文思枯竭怎么办
How to cure writer's block
Hello and welcome to 6 Minute English. I'm Alice…
大家好，欢迎收听六分钟英语，我是爱丽丝。
And I'm Neil.
我是尼尔。
Have you ever written any poetry, Alice?
爱丽丝，你写过诗吗？
No. Have you?
没有。你写过？
Oh yes. I've got a sheaf of poems from my youth.
没错。年少时期我写过一捆纸的诗。
A sheaf of something means a bundle of things, particularly paper.
A sheaf of something是指一捆东西，尤其是指纸张。
What about now?
那现在呢？
Are you still writing?
你还在写诗吗？
No, my creative juices have dried up.
我的创作源泉已经枯竭了。
What a shame!
太可惜了！
I would have liked to hear some of your poems!
我还想听几首你作的诗呢！
Creative juices means a flow of ideas and the subject of today's show is creativity and writer's block
创作源泉是指纷涌而来的想法，今天节目的主题是创造力以及文思枯竭。
– which means not being able to write because of a psychological problem.
文思枯竭是指因为心理问题无法写作。
So not like tennis elbow or golfer's knee, then.
所以并不像网球选手肘部发炎或高尔夫球手膝盖受伤那样。
No, Neil, because a psychological problem refers to the mind not the body.
没错，因为心理问题指的是心理而非身体。
And whilst some people view writer's block as nonsense others believe it is a serious psychological condition that can get better with treatment.
同时一些人将作家的文思枯竭看做胡言乱语，其他人认为这是严重的心理问题，最好接受治疗。
Well, I have a question for you, Alice.
爱丽丝，我有一个问题要问你。
How does author of the Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown, deal with writer's block?
《达芬奇密码》的作者丹布朗是怎么处理文思枯竭的状况的？
Does he…a) hang upside down from the ceiling in gravity boots?
a)穿着倒吊靴倒吊在天花板上?
b) clean his 6-bedroom house from top to bottom with a toothbrush?
b)从上到下用牙刷清理六间房间的屋子？
Or c) run a half-marathon listening to opera music by Richard Wagner?
c)边听理查德瓦格纳的音乐边跑半程马拉松？
I think it's c) run a half-marathon listening to Wagner.
我觉得是c)边听理查德瓦格纳的音乐边跑半程马拉松。
Exercise and music might get your creative juices flowing again.
锻炼和音乐有可能会再次激发你的创作灵感。
Well, we'll find out whether you got the right answer later on in the show.
之后我们再看你回答得是否正确。
But first, Alice, can you tell us where the term writer's block comes from?
首先，爱丽丝，你能告诉我们文思枯竭这一术语是从哪里来的吗？
Well, the term was coined – or invented – in 1950 by a Viennese psychoanalyst Edmund Bergler.
这一术语是维也纳心理学家Edmund Bergler于1950年发明的。
Let's listen to Zachary Leader, Professor of English Literature at Roehampton University talking about the psychoanalytic theory of writer's block.
我们听听罗汉普顿大学的英语文学教授Zachary Leader讲述文思枯竭的精神分析学说。
Before writers were blocked the other metaphors that were used were things like drying up
在说作者文思枯竭前也有其他暗语，如干涸、
… or being frozen or stuck in a rut and so forth.
刻板、困于千篇一律之中，类似种种。
And the difference between being blocked and drying up is that in the case of blockage the problem is externalised and objectified
文思枯竭和灵感干涸的区别在于，文思枯竭这种情况中，阻塞灵感的是外化的，客观的，
– it's not yourself that's the problem
即不是你自身的问题，
– it's something that's outside you like an obstacle or an impediment
是你外界的事物，如障碍、阻碍，
– something that you could really cut away, and as a consequence a cure like a growth or a foreign body.
是你可以切除掉，最终获得成长或由外来物来治愈自己。
So writer's block is a metaphor for an obstacle
所以文思枯竭是阻碍的暗喻，
– something external rather than internal inside of you – that's preventing you from working.
是外在的事物，而非你的内在阻碍你无法写作。
Doesn't that sound like an excuse for not doing anything, Alice?
这听上去像不像是不想做某件事的借口？
It's not my fault – this impediment thing is getting in the way.
这不是我的错，阻碍就挡在路上。
Yes. Well, impediment is another word for obstacle.
impediment是障碍的另一种说法。
But how do you cut away a foreign body that isn't actually there?
但你如何去除一个不存在的外来物呢？
I suppose psychoanalysts have an answer for that.
我觉得精神分析学家对此有其答案。
But seriously, I think writers probably do have a hard time.
但严肃地说，我认为作家也许会有很困难的时刻。
You can sit down at your desk every morning at 9 o'clock to write but that doesn't mean you're going to think of things to say.
你每天早上九点坐在桌子前，但这不意味着你有东西可写。
Though we're never stuck for words, are we?
尽管我们从来不会无话可说，不是吗？
Not usually, Neil, no.
也不是。
But did you know that the Ancient Greeks had Muses – or goddesses of creativity – to help them?
但你知道吗，古希腊人有缪斯可以帮助他们，也就是灵感女神。
So… Beyoncé isn't a real muse?
所以碧昂斯是不是就是缪斯？
I've heard people say, you know, Beyoncé is my muse;
我经常听人说，碧昂斯就是我的缪斯。
she's such a great singer, songwriter, dancer, role model!
她是伟大的歌手、作曲家、舞者、是榜样！
Well, these days, 'muse' can refer to anyone who inspires an artist, writer, or musician.
如今，缪斯可以指任何可以给艺术家、作家或音乐人带来灵感的人。
But in Ancient Greece, there were nine Muses
但在古希腊，有九个缪斯，
– and depending on what type of creative thing you did
取决于你创造哪种类型的东西，
– philosophy, poetry, science and so on – you invoked – or called upon – that particular Muse to inspire you.
所哲学、诗歌、科学等等，你召唤缪斯可以带给你灵感的东西。
I call upon you, oh Alice, to enlighten us with more information about the Greek Muses.
我召唤你，给我们更多关于希腊缪斯的信息。
Alright then. So let's listen to Angie Hobbs instead.
好的。我们听听Angie Hobbs的讲述。
She's Professor of the Public Understanding of Philosophy, University of Sheffield here in the UK
她是英国谢菲尔德大学哲学的大众理解专业的教授。
– and here she is now, talking about what the Greek Muses symbolized.
她会讲述希腊缪斯所代表的东西。
We've seen that the Muses were connected to running water, to springs, to fountains, fluidity.
我们看到缪斯与流水、泉水、喷泉、液体联系紧密。
So if you're musing, you are letting your mind wander,
所以如果你在沉思，你是让你的思想徜徉，
you're opening yourself up to new influences and new ideas, and not thinking in too structured a way.
你解放自身的思想，让其接受新的影响、新的观点，而不是墨守成规。
Musing, letting your mind wander, thinking in a fluid, unstructured way – that all sounds very pleasant
沉思，让思想去徜徉，以流动、自由的方式去思考，听上去很不错，
– maybe I should have another go at writing.
也许我有写作的其他思路了。
Well, according to research, some people are better at mind wandering and opening themselves up to new ideas than others.
根据研究，一些人会比其他人更擅长思想徜徉，解放思想接受新观点。
Their minds work differently – they have more dopamine in the thalamus region of the brain.
他们的大脑运作方式与别人不同，他们大脑丘脑区域含有很多的多巴胺。
The thalamus controls consciousness, sleep and the senses and dopamine is the feel-good chemical in the brain.
丘脑控制意识、睡眠、感觉，多巴胺是脑中分泌使人快乐的化学物质。
Is that right?
是吗？
Yes, and having more dopamine in the thalamus enables some people to see the world in a different way
丘脑中含有更多的多巴胺，使得一些人以不同的方式看待世界。
– and they express this creatively – through science, music, the arts.
他们会通过科学、音乐和艺术更加富有创造力的表达观点。
Now, before you start musing on how much dopamine you have in your brain, Neil,
在你沉思自己脑中有多少多巴胺之前，
perhaps you can tell us the answer to today's quiz question?
你可以告诉我们今天问题的答案吗？
I asked: How does author of the Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown, deal with writer's block?
我问你：《达芬奇密码》的作者丹布朗是怎么处理文思枯竭的状况的？
Does he…a) hang upside down from the ceiling in gravity boots?
a)穿着倒吊靴倒吊在天花板上?
b) clean his 6-bedroom house from top to bottom with a toothbrush?
b)从上到下用牙刷清理六间房间的屋子？
Or c) run a half-marathon listening to opera music by Richard Wagner?
c)边听理查德瓦格纳的音乐边跑半程马拉松？
And I said c) run a half-marathon listening to opera music by Richard Wagner.
我选的是c)边听理查德瓦格纳的音乐边跑半程马拉松。
And you were wrong, Alice! The answer is a) hang upside down from the ceiling in gravity boots.
你回答错了！答案是a)穿着倒吊靴倒吊在天花板上。
Really?
真的吗？
Yes. I expect all that increased blood flow to the brain is helpful in clearing writer's block.
没错。我觉得更多血液流向大脑有助于改善文思枯竭的状况。
Yes. Good plan.
没错。好计划。
OK, here are the words we learned today.
好了，我们看一下今天学到的单词。
creative juices
灵感
writer's block
文思枯竭
coined
发明
impediment
障碍
Muses
缪斯女神
invoked
召唤
thalamus
丘脑
dopamine
多巴胺
So, Alice, shall I compare thee to a summer's day?
爱丽丝，能否把你比作夏日璀璨？
Thou art more lovely…
你却比炎夏更可爱。
That's not your poem, Neil – It's Shakespeare's!
那不是你的诗！是莎士比亚的！
Well, and that's the end of today's 6 Minute English.
好了，今天的六分钟英语就到这里。
OK, I'm off to lie on the sofa and evoke my muse.
我要躺在沙发里，召唤我的缪斯。
Please join us again soon!
下期节目再会！
Bye!
再见！