跟读练习: Procrastination: Crash Course Study Skills #6 - 通过视频学习英语口语
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Down to brass tacks, friend.
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Last week we covered several techniques for improving your ability to focus on your work and resist distractions.
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This week we’re digging into a related issue, which is in fact the most pernicious problem that perpetually plagues pupils… procrastination.
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Nick, I still think that intro needs more alliteration. And cowbell.
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Before we dive into specific solutions, it’s useful to know why we procrastinate.
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Now, we could go deep on the biological battle between your prefrontal cortex and your limbic system, or in a million other directions, but since our focus is on solving the procrastination problem, one recent explanation that I find to be particularly useful is Temporal Motivation Theory, which is laid out by Dr. Piers Steele in his book The Procrastination Equation.
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This theory suggests that a person’s motivation to complete a task or assignment can be represented by – you guessed it – an equation.
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And that equation is: Motivation = / Now, while I don’t really think all the complexities of human behavior can be boiled down into a neat little equation, I do think that this Procrastination Equation is a useful mental model for pinpointing the specific causes of our procrastination.
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So let’s go ahead and break it down.
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Expectancy is a term that represents how strongly you believe that you’re able to complete a task, and it has an inverse correlation with your procrastination.
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If you feel competent at what you’re doing, your expectancy will be high and that will increase your motivation to get to work.
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If the task looks really difficult, though, expectancy will be low and you’ll be more likely to procrastinate.
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The other place where you’ll find that inverse correlation is between procrastination and Value, which includes the rewards you get for completing the task, as well as how pleasant – or unpleasant – the experience of actually doing it is.
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Impulsiveness is how susceptible you are to distractions and, well, impulses to do other things, and it’s directly correlated with procrastination.
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The less able you are to resist that sudden desire to go check Twitter, the more you’re going to put off working on that English paper.
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And if you’re thinking about going to check Twitter right now, remember: if you can resist that impulse, you’ll actually be strengthening your brain’s ability to focus.
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So fight it, friend.
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Finally, there’s Delay, which is the amount of time between now and when you’ll get the reward for completing the task.
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Let’s go to the Thought Bubble.
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The longer the delay is, the more you’ll tend to procrastinate.
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This happens because human beings naturally place far more value on the short-term rather than long-term rewards – even if those long-term rewards are objectively greater.
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For most of human history, this was a helpful bit of brain programming.
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If you were a hunter-gatherer living in 10,000 BCE, you had no reason to care about the antelopes you were gonna hunt in 3 years – all that mattered was the one in front of you right now.
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But today, when your success in life depends more on studying for tests and remembering to put money in an IRA than on your antelope-hunting skills, your brain’s hard-wired preference for short-term rewards becomes a hinderance.
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It’s the main reason why you consistently find yourself cramming for tests the night before; rationally, you know you should start studying a few weeks in advance, but most of your brain is like, “Eh, is that really necessary?” And to make matters worse, Delay is the hardest factor in the equation to control, since the time at which we’ll get a task’s reward is often set in stone.
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This is especially true when you’re in school, since almost everything has a due date.
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Thanks, Thought Bubble.
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It’s useful to simply be able to recognize that the delay between now and when you’ll reap a task’s reward matters a lot when it comes to your procrastination.
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And, really, that’s the value of the equation as a whole; it’s a mental model that makes it easy to pinpoint why you’re procrastinating.
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If it’s because you feel like you’re not skilled enough to actually complete the task, then you need to find a way to increase Expectancy.
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Or, if you notice that your attention is constantly being pulled in other directions, then it’s time to figure out how to decrease your Impulsiveness.
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So now let’s go over some specific ideas for manipulating those three most malleable factors.
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To raise Expectancy you can do several things.
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One of the most helpful is to break the task down into smaller sub-tasks.
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Doing this allows you to narrow your focus to something that’s not nearly as daunting, and it also lets you more clearly define the specific actions you have to take.
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So if you’re writing a paper, realize that “write a paper” is a project that can – and should – be broken down.
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You’ve got the research phase, the rough draft phase – which you can break further down into sections, like the intro, arguments, and conclusion – and then you’ve got the editing phase.
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Once you’ve defined these actions and know what order to tackle them in, you’ll have a much clearer vision of what should be done right now.
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Plus, writing the rough draft of an intro paragraph is much easier than trying to write the entire paper all at once.
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Another great way to raise Expectancy is to simply ask for help.
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While being able to figure things out on your own is definitely a useful skill, there comes a point when refusing to reach out to someone else only slows you down.
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So go to your teacher’s office hours, or find a friend to form a study group with.
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Now when it comes to improving a task’s Value, there are a few things you can do: 1. Improve the actual reward for completing the task 2. Improve the experience of doing the work itself 3. Add additional rewards, or mini-rewards for completing sub-tasks The best way to improve the first item on the list is to choose work that’s more fulfilling to you.
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Now, you have some amount of control over this when you’re selecting your classes, and as you move into your career and build up more experience, that amount of control will definitely increase.
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However, when you’re a student, there are still a ton of required classes and things that you just have to do.
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And once you’ve started, it’s pretty difficult to improve the actual reward – it’s usually set in stone.
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If you finish a math assignment, you’ll get the credit for it and you’ll improve your math skills. Pretty simple.
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But you do have a lot of control over the other two items.
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To make the experience of doing the work itself more pleasant, you could choose a study location that you enjoy being in – like a coffee shop or your favorite spot in the library.
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You can also find a good study music playlist, work with a friend, or go for a quick walk beforehand to raise your energy levels before you start.
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And additional rewards can further boost your motivation.
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There are several ways to create these, including gamification, which is the idea of taking elements from games and applying them to your work.
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One of my favorite ways to do this is with Habitica, an app that essentially turns productivity into a role-playing game.
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Habitica takes all the elements that make RPGs like Pokemon and Final Fantasy so addicting – leveling up, experience points, gear – and it applies them to real life.
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I use Habitica as a tool for sticking to my morning routine and making sure I work out enough, but there’s also a to-do list function, which you can use for individual assignments and tasks.
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Now, if you don’t want to do that, you can keep things simpler by just setting up small rewards for finishing sub-tasks – like letting yourself watch a movie or go out with friends after you finish taking notes on a couple of sources for that research paper you’re working on.
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And it’s here that I want to talk about the concept of low-density fun vs. high-density fun.
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See, a lot of students feel like they have too much work to ever let themselves do anything fun that takes a significant amount of time.
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Maybe you’ve had these kinds of thoughts yourself, as well.
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You think, “Man, I’d really love to play Horizon Zero Dawn right now, but I should really use that time to study.” The irony is that these same students who are constantly denying themselves that high-density fun are also spending a lot of time checking Facebook, or picking new outfits for their Bitmoji avatars, or browsing dank memes.
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These things represent low-density fun; they’re more attractive than doing work, and it’s easy to convince yourself that you’re only gonna do them for 5 minutes.
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But inevitably you do end up spending a ton of time on them – after all, these websites and apps are literally designed from the ground up to be as addictive as possible – and what’s worse, they’re not actually fun.
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They’re just distractions.
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And if you waste all your time on them, you leave no time for actual, high-density fun that can act as a true motivator for finishing your work.
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So the counterintuitive tip here is that you NEED to let yourself have this high-density fun.
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Give yourself two hours tonight to play that new video game.
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Or join that offroad dirtboarding club you’ve had your eye on.
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When you allow yourself to do these things, you create anticipation that can be used as focusing energy for your work.
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And that brings us to Impulsiveness.
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Now, to be honest, last week’s video on Focus and Concentration provided most of the in-depth tips you’re gonna need to reducing your tendency to give into distractions.
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So today I’m just gonna reiterate that your environment really matters.
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If you’re studying in a place where you have access to distractions, your attention is more likely to be pulled away by them.
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So find a dedicated study spot away from friends and away from video games.
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Sometimes, you might even need to lock that environment down a bit.
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In fact, when I was writing the script for this very video, I used a program called Cold Turkey to literally block most of the websites I usually visit.
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One thing that the Procrastination Equation doesn’t cover is the role that willpower plays in procrastination.
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Now, for a long time, it was believed that willpower was a limited resource – and that it drained throughout the day as you made decisions that deviated from the path of least resistance.
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This phenomenon was called ego depletion.
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During the past couple of years, though, the ego depletion theory been challenged by some conflicting research, so it’s tough to say whether or not willpower itself really is this limited pool that you draw from throughout the day.
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Ego depletion controversy aside, though, your body – and, by extension, your brain – runs on a cycle of work and rest.
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There’s only so much you can do in a day before you exhaust your mental resources.
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Plus, when you put off a challenging assignment in favor of doing a bunch of easy work first, it becomes really easy to convince yourself that you’ve “done enough” for the day once that easy work is done.
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That’s why one of the best ways to beat procrastination is to just knuckle down and do the most difficult, unpleasant thing on your to-do list first.
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This is often called “eating the frog” – and as Mark Twain once said: "If it's your job to eat a frog, it's best to do it first thing in the morning.
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And If it's your job to eat two frogs, it's best to eat the biggest one first." Now, I’d prefer not to eat any frogs whatsoever.
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I’d much rather eat a tomato, which in Italian would be called a “pomodoro” – and that happens to be the name of the final technique we’re going to discuss today.
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The Pomodoro Technique is a simple little hack you can use to stop procrastinating, and all it requires is a timer and a little piece of paper.
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To use it, first decide on one singular task you’re going to work on.
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Then, set your timer for 25 minutes, and work as hard as you can on that task during that time.
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If a distraction comes up, or if you get the impulse to do something else, write it down on the piece of paper and then get back to work.
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Finally, once the timer goes off, take a 5 minute break and then repeat the process until you’re ready for a longer break.
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This method works so well because the timer helps you to reframe your task as input-based rather than output-based.
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Instead of feeling like you need to finish an entire math assignment or that rough draft of your paper, you know you just need to work for 25 minutes.
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This act of reframing cuts down on the initial resistance you feel towards the task, since 25 minutes of work doesn't feel like a huge investment of effort.
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Additionally, the timer creates an external motivator.
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Instead of relying on your brain to keep track of how long you should work, you let the timer do it for you.
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It’s the next best thing to having a coach or drill instructor there to keep you on task – and for that reason, you need to make sure you actually use a timer – or at least a timer app, like tomato timer.com, or Tide on iOS and Android.
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Now there are definitely more techniques for beating procrastination that we could talk about, but there comes a point where talking about productivity becomes a form of procrastination itself.
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So now it’s time to take what you’ve learned from this video, apply it, and get to work. Good luck.
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Crash Course Study Skills is filmed in the Dr. Cheryl C. Kinney Crash Course Studio in Missoula, MT, and it's made with the help of all of these nice people.
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If you'd like to keep Crash Course free for everyone, forever, you can support the series at Patreon, a crowdfunding platform that allows you to support the content that you love.
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Thank you so much for your support.
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本课的词汇与口语要点
这节 B2 级别的口语课以视频“Procrastination: Crash Course Study Skills”为素材。 视频中反复出现的词有：task, procrastination, reward。 这段视频共有 102 个句子、2421 个单词可供跟读。 讲话部分时长为 10:11。 说话人语速较快，每分钟约 238 个词，会出现较多连读和弱读。 83% 的单词属于英语最常用的 3,000 词，其余的词建议在练习前先学一下。
视频中的重点词汇
视频中最难的 15 个单词，附发音和释义：
| 单词 | 发音 | 释义 |
|---|---|---|
| procrastination 名词 | /pɹəʊˌkɹæs.tɪˈneɪ.ʃən/ | 耽擱 /耽搁, 拖延 |
| timer 名词 | /ˈtaɪmɚ/ | 定時器 /定时器, 計時器 /计时器 |
| equation 名词 | /ɪˈkweɪ.ʒən/ | 方程式, 方程 |
| procrastinate 动词 | /pɹoʊˈkɹæs.tə.neɪt/ | 耽擱 /耽搁, 拖延 |
| assignment 名词 | /əˈsaɪn.mənt/ | 分配, 布置 |
| willpower 名词 | /ˈwɪlˌpaʊɚ/ | 意志力, 意志 |
| impulse 名词 | /ˈɪmpʌls/ | 衝動 /冲动, 意氣 /意气 |
| mathematics 名词 | /mæθ(.ə)ˈmæt.ɪks/ | 數學 /数学, 算學 /算学 |
| resist 动词 | /ɹɪˈzɪst/ | 抵制, 抵抗 |
| antelope 名词 | /ˈæn.tɪ.loʊp/ | 羚羊 |
| inverse 形容词 | /ɪnˈvɝs/ | 逆, 逆向 |
| unpleasant 形容词 | /ʌnˈplɛzn̩t/ | 令人不快的 |
| tomato 名词 | /təˈmeɪ.toʊ/ | 西紅柿 /西红柿, 番茄 |
| correlation 名词 | /ˌkɔɹ.əˈleɪ.ʃən/ | 相关性 |
| productivity 名词 | /ˌpɹɒdʌkˈtɪvəti/ | 生產力 /生产力, 效率 |
视频中出现的短语动词
| 单词 | 发音 | 释义 |
|---|---|---|
| put off 动词 | 推遲 /推迟, 順延 /顺延 | |
| break down 动词 | 壞了 /坏了, 出故障 | |
| come up 动词 | 上來 /上来 | |
| end up 动词 | 到达 | |
| figure out 动词 | 弄清楚 | |
| go ahead 动词 | /ˌɡoʊ əˈhɛd/ | 請便 /请便 |
| work out 动词 | /ˌwɝk ˈaʊt/ | 計算 /计算, 算出 |
视频中的语法
说话人最常用的结构，并附上视频中的原话：
| 结构 | 视频中的用法 |
|---|---|
| 条件句 if + 从句，will/would + 动词 — 条件及其结果 | if you can resist that impulse, you'll actually · If you finish a math assignment, you'll get |
| 被动语态 be + 过去分词 — 强调发生了什么，而不是谁做的 | is laid · can be represented · can be boiled |
| 定语从句 who / which + 从句 — 补充说明人或事物 | issue, which is · Theory, which is · Delay, which is |
| 现在完成时 have/has + 过去分词 — 过去发生但与现在仍有关联的事 | you've defined · you've started · you've learned |
需要注意的发音
说话人用了 52 次缩略和弱读形式，例如 you're, you'll, you've。请按听到的简短形式来说。
- “th” 音: mathematics /mæθ(.ə)ˈmæt.ɪks/, strengthen /ˈstɹɛŋ(k)θən/
- “sh” 和 “zh” 音: procrastination /pɹəʊˌkɹæs.tɪˈneɪ.ʃən/, equation /ɪˈkweɪ.ʒən/, distraction /dɪsˈtɹæk.ʃən/, depletion /dɪˈpliːʃən/, correlation /ˌkɔɹ.əˈleɪ.ʃən/
- 长单词——注意重音位置: procrastination /pɹəʊˌkɹæs.tɪˈneɪ.ʃən/, expectancy /ɪkˈspɛktənsi/, procrastinate /pɹoʊˈkɹæs.tə.neɪt/, mathematics /mæθ(.ə)ˈmæt.ɪks/, motivator /ˈməʊ.təˌveɪ.tə/
中文母语者容易读错的音：
- /v/ — 不要读成 /w/，上齿轻触下唇: inverse /ɪnˈvɝs/, motivator /ˈməʊ.təˌveɪ.tə/, productivity /ˌpɹɒdʌkˈtɪvəti/, counterintuitive /ˌkaʊntəɹɪnˈtuɪtɪv/, deviate /ˈdiː.vi.eɪt/
- 词尾辅音 — 要读清楚，后面不要加元音: procrastinate /pɹoʊˈkɹæs.tə.neɪt/, assignment /əˈsaɪn.mənt/, impulse /ˈɪmpʌls/, mathematics /mæθ(.ə)ˈmæt.ɪks/, resist /ɹɪˈzɪst/
- /r/ 和 /l/ 的区别: correlation /ˌkɔɹ.əˈleɪ.ʃən/, alliteration /əˌlɪtəˈɹeɪʃən/, correlate /ˈkɔɹəleɪt/, prefrontal /pɹiːˈfɹʌn.təl/, drill /dɹɪl/
如何用这段视频练习
- 先完整听一遍视频，不要开口，记下不认识的单词。
- 先用 0.75 倍速逐句跟读，熟练之后再回到正常速度。
- 录下自己的声音并与原声对比，特别注意 procrastination, timer, equation 这类单词。
什么是跟读法？
跟读法 (Shadowing) 是一种有科学依据的语言学习技巧，最初开发用于专业口译员的培训，并由多语言者Alexander Arguelles博士普及。这个方法简单而强大：您在听英语母语原声的同时立即大声重复——就像是一个延迟1-2秒紧跟说话者的影子。与被动听力或语法练习不同，跟读法强迫您的大脑和口腔肌肉同时处理并模仿真实的讲话模式。研究表明它能显着提高发音准确性，语调，节奏，连读，听力理解和口语流利度——使其成为雅思口语备考和真实英语交流最有效的方法之一。