CET-6 Listening Passages: Why Boredom Helps Creativity and the Psychology of Waiting

Passage One.

短文一。

When did you last feel truly bored, with nothing at all to do?

你上一次真正覺得無聊、什麼事都沒得做，是什麼時候？

For most of us, the answer is: not for years.

對大多數人來說，答案是：好幾年都沒有了。

Whenever we have a spare moment, we reach for a phone.

只要有一點空檔，我們就會拿起手機。

In 2014, two British psychologists asked a group of people to do something dull.

2014年，兩位英國心理學家請一群人做一件很無聊的事。

They spent fifteen minutes copying numbers out of a phone book.

他們花了十五分鐘從電話簿上抄號碼。

Then everyone was asked to think of uses for a pair of plastic cups.

接著，每個人都要想出一對塑膠杯的用途。

The bored group came up with more ideas than people who had skipped the dull task!

做過無聊任務的那組人，比沒做的人想出了更多點子！

The researchers think boredom pushes the mind to wander and look for something interesting.

研究人員認為，無聊會讓思緒漫遊，去尋找有趣的東西。

So next time you're bored, don't fill the gap immediately. Let your mind drift.

所以下次覺得無聊時，別急著填滿空白，讓思緒自由飄吧。

Questions nine to eleven are based on the passage you have just heard.

第9題到第11題根據你剛才聽到的短文。

Question nine. What did people in the study do first?

第9題。研究中的人一開始做了什麼？

Question ten. What did the researchers find?

第10題。研究人員發現了什麼？

Question eleven. What does the speaker suggest we do when we feel bored?

第11題。說話者建議我們無聊時怎麼做？

Passage Two.

短文二。

Why do some waits feel much longer than others?

為什麼有些等待感覺比其他的久得多？

Some years ago, an airport in Houston had a problem.

幾年前，休士頓的一座機場遇到了一個問題。

Passengers kept complaining about how long they waited for their bags.

旅客一直抱怨等行李等太久。

The airport hired more staff, and the average wait fell to about eight minutes.

機場增加人手，平均等待時間降到大約八分鐘。

But the complaints didn't stop!

可是抱怨並沒有停！

Then someone noticed something:

後來有人注意到一件事：

passengers walked for one minute, and then stood still for seven.

旅客走一分鐘，然後站著乾等七分鐘。

So the airport moved the arrival gates farther away from the bags.

於是機場把抵達登機門移到離行李提領區更遠的地方。

Now people walked for six minutes and waited for only two.

現在大家走六分鐘，只要等兩分鐘。

The total time was the same, but complaints almost disappeared!

總時間一樣，但抱怨幾乎消失了！

Psychologists say that empty time feels longer than busy time.

心理學家說，空著的時間比忙碌的時間感覺更長。

That's why some hotels put mirrors next to their lifts.

這就是為什麼有些飯店在電梯旁裝鏡子。

People check their hair, and the wait seems to fly by.

大家照照頭髮，等待一下子就過去了。

Questions twelve to fifteen are based on the passage you have just heard.

第12題到第15題根據你剛才聽到的短文。

Question twelve. What were passengers at the airport complaining about?

第12題。機場的旅客在抱怨什麼？

Question thirteen. What did the airport do first?

第13題。機場一開始做了什麼？

Question fourteen. Why did the complaints almost disappear?

第14題。為什麼抱怨幾乎消失了？

Question fifteen. Why do some hotels put mirrors next to their lifts?

第15題。為什麼有些飯店在電梯旁裝鏡子？