我观察了许久，发现大家对故事比较感兴趣，几乎没有人不喜欢边听故事边领悟一点道理，所以，最近打算结合这个故事系列，和大家一起聊一聊身边的故事，研究研究英语表达，再顺便总结一些方法。
《孙子兵法》云：知己知彼，百战不殆。了解自己，才能够最大化个人优势，了解对方，才能够确保自己的优势是符合需求的。
所以，我们的第一站是了解自己，在接下来的时间里，我们阅读的故事均来自于《自控力》（The willpower Instinct）。
01 简介
先简单介绍一下作者，凯利.麦格尼格尔博士，了解影响自控的生理学基础、心理陷阱和各种社会因素。博士还吸收了心理学、神经学和经济学等学科的最新洞见，为斯坦福大学继续教育项目开设了一门叫做“意志力科学”的课程，感兴趣的可以上网搜索这门课程。
博士认为，一个人如果能够用正确的方式对待外在的压力，那么这个人就具备了最重要的做事信心，从而可以从容处理好大部分的事务。
在丧文化如此盛行的当代社会，凯莉博士将带着我们审视自我，接受自我，改变自我，她会结合最新的科学研究，颠覆我们的传统观念，告诉我们如何减肥，如何集中注意力，如何保证充足的睡眠，如何教育孩子，如何告别拖延，如何拥有高效的人生。
02 讲个身边的故事
话不多说了，我们今天要讲的故事从大家都熟悉的话题展开，网络信息给我们带来了什么。（以下的排版先是英文原文再是中文讲解，但不是英文和中文并不是一一对应。请大家务必先自己分析，然后带着问题去找解决方式）
Michele, a thirty-one-year-old radio show producer, was constantly checking e-mail on her computer or her phone. It was disrupting her productivity at work and annoying her boyfriend, who could never manage to get Michele’s full attention. Her willpower challenge for the class was to check e-mail less, and she set an ambitious goal of checking no more than once an hour. After the first week, she reported that she did not come even close to her goal. The problem was that she often didn’t even realize that she was checking her e-mail until after she was scrolling through new messages. She could stop once she realized what she was doing, but whatever impulse led her to look at her phone or click over to her e-mail was happening outside of conscious awareness. Michele set the goal to catch herself sooner in the process.
故事的女主人公，三十多岁，是一名典型的都市女白领，除了吃饭睡觉上厕所之外，大部分时间都贡献给了工作。做为一名广播制片人，她几乎分分钟都要查看电子邮件，所以，说她是一名行走的机器人并不为过。
但是很显然，一个人的精力完全放到工作中，就会导致她在生活中的不如意，比如，男票的抱怨，身体得不到充足休息导致的每况愈下的健康状况，差强人意的工作表现和业绩体现。
意识到问题严重性后，女主人公做了个重要大决定，减少邮件的查看频率。她给自己定制了非常精确的频率，一小时最多查看一次邮件。
虽然第一周她并没有马上达成目标，但是她发现了问题所在：她查看邮件完全是潜意识指使的，也就是说，那个不断查看邮件的她其实就像一台执行命令的机器一样，没有意识，没有想法。
所以，找到了问题的核心之后，她就轻松找到了解决方式：执行命令的时候，跳出机器思维，启动她的主观意识，从而中止手上正在或将要执行的任务。
结果怎样呢？
By the next week, she was able to notice when she was reaching for her phone or opening her e-mail. That gave her an opportunity to practice stopping before she got fully sucked in. The impulse to check was more elusive. Michele had trouble recognizing what was prompting her to check before she was in the process of checking. With time, though, she came to recognize a feeling almost like an itch—a tension in her brain and body that was relieved when she checked her e-mail. That observation was fascinating to Michele; she had never thought of checking e-mail as a way to relieve tension. She had thought she was just seeking information. As she paid attention to how she felt after she checked, Michele realized that checking her e-mail was as ineffective as scratching an itch—it just made her itch more. With this awareness of both the impulse and her response, she had much more control over her behavior, and even surpassed her original goal to check less often outside of work hours.
第二周开始，当她要查看邮件和手机时，女主人公不断练习“中断”行为，及时阻止了自己的邮件沉迷行为。
这还只是第一步，随着时间的推移，女主人公还发现了自己不断查看邮件的根本原因：缓解压力。 人们感受到痒的感觉时，第一反应就是用手挠一挠缓解痒的症状。与此类似，当她感觉到压力的时候，她也会想到一种方式缓解压力，这个方式就是，不同查收邮件。
基于这一发现，她理性分析了这种解压方式的不靠谱：挠痒并不能真的解决痒的问题，反而让人挠上了瘾。
因为她能够意识到查看电子邮件的冲动来源，也能够及时控制自己的第一反应，她成功地达成了目标，她在非工作时间查看邮件的频率甚至低于目标值。
03 语言点解释：
单词及词组
constant： 时常性的（adjective ）
* happening all the time or very often over a period of time
* staying the same : not changing
Examples
* He suffers from constant headaches.
* Her constant chatter was a nuisance.
* The house is in constant need of repairs.
Manage : 处理，解决，管理（verb）
* to have control of (something, such as a business, department, sports team, etc.)
* to take care of and make decisions about(someone's time, money, etc.)
* to direct the professional career of (someone, such as an entertainer or athlete)
Examples
* The business is managed by the owner's daughter.
* The company is badly managed.
* When she managed the department, we never missed a deadline.
Ambitious :有进取心的，野心勃勃的，有难度的（adjectives）
* having ambition
* having a desire to be successful, powerful, or famous
* not easily done or achieved
Examples
* The company was created by two veryambitious young men in the early 1900s.
* This 500-page book is her mostambitious effort yet.
* Your plans for the future are veryambitious.
No more than: 不多于
You use more than before a number or amount to say that the actual number or amount is even greater.
come close to :接近
If you are close to something or if it is close, it is likely to happen or come soon.
If you are close to doing something, you are likely to do it soon.
whatever：无论什么（pronoun）
* anything or everything that
* no matter what
* used in questions that express surprise or confusion
Examples
* “What's that smell?” “I don't know, but whatever it is, it's awful!”
* Whatever you do, don't press thatbutton!
conscious：有意识的（adjective）
* awake and able to understand what is happening around you
* aware of something (such as a fact or feeling)
* knowing that something exists or is happening
* known or felt by yourself
Examples
* Is the patient conscious yet?
* He was fully conscious when we foundhim.
* the capacity for conscious thought
Be sucked in : 沉迷于
If you are sucked into a bad situation, you are unable to prevent yourself from becoming involved in it.
impulse：冲动做某事，冲力（noun,verb ）
* a sudden strong desire to do something
* a small amount of energy that moves fromone area to another
Examples
* He has to learn to control his impulses.
* the new auto factory was just the impulsethat the local economy needed.
Elusive:难以言喻的，晦涩难懂的（Adjective）
* hard to find or capture
* hard to understand, define, or remember
Examples
* The truth may prove elusive.
* the giant squid is one of the ocean's most elusive inhabitants.
Prompt:促使，导致，表明(Verb,noun)
* to cause (someone) to do something
* to be the cause of (something)
* to say (something that encourages a person to talk)
Examples
* Curiosity prompted her to ask a few questions.
* Pride prompted his angry response.
* The evidence prompted a criminal investigation .
Itch : 痒，渴望(Noun,verb)
* to have or produce an unpleasant feelingon your skin or inside your mouth, nose, etc. that makes you want to scratch
* to have a strong desire to dosomething or forsomething
Examples
* His eyes began to burn and itch becauseof his allergies.
* This sweater makes me itch.
Relieved: 宽恕的，放心的(Adjective)
feeling relaxed and happy because something difficult or unpleasant has been stopped, avoided, or made easier
Examples
* I was relieved to hear that you're feelingbetter.
* He was greeted at the door by his muchrelieved mother.
Surpass: 超越，胜过(Verb)
to be better or greater than (someone or something)
Examples
* Attendance is expected to surpass lastyear's record.
* Last quarter, sales surpassed two million.
* His work regularly surpasses all.
04 长难句分析：
1. It was disrupting her productivity at work and annoying her boyfriend, who could never manage to get Michele’s full attention
这影响了她的工作产能，也惹恼了她的男朋友，（因为）他不能成功获得米歇尔的完全注意。
这句话要注意it的作用，我们讲it是一种代词，可以指代某个名词，也可以指代名词性质的短语（即形式主语或者形式宾语）。这句话里，it指代了前文讲过的constantly checking e-mail on her computer or her phone这件事情，是名词性质的短语。
另外一个注意点，非限制性定语从句， who could never manage to get Michele’s full attention 。其实没有必要分析的那么清楚，只要知道这句话是属于修饰作用的就好，修饰的对象是什么呢，boyfriend。学过高中语法的童鞋可能经常会被各种限制性定语从句，非限制性定语从句搞晕，其实，在使用过程中不用分的那么清楚，只要知道从句用来修饰的是哪个名词就好。
2. The problem was that she often didn’t even realize that she was checking her e-mail until after she was scrolling through new messages
问题在于，她只有在浏览新信息的过程中才能意识到她自己是在查看邮件。
句子的核心成分，the problem was ...., 属于主系表结构，that引导了一个从句，这个从句的核心成分是 she didn’t realize .....属于主谓宾结构，that 又引导了一个从句，从句中的核心成分为是she was checking her email， 接着下面的until，看到until就会想到上文的 not ...until....这样的固搭配（所以，见到句子出现否定要注意上下文的常见搭配）.until 后面又跟着一句从句， 从句核心是 she was scrolling .....
3. She could stop once she realized what she was doing, but whatever impulse led her to look at her phone or click over to her e-mail was happening outside of conscious awareness.
只要她意识到她在做什么，她就能终止行为。 但是，总有一种说不清的冲动正发生在她的意识之外，这种冲动使得她查看手机，点开电子邮件。
英语句子按照结构成分分为3种，简单句，并列复合句，主从复合句。简单句就是指，一个句子只有一组主谓结构活着一组主系表结构，并列复合句指，一个句子出现了2组及两组以上的主谓或者主系表结构，且这几组结构之间是并列的关系，而从属复合句是指，这几组结构之间存在从属关系，一个结构可能是另一个结构的宾语或者表语成分。
这句话中，出现了较多的主谓结构。
前半句和but句子是并列复合句，分别引导了两个主要句子。
4. With time, though, she came to recognize a feeling almost like an itch—a tension in her brain and body that was relieved when she checked her e-mail.
但是，随着时间的推移，她慢慢发现了一种类似于挠痒的感觉： 只要感受到大脑的紧张，她就会查看电子邮件，她的身体也随之感受到了放松。
这句话的核心其实很明显， she came to recognize a feeling ，like a itch是补充说明的，这种感觉就像是挠痒。
英语里，破折号的作用主要是解释说明或者插入说明，所以，从意思层面来讲，说的是同一个层面的信息。
5. As she paid attention to how she felt after she checked, Michele realized that checking her e-mail was as ineffective as scratching an itch—it just made her itch more.
因为她关注了一下她查看邮件后的感受，米歇尔发现，查看邮件和挠痒一样无效—挠痒只会给她让来更多的挠痒行为。
这句话我们要特别注意 as的用法，前一个as 引导了一个从句，可以理解成因为。。。，后面半句话的核心结构是Michele realized that..., 此处that引导的从句中还包含着一对 as...as...,表示同级比较，和。。。一样。
05 这个故事和你有什么关系
看完了这个故事，你有什么启发吗？
看手机，看电脑已经成为我们日常生活中必不可少的一部分，现代科技的发展确实给我们带来了很多便利，但也给我们增加了很多烦恼。
因为终日坐在电脑前，我们的身体素质越来越差，腰间盘突出，免疫力低下，肥胖等健康杀手离我们越来越近；终日与虚拟世界的人交流，我们和现实世界越来越远，朋友见面甚至不知道说什么，家人团聚就是各自看手机的聚会；形形色色的信息给我们带来过多的“噪音”干扰，面对一团团迷雾，我们很难找到属于自己的出路。
所以，如果你想解决各种心理的焦虑，解决各种拖延，请先管理好网络时间，学学主人公 Michele，在工作学习之外，减少对网络的依赖性吧，给自己定力一个目标，比如说一小时不看微信，有时间统一回复信息，你不会错过什么重要事情的（如果事情真的很重要，人们应该通过电话沟通而不是微信传送消息）。
06延伸阅读：
送你一个小窍门，帮助你提升专注力的方法— 冥想
One study found that just three hours of meditation practice led to improved attention and self-control. After eleven hours, researchers could see those changes in the brain. The new meditators had increased neural connections between regions of the brain important for staying focused, ignoring distractions, and controlling impulses. Another study found that eight weeks of daily meditation practice led to increased self-awareness in everyday life, as well as increased gray matter in corresponding areas of the brain.
学以致用：
请尝试用句子分析的方式理解以下几个长句：
1.The new meditators had increased neural connections between regions of the brain important for staying focused, ignoring distractions, and controlling impulses.
2.Another study found that eight weeks of daily meditation practice led to increased self-awareness in everyday life, as well as increased gray matter in corresponding areas of the brain.
有任何问题欢迎交流哦，我是作者，80后宝妈，高级口译，实战派老师，7年接触的学生年龄分布各阶段，碰到的学习难题很多已经超越了语言学习本身，我们要从更高的角度看待英语学习这件事。
