英伦广角 Issue 140 09年你打算干些什么？

Right, get gym-tone body like David Beckham's, find love and stop listening to Chumbawamba. Oh, sorry that I was just refining my new year's resolutions, but the question is, is it really worth it? Because apparently¹ only one in ten of us will ever stick to them. Surely, we can do better than that; surely, time to find out.

 

How have you ever had a new year's resolution?

 

Have I had one?, (Yes) Yes, I have.

And what was it and did you stick to it?

Ur, I can't remember, actually I don't remember whether I stuck to it.

Do you not do it anymore?

No.

Never? So nothing for this year?

No.

Because you know that you are never gonna stick to it?

That's probably true.

Weak-willed!

I know. It's so weak.

An embarrassment² to the nation. (I know, it's a whole embarrass.) Apologize to the nation now please.

I am so sorry.

 

There you go.

 

Excuse me, is your resolution to keep fit by any chance?

 

Is it not your resolution to keep fit? No?

For a long chance to join the bus, I have to turn out.

 

Alright. OK. Well it's worth considering it as a resolution? Lots of people do.

I always start with good intentions as not drinking and things like that and then can never stick to it.

 

For many of us New Year resolutions are all about improving our relationships, or most the point, finding one in the first place.

 

So Joe, there are plenty of souls out there looking for lover at this time of year and it's their resolve to do something about it. Hmm,so what do we do?

One of them is to take advantage of all opportunities, I think. Some people think, and if, there isn't a party, or there isn't a club, or there isn't a bar to go to, I can't meet somebody. Give yourself some sorts of, you know, reasonable target. This is ok. I'm going to join an online dating agency. I am going to go to a singles' event. I'm going to go to that event that doesn't look at all promising³.

OK, but what about the really tricky⁴ bit, which is, now you are seeing someone in the club, you've got you hair cut, you're going in for the maneuver⁵, what do we do? You know, that moment of dialogue.

I think, I… often people do find that very difficult, that opening conversation. Actually for guys or women the best opener is Can I get you a drink? The thing to do is not do it, like feel not do, when she hasn't seen you. Get a bit of eye contact going. Get a smile going. Then make your approach.

Well, in that case then. Joe, do you fancy a coffee?

Let's go.

Great, let's go. Great. It works.

Well, whatever your dating techniques may be, recent research from the University of Harvard says the best way to achieve your resolves is to set yourself own definite goals, and to tell as many people as possible about your aims. So, I want to lose 2 inches of the waist, and tone up the gloats.

.

 

I'm feeling slightly better already.

 

Dieting is of course a very popular resolve, but how can we always end up feeling so disappointed by the results?

 

One of big problems of weight loss is it takes a lot of time to actually lose a significant amount of weight. So anything that claims to drop your dress size in two weeks, just abandon that, it's going to be expensive, it is not going to work in long term.

So, Catherline, do you think that actually setting yourself a diet mission as a new year's resolution is a good thing or a bad thing?

On the whole, I have to say it's a bad thing, because you're almost setting yourself up to fail. It's cold. It's miserable⁶ outside sometimes and then people want warming foods which tend to be the stodgy⁷ type of food, and once you've broken your expected diet, then you just lose confidence completely.

 

It's also advisable when choosing your resolutions to go for something new, or approach an old problem in a new way. I'm certainly gonna be taking more care, of my figure.

This is Kristian Digby in central London reporting for BBC News about to break his resolution in record time.

 

1 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

2 embarrassment   

n.尴尬；使人为难的人(事物)；障碍；窘迫

参考例句：

• She could have died away with embarrassment.她窘迫得要死。
• Coughing at a concert can be a real embarrassment.在音乐会上咳嗽真会使人难堪。

3 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

4 tricky   

adj.狡猾的，奸诈的；(工作等)棘手的，微妙的

参考例句：

• I'm in a rather tricky position.Can you help me out?我的处境很棘手，你能帮我吗？
• He avoided this tricky question and talked in generalities.他回避了这个非常微妙的问题，只做了个笼统的表述。

5 maneuver   

n.策略[pl.]演习；v.(巧妙)控制；用策略

参考例句：

• All the fighters landed safely on the airport after the military maneuver.在军事演习后，所有战斗机都安全降落在机场上。
• I did get her attention with this maneuver.我用这个策略确实引起了她的注意。

6 miserable   

adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的

参考例句：

• It was miserable of you to make fun of him.你取笑他，这是可耻的。
• Her past life was miserable.她过去的生活很苦。

7 stodgy   

adj.易饱的；笨重的；滞涩的；古板的

参考例句：

• It wasn't easy to lose puppy fat when Mum fed her on stodgy home cooking.母亲给她吃易饱的家常菜，她想减掉婴儿肥可是很难。
• The gateman was a stodgy fellow of 60.看门人是个六十岁的矮胖子。