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列奧納多·達(dá)·芬奇是意大利文藝復(fù)興時(shí)期最杰出的代表之一，他才華橫溢、學(xué)識(shí)淵博，是多個(gè)領(lǐng)域的專(zhuān)家和先驅(qū)。然而，達(dá)·芬奇其實(shí)也是一位“重度拖延癥患者”，他的傳世畫(huà)作《蒙娜麗莎》畫(huà)了四年，《最后的晚餐》畫(huà)了三年，直到去世時(shí)，還有多幅手稿未畫(huà)完。他在自己的一則筆記中寫(xiě)道：“Dimmi, dimmi se mai fu fatto cosa alcuna.”（告訴我，告訴我，到底有哪樣事情是完成了的？）這簡(jiǎn)直與我們?nèi)缃衩鎸?duì)各種 deadline 卻拖著遲遲不愿開(kāi)動(dòng)的現(xiàn)代人別無(wú)二致。“拖延癥”究竟是一種怎樣的狀態(tài)？為何無(wú)論是天才還是普通人，無(wú)論是過(guò)去還是現(xiàn)在都難以避免？我們和 Lala 老師一起走進(jìn)今天的新聞來(lái)一探究竟。

新聞原文

You might be genetically predisposed to procrastination

 Fast Company

If you like to put things off or surf the internet instead of getting work done, you might be able to blame your ancestors. Procrastination is based in our genetics, says Sharad Paul, MD, author of The Genetics Of Health: Understand Your Genes for Better Health.

While procrastination seems like a character flaw, it evolved for a reason. “The genes progressed down generations because these people were still holed up in caves fearful of predators [saying], ‘My tools are not sharp enough. I better spend more time perfecting this spear, ’” he says. “These people survived more because they avoided conflict, and these genes were handed down to future generations.”

While it’s tempting to simply blame your parents, the buck stops with you, says Paul. “People think that genes determine their fate. This is only true if their actions lead in that direction.”

The best thing to combat procrastination is to get moving, says Paul. “Start slow and keep building endurance levels up, ” he says. “There are many different forms of endurance exercise and many involve leg movement. Pick one that you like and make sure you vary it. An average of just 30 minutes a day has been shown to be beneficial.”

Anything can be modified or improved, including our gene expressions, says Paul, who likes to reference the 10, 000-hours theory Malcolm Gladwell shares in his book The Outliers, suggesting that talent is made with practice and commitment, not an innate trait.

“If you have the right genes, this could be perhaps a bit faster, but not by much, ” he says. “Therefore, there is hope for us all.”

帶著問(wèn)題聽(tīng)講解

我們的拖延癥從何而來(lái)？

如何理解“the buck stops with you”的含義？

我們可以通過(guò)什么樣的方式來(lái)改善拖延癥呢？

新聞?wù)?/h3>

You might be genetically predisposed to procrastination

你可能天生就“愛(ài)拖延”

If you like to put things off or surf the internet instead of getting work done, you might be able to blame your ancestors. Procrastination is based in our genetics, says Sharad Paul, MD, author of The Genetics Of Health: Understand Your Genes for Better Health.

如果你總是喜歡做事拖延或者寧愿上網(wǎng)也不愿先把工作做完，你也許可以把這些歸咎于你的祖先。《健康的基因構(gòu)成：了解你的基因，更好地促進(jìn)健康》一書(shū)的作者——沙拉德·保羅醫(yī)學(xué)博士說(shuō)，拖延癥根植于我們的基因中。

While procrastination seems like a character flaw, it evolved for a reason. “The genes progresseddown generations because these people were still holed up in caves fearful of predators [saying], ‘My tools are not sharp enough. I better spend more time perfectingthis spear,’” he says. “These people survived more because they avoided conflict, and these genes were handed down to future generations.”

盡管拖延癥似乎是一種性格缺陷，但它的形成是有原因的。保羅說(shuō)，“（拖延的）基因能夠一代又一代地進(jìn)化下來(lái)，是因?yàn)楫?dāng)時(shí)的人們?nèi)匀灰蚝ε缕渌橙鈩?dòng)物而躲藏在洞穴里，[并說(shuō)著]‘我的工具不夠鋒利，我最好再花些時(shí)間來(lái)修繕這支矛’。這些人更多地幸存下來(lái)，因?yàn)樗麄兌氵^(guò)了外出戰(zhàn)斗。他們的這些基因也因此被傳給了后代。"

While it’s tempting to simply blame your parents, the buck stops with you, says Paul. “People think that genes determine their fate. This is only true if their actions lead in that direction.”

保羅說(shuō)，雖然你可能禁不住想把拖延癥歸咎于父母，但這個(gè)責(zé)任終歸在于你自己。“人們認(rèn)為，基因決定了他們的命運(yùn)。但只有當(dāng)他們就按照這個(gè)方向行事時(shí)，這個(gè)觀(guān)點(diǎn)才是正確的。”

The best thing to combat procrastination is to get moving, says Paul. “Start slow and keep building endurance levels up,” he says. “There are many different forms of endurance exercise and many involve leg movement. Pick one that you like and make sure you vary it. An average of just 30 minutes a day has been shown to be beneficial.”

保羅說(shuō)，戰(zhàn)勝拖延癥最好的辦法就是行動(dòng)起來(lái)。他說(shuō)，“（你可以）慢慢開(kāi)始，不斷提高耐力水平。鍛煉耐力有許多不同的方式，其中許多都涉及到腿部運(yùn)動(dòng)。挑選一個(gè)你喜歡的運(yùn)動(dòng)，并確保你能把它玩出各種花樣。事實(shí)證明，平均每天只需鍛煉30分鐘就會(huì)讓你身心受益。”

Anything can be modified or improved, including our gene expressions, says Paul, who likes to reference the 10,000-hours theory Malcolm Gladwell shares in his book The Outliers, suggesting that talent is made with practice and commitment, not an innatetrait.

保羅說(shuō)，任何東西都可以被調(diào)整或完善，包括我們的基因表現(xiàn)。他常引用馬爾科姆·格拉德威爾在其著作《異數(shù)》中所分享的 10000 小時(shí)定律，認(rèn)為天才是通過(guò)（不斷的）練習(xí)和付出錘煉而成的，而非天資過(guò)人。

“If you have the right genes, this could be perhaps a bit faster, but not by much,” he says. “Therefore, there is hope for us all.”

“如果你剛好有合適的基因，這個(gè)過(guò)程可能會(huì)快一點(diǎn)，但也不會(huì)快很多，”他說(shuō)，“因此，我們大家都是有希望的。”

重點(diǎn)詞匯

predispose
/?pri?d??spo?z/
v. 有…的傾向，使傾向于做…
搭配短語(yǔ)：predispose sb. to sth.
predispose sb. to sth. 例句：Fatigue predisposes people to colds.

procrastination
/pro??kr?st??ne??n/
n. 拖延，拖延癥
英文釋義：the act of delaying something that must be done, often because it is unpleasant or boring
相關(guān)詞匯：procrastinate（v. 拖延，耽擱）

put sth. off
推遲，阻止
搭配短語(yǔ)：put off the plan
相關(guān)詞匯：put sb. off（令（某人）退卻，使（某人）掃興）
put sb. off 例句：The smell of hospitals always puts me off.

surf the internet
上網(wǎng)，上網(wǎng)沖浪

genetics
/d???net?ks/
n. 基因（構(gòu)成）

progress
/pr??ɡres/
v. 緩慢進(jìn)行，取得進(jìn)展
英文釋義：to continue gradually
相關(guān)詞匯：progress（n. 進(jìn)步，進(jìn)展）
progress（n.）搭配短語(yǔ)：make progress

hole up
躲藏，把…監(jiān)禁
搭配短語(yǔ)：hole up/be holed up in the mountain

predator
/?pred?t?r/
n. 食肉動(dòng)物，捕食者

perfect
/p??r?f?kt/
v. 使完美；改善，提高
相關(guān)詞匯：perfect（adj. 完美的）
搭配短語(yǔ)：perfect the basketball technique

hand down
把…傳下來(lái)
例句：These customs have been handed downthrough the ages.

the buck stops with sb.
責(zé)無(wú)旁貸，不能再推卸責(zé)任
例句：The buck stops with me.

endurance
/?n?d?r?ns/
n. 耐受力，忍耐力
相關(guān)詞匯：endure（v. 忍耐）
endure 例句：We had to endure a nine-hour delay at the airport.

vary
/?v?ri/
v. 改變；更改
英文釋義：cause something to change in amount or level

modify
/?mɑ?d?fa?/
v.（稍作）修改，更改
例句：Please modify this e-mail to make it more polite.

reference
/?refr?ns/
v. 引用
詞性拓展：reference（n. 談及；引用；參考；推薦信）
搭配短語(yǔ)：to reference sth.

innate
/??ne?t/
adj. 天生的，固有的
英文釋義：If a characteristic or ability is already present in a person or animal when they are born, it is innate.
搭配短語(yǔ)：innate sense of humor

trait
/tre?t/
n.（個(gè)人的）特征，品質(zhì)
英文釋義：A trait is something about you that makes you "you".
同義詞：characteristic; feature; quality