我們生活在一個過度擁擠的地球上，人口迅速增長，總數接近80億人。盡管如此，許多人還是感到孤獨或生活處境孤立。英國廣播公司展開了一項有關孤獨的調查，參與這項調查的5.5萬人來自世界各地近240個國家。本集節目分析這項 “孤獨調查” 的結果。

Vocabulary: loneliness 詞彙 : 孤獨

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.

你有多孤獨？有時候一個人住或者在一個沒有人說話的偏遠地方會給你一種絕望和孤立的感覺。這不是一個很好的感覺。有一種普遍的刻闆印象 ，認為它對老年人的影響更大，但研究發現，孤獨會影響我們所有人，無論我們的年齡如何。

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.

有一個熟悉的短語說在人群中可能會感到孤獨 ——盡管周圍有數百人，但你認為沒有人可以交談或聯系 ，而且無論如何也沒有人願意聽你的話。這可能不是真的，但孤獨被視為對居住在任何地方的人們的心理健康的一個大問題——以至于英國政府甚至有一位負責孤獨的部長。

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.

英國廣播公司最近完成了一項關于該主題的調查，發現 16 至 24 歲的人 比任何其他年齡段的人 更頻繁、更強烈地感受到孤獨感。曼徹斯特大學的研究人員分析了這些數據，他們認為孤獨感可能會困擾年輕人，因為這是一個身份轉變的時期—— 弄清楚你在世界上的位置并學會調節情緒。

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.'

心理學講師和 BBC 主持人克勞迪娅·哈蒙德說：“人們很容易得出這樣的結論： 現代生活中的某些東西使年輕人處于更高的孤獨風險中，但是當我們在調查中詢問老年人他們一生中最孤獨的時光時，他們還說那是他們年輕的時候。”

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.

這個問題肯定會被更多人讨論。在英國，孤獨症部長特蕾西·克勞奇（Tracey Crouch）表示，“政府現在認識到孤獨感是我們面臨的最大健康挑戰之一 。” 她還表示，需要進行“全國對話”，以結束承認感到孤獨的恥辱。

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 的孤獨實驗還發現，你所生活的文化類型 對孤獨感有影響 。來自北歐和美國等傾向于高度重視獨立文化的人透露，他們不太可能告訴同事他們的孤獨感。但在南歐、拉丁美洲、亞洲和非洲等經常強調大家庭的文化中，尤其是年長女性感到孤獨的風險較低。

詞彙表

despair 絕望
isolation 孤獨，隔絕
stereotype 成見
lonely in a crowd 即使在熱鬧處，仍感孤獨
connect 建立聯系
mental health 精神健康狀态
experience 感受到，體會到
intensely 強烈地
plague 折磨，使苦惱
figure out 找到…
regulate emotions 控制、調節情緒
modern life 現代生活
health challenge 健康隐患
stigma 恥辱
implication 可能的影響
independence 獨立
extended family 大家庭

測驗與練習

1. 閱讀課文并回答問題。

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. 請在不參考課文的情況下完成下列練習。選擇一個意思合适的單詞填入句子的空格處。

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. 閱讀課文并回答問題。

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. 請在不參考課文的情況下完成下列練習。選擇一個意思合适的單詞填入句子的空格處。

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.