英语每日一听 | 每天少于5分钟

What's your favourite flavour? Maybe you like your grub nice and spicy?  你最喜欢的味道是什么？也许你喜欢你的食物又香又辣？ Perhaps you have a sweet tooth? Or are you partial to a salty, savoury snack? 也许你爱吃甜食？还是您偏爱咸味可口的小吃？ By now you're probably imagining something delicious, but take a moment to ponder this: why do some people adore certain flavours while others can't s...

Are you the kind of person whose desk is alwa­­ys spick and span? Or is it a bit of a mess? How you organise your working space can say a lot about you.  你是那种办公桌总是很整洁的人吗？还是有点乱？你如何组织你的工作空间可以说很多关于你的事情。 In fact, environmental psychologist Lily Bernheimer developed five distinct "desk personality types" in a study commissioned by UK co-working firm Hea...

I count myself lucky to live in the relative calm of the countryside, a safe distance away from the chaos and claustrophobia of city life.  我认为自己很幸运能够生活在相对平静的乡村，远离城市生活的混乱和幽闭恐惧症。 However, I have to venture into the urban jungle every day to work and it's then that I realise how rude city dwellers can be. 然而，我每天都必须冒险进入城市丛林工作，那时我才意识...

As the relentless pace of technology continues to advance, companies must adapt or get left behind. 随着技术的不断进步，公司必须适应或落后。  One of the key areas of contention these days is the driverless car. 如今，争论的关键领域之一是无人驾驶汽车。  Autonomous cars have long been featured in science fiction movies and books, but in recent years they have moved from a pipe dream to a r...

At some point in our lives, most of us have attended a school or university lecture.  在我们生活中的某个时刻，我们大多数人都参加过学校或大学的讲座。 These learning sessions give us some insightful nugget of knowledge or can be something we yawn through, trying to keep awake.  这些学习课程为我们提供了一些有见地的知识，或者可以成为我们打哈欠的东西，试图保持清醒。 Whatever our experience, l...

It may not be a real illness but K-drama fever is sweeping Asia with as much force as an infectious disease. 这可能不是一种真正的疾病，但韩剧热正在席卷亚洲，其影响力不亚于传染病。   The latest hit show to come out of South Korea has already claimed over 440 million victims in China alone, where it's being simulcast.  来自韩国的最新热播节目仅在中国就已造成超过 4.4 亿受害者，该节目正在中国...

Have you got an addictive nature? Are you unable to stop yourself joining in with the latest obsession for collecting or doing something?  你有上瘾的本性吗？您是否无法阻止自己加入对收集或做某事的最新痴迷？ This probably describes most of us because it's only human nature to not want to miss out on something that everyone else is talking about. 这可能描述了我们大多数人，因为不想错过其他人都在...

For centuries, people have moved to and lived in cities. 几个世纪以来，人们搬到并居住在城市中。  These sprawling urban centres are places to find work, friends and fun. 这些庞大的城市中心是寻找工作、朋友和乐趣的地方。  It's no surprise that they continue to grow as more and more people flood in hoping to make the most of the opportunities they offer but adding to the congestion and pollu...

Now here's what I call a turn-up for the books - a film star's been giving away free books on the London Underground.  现在这就是我所说的书籍的出现 - 一位电影明星一直在伦敦地铁上免费赠送书籍。 If you're a bookworm, a Harry Potter fan and a London Underground user then it's been an exciting month for you. 如果您是书虫、哈利波特迷和伦敦地铁用户，那么这对您来说是令人兴奋的一个月。 Emma Watson, w...

Imagine this scene: it's blowing a gale outside, you're snuggled up on the sofa under a warm duvet, chatting and reminiscing with your closest friends.  想象一下这样的场景：外面刮起了大风，你依偎在沙发上，裹着温暖的羽绒被，和最亲密的朋友聊天回忆。 That content, snug feeling has a name in Danish – 'hygge'.  这种内容、舒适的感觉在丹麦语中有一个名字——“hygge”。 And, as Denmark recently won t...

I'm sure we all remember a time when we fell in love.  我敢肯定，我们都记得我们坠入爱河的时刻。 For some it was a gradual realisation that the person you knew was actually amazing. 对一些人来说，逐渐意识到你认识的人实际上很了不起。  For others, it was love at first sight – an instant lightning-bolt moment that you knew you'd met your perfect match. 对于其他人来说，这是一见钟情——一个瞬间...

What is your earliest memory?  你最早的记忆是什么？ For me, I have a hazy recollection of standing in a leafy garden surrounded by silver birch trees when I was four years old. 对我来说，我模糊地记得我四岁时站在一个被银白桦树环绕的绿树成荫的花园里。 I'm around average: some people remember events as far back as two years old, while for others, things seem patchy until seven or eight. 我处于平...

Is it possible to be too clever? Could it be that a big brain is actually a dangerous asset? 有可能太聪明了吗？难道说，大脑袋实际上是一种危险的资产吗？ Whilst the brainy human species goes from strength to strength, a study suggests that having an abundance of grey matter directly increases the risk of extinction in our mammal cousins.虽然聪明的人类物种不断壮大，但一项研究表明，拥有丰富的灰质会直...

What makes you laugh the most? 什么最让你笑？ While rib-tickling jokes and hilarious videos certainly do make us giggle, most of the time we laugh because of something much simpler: being with other people. 虽然令人发痒的笑话和热闹的视频确实让我们咯咯笑，但大多数时候我们笑是因为更简单的事情：与其他人在一起。 So much so that we are 30 times more likely to laugh when we're with others, according to...

English is full of colourful phrases to describe shyness.  英语充满了描述害羞的丰富多彩的短语。 Someone timid might be called shrinking violet or a wallflower, while for especially nervous types we have the curious expression: they wouldn’t say boo to a goose. 胆小的人可能被称为收缩紫罗兰或壁花，而对于特别紧张的人，我们有一种奇怪的表达：他们不会对鹅说嘘。 None of these are traditionally seen...

Apple is known for technological innovation. They came up with the iPod, the iPad and the iPhone – all of which were game changers. 苹果以技术创新着称。他们推出了 iPod、iPad 和 iPhone——所有这些都改变了游戏规则。  But their latest offering has had many tech journalists scratching their heads. 但他们的最新产品让许多科技记者摸不着头脑。 Why? Their new smartphone has been released without the hum...

Do carrots really help you see in the dark? What about kiwis or kale? Can eating certain foods improve your eyesight or prevent your eyes degenerating?  胡萝卜真的能帮助你在黑暗中看东西吗？猕猴桃或羽衣甘蓝呢？吃某些食物可以改善视力或防止眼睛退化吗？ Perhaps we should all be taking supplements to benefit our vision? Research in both the US and Ireland has shown that supplementing the diet with...

Most people associate virtual reality with the world of gaming or entertainment.  大多数人将虚拟现实与游戏或娱乐世界联系起来。 What is all the fuss, you may wonder, about a futuristic contraption you wear on your head that makes you look like a creature from Star Wars? 你可能想知道，你头上戴的一个未来派装置让你看起来像星球大战中的生物，这有什么大惊小怪的？  But this emerging technology h...

Should you recycle the box from your takeaway pizza or throw it away?  您应该从外卖披萨中回收盒子还是扔掉它？ Can you recycle aerosol cans? Is all plastic recyclable? How clued up about recycling are you? 你能回收气雾罐吗？所有塑料都可以回收吗？你对回收利用有多了解？ We probably all know that recycling is good for the environment. 我们可能都知道回收对环境有益。  It saves energy and limit...

It seems that these days it's the European nations who have the tallest men and women.  似乎现在是欧洲国家拥有最高的男人和女人。 Research carried out by over 800 scientists measuring height trends for different nationalities since 1914 has found that Dutch men and Latvian women now top the height charts. 自 1914 年以来，由 800 多名科学家测量不同国籍的身高趋势进行的研究发现，荷兰男性和拉脱维亚...

Compared to other large mammals on Earth, we humans have relatively little hair.  与地球上其他大型哺乳动物相比，我们人类的头发相对较少。 This obvious fact is not so strange until we look at our closest living relatives in the animal kingdom – chimpanzees and other great apes.  这个显而易见的事实并不奇怪，直到我们看看我们在动物王国中最亲近的亲戚——黑猩猩和其他类人猿。 Why, might we ask, ha...

Do you consider your bed a safe haven of rest and calm?  你认为你的床是休息和平静的避风港吗？ Do you sink into a mattress after a hard day's work and feel tension and stress drain away as you rest your weary head on a soft pillow?  一天辛苦工作后，您是否沉入床垫，当您将疲倦的头靠在柔软的枕头上时，是否会感到紧张和压力消失？ Well, you might not feel so relaxed if you knew that microscopic...

You might think that to lose weight you need to do strenuous exercise – pedalling furiously on an exercise bike, for example, or doing lengths in your local pool. 您可能会认为要减肥，您需要进行剧烈运动——例如，在健身车上疯狂地踩踏板，或者在当地的游泳池里做长度。  Well, you may be pleasantly surprised to learn that lying in a steaming bath can bring the same benefits as exercise, without the ne...

Do you have a business brain? Are you always looking for the next big idea? Maybe, like me, you might feel setting up a new company is something you might do when you're older, when you have more experience. But that's not always the case. 你有商业头脑吗？您是否一直在寻找下一个大创意？也许，像我一样，你可能会觉得当你年纪大了，当你有更多经验时，你可能会做一家新公司。但情况并非总是如此。 While some...

Are you a social media addict? Are you always checking your smartphone to see how many 'likes' you've received for your latest post?  你是社交媒体上瘾者吗？您是否一直在查看您的智能手机以查看您的最新帖子收到了多少“赞”？ Maybe you feel comforted by the notification sound that someone has sent you a message?也许您对有人向您发送消息的通知声音感到安慰？ Don't worry, you're not alone. We check our...