我们生活在一个过度拥挤的地球上，人口迅速增长，总数接近80亿人。尽管如此，许多人还是感到孤独或生活处境孤立。英国广播公司展开了一项有关孤独的调查，参与这项调查的5.5万人来自世界各地近240个国家。本集节目分析这项 “孤独调查” 的结果。

Vocabulary: loneliness 词汇 : 孤独

How lonely are you? Sometimes living alone or being in a remote location with nobody around to talk to can give you the feeling of despair and isolation. It's not a great feeling. There's a common stereotype that it's something that affects older people more, but research has found that loneliness is something that can affect us all, whatever our age.

你有多孤独？有时候一个人住或者在一个没有人说话的偏远地方会给你一种绝望和孤立的感觉。这不是一个很好的感觉。有一种普遍的刻板印象 ，认为它对老年人的影响更大，但研究发现，孤独会影响我们所有人，无论我们的年龄如何。

There's a familiar phrase that says it's possible to be lonely in a crowd – despite being surrounded by hundreds of people, you think you have nobody to talk to or to connect with and that nobody wants to listen to you anyway. It's probably not true, but loneliness is seen as a big problem for the mental health of the population wherever they live - so much so that the British government even has a minister for loneliness.

有一个熟悉的短语说在人群中可能会感到孤独 ——尽管周围有数百人，但你认为没有人可以交谈或联系 ，而且无论如何也没有人愿意听你的话。这可能不是真的，但孤独被视为对居住在任何地方的人们的心理健康的一个大问题——以至于英国政府甚至有一位负责孤独的部长。

The BBC recently completed a survey about the topic and it found that people aged between 16 and 24 experience loneliness more often and more intensely than any other age group. Researchers from the University of Manchester who analysed the data, suggested feeling lonely may plague the young because it's a time of identity change - figuring out your place in the world and of learning to regulate emotions.

英国广播公司最近完成了一项关于该主题的调查，发现 16 至 24 岁的人 比任何其他年龄段的人 更频繁、更强烈地感受到孤独感。曼彻斯特大学的研究人员分析了这些数据，他们认为孤独感可能会困扰年轻人，因为这是一个身份转变的时期—— 弄清楚你在世界上的位置并学会调节情绪。

Psychology lecturer and BBC presenter Claudia Hammond says that 'it's tempting to conclude that something about modern life is putting young people at a higher risk of loneliness, but when we asked older people in our survey about the loneliest times in their lives, they also said it was when they were young.'

心理学讲师和 BBC 主持人克劳迪娅·哈蒙德说：“人们很容易得出这样的结论： 现代生活中的某些东西使年轻人处于更高的孤独风险中，但是当我们在调查中询问老年人他们一生中最孤独的时光时，他们还说那是他们年轻的时候。”

The issue is certainly being talked about more. And in the UK, the Minister for Loneliness Tracey Crouch has said that 'the government now recognises loneliness as one of the biggest health challenges we face.' She also said there needs to be a 'national conversation' to end the stigma about admitting to feeling lonely.

这个问题肯定会被更多人讨论。在英国，孤独症部长特蕾西·克劳奇（Tracey Crouch）表示，“政府现在认识到孤独感是我们面临的最大健康挑战之一 。” 她还表示，需要进行“全国对话”，以结束承认感到孤独的耻辱。

The BBC Loneliness Experiment also found the type of culture you live in has implications for loneliness. People from cultures which tend to put a high value on independence, such as Northern Europe and the US, revealed they would be less likely to tell a colleague about their loneliness. But in cultures where extended family is often emphasised, such as in Southern Europe, Latin America, Asia and Africa, older women in particular were at lower risk of feeling lonely.

BBC 的孤独实验还发现，你所生活的文化类型 对孤独感有影响 。来自北欧和美国等倾向于高度重视独立文化的人透露，他们不太可能告诉同事他们的孤独感。但在南欧、拉丁美洲、亚洲和非洲等经常强调大家庭的文化中，尤其是年长女性感到孤独的风险较低。

词汇表

despair 绝望
isolation 孤独，隔绝
stereotype 成见
lonely in a crowd 即使在热闹处，仍感孤独
connect 建立联系
mental health 精神健康状态
experience 感受到，体会到
intensely 强烈地
plague 折磨，使苦恼
figure out 找到…
regulate emotions 控制、调节情绪
modern life 现代生活
health challenge 健康隐患
stigma 耻辱
implication 可能的影响
independence 独立
extended family 大家庭

测验与练习

1. 阅读课文并回答问题。

1. According to the survey, which age range was most affected by loneliness?

2. True or false? There is more chance of feeling lonely if you live in a remote location.

3. What is thought to lead to loneliness among some young people?

4. Why might older women in Asia be at a lower risk of feeling lonely?

5. Which word used in the article means 'possible effects or results'?

2. 请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. Not being married and having a child no longer carries a ______ in certain societies today.

plague stigma stereotype culture

2. Since Phil lost his job, he's been ______ how to pay for the new car he'd just bought.

figured out figure out figuring out figuring up

3. We all had to work ______ to complete our assignments on time.

intensely independence stereotype isolation

4. My mum had a feeling of ______ when she lost her purse and her keys to the house.

despairing desperate desperation despair

5. The museum has got so busy we now have to ______ the number of people visiting at certain times.

plague isolate regulate figure out

答案

1. 阅读课文并回答问题。

1. According to the survey, which age range was most affected by loneliness?
The BBC survey found people aged between 16 and 24 experience loneliness more often and more intensely than any other age group.

2. True or false? There is more chance of feeling lonely if you live in a remote location.
False. It doesn't matter where you live – you can still feel lonely in a crowd.

3. What is thought to lead to loneliness among some young people?
Researchers from the University of Manchester suggested feeling lonely may affect the young because it's a time of identity change - figuring out their place in the world and of learning to regulate emotions.

4. Why might older women in Asia be at a lower risk of feeling lonely?
Research found having an extended family meant they were less likely to get lonely.

5. Which word used in the article means 'possible effects or results'?
Implications. 'The BBC Loneliness Experiment interestingly, also found the type of culture you live in has implications for loneliness.'

2. 请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. Not being married and having a child no longer carries a stigma in certain societies today.

2. Since Phil lost his job, he's been figuring out how to pay for the new car he'd just bought.

3. We all had to work intensely to complete our assignments on time.

4. My mum had a feeling of despair when she lost her purse and her keys to the house.

5. The museum has got so busy we now have to regulate the number of people visiting at certain times.