用英语聊聊压力.doc

Jim在走廊上遇到同事Claire，跟Claire打招呼。Jim: Hey Claire, youve been really quiet these last few days. Is something wrong?Claire: Ive been really stressed. Its the end of the year and Ive got so much stuff to do! I feel like Im drowning in work.J: Well, stress is a real thing. Its not an imaginary condition.C: Its seriously affecting my life! I cant sleep, I dont have much of an appetite and my husband says Ive been kind of short tempered. Other people seem to handle stress okay.why am I so weak?Claire最近一直不太说话，原来是因为到年底了，有做不完的事情，Ive been really stressed. 她感觉压力特别大。Claire说，I feel like Im drowning in work. Drown, d-r-o-w-n, drown 溺水，在这里是一种比喻的说法，drown in work 意思是自己快要被工作压垮了。Claire不仅睡眠不好，食欲差，而且还动不动就发脾气，short tempered。大家都有压力，是不是只有Claire承压能力差呢？ Jim说，J: Youre not weak.youre stressed out! Stress has been a part of the human condition for millions of years. Back when we still lived in the trees we had to watch out for predators.and as you might imagine, that was pretty stressful.C: Yeah, but I dont see any tigers or leopards roaming around our office. My stress is just about silly paperwork!J: But youre actually having the same reaction as our tree-dwelling ancestors! Its called the flight or fight response. Each time you feel like somethings threatening you, your body decides whether to run away or fight.it causes all sorts of chemical reactions in the body.Jim安慰Claire说，这是身体对过度压力所做出的反应，就好像原来住在树上的老祖宗，随时随地要watch out for predators警惕捕食者的来袭，虽然现代人压力的来源变了，但是Claire面对压力，身体做出的反应还是一样的，这种反应叫flight or fight response，要在逃跑还是交战之间做出选择。Claire似懂非懂。C: So a deadline will cause that same reaction?J: It could. Modern humans actually have more flight or fight responses than our ancestors did. They just had a couple of close calls every day, but today, we have dozens or even hundreds!C: So the life of a cave woman was less stressful than my life?Jim说，跟生活在树上的老祖宗相比，现代人每天面对的flight or fight的情况更多。他们以前每天可能只有几次遇到危险，close calls，a close call指险些发生的厄运，比如 I was almost run over by a car. It was a close call.（我差点没被车撞到，太悬了）。如果真像Jim说的，现代人比史前人类cave man或是cave woman面对的压力还大了？我们下次继续听。Claire最近工作压力大，我们听听Jim告诉Claire该如何减压。J: There are lots of options for dealing with stress. What do you find works for you?C: I have no idea. Ive tried ginseng, herbal teas.nothing seems to work.J: Oh, look.theres Tina. Tina is a yoga fanatic. She swears its reduced her stress levels significantly. hey, Tina.got a second?T: Hi Jim, hi Claire.J: I was just mentioning to Claire how yoga changed your life.要给自己减压，有很多options可供选择的方式，但是Clarie说，她尝试过ginseng（西洋参）， herbal tea（草药茶）等等，nothing seems to work. 好像都不管用。正说着，另外一个同事Tina正好路过，被Jim叫住。原来，Tina is a yoga fanatic. Tina特别热衷瑜珈，fanatic is spelled f-a-n-a-t-i-c, fanatic指对某事特别热衷和投入的人。Tina说，做瑜珈帮她大大减轻了压力。瑜珈真有这么灵吗？我们听听Tina是怎么说的。T: Oh, yes. Im totally addicted. When Im there on my yoga mat, Im able to tune out the rest of the world. Its such a peaceful feeling.C: Do you think the exercise part of yoga is what helps reduce stress?T: Yes, but theres also a spiritual element. You take a little time to concentrate on yourself and forget about the world. Are you feeling stressed, Claire?Tina说自己，Im totally addicted to yoga. 意思是我做瑜珈上瘾。addicted is spelled a-d-d-i-c-t-e-d, addicted 意思是对某事上瘾。Tina说，坐在瑜珈垫子上的时候，Im able to tune out the rest of the world. tune something out意思是把某事排除在外，完全不去注意。Tina还说，做瑜珈释放压力，不仅是因为瑜珈里有运动成分，还因为瑜珈带有精神上的元素，the spiritual element. 让人忘却外部世界，身心放松。Tina问Claire是不是感觉压力很大，Claire回答说：C: Big time. I feel like Im treading water, but not getting anywhere. Im constantly frustrated.T: Its funny, but relaxing is actually quite difficult. Our brains are so revved up. Its really hard to slow down.J: Thats right. I still think about work even when Im trying to go to sleep.T: You really have to make an effort to relax, and each person is different.Claire说，自己最近感觉压力特别大，I am stressed out big time. big time有强调的意思