听力挖空练习
When we say, “Oh, I am so crazy busy,” what we're really saying is a societally-accepted version of “I am so important --“I am so popular! I am so ____________!” And the truth is that feeling can be ____________________ ... even if we say that we want to. That’s not the only reason, of course. It turns out it is very hard for the human mind to ____________________________. And in modern life, there's a lot of it. Sometimes we are given ____________, and the truth is, tactically, we just don't know how to do it. “Increase sales by 30 percent.” Well, how? There's a lot of ways you could do it. You're not sure how. Sometimes it's easier, frankly, to just ____________________ and keep doing more of what you're already doing. That might not be the best answer, but it's an answer, and it______________ . The picture gets even ________ when we're talking about ______________; when we're talking about ____________________________ that we might not actually really want to deal with. That might be, “______________?” It might be, “______________?” Those are often questions, ____________________, we might not want the answer to. And so we become busy as a way so that we don't even have to ask the question. Now, there's a third reason, and I'll ________ it's one that I know well, personally, and that is that sometimes we use busyness as ________________________________. I've ________________that. This is my boy Gideon, and he died in 2013. I'd had him for 17 years, and he was my best friend. And after he died, I'll be honest, I didn't want to be home because I knew that he ________________________. And so for two years, my life ____________ was an ______ to an ________, to a hotel and back again, because I just really didn't want to ____________. For a lot of us, there are things we sometimes don't want to face.
When we say, “Oh, I am so crazy busy,” what we're really saying is a societally-accepted version of “I am so important --“I am so popular! I am so in demand!” And the truth is that feeling can be hard to give up ... even if we say that we want to.
当我们说”噢，我要忙疯了”我们实际上在寻求一种社会认同，“我是如此重要” ，“我很受欢迎！”“我正被人需要！” 事实是，这种感觉很难摆脱掉即使我们说我们想要摆脱它。
societally-accepted 合成词，就是2个词的意思加起来，社会接受的 be in demand 被需要
That's not the only reason, of course. It turns out it is very hard for the human mind to deal with conditions of uncertainty. And in modern life, there's a lot of it. Sometimes we are given tasks or challenges, and the truth is, tactically, we just don't know how to do it.
当然，这不是唯一的原因。事实证明，人类的大脑处理不确定的情况是非常困难的。在现代生活中，有很多这样的事例，有时候我们被赋予任务或挑战，事实上在战术上我们无从下手。
conditions of uncertainty 不确定的情况，不确定性 uncertainty [ʌnˈsɜːrtnti] n. 犹豫;迟疑;无把握;拿不定的事;令人无把握的局面 tactically adv.战术性地;战术上
“Increase sales by 30 percent.” Well, how? There's a lot of ways you could do it. You’re not sure how. Sometimes it's easier, frankly, to just double down and keep doing more of what you're already doing. That might not be the best answer, but it's an answer, and it removes uncertainty.
“增加 30% 的销售额。”该怎么实现这个目标？有很多方法可以实现，但你不确定该如何做。坦率地说，有时候更简单的做法是继续加倍去努力做你已经在做的事。这可能不是最好的答案，但这也是一个答案，这也解除了不确定性。
frankly [ˈfræŋkli] adv.坦白地说;坦率地;直率地;(表示直言)老实说 double down 双倍下注; 双倍投入 removes uncertainty 解除不确定性
The picture gets even worse when we're talking about existential questions; when we’re talking about uncomfortable matters that we might not actually really want to deal with. That might be, “Am I in the right job?” It might be, “Am I in the right career?” Those are often questions, truth be told, we might not want the answer to. And so we become busy as a way so that we don't even have to ask the question.
当我们谈论存在主义的问题时，情况就更加糟糕了；当我们谈论我们可能并不想解决的问题，关于一些令人不愉快的事情。可能是“这个工作到底适合我吗？” 可能是“我的职业发展是否正确？” 说实话，这些通常都是我们不想知道答案的问题，因此我们变得很忙，甚至不必问这个问题
【拓展】这篇文章里很多表达都比较地道口语化/日常化，值得口语中学习 比如我们要说：这个工作到底适合我吗？ 通常会想到：Is this job suitable for me？或者Does this job suit for me？，口语中常见的表达是Am I in the right job？ 同理，我的职业发展是否正确，就可以直接说Am I in the right career？ 【拓展】老实说，坦白说，文本出现了多种表达： frankly, truth be told, I’ll be honest, the truth is that.. 此外还有： Honestly to tell the truth to be frank
Now, there's a third reason, and I'll admit it's one that I know well, personally, and that is that sometimes we use busyness as a way to numb ourselves out. I’ve experienced that. This is my boy Gideon, and he died in 2013. I'd had him for 17 years, and he was my best friend.
还有第三个原因，我承认这是我身边的一个熟人，有时候我们用忙碌来麻痹自己。我也有过同样的经历。他就是我儿子 Gideon，于 2013 年逝世。我们陪伴了彼此 17 年，他是我最好的朋友。
And after he died, I'll be honest, I didn't want to be home because I knew that he wouldn't be there. And so for two years, my life basically was an Uber to an airport, to a hotel and back again, because I just really didn't want to face that. For a lot of us, there are things we sometimes don't want to face.
他离世后，老实说，我不想回家了。因为我知道，他再也不会出现在那里了。所以这两年来，我的生活基本上就是打车去机场，去酒店，来回往返，因为我真的不想面对这个事实。对于我们中的很多人来说，很多事情有时候我们不想去面对。
Uber 优步（公司名），主要做打车业务