CET-4 Listening Passages: Why We Put Things Off and Learning to Swim at Seventy

Passage One.

短文一。

Why do we put off important tasks, even when we know they matter?

為什麼我們明知道重要的事很重要，卻還是會拖延？

Many people think it's because they're lazy.

很多人以為是因為自己懶。

But researchers say the real reason is our feelings.

但研究人員說，真正的原因是我們的情緒。

When a task feels boring or difficult, we feel bad.

當一件事感覺無聊或困難時，我們就會覺得不舒服。

So we do something easy instead, like checking our phones.

於是我們改做輕鬆的事，例如滑手機。

We feel better for a moment, but the task is still there.

我們會暫時覺得好一點，但事情還是在那裡。

The good news is that there's a simple trick.

好消息是，有個簡單的小訣竅。

Tell yourself you'll work for just five minutes.

告訴自己，只做五分鐘就好。

Once we start, the task usually feels much easier than we expected.

一旦開始，事情通常比我們想像的容易得多。

Questions sixteen to eighteen are based on the passage you have just heard.

第16題到第18題根據你剛才聽到的短文。

Question sixteen. What is the real reason people put off tasks?

第16題。人們拖延的真正原因是什麼？

Question seventeen. Why do people check their phones instead of working?

第17題。人們為什麼滑手機而不做事？

Question eighteen. What does the speaker suggest?

第18題。說話者提出了什麼建議？

Passage Two.

短文二。

Margaret Hill was seventy when she decided to learn to swim.

Margaret Hill七十歲時決定學游泳。

As a child, she had almost drowned in a river, and she'd been afraid of water ever since.

她小時候差點在河裡溺水，從此就一直很怕水。

At her first lesson, she couldn't even put her face in the water.

第一堂課時，她連把臉放進水裡都做不到。

But her teacher was patient, and Margaret came back every week.

但她的老師很有耐心，Margaret每週都回來上課。

After six months, she swam her first full length of the pool!

六個月後，她第一次游完整整一趟泳池！

Now she swims three times a week and helps other older beginners.

現在她每週游三次，還會幫助其他年長的初學者。

She says the hardest part wasn't swimming. It was walking through the door.

她說最難的不是游泳，而是走進那扇門。

Questions nineteen to twenty-one are based on the passage you have just heard.

第19題到第21題根據你剛才聽到的短文。

Question nineteen. Why was Margaret afraid of water?

第19題。Margaret為什麼怕水？

Question twenty. What happened at her first lesson?

第20題。她第一堂課發生了什麼事？

Question twenty-one. What does Margaret say was the hardest part?

第21題。Margaret說最難的是什麼？

Two stories, one lesson: the first step is always the hardest.

兩個故事，一個道理：第一步永遠最難。

So take it today.

所以，今天就跨出去吧。