demoralising 令人丧气的
under-challenged 缺乏挑战性
insomnia 失眠
mind-numbing 非常枯燥乏味的
dying of boredom “无聊得要死”
state of mind 心境，心态
immune system 免疫系统
transition 过渡，转变

测验与练习

1. 阅读课文并回答问题。

1. What two reasons are given that work might cause someone to develop boreout?

2. How can extreme boredom at work affect us outside the office?

3. True or false? People can die from extreme boredom.

4. How can boredom be good for us?

5. Who might we speak to if we become very bored at work?

2. 选择意思恰当的单词或词组来完成下列句子。

1. That lecture was so _______ I fell asleep!

boredom                       bored                        boring                        bore

2. I had a _______ journey to the shops – when I got there, they were closed.

pointless                       meaningless             chronically              mind-numbing

3. I have an _______ to work at one of the world’s leading banks – shall I take it?

transition                      opportunity                 insomnia                    demoralising

4. She shouldn’t be working in her _______.

state of mind                states of mind             mind of state              state of minds

5. She works at the hospital caring for _______ ill patients.

yawning                      chronically                   state of mind              stimulation

答案

1. 阅读课文并回答问题。

1. What two reasons are given that work might cause someone to develop boreout?
We can develop boreout if our job seems meaningless or pointless.

2. How can extreme boredom at work affect us outside the office?
Studies show depression from boreout can affect workers outside the office, and lead to physical ailments from insomnia to headaches.

3. True or false? People can die from extreme boredom.
False. ‘Dying of boredom’ is an expression that means you are very bored, but it doesn’t mean you actually die. However, it can affect your health.

4. How can boredom be good for us?
Some people think it can ignite our creativity, and at work it might force us into a different career or role in the organisation.

5. Who might we speak to if we become very bored at work?
If boredom is at work, it could force us to engage with mentors, career counsellors or even our boss.

2. 选择意思恰当的单词或词组来完成下列句子。

1. That lecture was so boring I fell asleep!

2. I had a pointless journey to the shops – when I got there, they were closed.

3. I have an opportunity to work at one of the world’s leading banks – shall I take it?

4. She shouldn’t be working in her state of mind.

5. She works at the hospital caring for chronically ill patients.

文章来源BBC侵权删。