The Bright Side of the Flipside

爱语吧BBC六分钟英语

Hello and welcome to 6 Minute English. Im Neil…

大家好，欢迎收听六分钟英语。我是尼尔。

… and Im Catherine. Hello.

大家好，我是凯瑟琳。

Hello, Catherine!I want to know, what sort of things make you feel angry?

你好，凯瑟琳。我想知道，什么事会让你生气？

Many things make me feel angry, Neil.But one thing that makes me regularly angry is when people put the wrong rubbish in the wrong bins.

很多事都会让我感到气愤。有一件事让我很生气，就是人们把垃圾投进错误的垃圾箱里。

Yes, that makes me angry too.

这也让我很气愤。

Does it?

真的吗？

Its not very thoughtful, is it?

这种做法太不周到了，不是吗？

Not really, no.

没错。

So, you may feel angry about people putting rubbish in the wrong bin but do you get aggressive? Thats behaving in an angry way, looking like you want to argue or even fight with someone?

人们把垃圾投进错误的垃圾箱，你会感到气愤，但你会表现得咄咄逼人吗？那是一种生气时的行为举动，看上去要和一个人争论或打架。

No. I dont really get aggressive about wheelie bins, to be honest.

老实说，我不会因为垃圾箱的问题就咄咄逼人。

Well I tend to control my anger too and keep calm but I have been known to react – especially if someone is damaging some of my property.

我也尽量控制我的愤怒，保持镇静，但如果有人侵犯我的财产，我会反应得很激烈。

Wow. Really?

真的吗？

Yeah. I cant stand it. It comes out of the blue – its completely unexpected. But Im glad to say I feel quite calm today.

是的，我没法忍受这一点。情绪来得很突然，就是说完全意想不到。但是今天我很平静。

Im glad to hear it, Neil. But today we are talking about aggressionand well look at what we can learn about human aggression by some examples from the animal kingdom.

很高兴听到这些。今天我们要谈论的是攻击性行为，通过动物世界的一些例子，了解人们的攻击性举动。

Thats right.Now, are you ready to answer todays quiz question, Catherine?

好的。现在准备好回答今天的问题了吗？

In a very calm and non-aggressive way, I would like you to give me the question.

我现在非常冷静，不会咄咄逼人，你可以出题了。

When attacked, what does a baboon typically do to show aggression? Does it…a) beat its chestb) yawn and show its teethor c) laugh and roll on the ground

当狒狒遭到袭击时，会表现出怎样的进攻性动作？a) 捶胸b) 龇牙大叫c) 在地上大笑着打滚

Well… Id love to think of an angry baboon laughing and rolling on the ground. But Im going to go for b) yawn and show its teeth.

我倒是想狒狒生气时在地上大笑打滚。但是我还是选b) 龇牙大叫。

OK. Well, well see if you right or wrong a bit later on.Now, Catherine, how do you usually act when youre angry or upset about something?

好的，我们之后再看你回答得是否正确。凯瑟琳，当你生气或沮丧的时候，你会怎么做呢？

I generally let people know how I feel to be honest.I dont go over the top and hit people, but also I dont sulk about things. And sulk means when you refuse to smile or speak because you want to let people know you are upset about something.

我会让别人知道我是怎么想的。我不会做过头去打人，也不会生闷气。生闷气就是说不笑也不说话，就是想让别人看出来你在生气。

Sulking is quite childish, isnt it Catherine?

生闷气太小孩子气了，不是吗？

It is. Are you a sulker, Neil?

确实。你会生闷气吗？

I dont sulk, I dont think. But as I said I dont often get angry. Im a very well balanced and grounded person, Catherine.

我不会。我说过我不怎么生气。我脾气很好，很好接触。

Really, very good. Im pleased to hear it, Neil. Anyway, well balanced means sensible and in control of your emotions.And grounded means mentally and emotionally stable. Is that what youre saying, Neil?

不错，很高兴听到这。脾气好是说通晓事理，能够掌控自己的情绪。很好接触意味着情绪稳定。你是想这么表达吧？

Yes, thats me.But lets listen to Professor Simon Underdown talking about human behaviour.Can you spot a phrase that means the opposite side to an idea?

没错，我就是这样。我们来听听西蒙安德教授所说的人类行为。你能不能听出一个词组，表示一个观点的相反面。

One of the things humans are incredibly good at doing is being psychologists. Were very good at reading situations that we find ourselves in.Were extremely good at picking up on signals. What we can then do is trigger the appropriate response.If its an empathetic response we may well need to then be sympathetic, we maybe need to show our sort of fluffy side if you want. But on the flipside from an evolutionary point of view the reason we are so successful and were still here is because we can, and when we need to, react aggressively to situations.

人类最擅长的就是成为心理学家，解读我们身处的环境。我们善于捕捉一些信号。我们所需要做的就是触发合适的反应。如果是感同身受的反应，我们需要表现出同情，需要展现出自己柔软的一面。但是从进化论的另一面来说，我们之所以能成功存活，是因为我们能够也需要与环境抗争。

Did you spot the phrase? Flipside means the opposite side to an idea. And being aggressive is the flipside of being fluffy and sympathetic.

你听出那个短语了吗？另一面，指一个观点的相反面。抗争好斗是柔软同情的另一面。

Fluffy, by the way, is an adjective we often use to describe soft animal fur or feathers on young animals or soft toys for children. But here fluffy means behaviour that is soft and unthreatening so it’s the opposite of aggressive.

顺便说下，毛茸茸，一般我们用来形容动物幼时身上柔软的毛或羽毛，或者是形容孩子们的毛绒玩具。这儿是指柔软的行为，没有威胁性的行为，是进攻性的反义词。

And if you are empathetic you are able to share or understand another persons feelings.That sounds like me! Im an excellent empathizer, arent I, Catherine?

如果说一个人感同身受，就是说这个人可以理解和分担他人的感受。这就是说我！我是一个很富有同情心的人，是吧？凯瑟琳。

Neil, you are absolutely totally full of … empathy.

尼尔，你绝对十分富有同情心。

Nice pause.

停顿的不错。

Thank you.

谢谢夸奖。

Now, Simon also talks about humans being good at reading situations.What does that mean, Catherine?

西蒙还提到人类善于解读周边的环境。这是指什么呢？

It means understanding whats going on.For example, if a male gorilla is screaming and breaking branches, other gorillas will probably see this as a show of aggression.

这是说认识到接下来会发生什么。例如，一只雄性猩猩尖叫着，撕扯树枝，其他的猩猩就会将之视为进攻的象征。

The male gorilla screams and breaks branches, signalling to the other gorillas that hes angry or upset. Signal here means a noise or a movement that gives someone information.

一只雄性猩猩尖叫，撕扯树枝，给其他猩猩传递的信号就是他很生气很愤怒。这儿的信号指传递信息的声响或行为。

And the male gorillas signal triggers a response from the other gorillas. This means one thing causes another thing to happen.

这只雄性猩猩触发了其他猩猩的反应。这是指一件事引发了另一件事。

And when a man suddenly punches another man in the face, what signal does that send?

当一个人一拳砸在另一个人脸上，这发出了什么样的信号呢？

Well, I think for me that would be a signal to leave!

我认为这是让他离开。

Yes. Quickly.

没错，快点离开的信号。

Yes, indeed.And humans usually give signals just like the gorillas do, before they start a fight. So people might shout, or gesture with their arms. And a gesture is a movement made with arms or head to give someone else information.Now then, Neil. Lets have our quiz question answer please.

是的。人类在打架之前，也会像猩猩一样发出某些信号。人们会大喊，做一些手势。手势指用胳膊或头作出某些动作，传递某些信息。现在揭晓问题的答案吧。

OK, OK, stop waving your arms around. So I asked: When attacked, what does a baboon typically do to show aggression? Does it…a) beat its chest?b) yawn and show its teeth? or c) laugh and roll on the ground?

好了，别挥舞胳膊了。问题是当狒狒遭到袭击时，会表现出怎样的进攻性动作？a) 捶胸b) 龇牙大叫c) 在地上大笑着打滚。

And I said b).

我选的是b).

That’s right. Well done! Now lets hear todays words once again.

回答正确，不错！我们再来回忆一下今天的单词。

They are:

今天听到的单词有：

out of the blue

完全出于意外

Aggressive

进攻性的

Sulk

生闷气

well balanced

好脾气的

Grounded

好接触的

Flipside

另一面

Fluffy

柔软的

empathetic

感同身受的

reading situations

解读处境

Signal

信号

triggers a response

触动某种反应

Gesture

手势

Well, thats the end of todays 6 Minute English.Check out more programmes at bbclearningenglish.com.Join us again soon.