Note: This is not a word for word transcript
Rob
Hello. This is 6 Minute English I'm Rob.
Neil
And I'm Neil.
Rob
Do you ever experience anxiety, Neil?
Neil
Anxiety?
Rob
Yes, you know, a feeling of being really worried or nervous without any real reason.
Neil
Well not really, but I know for some people it can be quite a serious problem.
Rob
Well anxiety may be a result of natural selection.
Neil
Natural selection? You mean, the principle behind evolution?
Rob
Yes. The idea that life on this planet has developed as a result of random changes in biology over many many years.
Neil
So why have anxiety, that seems like a negative rather than a positive thing to develop?
Rob
Well, we』ll find out more in this programme, but before we do, a quiz. Charles Darwin is famous for describing evolution by natural selection. What was the name of the ship he travelled on when he made his discoveries? Was it:
a) HMS Beagle
b) HMS Badger, or
c) HMS Bear?
What do you think, Neil?
Neil
Well I’m pretty sure I know this one, so I’m not going to give away the answer just yet.
Rob
Well, you can let me know at the end of the programme, before I give the answer. Right, Dr Randolph Nesse is a doctor and psychologist. He has written a lot about how evolution has an impact on our mental condition, particularly anxiety. Recently he spoke on BBC Radio 4’s 『Start the Week』 programme about this topic. Listen out for the answer to this question. How long did he treat patients at the University of Michigan for?
Dr Randolph Nesse
Natural selection has shaped all organisms to have special states to cope with certain kinds of circumstances. I treated patients with anxiety disorders for 40 years at the University of Michigan. It was only half way through that I started realising that anxiety is there for a good reason.
RobSo Neil, how long did he treat patients for at the University of Michigan?
Neil
He says that he did that for 40 years, but it was only after about 20 years or so that he realised that we suffer from anxiety for a good reason.
Rob
We』ll find out that reason shortly but first he said that natural selection has shaped all organisms. This means that we are the result of natural selection. It has made us what we are.
Neil
And it has made us able to cope with different situations. To cope with means being able to deal with, being able to manage a difficult situation.
Rob
And anxiety, if it’s not too great, is a way of dealing with particular situations. Let's hear from Dr Nesse again.
Dr Randolph Nesse
Natural selection has shaped all organisms to have special states to cope with certain kinds of circumstances. I treated patients with anxiety disorders for 40 years at the University of Michigan. It was only half way through that I started realising that anxiety is there for a good reason.
Rob
So why is anxiety a necessary thing, why is it something that, within reason, is not a bad emotion. Here’s Dr Nesse talking about his patients who suffer from too much anxiety.
Dr Randolph Nesse
What you’re having is a normal kind of emergency response which is great in life-threatening situations but for you it’s a false alarm like a smoke detector going off when you burn the toast. And after that many of my patients said – 『Oh, that makes perfect sense, I think I won’t need your help after all, doctor'.
Rob
So what is anxiety?
Neil
Well, it’s your body reacting to danger, like an emergency response, a warning. In really dangerous situations, which could harm you or even kill you, which Dr Nesse describes as life-threatening situations, it’s a useful response to warn you to take action or to prepare for action.
Rob
But some people experience anxiety when there is no real danger. It’s a false alarm, like when you burn the toast and the smoke detector alarm starts or as he says, goes off! And he says that some patients can feel less worried after that, when they realise anxiety is a natural thing Let’s hear from Dr Nesse again.
Dr Randolph Nesse
What you’re having is a normal kind of emergency response which is great in life-threatening situations but for you it’s a false alarm like a smoke detector going off when you burn the toast. And after that many of my patients said – 『Oh, that makes perfect sense, I think I won’t need your help after all, doctor'.
RobTime now to review today’s vocabulary, but first, let’s have the answer to the quiz question. What was the name of the ship Charles Darwin travelled on when he made his discoveries about evolution? Was it:
a) HMS Beagle
b) HMS Badger, or
c) HMS Bear?
What do you think, Neil?
Neil
Well, I’m pretty sure it’s HMS Beagle.
Rob
Well, you are right. Charles Darwin travelled on HMS Beagle. Congratulations if you also knew that. Now, on with today’s vocabulary. We were talking about anxiety, a feeling of being worried or scared, a feeling that something isn’t quite right.
Neil
Dr Nesse suggests that anxiety is a result of natural selection. This is the principle of evolution whereby random changes in the biology of a living thing can make it more likely to survive in a particular environment.
Rob
These changes shape the living thing. They make it what it is. They help it to cope withdifferent situations. Which means that they help it manage or deal with those situations.
Neil
A life-threatening situation is a very dangerous situation which could cause serious injury or even death.
Rob
And finally there was the phrasal verb to go off. For example, if an alarm goes off, it means that is starts making a loud noise as a warning. Right, before any alarms start to go off here, we need to wrap up. That’s all from us today, do join us again next time. Until then, you can find us online, on social media and on our app. Look out for bbclearningenglish. Bye for now.
Neil
Goodbye!
anxiety
a feeling of worry and fear
natural selection
a principle of evolution when random changes in an organism’s biology may lead it to being more successful in its environment
to shape
to have an important impact on the way something develops
to cope with
to manage a difficult situation
life-threatening
possibly causing death
to go off (talking about an alarm)
starts making its warning noise
雙語版Transcript
Hello. This is 6 Minute English I'm Rob.Do you ever experience anxiety, Neil?Yes, you know, a feeling of being really worried or nervous without any real reason.是的，你知道的，沒有任何真正的理由，非常擔心或緊張的一種感覺。Well, not really, but I know for some people it can be quite a serious problem.好吧，真的沒有，但我知道對一些人來說它會是一個相當嚴重的問題。Well, anxiety may be a result of natural selection.Natural selection? You mean, the principle behind evolution?Yes. The idea that life on this planet has developed as a result of random changes in biology over many many years.是的。那個觀點是：由於多年來在生物學上的隨機變化，這個星球上的生命已經進化。So why have anxiety, that seems like a negative rather than a positive thing to develop?那麼為什麼會產生焦慮情緒？那似乎是產生的一種消極事物而非積極事物。Well, we'll find out more in this programme, but before we do, a quiz.好吧，我們將會在節目中找到更多，但在我們做那之前是測驗問題。Charles Darwin is famous for describing evolution by natural selection.What was the name of the ship he travelled on when he made his discoveries?Was it: a) HMS Beagle b) HMS Badger, or c) HMS Bear?它是：a）"小獵犬號"（貝格爾號） b）"獾號"，還是c）"熊號"？Well, I'm pretty sure I know this one, so I'm not going to give away the answer just yet.我相當確定自己知道這個的答案，所以我現在還不打算透露答案。Well, you can let me know at the end of the programme, before I give the answer.好吧，你可以在節目結束時告訴我，在我給出答案之前。Right, Dr Randolph Nesse is a doctor and psychologist.He has written a lot about how evolution has an impact on our mental condition, particularly anxiety.他寫了很多關於進化如何影響我們精神狀態的內容，特別是焦慮。Recently he spoke on BBC Radio 4's 'Start the Week' programme about this topic.最近，他在BBC廣播4頻道的Start the Week節目中談到了這個話題。Listen out for the answer to this question.How long did he treat patients at the University of Michigan for?Natural selection has shaped all organisms to have special states to cope with certain kinds of circumstances.I treated patients with anxiety disorders for 40 years at the University of Michigan.It was only half way through that I started realising that anxiety is there for a good reason.治療到一半時間的時候我才開始意識到焦慮的存在是有正當理由的。So Neil, how long did he treat patients for at the University of Michigan?He says that he did that for 40 years, but it was only after about 20 years or so that he realised that we suffer from anxiety for a good reason.他說他治療病人40年，但在大約20年左右之後他才意識到我們患上焦慮症是有正當理由的。We'll find out that reason shortly but first he said that natural selection has shaped all organisms.我們很快就會找到原因，但一開始他說自然選擇影響了所有生物體。This means that we are the result of natural selection.It has made us what we are.And it has made us able to cope with different situations.To cope with means being able to deal with, being able to manage a difficult situation."To cope with"指的是能夠處理，能夠應對困難的情況。And anxiety, if it's not too great, is a way of dealing with particular situations.如果焦慮不是很嚴重，那麼它會是處理特殊情況的一種方式。Let's hear from Dr Nesse again.Natural selection has shaped all organisms to have special states to cope with certain kinds of circumstances.I treated patients with anxiety disorders for 40 years at the University of Michigan.It was only half way through that I started realising that anxiety is there for a good reason.治療到一半時間的時候我才開始意識到焦慮的存在是有正當理由的。So why is anxiety a necessary thing, why is it something that, within reason, is not a bad emotion.為什麼焦慮是一件必要的事情，為什麼在理性範圍內，焦慮不是一種不好的情緒。Here's Dr Nesse talking about his patients who suffer from too much anxiety.這是內瑟博士談論其病人時談到的，那些病人飽受太多焦慮折磨。What you're having is a normal kind of emergency response which is great in life-threatening situations but for you it's a false alarm like a smoke detector going off when you burn the toast.你所面臨的是一種正常的應急反應，這在危及生命的情況下是很好的，但對你來說，這是一種錯誤的警報，就像你烤麵包時煙霧探測器發出的警報一樣。And after that many of my patients said – 'Oh, that makes perfect sense, I think I won't need your help after all, doctor'.在那之後，我的一些病人說："哦，那很有道理，我想我根本不需要你的幫助，醫生。"Well, it's your body reacting to danger, like an emergency response, a warning.好吧，它是你身體對危險的反應，比如應急反應，警告。In really dangerous situations, which could harm you or even kill you, which Dr Nesse describes as life-threatening situations, it's a useful response to warn you to take action or to prepare for action.在非常危險的情況下，可能會傷害你甚至殺死你的情況下，內瑟博士將其描述為危及生命的情況下，它是一個有益的反應來提醒你採取行動或準備行動。But some people experience anxiety when there is no real danger.It's a false alarm, like when you burn the toast and the smoke detector alarm starts or as he says, goes off!這是一個錯誤的警報，就像當你烤麵包時煙霧探測器報警，或者像他說的，發出警報！And he says that some patients can feel less worried after that, when they realise anxiety is a natural thing.他說當一些病人意識到焦慮是一件很自然的事情時，他們會感到不那麼擔心。Let's hear from Dr Nesse again.What you're having is a normal kind of emergency response which is great in life-threatening situations but for you it's a false alarm like a smoke detector going off when you burn the toast.你所面臨的是一種正常的應急反應，這在危及生命的情況下是很好的，但對你來說，這是一種錯誤的警報，就像你烤麵包時煙霧探測器發出的警報一樣。And after that many of my patients said – 'Oh, that makes perfect sense, I think I won't need your help after all, doctor'.在那之後，我的一些病人說："哦，那很有道理，我想我根本不需要你的幫助，醫生。"Time now to review today's vocabulary, but first, let's have the answer to the quiz question.是時候回顧今天的詞彙了，但是首先讓我們揭曉測試問題的答案。What was the name of the ship Charles Darwin travelled on when he made his discoveries about evolution?當查爾斯·達爾文進行研究發現時，他所乘船隻的名字是什麼？Was it: a) HMS Beagle b) HMS Badger, or c) HMS Bear?它是：a）"小獵犬號"（貝格爾號） b）"獾號"，還是c）"熊號"？Well, I'm pretty sure it's HMS Beagle.Charles Darwin travelled on HMS Beagle.Congratulations if you also knew that.Now, on with today's vocabulary.We were talking about anxiety, a feeling of being worried or scared, a feeling that something isn't quite right.我們談論的是焦慮，一種擔心或害怕的感覺，一種覺得有些事情不太對的感覺。Dr Nesse suggests that anxiety is a result of natural selection.This is the principle of evolution whereby random changes in the biology of a living thing can make it more likely to survive in a particular environment.這是進化論的觀點，由此生物體在生物學上的隨機變化可以使其更有可能在特定環境中生存。These changes shape the living thing.They help it to cope with different situations, which means that they help it manage or deal with those situations.它們幫助它處理不同的情況，這指的是它們幫助它應對或處理這些情況。A life-threatening situation is a very dangerous situation which could cause serious injury or even death.危及生命的情況是一種非常危險的情況，可能會造成嚴重傷害甚至死亡。And finally there was the phrasal verb to go off.For example, if an alarm goes off, it means that is starts making a loud noise as a warning.例如，如果警報器發出警報，那意味著它開始發出響亮的噪音作為警告。Right, before any alarms start to go off here, we need to wrap up.That's all from us today, do join us again next time.Look out for bbclearningenglish.