VOA慢速：养成学习英语的习惯

燕山大学 刘立军 供稿

【TRANSCRIPT】

Since the beginning of the coronavirus crisis, many people have had to change their habits, or usual ways of doing things.

Some people who used to go to school now study at home. Some of them have been trying to get in the habit of learning and studying on their own.

How might habits connect with studying and learning? Today's Education Tips will explore that very question.

Habits are regular ways of dealing with your environment. You generally do not pay attention to them.

In the book Good Habits, Bad Habits, Dr. Wendy Wood notes that "A habit turns the world around you - your context - into a trigger to act."

Habits take many forms - eating, exercising, even studying. You may not realize it, but habits make up many of the actions that you do every day.

In the book Atomic Habits, James Clear describes a four-step process by which habits are made. These steps are cue, craving, response, and reward.

The cue tells your brain to begin a behavior. The craving is what makes you want to do something. The response is the actual habit that you perform. The response, in turn, gives you a reward. "Rewards are the end goal of every habit," Clear writes.

Consider this example. Maybe you have the habit of often checking social media. The cue might be a feeling of boredom while you are near your computer or phone. The craving could be a desire to stop that feeling. The response is checking social media, and the reward is seeing something interesting. When that process is repeated many times, it becomes a habit.

Clear believes that to create a good habit, you need to follow several steps. You need to make your new habit obvious, or easy to see or understand. The habit should also be attractive, simple and satisfying. Let's think about how you might develop an English study habit.

You should organize your surroundings in such a way that the cues of your new habit are very obvious. For example, if you want to get in the habit of studying English every day, leave English books or notes in a very clear place.

To make your habit attractive, Clear recommends joining a culture where your new desired behavior is the normal behavior. For example, you could join a group of other English learners in online meetings.

To make your new habit easy, you could decrease the number of steps you have to take in order to study. You could also try reducing the amount of time you study. Clear suggests beginning your habits with limited, shorter time periods - two minutes for example. As you repeat the practice over time, you can go longer.

An important point to keep in mind is that if you place too many demands on yourself, you are more likely to give up on your new habit.

Finally, you need to make your habit satisfying. You can give yourself a reward after completing your new habit.

For example, if you study English for 15 minutes, you could reward yourself by listening to a song you like. Or you could think about how much progress you have made since you first started studying English.

Wood notes that your reward should come right after you do your new habit. "Rewards have to be experienced right after we do something in order to build habit associations in memory," she writes.

Building new habits can take time. You may have to repeat an action many times before it becomes a habit. But with time, careful planning and continued practice, you can do it.

I'm John Russell.

Adapted from http://www.kekenet.com/broadcast/202011/620588.shtml

【VOCABULARY】

1. trigger n. the part of a bomb that causes it to explode 触发器；引爆器。例如：nuclear trigger 核引爆器

2. boredom n. the state of feeling bored; the quality of being very boring 厌烦；厌倦；无聊。例如：I started to eat too much out of sheer boredom. 由于实在无聊，我开始无节制地大吃起来。

3. take time 费时

【QUESTIONS】

Read the statements. Then listen to the news and decide whether the statements are true (T) or false (F).

1. You may not realize habits, but they make up many of the actions that you do every day.

2. According to James Clear, habits are made up of four steps: cue, craving, response, and reward.

3. The craving tells your brain to begin a behavior.

4. The cue is what makes you want to do something.

5. The response is the actual habit that you perform.

6. The response gives you a reward.

7. Clear believes that to create a good habit, you need to follow several steps.

8. You should organize your surroundings in such a way that the cues of your new habit are very obvious.

9. To make your habit attractive, Clear recommends joining a culture where your new desired behavior is the formal behavior.

10. To make your new habit easy, you could increase the number of steps you have to take in order to study.

11. An important point to keep in mind is that if you place too little demands on yourself, you are more likely to give up on your new habit.

12. You need to make your habit satisfying.

13. Wood notes that your reward should not come right after you do your new habit.

14. Building new habits can take time.

15. You need not have to repeat an action many times before it becomes a habit.

【KEY】 

Read the statements. Then listen to the news and decide whether the statements are true (T) or false (F).

(T) 1. You may not realize habits, but they make up many of the actions that you do every day.

(T) 2. According to James Clear, habits are made up of four steps: cue, craving, response, and reward.

(F) 3. The craving tells your brain to begin a behavior.

（正确表达）The cue tells your brain to begin a behavior.

(F) 4. The cue is what makes you want to do something.
（正确表达）The craving is what makes you want to do something.

(T) 5. The response is the actual habit that you perform.

(T) 6. The response gives you a reward.

(T) 7. Clear believes that to create a good habit, you need to follow several steps.

(T) 8. You should organize your surroundings in such a way that the cues of your new habit are very obvious.

(F) 9. To make your habit attractive, Clear recommends joining a culture where your new desired behavior is the formal behavior.
（正确表达）To make your habit attractive, Clear recommends joining a culture where your new desired behavior is the normal behavior.

(F) 10. To make your new habit easy, you could increase the number of steps you have to take in order to study.
（正确表达）To make your new habit easy, you could decrease the number of steps you have to take in order to study.

(F) 11. An important point to keep in mind is that if you place too little demands on yourself, you are more likely to give up on your new habit.
（正确表达）An important point to keep in mind is that if you place too many demands on yourself, you are more likely to give up on your new habit.

(T) 12. You need to make your habit satisfying.

(F) 13. Wood notes that your reward should not come right after you do your new habit.
（正确表达）Wood notes that your reward should come right after you do your new habit.

(T) 14. Building new habits can take time.

(F) 15. You need not have to repeat an action many times before it becomes a habit.
（正确表达）You may have to repeat an action many times before it becomes a habit.