今天,你玩手机了吗?

E时代，智能手机的问世，掀起了一股使用手机的热潮。随着iPhone、三星等多功能高端手机的推出，人们更是对手机欲罢不能。走在街上，四处可见青年男女用手机打着电话，发着短信、微博，听着歌……手机已经成为人们日常生活不可缺少的一部分。然而，手机在为人们沟通提供便利的同时，也使得许多年轻人遭遇沟通危机，与周围人的关系日渐疏远。本期的《生活聊吧》中，Jacob和Ann将和大家讨论频繁使用手机的危害。各种“手机粉”们可要注意了哦。

Part 1 The Simple Life

Jacob受不了公车上人人都用手机产生的噪音，他告诉Ann这个周末他要过一个“脱离手机日”。

Jacob： Hiya Ann， how are you？

Ann： Good thanks， you？

Jacob： I’m okay. I’ve 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： It’s not so much as what did happen but what didn’t！

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： That’s what I was thinking！ All the 3）bleeps and 4）buzzing， it was driving me crazy！ ②I couldn’t 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 don’t 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， I’ve 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 you’ll 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 I’m 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 I’m in—just like people had to do in the old days！

Ann： Haha， the simple life， eh？

Jacob： Right！

Ann： What do you think you’ll 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 they’ve been doing！ And without my phone distracting me I’ll 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！ I’ll have to be on time with everything I do！

Ann： Sounds much simpler and quieter too！

Jacob： The rule doesn’t 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，车上的每个人不是没完没了地打电话就是在玩手机。

gab away： talk excessively（不停地说）。例如：

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

她俩有好长时间没见了，现正在花园聊得起劲。

② I couldn’t hack it！ 我忍受不了！

can’t hack it： do not have the qualities to cope with a situation（没有能力处理，应对）。例如：

If it goes wrong， I don’t think I could hack it—it’s too complicated.

如果出了问题，我不知道自己能不能处理得了——事情太复杂了。

③ I mean， give me a break！我的意思是，不会吧！

give me a break： used to express disbelief at what was just heard or seen， same as “I can’t believe it”（用以表达对所见所闻不敢相信）。例如：

You’re going to run in next week’s marathon？ Give me a break！ You don’t even climb the stairs to the third floor.

你下周跑马拉松？不会吧！你连走楼梯到三楼都不肯。

④ There are so many people out there addicted to their crackberries！ 太多人迷恋手机了！

crackberry： cell phone， nickname for Blackberry cell phone（手机，黑莓手机的昵称）。例如：

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

喂，把你们的手机都收起来，我们在开会呢。

⑤ You might be taken aback！ 你可能会吓一大跳！

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

I was taken aback when my ex-boyfriend called.

我的前男友来电话时，我吓了一跳。

⑥ If friends want to reach me they can ring the house phone. 如果朋友想找我他们可以打我家里的固定电话。

reach sb.： succeed in getting in contact with sb.（与某人取得联系）。例如：

I’ve tried to reach him for days and it turned out he went abroad.

我连续多天想与他取得联系，原来他出国了。

⑦ You might end up twiddling your thumbs！ 你或许会闲得无聊！

twiddle one’s thumbs： bored or idle（闲着无事，无聊）。例如：

With everyone going home， I’ll probably end up twiddling my thumbs this holiday.

这个假期人人都回家，我大概会无所事事。

⑧ If you pop round to see me， you must leave your mobile phone at the door！ 如果你来看我，你必须将你的手机放在门口！

pop round （for a visit）： come by for a visit（顺道拜访）。例如：

John popped round last night and picked up the dictionary.

约翰昨晚来过，把字典拿走了。

Part 2 The Art of Conversation

Ann在咖啡厅里发现自己竟然是唯一不使用手机的人……

Ann： Hiya Jacob， how’s 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 wasn’t talking or texting on a mobile phone.

Jacob： ②Doesn’t 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 weren’t talking to anyone but just a 1）gadget！

Jacob： ④It’s 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 don’t have to look someone in the face.

Ann： Yes， it’s 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 don’t actually need to meet the people to feel that they are with them.

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

Jacob： That’s 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 that’s true， but I still find that being with someone in the same room when you’re 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 can’t be done simply by typing.

Ann： Exactly， I’d rather have a small group of friends than hundreds that I didn’t know well at all！

Jacob： So， as long as you put the effort in with the friends you’ve 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 wasn’t talking or texting on a mobile phone. 过了一会儿我才意识到自己是那里唯一一个不打手机不发短信的人。

cotton onto sth.： understand or realize sth. without being told（领悟，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，原来我是最后一个知道裁员这事儿的。

② Doesn’t sound too out of the ordinary in this day and age. 在今时今日这并不奇怪。

in this day and age： right at this moment， nowadays（当今）。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，看到没有一个人是跟一个真人面对面地交流，这真的很奇怪。

not a soul： nobody（没人）。例如：

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

我跑到健身房，一个人也没有——除夕，所有人都呆在家里。

④ It’s funny you should bring this up. 你提起了这事真有趣。

bring sth. up： introduce a topic of conversation（在谈话中引入某话题）。例如：

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

他提出了为玛丽的住院提供补助之事，但被驳回。

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

down in the mouth： lose one’s spirit， depressed（沮丧， 垂头丧气）。例如：

Don’t be down in the mouth about the loss. There is always the next game.

输了别丧气，总是还有机会的嘛。

Part 3 Finding a Balance

Jacob从约会中扫兴回来，原来和他约会的女生总是手机不离手，弄得他无所适从……

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

Jacob： Hmmm， I’m okay， I could be better.

Ann： What’s wrong？ Didn’t 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 didn’t 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， that’s just not on.

Jacob： I know！ ④I felt like a spare part！ I don’t want to be some sort of 2）fuddy-duddy but technology can often divide people as opposed to bringing them closer together.

Ann： ⑤Didn’t 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， it’s totally ridiculous. I’ve 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 weren’t 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： ⑥It’s 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 couldn’t agree more， but we shouldn’t blame technology. The way to enhance a conversation is by understanding each other. Simply throwing away the mobile phone isn’t 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 don’t 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 won’t have any excuse to use ours！

Jacob： Yeah， ⑦let’s leave it at that！

Smart Sentences

① I did yeah， but I felt as if I was a third wheel. 我去了，但是感觉自己像是个电灯泡。

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

To the concert with you and Dave？ No way， I wouldn’t want to be the third wheel.

跟你和大卫一起去听音乐会？才不呢，我可不想做电灯泡。

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

What on earth…： used for emphasis of the speaker’s surprise， anger， etc.（用以突出说话者的诧异、气愤等）。例如：

What on earth did you do to the car？

你到底把车子怎么了？

③ Oh， that’s just not on. 啊，这真不公平。

that’s not on： used to express annoyance toward a situation， same as “that’s not fair”（用以表达对一个情形的不满，等同于“that’s not fair”）。例如：

That’s not on—you can’t have me doing all the dishes and cleaning the kitchen while you just sit there and watch TV.

那不公平，你不能让我洗碗，在厨房搞卫生，而你却坐那儿看电视。

④ I felt like a spare part！ 我感觉自己像是个多余的人。

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

There’s no spare part here. Everyone has his duty.

这里没有人是多余的，人人都有各自的职责。

⑤ Didn’t you make a stink？ 你没有抱怨过吗？

make a stink （about sth.）： show one’s anger in order to make others take notice（about sth.） （为某事大闹）。例如：

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

孩子们知道测验提前到这周，就都闹了起来。

⑥ It’s getting out of hand though.但是这已经无法控制了。

out of hand： no longer be able to control a situation（无力控制事情的发展）。例如：

My sister’s drinking is getting out of hand.

我妹妹喝酒已经失控了。

⑦ Let’s leave it at that！ 让我们到此为止吧！

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

Let’s leave it at that. No further discussion is necessary.

就到此为止，没有必要再讨论了。

Part 1 简单的生活

雅各布：你好，安，最近好吗？

安：很好，谢谢。你呢？

雅各布：我还行。我刚购物回来。坐公车回家的经历对我来说简直是场噩梦。我最后不得不提前一站下车走完剩下的路程。

安：为什么，发生什么事了？

雅各布：与其说发生了什么还不如说什么也没发生。

安：你什么意思？

雅各布：嗯，车上的每个人不是没完没了地打电话就是在玩手机。妈妈们把孩子放在膝盖上教他们呀呀学语，男生们把音量调到最大玩游戏，大学男生女生总是在按着手机。

安：哦，我知道，快告诉我！是不是没有人在真正地交谈了？

雅各布：这正是我所想的！嗡嗡的嘈杂声，都快把我弄疯了。我忍受不了！

安：每天早上我在地铁都会遇到同样的事情。你可以看到人们每隔30秒就从口袋里拿出手机看看有没有收到新信息。我的意思是，不会吧！

雅各布：太多人沉迷于手机了！

安：我们太依赖手机了。老实说，我不知道如果没有手机我还能干什么。有时候我在想我宁愿丢了钱包也不愿丢了手机。

雅各布：哈哈，没错。因此，我已经决定这个周末我家将会完全脱离手机；过一个像我们父母成长时期一样的周末——没有短信、通知、最新资讯、来电、上网，什么都没有！

安：哇！你能保证在48小时内一次也不看手机吗？

雅各布：我想知道我到底有多依赖手机以及没有手机会有多大的区别。

安：你可能会吓一大跳！

雅各布：如果朋友想找我他们可以打我家里的固定电话，如果我不在他们可以给我留言，希望我能收到！或者他们可以来我家看看我究竟在不在——就像从前人们必须做的那样。

安：哈哈，你是指简单的生活，对吧？

雅各布：对！

安：你认为你会怎样？你不认为不能玩游戏或者看看你的朋友都在干嘛会让你感到郁闷吗？你或许会闲得无聊！

雅各布：如果我碰到朋友，我会面对面地问他们最近都在干嘛！同时，没有手机的干扰我不得不找其他的事情充实自己。

安：例如什么事情呢？

雅各布：像是没有任何干扰地听完整张音乐专辑，或者在读一章书时不用查阅我的微博和QQ！

安：哈哈，还有呢？

雅各布：我想如果我计划在某个地方见某个人，他们必须按照约定时间赴约。没有人能在最后一分钟改变计划！我将及时地去做每一件事情！

安：听起来更加简单清净了！

雅各布：这条规则不仅仅适用于我。如果你来看我，你必须将你的手机放在门口！

安：听起来很公平，祝你好运！

Part 2 交谈的艺术

安：你好，雅各布，最近怎样？

雅各布：很好，你最近都在忙什么呢？

安：我去了一家咖啡厅然后发现了一件特别奇怪的事情。

雅各布：怎么了，你看到什么了？

安：嗯，过了一会儿我才意识到自己是那里唯一一个不打手机不发短信的人。

雅各布：在今时今日这并不奇怪。

安：我知道，看到没有一个人是跟一个真人面对面地交流，这真的很奇怪。这就好像除了对着手机他们几乎不与任何人说话一样。

雅各布：你提起了这事真有趣，我昨天才收听了一个有关“沟通对话被扼杀”的节目。

安：真的吗？那个节目对这种社会现象怎么评论？

雅各布：节目提到，青少年和许多成人更喜欢在网上结交朋友，当不用面对别人时，他们发现交谈会变得更加容易。

安：是的，很遗憾。我更喜欢看着别人。我感觉，能看到别人笑，别人皱眉头或者做任何事情的时候，就能使我与他人的关系更近一步。

雅各布：是的，我也有同感。尽管手机有时是天赐之物，它们很不人性化而且有点脱离实际。

安：我很同意。正如和我在社交网站上交谈的朋友，我几乎不可能遇见他们——他们完全就像陌生人一样。那么，那个节目还说了什么？

雅各布：一位男孩受访时说经常上网的人都是“一起孤独”的。

安：那是什么意思？

雅各布：意思就是一些青少年男孩把在线当作在一起，他们不需要真的去见他人来感觉到彼此的存在。

安：这真让人沮丧，他们真的错过锻炼社交能力的机会。

雅各布：这就是那个节目所说的，现在的青少年都变得缺乏自信而更加内向。

安：对，当我参加家庭聚会时，经常看到那些年轻人发博客写自己在参加派对而不是享受在那里的乐趣。

雅各布：对！对许多孩子来说，这些网上的朋友能让他们有安全感。他们可以没有任何关联地独自生活。我想这样的好处是能同时知道许多其他人的想法并因此而感到舒服。

安：我想这是对的，但是我还是发现能和别人在同一房间聊天比只是盯着屏幕有意义得多。

雅各布：即使人们忙于学习或工作他们也很记得社交也需要时间和精力，不能仅通过打字来完成。

安：正确，我宁愿有一小群朋友也不愿意有成百上千个我根本不了解的网友。

雅各布：那么，只要你对已有的朋友用点心，就没有必要感到沮丧。只需记住谁是你“真正的”朋友就好。

Part 3寻找平衡点

安：嗨，雅各布，很久没见，你还好吗？

雅各布：嗯，我还行，我本来可以更好的。

安：怎么了？你昨晚不是去约会了吗？怎样了？

雅各布：我去了，但是感觉自己像是个电灯泡。

安：啊，不会吧，她不会带了一个朋友来吧？

雅各布：对，她带了，她把他们一起带来了。

安：你究竟是什么意思？

雅各布：我的意思是她在整个约会期间都在不断看手机，甚至连我们吃饭的时候也这样！

安：啊，这真不公平。

雅各布：我知道！我感觉自己像是个多余的人！我不想做古板的人，但是科技经常分开而不是拉近人们的距离。

安：你没有抱怨过吗？是我的话早告诉她这样是不礼貌的。

雅各布：我确实试图提及，但是她说每次收到一个邮件或者短信她都会感到开心，因为那让她感觉自己是被需要的，受欢迎的，重要的。

安：嗯，这简直太荒唐了。我听说过情侣间争吵的主要原因是他们的智能手机。这甚至能使婚姻破裂。

雅各布：对，我真的感觉自己好像在跟那些根本不在的人抢她的注意力。我最近看新闻得知人们一天平均要查阅手机30次，但是她肯定在一小时内看了超过30次了。

安：也许她害怕眼神交流，也许看到有网上的朋友可以聊天让她感到自信。

雅各布：但是这已经无法控制了；我想人们应该想出解决之道或者至少想一个办法去平衡他们使用手机与其他活动的时间。

安：对，我完全同意，但是我们不应该责怪科技。交谈的促进是通过彼此了解。仅凭丢掉手机是不能够解决任何问题的。

雅各布：那你有什么建议吗？

安：嗯，也许对于个人或者情侣来说建立他们自己的“无电话”时间和区域是个好主意。

雅各布：你是什么意思？

安：嗯，人们可以在一天的一段时间或者在某些特别的时刻——像是约会——当他们同意不去查阅或者使用手机的时候。他们可以完全关掉手机或者在外出时把手机放在家里。

雅各布：这些都是好主意！而且人们还应该把手机调静音，特别是如果他们在一个安静的地方，像是电影院或者咖啡厅——我很讨厌某些人的大响铃打扰到每一个人！

安：人们也不需要总是把手机带在身上以防紧急事件。人们每天能有多少个紧急事件？

雅各布：哈哈，对，说得好。而且人们只有在真正有需要的时候才能用手机，而不是用五分钟的时间在手机上了解别人在干什么。

安：没错。如果我们还能想出更多的解决方法，我们就没有任何借口用手机了。

雅各布：对，让我们到此为止吧！