Are you addicted to your phone? 你是不是玩手机上瘾了？

随身英语 Are you addicted to your phone? 你是不是玩手机上瘾了？

Play audio file 你每天会查看几次手机？是三次，二十次，还是八十次？本期《随身英语》和你探讨手机是如何改变人与人之间的交流方式。

课文内容 词汇: mobile phone 手机

How often do you check your phone? According to a study led by Nottingham Trent University in Britain, the average person looks at their device 85 times a day, browsing the internet or using apps. Updating their status on social media platforms also made people reach for their electronic companion frequently.

Even the study's participants thought that was a lot: this figure is twice as often as they thought they did. Our phones might be shaping our behaviour more than we realise, and changing the way we interact with people right next to us. Do you actually look at your surroundings more than at your phone? Is it rude to check your phone when someone is talking to you?

Sherry Turkle interviewed hundreds of college students about this. She's a clinical psychologist and a professor of social studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. They talked about something they called 'the rule of three'.

The rule has to do with being considerate to others in spite of the allure of the little flat box. Turkle explains: "If you go to dinner with friends, you don't want to look down at your phone until you see that three people are looking up in the conversation. So there's a new etiquette where you don't look down unless three people are looking up in order to keep a little conversation alive."

Actually, if you are clever enough you might use your phone as a tool to connect with people next to you. How about showing them pictures stored in its memory? Sharing a bit of your life with them can bring you closer together. And you can also invite everyone to take a selfie with you.

But the best thing to deal with mobile phone addiction is to go cold turkey and leave the machine behind occasionally or just switch it off and keep it firmly in your pocket for a while. Who knows... 'life' might be what happens when you are too busy staring at a small screen.

词汇表

device 设备

to browse  （通过网络）浏览

app (application)  手机应用程序

to update (their) status  更新（个人网站上的）状态

social media platform  社交媒体平台

to shape  塑造，形成

to interact  互动，交流

surroundings  周围的事物，环境

clinical psychologist  临床心理学家

social studies  社会科学课程

technology  工业技术

considerate  体贴的

allure  诱惑力，吸引力

etiquette  规矩；礼节

to connect  （融洽地）沟通

memory (phone's)  （手机）内存

selfie  自拍照

to go cold turkey  快速、彻底地戒掉（坏习惯）

测验与练习 1. 阅读课文并回答问题。

1. How often do people check their phone, according to the survey?

2. True or false? Those who took part in the study were aware of their own phone habits.

3. What's the so called 'rule of three' for?

4. How does the author suggest you use your phone in a way that doesn't alienate people next to you?

5. Which word in the text is used to indicate unpleasant behaviour?

2. 请你在不参考课文的情况下完成下列练习。选择一个意思合适的单词填入句子的空格处。

1. My mobile phone is running out of __________. I've been storing too many videos on it. 

internet     electronic companion     memory     etiquette 

2. I'm too busy to do my homework now. I have to go online and update _________ on Weibo.

a cold turkey     the internet     the rule of three     my status

3. If you want people to be nice to you, you should be __________ when dealing with them.

rude     considerate     looking up     clever

4. If you want to understand how people interact in a group you should take a course in __________.

social studies     clinical psychology     etiquette     technology

5. These new portable devices are __________ the world we live in.

browsing     shaping     sharing     closing

答案 1. 阅读课文并回答问题。

1. How often do people check their phone, according to the survey?

According to the study led by Nottingham Trent University in Britain, the average person checks their phone 85 times a day.

2. True or false? Those who took part in the study were aware of their own phone habits.

False. They were surprised as they thought the number of times they checked their phones was half of what the study revealed.

3. What's the so called 'rule of three' for?

To keep a conversation going.

4. How does the author suggest you use your phone in a way that doesn't alienate people next to you?

The author suggests people to show others pictures stored in their phone and invite them to take a selfie.

5. Which word in the text is used to indicate unpleasant behaviour?

Rude.

2.  请你在不参考课文的情况下完成下列练习。选择一个意思合适的单词填入句子的空格处 。

1. My mobile phone is running out of memory. I've been storing too many videos in it.

2. I'm too busy to do my homework now. I have to go online and update my status on Weibo.

3. If you want people to be nice to you, you should be considerate when dealing with them.

4. If you want to understand how people interact in a group you should take a course in social studies.

5. These new portable devices are shaping the world we live in.