E時(shí)代，智能手機(jī)的問世，掀起了一股使用手機(jī)的熱潮。隨著iPhone、三星等多功能高端手機(jī)的推出，人們更是對手機(jī)欲罷不能。走在街上，四處可見青年男女用手機(jī)打著電話，發(fā)著短信、微博，聽著歌……手機(jī)已經(jīng)成為人們?nèi)粘Ｉ畈豢扇鄙俚囊徊糠帧Ｈ欢?，手機(jī)在為人們溝通提供便利的同時(shí)，也使得許多年輕人遭遇溝通危機(jī)，與周圍人的關(guān)系日漸疏遠(yuǎn)。本期的《生活聊吧》中，Jacob和Ann將和大家討論頻繁使用手機(jī)的危害。各種“手機(jī)粉”們可要注意了哦。

Part 1 The Simple Life

Jacob受不了公車上人人都用手機(jī)產(chǎn)生的噪音，他告訴Ann這個(gè)周末他要過一個(gè)“脫離手機(jī)日”。

Jacob： Hiya Ann， how are you？

Ann： Good thanks， you？

Jacob： Im okay. Ive just got in from doing some shopping. The bus back home was an absolute nightmare. I ended up getting off a stop earlier and walking the rest of the way.

Ann： Why， what happened？

Jacob： Its not so much as what did happen but what didnt！

Ann： What do you mean？

Jacob： ①Well， everyone was either 1）gabbing away or playing on their mobile phones. There were mothers 2）babbling away with babies on their knees， guys playing games with the sound on full volume， and young college girls and boys just clicking constantly.

Ann： Oh I know， tell me about it！ Does no one actually talk anymore？

Jacob： Thats what I was thinking！ All the 3）bleeps and 4）buzzing， it was driving me crazy！ ②I couldnt 5）hack it！

Ann： I see the same thing on the metro each morning. You can actually see people pulling their phones out of their pockets every 30 seconds to see if they have a new message. ③I mean， give me a break！

Jacob： ④There are so many people out there addicted to their crackberries！

Ann： We rely too much on them. To be honest， I dont know what I would do if I lost my mobile. Sometimes I think I would rather lose my wallet rather than my phone！

Jacob： Haha， exactly. So， Ive decided that this weekend my house is going to be totally mobile free； a weekend just the same as when my parents were growing up—no texts， 6）notifications， updates， 7）incomings， surfing， nothing！

Ann： Wow！ Do you 8）reckon youll be able to last 48 hours not glancing at your mobile even once！

Jacob： I want to see how much I rely on mine and how much of a difference having no mobile would actually make！

Ann： ⑤You might be taken aback！

Jacob： ⑥If friends want to reach me they can ring the house phone and if Im not in they will just have to leave a message and hope that I get it！ Or they can come to my house and see if Im in—just like people had to do in the old days！

Ann： Haha， the simple life， eh？

Jacob： Right！

Ann： What do you think youll do？ Do you not think you will get bored not being able to play games or see what your friends are up to？⑦You might end up twiddling your thumbs！

Jacob： If I happen to see them， then I can ask them face-to-face what theyve been doing！ And without my phone distracting me Ill have to find other things to keep me occupied.

Ann： Like what？

Jacob： Like listening to a whole music album without one interruption， or reading a chapter of a book without checking my Weibo or QQ！

Ann： Haha， what else？

Jacob： I guess if I plan to meet someone someplace， they have to be there at the time we agreed！ No one can change plans at the last minute！ Ill have to be on time with everything I do！

Ann： Sounds much simpler and quieter too！

Jacob： The rule doesnt just apply to me. ⑧If you pop round to see me， you must leave your mobile phone at the door！

Ann： Sounds fair， good luck！

Smart Sentences

① Well， everyone was either gabbing away or playing on their mobile phones. 嗯，車上的每個(gè)人不是沒完沒了地打電話就是在玩手機(jī)。

gab away： talk excessively（不停地說）。例如：

Its been a long time since the two saw each other and they are now gabbing away in the garden.

她倆有好長時(shí)間沒見了，現(xiàn)正在花園聊得起勁。

② I couldnt hack it！ 我忍受不了！

cant hack it： do not have the qualities to cope with a situation（沒有能力處理，應(yīng)對）。例如：

If it goes wrong， I dont think I could hack it—its too complicated.

如果出了問題，我不知道自己能不能處理得了——事情太復(fù)雜了。

③ I mean， give me a break！我的意思是，不會(huì)吧！

give me a break： used to express disbelief at what was just heard or seen， same as “I cant believe it”（用以表達(dá)對所見所聞不敢相信）。例如：

Youre going to run in next weeks marathon？ Give me a break！ You dont even climb the stairs to the third floor.

你下周跑馬拉松？不會(huì)吧！你連走樓梯到三樓都不肯。

④ There are so many people out there addicted to their crackberries！ 太多人迷戀手機(jī)了！

crackberry： cell phone， nickname for Blackberry cell phone（手機(jī)，黑莓手機(jī)的昵稱）。例如：

Hey， put your crackberries away. We are having a meeting.

喂，把你們的手機(jī)都收起來，我們在開會(huì)呢。

⑤ You might be taken aback！ 你可能會(huì)嚇一大跳！

taken aback： surprised or shocked by sth.（吃驚）。例如：

I was taken aback when my ex-boyfriend called.

我的前男友來電話時(shí)，我嚇了一跳。

⑥ If friends want to reach me they can ring the house phone. 如果朋友想找我他們可以打我家里的固定電話。

reach sb.： succeed in getting in contact with sb.（與某人取得聯(lián)系）。例如：

Ive tried to reach him for days and it turned out he went abroad.

我連續(xù)多天想與他取得聯(lián)系，原來他出國了。

⑦ You might end up twiddling your thumbs！ 你或許會(huì)閑得無聊！

twiddle ones thumbs： bored or idle（閑著無事，無聊）。例如：

With everyone going home， Ill probably end up twiddling my thumbs this holiday.

這個(gè)假期人人都回家，我大概會(huì)無所事事。

⑧ If you pop round to see me， you must leave your mobile phone at the door！ 如果你來看我，你必須將你的手機(jī)放在門口！

pop round （for a visit）： come by for a visit（順道拜訪）。例如：

John popped round last night and picked up the dictionary.

約翰昨晚來過，把字典拿走了。

Part 2 The Art of Conversation

Ann在咖啡廳里發(fā)現(xiàn)自己竟然是唯一不使用手機(jī)的人……

Ann： Hiya Jacob， hows it going？

Jacob： Pretty good， what have you been up to？

Ann： I just went to a café and I noticed the strangest thing.

Jacob： Why， what did you see？

Ann： ①Well， it took me a while to cotton onto the fact that I was the only person there who wasnt talking or texting on a mobile phone.

Jacob： ②Doesnt sound too out of the ordinary in this day and age.

Ann： ③I know， it was rather strange to see not a soul was having a face-to-face conversation with a real human being. It was almost as if they werent talking to anyone but just a 1）gadget！

Jacob： ④Its funny you should bring this up， only yesterday was I listening to a programme about the“Death of Conversation”.

Ann： Really？ And what did that have to say about this social phenomenon？

Jacob： That teenagers， and many adults， prefer to have online friends and find it easier to talk when they dont have to look someone in the face.

Ann： Yes， its such a pity. I much prefer when I can see the person. I feel that I can strengthen my relationship with that person when I see them laughing or 2）frowning or whatever.

Jacob： Yes， I feel the same. Though mobile phones can at times be a 3）Godsend， they are very 4）impersonal and a little 5）detached from reality.

Ann： I totally agree. Some people I talk to on social networking sites I have hardly met—they are almost like total strangers. So， what else did the programme have to say？

Jacob： Well this teenage boy was being interviewed and he said that people who go online a lot are “alone together”.

Ann： What does that mean？

Jacob： It means that some teenagers see being online as being together， that they dont actually need to meet the people to feel that they are with them.

Ann： Thats so depressing， they are really missing out on developing their social skills.

Jacob： Thats what the programme said， that teenagers are growing up nowadays as much less confident and more 6）introverted.

Ann： Yeah， when I go to family events I often see the young 7）tweeting a lot about attending a party rather than enjoying being there！

Jacob： Right！ For many kids， these virtual friends make them feel secure. They can live independently without having any relationships. I guess the advantage is finding out what a lot of other people are thinking at the same time and feeling comforted by that.

Ann： I guess thats true， but I still find that being with someone in the same room when youre having a chat is so much more rewarding than simply staring at a screen.

Jacob： Even if people are busy with studying or working they must remember that socializing also requires time and energy and cant be done simply by typing.

Ann： Exactly， Id rather have a small group of friends than hundreds that I didnt know well at all！

Jacob： So， as long as you put the effort in with the friends youve got， ⑤there is no point getting down in the mouth about it. Just remember who your “real” friends are！

Smart Sentences

① Well， it took me a while to cotton onto the fact that I was the only person there who wasnt talking or texting on a mobile phone. 過了一會(huì)兒我才意識到自己是那里唯一一個(gè)不打手機(jī)不發(fā)短信的人。

cotton onto sth.： understand or realize sth. without being told（領(lǐng)悟，明白）。例如：

At the last minute， I cottoned onto the fact that I was the last one to know about the layoff.

到了最后，我才明白，原來我是最后一個(gè)知道裁員這事兒的。

② Doesnt sound too out of the ordinary in this day and age. 在今時(shí)今日這并不奇怪。

in this day and age： right at this moment， nowadays（當(dāng)今）。例如：

Not a lot of people have a folding fan in this day and age.

如今，有折扇的人不多了。

③ I know， it was rather strange to see not a soul was having a face-to-face conversation with a real human being. 我知道，看到?jīng)]有一個(gè)人是跟一個(gè)真人面對面地交流，這真的很奇怪。

not a soul： nobody（沒人）。例如：

I ran into the gym and saw not a soul there—everyone stayed home on New Years Eve.

我跑到健身房，一個(gè)人也沒有——除夕，所有人都呆在家里。

④ Its funny you should bring this up. 你提起了這事真有趣。

bring sth. up： introduce a topic of conversation（在談話中引入某話題）。例如：

He brought up the issue of assistance to Marys hospital stay and it was turned down.

他提出了為瑪麗的住院提供補(bǔ)助之事，但被駁回。

⑤ There is no point getting down in the mouth about it. 沒有必要感到沮喪。

down in the mouth： lose ones spirit， depressed（沮喪， 垂頭喪氣）。例如：

Dont be down in the mouth about the loss. There is always the next game.

輸了別喪氣，總是還有機(jī)會(huì)的嘛。

Part 3 Finding a Balance

Jacob從約會(huì)中掃興回來，原來和他約會(huì)的女生總是手機(jī)不離手，弄得他無所適從……

Ann： Hello Jacob， long time no see， how are you？

Jacob： Hmmm， Im okay， I could be better.

Ann： Whats wrong？ Didnt you have that date last night？ How did it go？

Jacob： I did yeah， ①but I felt as if I was a third wheel.

Ann： Oh no， she didnt bring a friend with her did she？！

Jacob： Yeah， she did， she brought them all！

Ann： ②What on earth do you mean？

Jacob： I mean she 1）persistently checked her mobile throughout the entire date， even when we were having our meal！

Ann： ③Oh， thats just not on.

Jacob： I know！ ④I felt like a spare part！ I dont want to be some sort of 2）fuddy-duddy but technology can often divide people as opposed to bringing them closer together.

Ann： ⑤Didnt you make a 3）stink？ I would have told her that she was being rude.

Jacob： I did try to mention it， but she said that each time she gets an e-mail or a message she feels happy because she feels like a wanted person， that she is popular and important.

Ann： Yeah， its totally ridiculous. Ive heard that the main cause of fights between a couple is to do with their smartphones. They can even break up marriages！

Jacob： Yeah， I really felt as if I was competing for her attention against people that werent even there！ I recently read that on average people check their phone over 30 times a day， but she must have checked it more than that in one hour！

Ann： Maybe she was afraid of making eye contact. Maybe seeing that she had friends online to talk to gave her confidence.

Jacob： ⑥Its getting out of hand though； I think people should come up with a solution or at least find a way to balance the use of their mobile phones with other activities.

Ann： Yeah I couldnt agree more， but we shouldnt blame technology. The way to enhance a conversation is by understanding each other. Simply throwing away the mobile phone isnt going to solve anything.

Jacob： What do you suggest then？

Ann： Well maybe it would be a good idea for individuals or couples to set up their own phone-free times and zones.

Jacob： What do you mean？

Ann： Well people could allow for periods of the day or specific times—such as on a date—when they agree to not check or use their phones. They could turn their phones off completely or leave them in the house when they go out.

Jacob： Those are some good ideas！ And people should also turn it to silent， especially if they are in a quiet place like a cinema or a coffee shop. I hate it when someone has a really loud 4）ringtone that disturbs everyone！

Ann： People also dont need their phones with them all the time “in case of an emergency”. How many emergencies do people have on a daily basis！

Jacob： Haha， yeah， good point. And people should only use their phones when they really need to rather than having five-minute phone conversations just to see what someone is doing！

Ann： Totally. If we come up with any more solutions we wont have any excuse to use ours！

Jacob： Yeah， ⑦lets leave it at that！

Smart Sentences

① I did yeah， but I felt as if I was a third wheel. 我去了，但是感覺自己像是個(gè)電燈泡。

third wheel： a person hanging out with a couple and feeling uncomfortable（電燈泡）。例如：

To the concert with you and Dave？ No way， I wouldnt want to be the third wheel.

跟你和大衛(wèi)一起去聽音樂會(huì)？才不呢，我可不想做電燈泡。

② What on earth do you mean？ 你究竟是什么意思？

What on earth…： used for emphasis of the speakers surprise， anger， etc.（用以突出說話者的詫異、氣憤等）。例如：

What on earth did you do to the car？

你到底把車子怎么了？

③ Oh， thats just not on. 啊，這真不公平。

thats not on： used to express annoyance toward a situation， same as “thats not fair”（用以表達(dá)對一個(gè)情形的不滿，等同于“thats not fair”）。例如：

Thats not on—you cant have me doing all the dishes and cleaning the kitchen while you just sit there and watch TV.

那不公平，你不能讓我洗碗，在廚房搞衛(wèi)生，而你卻坐那兒看電視。

④ I felt like a spare part！ 我感覺自己像是個(gè)多余的人。

spare part： sth. not necessary（多余的）。例如：

Theres no spare part here. Everyone has his duty.

這里沒有人是多余的，人人都有各自的職責(zé)。

⑤ Didnt you make a stink？ 你沒有抱怨過嗎？

make a stink （about sth.）： show ones anger in order to make others take notice（about sth.） （為某事大鬧）。例如：

The kids made a stink when they heard the test had been moved up to this week.

孩子們知道測驗(yàn)提前到這周，就都鬧了起來。

⑥ Its getting out of hand though.但是這已經(jīng)無法控制了。

out of hand： no longer be able to control a situation（無力控制事情的發(fā)展）。例如：

My sisters drinking is getting out of hand.

我妹妹喝酒已經(jīng)失控了。

⑦ Lets leave it at that！ 讓我們到此為止吧！

leave it at that： say or do no more about something（到此為止）。例如：

Lets leave it at that. No further discussion is necessary.

就到此為止，沒有必要再討論了。

Part 1 簡單的生活

雅各布：你好，安，最近好嗎？

安：很好，謝謝。你呢？

雅各布：我還行。我剛購物回來。坐公車回家的經(jīng)歷對我來說簡直是場噩夢。我最后不得不提前一站下車走完剩下的路程。

安：為什么，發(fā)生什么事了？

雅各布：與其說發(fā)生了什么還不如說什么也沒發(fā)生。

安：你什么意思？

雅各布：嗯，車上的每個(gè)人不是沒完沒了地打電話就是在玩手機(jī)。媽媽們把孩子放在膝蓋上教他們呀呀學(xué)語，男生們把音量調(diào)到最大玩游戲，大學(xué)男生女生總是在按著手機(jī)。

安：哦，我知道，快告訴我！是不是沒有人在真正地交談了？

雅各布：這正是我所想的！嗡嗡的嘈雜聲，都快把我弄瘋了。我忍受不了！

安：每天早上我在地鐵都會(huì)遇到同樣的事情。你可以看到人們每隔30秒就從口袋里拿出手機(jī)看看有沒有收到新信息。我的意思是，不會(huì)吧！

雅各布：太多人沉迷于手機(jī)了！

安：我們太依賴手機(jī)了。老實(shí)說，我不知道如果沒有手機(jī)我還能干什么。有時(shí)候我在想我寧愿丟了錢包也不愿丟了手機(jī)。

雅各布：哈哈，沒錯(cuò)。因此，我已經(jīng)決定這個(gè)周末我家將會(huì)完全脫離手機(jī)；過一個(gè)像我們父母成長時(shí)期一樣的周末——沒有短信、通知、最新資訊、來電、上網(wǎng)，什么都沒有！

安：哇！你能保證在48小時(shí)內(nèi)一次也不看手機(jī)嗎？

雅各布：我想知道我到底有多依賴手機(jī)以及沒有手機(jī)會(huì)有多大的區(qū)別。

安：你可能會(huì)嚇一大跳！

雅各布：如果朋友想找我他們可以打我家里的固定電話，如果我不在他們可以給我留言，希望我能收到！或者他們可以來我家看看我究竟在不在——就像從前人們必須做的那樣。

安：哈哈，你是指簡單的生活，對吧？

雅各布：對！

安：你認(rèn)為你會(huì)怎樣？你不認(rèn)為不能玩游戲或者看看你的朋友都在干嘛會(huì)讓你感到郁悶嗎？你或許會(huì)閑得無聊！

雅各布：如果我碰到朋友，我會(huì)面對面地問他們最近都在干嘛！同時(shí)，沒有手機(jī)的干擾我不得不找其他的事情充實(shí)自己。

安：例如什么事情呢？

雅各布：像是沒有任何干擾地聽完整張音樂專輯，或者在讀一章書時(shí)不用查閱我的微博和QQ！

安：哈哈，還有呢？

雅各布：我想如果我計(jì)劃在某個(gè)地方見某個(gè)人，他們必須按照約定時(shí)間赴約。沒有人能在最后一分鐘改變計(jì)劃！我將及時(shí)地去做每一件事情！

安：聽起來更加簡單清凈了！

雅各布：這條規(guī)則不僅僅適用于我。如果你來看我，你必須將你的手機(jī)放在門口！

安：聽起來很公平，祝你好運(yùn)！

Part 2 交談的藝術(shù)

安：你好，雅各布，最近怎樣？

雅各布：很好，你最近都在忙什么呢？

安：我去了一家咖啡廳然后發(fā)現(xiàn)了一件特別奇怪的事情。

雅各布：怎么了，你看到什么了？

安：嗯，過了一會(huì)兒我才意識到自己是那里唯一一個(gè)不打手機(jī)不發(fā)短信的人。

雅各布：在今時(shí)今日這并不奇怪。

安：我知道，看到?jīng)]有一個(gè)人是跟一個(gè)真人面對面地交流，這真的很奇怪。這就好像除了對著手機(jī)他們幾乎不與任何人說話一樣。

雅各布：你提起了這事真有趣，我昨天才收聽了一個(gè)有關(guān)“溝通對話被扼殺”的節(jié)目。

安：真的嗎？那個(gè)節(jié)目對這種社會(huì)現(xiàn)象怎么評論？

雅各布：節(jié)目提到，青少年和許多成人更喜歡在網(wǎng)上結(jié)交朋友，當(dāng)不用面對別人時(shí)，他們發(fā)現(xiàn)交談會(huì)變得更加容易。

安：是的，很遺憾。我更喜歡看著別人。我感覺，能看到別人笑，別人皺眉頭或者做任何事情的時(shí)候，就能使我與他人的關(guān)系更近一步。

雅各布：是的，我也有同感。盡管手機(jī)有時(shí)是天賜之物，它們很不人性化而且有點(diǎn)脫離實(shí)際。

安：我很同意。正如和我在社交網(wǎng)站上交談的朋友，我?guī)缀醪豢赡苡鲆娝麄儭麄兺耆拖衲吧艘粯印Ｄ敲?，那個(gè)節(jié)目還說了什么？

雅各布：一位男孩受訪時(shí)說經(jīng)常上網(wǎng)的人都是“一起孤獨(dú)”的。

安：那是什么意思？

雅各布：意思就是一些青少年男孩把在線當(dāng)作在一起，他們不需要真的去見他人來感覺到彼此的存在。

安：這真讓人沮喪，他們真的錯(cuò)過鍛煉社交能力的機(jī)會(huì)。

雅各布：這就是那個(gè)節(jié)目所說的，現(xiàn)在的青少年都變得缺乏自信而更加內(nèi)向。

安：對，當(dāng)我參加家庭聚會(huì)時(shí)，經(jīng)常看到那些年輕人發(fā)博客寫自己在參加派對而不是享受在那里的樂趣。

雅各布：對！對許多孩子來說，這些網(wǎng)上的朋友能讓他們有安全感。他們可以沒有任何關(guān)聯(lián)地獨(dú)自生活。我想這樣的好處是能同時(shí)知道許多其他人的想法并因此而感到舒服。

安：我想這是對的，但是我還是發(fā)現(xiàn)能和別人在同一房間聊天比只是盯著屏幕有意義得多。

雅各布：即使人們忙于學(xué)習(xí)或工作他們也很記得社交也需要時(shí)間和精力，不能僅通過打字來完成。

安：正確，我寧愿有一小群朋友也不愿意有成百上千個(gè)我根本不了解的網(wǎng)友。

雅各布：那么，只要你對已有的朋友用點(diǎn)心，就沒有必要感到沮喪。只需記住誰是你“真正的”朋友就好。

Part 3尋找平衡點(diǎn)

安：嗨，雅各布，很久沒見，你還好嗎？

雅各布：嗯，我還行，我本來可以更好的。

安：怎么了？你昨晚不是去約會(huì)了嗎？怎樣了？

雅各布：我去了，但是感覺自己像是個(gè)電燈泡。

安：啊，不會(huì)吧，她不會(huì)帶了一個(gè)朋友來吧？

雅各布：對，她帶了，她把他們一起帶來了。

安：你究竟是什么意思？

雅各布：我的意思是她在整個(gè)約會(huì)期間都在不斷看手機(jī)，甚至連我們吃飯的時(shí)候也這樣！

安：啊，這真不公平。

雅各布：我知道！我感覺自己像是個(gè)多余的人！我不想做古板的人，但是科技經(jīng)常分開而不是拉近人們的距離。

安：你沒有抱怨過嗎？是我的話早告訴她這樣是不禮貌的。

雅各布：我確實(shí)試圖提及，但是她說每次收到一個(gè)郵件或者短信她都會(huì)感到開心，因?yàn)槟亲屗杏X自己是被需要的，受歡迎的，重要的。

安：嗯，這簡直太荒唐了。我聽說過情侶間爭吵的主要原因是他們的智能手機(jī)。這甚至能使婚姻破裂。

雅各布：對，我真的感覺自己好像在跟那些根本不在的人搶她的注意力。我最近看新聞得知人們一天平均要查閱手機(jī)30次，但是她肯定在一小時(shí)內(nèi)看了超過30次了。

安：也許她害怕眼神交流，也許看到有網(wǎng)上的朋友可以聊天讓她感到自信。

雅各布：但是這已經(jīng)無法控制了；我想人們應(yīng)該想出解決之道或者至少想一個(gè)辦法去平衡他們使用手機(jī)與其他活動(dòng)的時(shí)間。

安：對，我完全同意，但是我們不應(yīng)該責(zé)怪科技。交談的促進(jìn)是通過彼此了解。僅憑丟掉手機(jī)是不能夠解決任何問題的。

雅各布：那你有什么建議嗎？

安：嗯，也許對于個(gè)人或者情侶來說建立他們自己的“無電話”時(shí)間和區(qū)域是個(gè)好主意。

雅各布：你是什么意思？

安：嗯，人們可以在一天的一段時(shí)間或者在某些特別的時(shí)刻——像是約會(huì)——當(dāng)他們同意不去查閱或者使用手機(jī)的時(shí)候。他們可以完全關(guān)掉手機(jī)或者在外出時(shí)把手機(jī)放在家里。

雅各布：這些都是好主意！而且人們還應(yīng)該把手機(jī)調(diào)靜音，特別是如果他們在一個(gè)安靜的地方，像是電影院或者咖啡廳——我很討厭某些人的大響鈴打擾到每一個(gè)人！

安：人們也不需要總是把手機(jī)帶在身上以防緊急事件。人們每天能有多少個(gè)緊急事件？

雅各布：哈哈，對，說得好。而且人們只有在真正有需要的時(shí)候才能用手機(jī)，而不是用五分鐘的時(shí)間在手機(jī)上了解別人在干什么。

安：沒錯(cuò)。如果我們還能想出更多的解決方法，我們就沒有任何借口用手機(jī)了。

雅各布：對，讓我們到此為止吧！