1、TED 演讲英文文稿 Procrastination/ prkrstnen/(拖延症)00:11So in college, I was a government major(主修行政管理专业的学生), which means I had to write a lot of papers. Now, when a normal student writes a paper, they might spread the work out a little(一点点地展开工作 ) like this. So, you know -00:25you get started(=start) maybe
2、a little slowly, but you get enough done in the first week that, with some heavier(=busier) days later on(infml 后来), everything gets done, things stay civil/svl/(文明的 ).00:33(Laughter/l:ft(r)/笑声)00:34And I would want to do that like that. That would be the plan. I would have it all ready to go, but t
3、hen, actually, the paper would come along(出现), and then I would kind of(用于表示不确定， “有点，可以这么说”) do this.00:45(Laughter)00:47And that would happen every single paper.00:50But then came my 90-page senior thesis(/i:ss/毕业论文), a paper youre supposed to spend a year on. And I knew for a paper like that, my n
4、ormal work flow(工作流程) was not an option(/pn/选择). It was way(used with prep or adv.非常) too big a project. So I planned things out(精心安排，筹划 ), and I decided I kind of had to go something like this. This is how the year would go. So Id start off(开始) light(ad.轻松地), and Id bump it up(to increase sth.) in
5、the middle months, and then at the end, I would kick it up into high gear(/g(r)/全力冲刺) just like a little staircase. How hard could it be to walk up the stairs? No big deal(没什么大不了的), right?01:22But then, the funniest thing happened. Those first few months? They came and went, and I couldnt quite(=rea
6、lly) do stuff /stf/. So we had an awesome(/sm/very good) new revised(/rvaz/改变，调整) plan.01:30(Laughter)01:31And then -01:32(Laughter)01:34But then those middle months actually went by, and I didnt really write words, and so we were here. And then two months turned into one month, which turned into tw
7、o weeks. And one day I woke up with three days until(在之前) the deadline, still not having written a word, and so I did the only thing I could: I wrote 90 pages over 72 hours, pulling not one but two all-nighters - humans are not supposed to pull two all-nighters(开两晚夜 车) sprinted(/sprnt/飞跑，冲刺) across
8、campus(/kmps/校园 ), dove(dive,扑向，冲向) in slow motion(/mn/移动，运动), and got it in(-manage to do sth.) just at the deadline.02:10I thought that was the end of everything. But a week later I get a call, and its the school. And they say, “Is this Tim Urban?“ And I say, “Yeah.“ And they say, “We need to talk
9、 about your thesis(/i:ss/毕业论文).“ And I say, “OK.“ And they say, “Its the best one weve ever seen.“02:28(Laughter)02:31(Applause/pl:z/掌声)02:35That did not happen.02:37(Laughter)02:39It was a very, very bad thesis.02:42(Laughter)02:44I just wanted to enjoy that one moment when all of you thought, “Thi
10、s guy is amazing!“02:50(Laughter)02:51No, no, it was very, very bad. Anyway(不管怎么说), today Im a writer-blogger guy. I write the blog Wait But Why. And a couple of years ago, I decided to write about procrastination(/prkrstnen/拖延症). My behavior has always perplexed(/ppleks/使迷惑) the non-procrastinators
11、(/prokrs.t.ne.t/拖延者) around me, and I wanted to explain to the non-procrastinators of the world what goes on in the heads of procrastinators, and why we are the way we are. Now, I had a hypothesis(/hapss/假设) that the brains of procrastinators were actually different than the brains of other people.
12、And to test this, I found an MRI(核磁共振成像) lab that actually let me scan(/skn/扫描) both my brain and the brain of a proven non-procrastinator, so I could compare them. I actually brought them here to show you today. I want you to take a look carefully to see if you can notice a difference. I know that
13、if youre not a trained brain expert, its not that(=so) obvious(/bvis /明显的), but just take a look, OK? So heres the brain of a non-procrastinator.03:42(Laughter)03:45Now . heres my brain.03:49(Laughter)03:54There is a difference. Both brains have a Rational(/rnl /理智的) Decision-Maker in them, but the
14、procrastinators brain also has an Instant Gratification(/grtfken /满足) Monkey. Now, what does this mean for the procrastinator? Well, it means everythings fine until this happens.04:08This is a perfect time to get some work done. Nope!04:11So the Rational Decision-Maker will make the rational decisio
15、n to do something productive(/prdktv /富有成效的), but the Monkey doesnt like that plan, so he actually takes the wheel(/wi:l /方向盘), and he says, “Actually, lets read the entire(/nta(r)/整个，全部) Wikipedia(维 基百科) page of the Nancy Kerrigan/ Tonya Harding scandal(/skndl/丑闻), because I just remembered that th
16、at happened.04:27(Laughter)04:28Then -04:29(Laughter)04:30Then were going to go over to the fridge(/frd /冰箱 ), to see if theres anything new in there since 10 minutes ago. After that, were going to go on a YouTube spiral(/sparl /) that starts with videos of Richard Feynman talking about magnets(/mgn
17、t/磁铁) and ends much, much later with us watching interviews with Justin Biebers mom.04:46(Laughter)04:48“All of thats going to take a while, so were not going to really have room on the schedule for any work today. Sorry!“04:54(Sigh/sa/叹气)04:57Now, what is going on here? The Instant Gratification Mo
18、nkey does not seem like a guy you want behind the wheel. He lives entirely(=completely) in the present moment. He has no memory of the past, no knowledge of the future, and he only cares about two things: easy and fun.05:15Now, in the animal world, that works fine. If youre a dog and you spend your
19、whole life doing nothing other than(除了) easy and fun things, youre a huge success!05:24 (Laughter)05:26And to the Monkey, humans are just another animal species(/spi:i:z/物种). You have to keep well-slept, well-fed and propagating(/prpget/繁衍 ) into the next generation, which in tribal(/trabl/部落的) time
20、s(时代) might have worked OK. But, if you havent noticed, now were not in tribal times. Were in an advanced civilization(/svlazen/文明), and the Monkey does not know what that is. Which is why we have another guy in our brain, the Rational Decision-Maker, who gives us the ability to do things no other a
21、nimal can do. We can visualize(/vulaz/设想) the future. We can see the big picture. We can make long-term plans. And he wants to take all of that into account/ kant/(把考虑在内). And he wants to just have us do whatever makes sense(有意义，合理) to be doing right now. Now, sometimes it makes sense to be doing th
22、ings that are easy and fun, like when youre having dinner or going to bed or enjoying well-earned leisure(/le(r)/闲暇) time. Thats why theres an overlap(/vlp/重叠). Sometimes they agree(一致). But other times, it makes much more sense to be doing things that are harder and less pleasant, for the sake of(为
23、了,因为) the big picture. And thats when we have a conflict. And for the procrastinator, that conflict tends to end a certain way every time, leaving him spending a lot of time in this orange zone(/zn/区域), an easy and fun place thats entirely out of the Makes Sense circle. I call it the Dark Playground
24、.06:41 (Laughter)06:42Now, the Dark Playground is a place that all of you procrastinators out there know very well. Its where leisure(/le(r)/) activities(休闲活动) happen at times(=sometimes) when leisure activities are not supposed to be happening. The fun you have in the Dark Playground isnt actually
25、fun, because its completely unearned(不应得的), and the air is filled with guilt, dread(/dred/忧虑,恐惧), anxiety(/zati/焦虑), self-hatred(/hetrd/自我憎恨) - all of those good procrastinator feelings. And the question is, in this situation, with the Monkey behind the wheel, how does the procrastinator ever get hi
26、mself over here to this blue zone, a less pleasant place, but where really important things happen?07:16Well, turns out the procrastinator has a guardian(/g:din/) angel(守护天使), someone whos always looking down on(俯瞰) him and watching over(照看) him in his darkest moments - someone called the Panic(/pnk
27、/恐慌) Monster(怪物 ).07:27 (Laughter)07:33Now, the Panic Monster is dormant(/d:mnt/蛰伏的) most of the time, but he suddenly wakes up anytime a deadline gets too close or theres danger of public embarrassment(/mbrsmnt/难堪), a career disaster or some other scary(/skeri/使人恐慌的 ) consequence(/knskwns/结果). And
28、importantly, hes the only thing the Monkey is terrified(/terfad/) of(非常害怕). Now, he became very relevant(/relvnt/密切相关的) in my life pretty(=quite) recently, because the people of TED reached out to me(=contact 联系到我 ) about six months ago and invited me to do a TED Talk.08:00 (Laughter)08:06Now, of co
29、urse, I said yes. Its always been a dream of mine to have done a TED Talk in the past.08:11 (Laughter)08:15(Applause) But in the middle of all this excitement, the Rational Decision-Maker seemed to have something else on his mind. He was saying, “Are we clear on what we just accepted? Do we get what
30、s going to be now happening one day in the future? We need to sit down and work on this right now.“ And the Monkey said, “Totally agree, but lets just open Google Earth and zoom in(拉近镜头) to the bottom of India, like 200 feet above the ground, and scroll(/skrl/) up(向上 ) for two and a half hours till
31、we get to the top of the country, so we can get a better feel(总体印象 ) for India.“08:48 (Laughter)08:54 So thats what we did that day.08:55 (Laughter)08:59As six months turned into four and then two and then one, the people of TED decided to release(/rli:s/公布) the speakers. And I opened up the website
32、, and there was my face staring right back at me. And guess who woke up?09:12 (Laughter)09:16So the Panic Monster starts losing his mind(发疯,抓狂), and a few seconds later, the whole systems in mayhem(/mehem/混乱).09:21 (Laughter)09:26And the Monkey - remember, hes terrified of the Panic Monster boom(吼叫)
33、, hes up the tree! And finally, finally, the Rational Decision-Maker can take the wheel and I can start working on the talk.09:36Now, the Panic Monster explains all kinds of pretty insane(/nsen/疯狂的，精神失常的) procrastinator behavior, like how someone like me could spend two weeks unable to start the ope
34、ning sentence of a paper, and then miraculously(/mrkjlsl/奇迹般地) find the unbelievable work ethic(/ek/)(职业操守) to stay up all night and write eight pages. And this entire situation, with the three characters - this is the procrastinators system. Its not pretty, but in the end, it works. This is what I
35、decided to write about on the blog a couple of years ago.10:08When I did, I was amazed by the response. Literally(/ltrli/毫不夸张地) thousands of emails came in, from all different kinds of people from all over the world, doing all different kinds of things. These are people who were nurses, bankers, pai
36、nters, engineers and lots and lots of PhD students.10:23 (Laughter)10:25And they were all writing, saying the same thing: “I have this problem too.“ But what struck(strike 打 动，触 动) me was the contrast(/kntrst /差异， 悬殊) between the light tone(/tn/语气) of the post(a piece of writing that forms part of a
37、 blog) and the heaviness of these emails. These people were writing with intense(/ntens/强烈的) frustration(/frstren/挫败) about what procrastination had done to their lives, about what this Monkey had done to them. And I thought about this, and I said, well, if the procrastinators system works, then wha
38、ts going on? Why are all of these people in such a dark place?10:54Well, it turns out that theres two kinds of procrastination. Everything Ive talked about today, the examples Ive given, they all have deadlines. And when theres deadlines, the effects of procrastination are contained(/knten/控制) to th
39、e short term because the Panic Monster gets involved(介入 ). But theres a second kind of procrastination that happens in situations when there is no deadline. So if you wanted a career where youre a self-starter(主动做事的人) - something in the arts, something entrepreneurial(/ntrprnril/创业的) - theres no dea
40、dlines on those things at first, because nothings happening, not until youve gone out and done the hard work to get momentum(/mmentm/推动力), get things going. Theres also all kinds of important things outside of your career that dont involve any deadlines, like seeing your family or exercising and tak
41、ing care of your health, working on your relationship or getting out of a relationship that isnt working.11:38Now if the procrastinators only mechanism(/meknzm/行为方式) of doing these hard things is the Panic Monster, thats a problem, because in all of these non-deadline situations, the Panic Monster d
42、oesnt show up. He has nothing to wake up for, so the effects of procrastination, theyre not contained; they just extend(/kstend/扩及,波及) outward(向外地) forever. And its this long-term kind of procrastination thats much less visible(/vzbl/明显的) and much less talked about than the funnier, short-term deadl
43、ine-based kind. Its usually suffered quietly and privately(/pravtl/私下地). And it can be the source of a huge amount of long-term unhappiness, and regrets(后悔 ). And I thought, thats why those people are emailing, and thats why theyre in such a bad place. Its not that theyre cramming(/krm/) for(急匆匆地做,突
44、击学习) some project. Its that long-term procrastination has made them feel like a spectator(/spektet(r)/旁观 者), at times(=sometimes), in their own lives. The frustration(/frstren/挫 败) is not that they couldnt achieve their dreams; its that they werent even able to start chasing(chase/tes/追寻) them.12:35
45、So I read these emails and I had a little bit of an epiphany(/pfni/顿悟,突然明白) - that I dont think non-procrastinators exist. Thats right - I think all of you are procrastinators. Now, you might not all be a mess(/mes/一团糟的人,看上去邋遢的人), like some of us,12:52 (Laughter)12:53and some of you may have a healt
46、hy relationship with deadlines, but remember: the Monkeys sneakiest(/sni:ki/偷偷摸摸地) trick(/trk /诡计,花招) is when the deadlines arent there.13:02Now, I want to show you one last thing. I call this a Life Calendar. Thats one box for every week of a 90-year life. Thats not that(=so) many boxes, especially
47、 since weve already used a bunch(/bnt/) of(=a number of) those. So I think we need to all take a long, hard(费劲地) look at that calendar(/klnd(r)/日程表). We need to think about what were really procrastinating on, because everyone is procrastinating on something in life. We need to stay aware of(注意到存在)t
48、he Instant Gratification Monkey. Thats a job for all of us. And because theres not that many boxes on there, its a job that should probably start today.13:44 Well, maybe not today, but .13:47 (Laughter)13:48 You know. Sometime soon.Where Does the Time Go- A Great Big WorldWhere does the time go 时间都去哪了I dont want this to end 我不想就 这样结束Where does the time go 时间都去哪了Lets hang on to the moment were in 让我们活在当下- to hold sth. tightlyOf all the things we will remember 那些我们会记住的事情The good the bad and all the blessings in disguise(
